DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/02/2026 has been entered.
Examiner Notes
In regards to the apparatus of claim 1, the examiner notes while features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function; “[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does.” Hewlett-Packard Co.v.Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990)., see MPEP 2114.
The foreign reference Yoo (KR101858680B1) filed with IDS 10/03/22 does not have paragraph citation. As such, the examiner will be uploading their own Yoo (KR101858680B1) and will reference the paragraph citations of the Yoo uploaded with this office action.
Claim interpretation
The term “guide hole” in claim 1 line 12 is broad; in light of the instant specification, paragraph [38] line 15+ and fig. 4 and 8-9.
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The BRI of “guide hole” includes any bending jig (200)(s) in which an opening part such as a hole, gap, or any absence of material at the site of the bending lateral surface.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 1 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 3-4 and 6-8 are rejected as being dependent upon claim 1.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the side wall" in lines 5, 8, 14, 16. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
In the presently amended claim 1 lines 4 and 7 “a raised side wall” is claimed. However “a side wall” is not claimed. Appropriate corrections are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoo (KR101858680B1 as noted in the IDS filed on 10/03/2022 for clarity citations are from version uploaded by examiner) in view of Larsen (US2696241A) and as evidenced by Tajima (US20170033327A1).
Regarding claim 1, Yoo discloses a pouch bending guide apparatus [abstract, Yoo], for a secondary battery packaging system [abstract, Yoo], which folds a pouch sheet while a bending jig (200) (200/300) is folded toward a base jig (300) (300/200) with the pouch sheet placed on the base jig (300) and the bending jig (200) [0039-0041, fig. 3, Yoo].
One of ordinary skill within the arts prior to the effective filing date, would appreciate that if the folding jig described by Yoo is capable of folding two stacks together then it would be capable of folding a pouch with two stacks in it.
“[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does.” Hewlett-Packard Co.v.Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990)., see MPEP 2114
Yoon continues to disclose the base jig (300) having a recessed pouch sheet receiving part and a raised side wall [fig. 3, Yoon], the raised side wall has an opening part therein [fig. 3, Yoon], the opening part is defined by a portion of the side wall having a cut out so that the wall is lowered [fig. 3, Yoon], the bending jig having a recessed pouch sheet receiving part and a raised side wall [fig. 3, Yoon], the raised side wall has an opening part therein [fig. 3, Yoon], the opening part is defined by a portion of the side wall having a cut out so that the wall is lowered [fig. 3, Yoon].
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Annotated fig. 3 of Yoon depicting the
Yoo continues to disclose a bending guide apparatus wherein the side wall of the base jig (300) (300) and the side wall of the bending jig (200) are connected to each other by a hinge (101) part [0039, fig. 3, Yoo], such that the opening part of the side wall of the bending jig is adjacent to and opposes the opening part of the side wall of the base jig [fig. 5, Yoon].
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Annotated fig. 5, Yoo showing the opening parts apposing one another
Wherein when the bending jig is folded toward the base jig, the opening part of the bending jig and the opening part of the base jig together encloses a guide hole [fig. 5, Yoo].
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Annotated fig 5, Yoo depicting the enclosed opening part
Yoo discloses a bending bar (500) that prevents the cells movement during folding [0068, 0117-019, fig. 4-6, Yoo]. But is silent to a bending knife with a stopper that supports a bending lateral surface.
However, Larsen discloses an apparatus to wrap-stretch thin sheets to form a curved edge in a U-shape manner [col 1 lines 15-30, Larsen], wherein the apparatus comprises a first and second jaw arm (equivalent to base and bending jig (200)) that holds the material to be bent and are brought together upon folding of the material [col 2 line 46-53, col 3 line 19-29, fig. 1-5, Larsen], the apparatus comprising: a bending knife (1 + 3) which supports [col 2 line 22-35, fig. 1-5, Larsen], from an inside of a pouch, a bending lateral surface of the sheet formed while the sheet is folded by the bending jig (200) [col 3 line 3-67, fig. 1-5, Larsen], wherein the bending knife is provided with a stopper (3) to support an inner surface of the bending lateral surface of the pouch [col. 2 line 22-35, fig. 1-5, Larsen].
The works of Yoo and Larsen are analogous as they both seek to develop an apparatus and/or method for efficiently folding/wrapping a material in which a lateral support is applied to the middle of the material and two holders/wings/jigs are on opposite sides that fold upwards and move towards the center to create a folded material in a U-shape.
Prior to the effective filing date, one of ordinary skill within the arts would find it obvious to modify the bending bar of Yoo such that a bending knife with a concave stopper similar to that disclosed by Larsen [fig. 4-5, Larsen] was utilized to form a bending lateral surface across the surface of the battery pouch as the bending and base jig folded towards one another. As this is a known method for folding a material such that it possess a U-shaped channel (“bending lateral surface”).
Additionally, applying a bending knife with a concave end to a battery pouch upon folding keeps the folded secondary battery in shape such that there is a fixed minimum radius of curvature the ended foldable point making it possible to prevent the exterior body from being broken [as evidenced by Tajima, 0020]
In regards to the final limitation “the guide hole being configured to guide the bending lateral surface of the pouch to be pushed to an outside when the stopper pushes on the inner surface of the bending lateral surface”.
The examiner notes that the bending guide of Yoo has a “guide hole” [fig. 3, Yoo, see annotated figure below], and that the presence of these holes would allow for the pouch to be pushed outside when a pressure, such as that applied by a stopper, is applied to the bending lateral surface of the pouch.
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Annotated figure 3, Yoo depicting a guide hole meeting the BRI as noted in the Claim Interpretation seen above
Regarding claim 3, Modified Yoo discloses the apparatus, wherein the bending knife is configured to be moved toward an inside of the pouch sheet by a movement means such that the stopper prevents movement of the bending lateral surface to the inside of the pouch [fig. 1-5, Larsen].
Regarding claim 6, Modified Yoo discloses the apparatus, wherein the pouch sheet is placed on the base jig (300) and the bending jig (200) [fig. 3-4, Yoo], and in a state in which a battery cell is received in a half battery cell receiving part disposed on the base jig (300) among a pair of half battery cell receiving parts of the pouch sheet [fig. 3-4, Yoo], the pouch sheet is folded while the bending jig (200) is folded toward the base jig (300) [fig. 3-6, Yoo], and after the pouch sheet is folded [fig. 3-6, Yoo], the pouch having the battery cell mounted in the half battery cell receiving part inside the pouch is formed [fig. 3-6, Yoo], wherein the bending knife is configured to move to the inside of the pouch sheet and to support the bending lateral surface of the pouch from the inside of the pouch while the pouch sheet is folded [fig. 1-5, Larsen].
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Yoo as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Choi (US20200035982A1).
Regarding claim 4, Modified Yoo is silent to the bending knife being inclined.
Choi however, discloses the bending knife is disposed to be inclined [0099-0100, Choi discloses a bending knife moving in a diagonal direction towards a surface to be bent], and when the bending jig (200) and the pouch sheet are folded, the inclined bending knife is configured to be moved toward the inside of the pouch sheet by the movement means [fig. 1-5, Larsen and 0100-0102, Choi, both discloses an apparatus in which a guide bar is moved towards a surface to be bend. As such it also has the ability to do this after having bent folded].
Prior to the effective filing date, one of ordinary skill within the arts would find it obvious to modify Yoo such that the bending knife was configured to be inclined as it is a known angle that and method which can be used to reasonable succeed in the folding of an object [0093-0100, Choi].
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over modified Yoo as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Jung’367 (KR101903367B1).
Regarding claim 7, Modified Yoo is silent to the jigs containing vacuum suction.
However, Jung’367 discloses a vacuum suction passage is formed inside each of the base jig (300) (31) and the bending jig (200) (32) [0020, Jung’367], and a plurality of vacuum suction holes communicating with the vacuum suction passage is formed in each of inner surfaces of the base jig (300) and the bending jig (200) facing each other [0029, Jung’367].
Prior to the effective filing date, one of ordinary skill within the arts would find it obvious to further modify Yoo such that the jigs contained vacuum suction holes as disclosed by Jung’367. Doing so would allow for jigs to firmly hold on to the film of the pouch battery so that it is firmly attached to the jig [0029, Jung’367].
Regarding claim 8, Yoo as further modified above discloses the apparatus, wherein in a state in which the pouch sheet placed on the inner surfaces of the base jig (300) and the bending jig (200) is vacuum-suctioned by the vacuum suction holes of the base jig (300) and the bending jig (200) [0020,0029, Jung’367], the pouch sheet is folded in half by folding the bending jig (200) toward the inner surface of the base jig (300) [0009, 0015, Jung’367], and thus the pouch is formed and a battery cell is mounted in a battery cell receiving part inside the pouch [0009, 0015, 0019, 0030-0033 Jung’367 discloses an apparatus which fixes a pouch sheet (insulating film) to a first and second jig and folds the pouch sheet thus forming a pouch with a battery cell mounted in a battery cell receiving part inside the pouch].
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/02/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See below for details.
Applicant alleges that the prior art does not disclose every element of the present invention.
As noted in prior and present office actions, when regarding apparatus claims, while features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function; “[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does.” Hewlett-Packard Co.v.Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990)., see MPEP 2114.
The structural features within Yoo contain the structure features of the applicant’s claimed invention. Applicant’s arguments pointing to a differences in the function of Yoon are not persuasive.
See the rejection of claim 1 above for further explanation as to how Yoo reads on the applicant’s claimed invention.
Applicant then argues that Larseon with the following:
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This is not persuasive as Larsen is not relied upon for these features. In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
Applicant’s arguments in regards to claims 4 and 7-8 are not persuasive as claim 1 is still rejection.
As such, the examiner maintains their rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20220029192 A1 teaches about the folding of a pouch battery and utilizing a first guide (21) being used to prevent the formation of bat ears. The examiner notes that the first guide (21) additionally reads on a “bending knife”.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to QUINTIN DALE ELLIOTT whose telephone number is (703)756-5423. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-6pm (MST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached on 5712705256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/QUINTIN D. ELLIOTT/Examiner, Art Unit 1724
/STEWART A FRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724
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