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 .
Response to Amendment
Arguments have been entered. Arguments do overcome the rejection as previously set forth in final office action mailed 09/05/2025. New grounds of rejection are outlined below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by (CN-107579174-A) hereinafter referred to as ‘Hu’
Regarding Claim 1,
Hu teaches a battery core assembly (Hu, “The invention relates to the field of lithium ion batteries, in particular to an ultra-long cycle life high energy density”, pg. 1), comprising an encapsulation film and an electrode core assembly, wherein the electrode core assembly is arranged in an accommodating cavity defined by the encapsulation film (Hu, battery top seal area, 20, Fig. 2) and the electrode core assembly comprises at least one electrode core; and the electrode core assembly comprises a first electrode lead-out member and a second electrode lead-out member for current output (see annotated figure below),
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and a cap is arranged in the accommodating cavity at a first end portion of the electrode core assembly (Hu, tab protections spacer, 40, Fig. 3) the first end portion of the electrode core assembly has the first electrode lead-out member, and the cap comprises an electrode lead-out hole penetrating, wherein the electrode lead out hole penetrates through the cap, and the first electrode lead-out member passes through the electrode lead-out hole arranged on the cap (see annotated figure below).
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Regarding Claim 2,
Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 1, wherein an electrolyte solution is disposed in the accommodating cavity; the cap comprises a first liquid reservoir, and the first liquid reservoir is a recess recessed from an outer surface of the cap to an interior of the cap; and the first liquid reservoir communicates with the accommodating cavity (Hu, reservoir cavity 42, Fig. 4) (Hu, “Wherein, the tab protection spacer 40 is provided with one or more cavities 42 for liquid storage, and one or more reinforcing sheets 44 are disposed therein”, see pg. 2) .
Regarding Claim 3,
Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 2, wherein the cap and the encapsulation film are coupled to allow the first liquid reservoir to communicate with the accommodating cavity (Hu, “The volume of the liquid storage cavity 42 accounts for 20 to 95% of the outer volume of the ear protection spacer 40, and the cavity cannot be closed, and the opening faces the battery main body to ensure normal inflow and outflow of the electrolyte.”, see pg.2)
Regarding Claim 4,
Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 2, wherein the first liquid reservoir comprises a plurality of reinforcing ribs to divide the first liquid reservoir into a plurality of liquid storage units (Hu, reinforcing sheets, 44, Fig. 4)
Regarding Claim 5,
Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 2, wherein a length of the at least one electrode core extends along a first direction, and a thickness of the at least one electrode core extends along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the cap comprises a plurality of first liquid reservoirs including the first liquid reservoir, and the plurality of first liquid reservoirs are arranged along the second direction (see annotated figure below).
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Regarding Claim 24,
Hu teaches a battery, comprising a casing (Hu, “The invention relates to the field of lithium ion batteries, in particular to an ultra-long cycle life high energy density”, pg. 1), and at least one battery core assembly encapsulated in the casing, wherein the at least one battery core assembly comprises an encapsulation film (Hu, battery top seal area, 20, Fig. 2) and an electrode core assembly, and wherein the electrode core assembly is arranged in an accommodating cavity defined by the encapsulation film, and the electrode core assembly comprises at least one electrode core; and the electrode core assembly comprises a first electrode lead-out member and a second electrode lead-out member for current output (see annotated figure below),
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, and a cap is arranged in the accommodating cavity at a first end portion of the electrode core assembly (Hu, tab protections spacer, Fig. 3), the first end portion of the electrode core assembly having the first electrode lead-out member, and the cap comprises an electrode lead-out hole penetratingarranged on the cap (see annotated figure below).
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (CN-107579174-A) hereinafter referred to as ‘Hu’
Regarding Claim 25,
Hu does not teach a battery pack, comprising a plurality of batteries, wherein each of the plurality of batteries comprises the battery.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery as taught in Hu to have multiple parts as an obvious duplication of parts to increase capacity (see MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B)).
Claims 6-8 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (CN-107579174-A) hereinafter referred to as ‘Hu’ in view of (US-20210036295-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Park.’
Regarding Claim 6,
Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 1, wherein the electrode core assembly comprises an electrode core assembly body and two electrode lead-out members electrically connected to the electrode core assembly body, and a length of the electrode core assembly body extends along a first direction (see annotated figure below);
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Hu does not teach the two electrode lead-out members are respectively led out from two opposite end portions of the electrode core assembly body in the first direction; and the battery core assembly comprises two caps including the cap, and the two caps are respectively arranged at the two opposite end portions of the electrode core assembly body in the first direction.
Park teaches the two electrode lead-out members are respectively led out from two opposite end portions of the electrode core assembly body in the first direction; and the battery core assembly comprises two caps including the cap, and the two caps are respectively arranged at the two opposite end portions of the electrode core assembly body in the first direction. (Park, “Also, such a pouch type battery cell may be a bidirectional drawn-out battery cell in which a pair of electrode leads 11 including an electrode lead of a first polarity and an electrode lead of a second polarity are drawn-out in opposite directions”, see [0049]).
Park teaches that this method arrangement reduces components and defects (Park, “According to an aspect of the present disclosure, since there is no application of an additional component, manufacturing of a battery module and battery pack is simplified and a defect rate is reduced.”, see [0030]).
Hu and Park are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery arrangements.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tab arrangement as taught in Hu to have the tab arrangement as taught in Park in order to simplify the assembly process and reduce the risk of contact between tabs with opposite polarity.
Regarding Claim 7,
Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 6, wherein a length of the at least one electrode core extends along the first direction, and a thickness of the at least one electrode core extends along and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (see annotated figure below).
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Hu does not teach a battery pack, and the electrode core assembly body comprises at least two electrode cores including the at least one electrode core,
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery as taught in Hu to have multiple parts as an obvious duplication of parts to increase capacity (see MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B)).
Regarding Claim 8,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 7, wherein two adjacent electrode cores of the at least two electrode cores are connected in parallel (Park, “Furthermore, the battery module may have parallel and/or serial electric connection between the battery cells,”, see [0004]), each of the at least two electrode cores comprises an electrode core body and two tabs, and the two tabs have opposite polarities and are electrically connected to the electrode core body, wherein the two tabs are respectively arranged at two opposite ends of the electrode core body in the first direction, and two adjacent tabs having a same polarity respectively of the two adjacent electrode cores are located on a same end of the electrode core body, and the two adjacent tabs are electrically connected (Park, “electrode leads 11 including an electrode lead of a first polarity and an electrode lead of a second polarity are drawn-out in opposite directions”, see [0049]).
Regarding Claim 26,
Modified Hu teaches a battery comprising a casing, and at least one battery core assembly encapsulated in the casing (Hu, “The invention relates to the field of lithium ion batteries, in particular to an ultra-long cycle life high energy density”, pg. 1), wherein the at least one battery core assembly comprises an encapsulation film and an electrode core assembly, and wherein the electrode core assembly is arranged in an accommodating cavity defined by the encapsulation film (Hu, battery top seal area, 20, Fig. 2), and the electrode core assembly comprises at least one electrode core; and the electrode core assembly comprises a first electrode lead-out member and a second electrode lead-out member for current output, and a cap is arranged in the accommodating cavity at a first end portion of the electrode core assembly (Hu, tab protections spacer, 40, Fig. 3), the first end portion of the electrode core assembly having the first electrode lead-out member, and the cap comprises an electrode lead-out hole penetrating (see annotated figure below).
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Hu does not teach a vehicle.
Park teaches the secondary battery as the part of a vehicle (Park, “Secondary batteries are widely used not only for small apparatuses, such as portable electronic devices, but also for medium and large apparatuses, such as vehicles and power storage apparatuses”, see [0003]).
Park teaches that vehicles are a common use for batteries can be used for EV vehicles (Park, “Preferably, the vehicle 200 may be an EV. The battery pack 100 may be used as an electric energy source driving the vehicle 200 by providing driving power to a motor of the EV.”, see [0102]).
Hu and Park are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery arrangements.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tab arrangement as taught in Hu to have the vehicle application as taught in Park in order to provide power to the drive motor of an EV.
Claims 9-21 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (CN-107579174-A) hereinafter referred to as ‘Hu’ in view of (US-20210036295-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Park’ in further view of (CN-108448041-B) hereinafter referred to as ‘Chang’
Regarding Claim 9,
Hu does not teach wherein the electrode core assembly body further comprises a tab support located on the end portions of the electrode core assembly body , and the tab support is electrically connected to and is disposed between the two adjacent tabs; and the first electrode lead-out member is electrically connected to the tab support.
Chang teaches wherein the electrode core assembly body further comprises a tab support located on the end portions of the electrode core assembly body (Chang, positive pole and negative pole, 202 and 203, Fig. 4) , and the tab support is electrically connected to and is disposed between the two adjacent tabs; and the first electrode lead-out member is electrically connected to the tab support (Chang, “when the battery unit 1 is electrically connected, the two positive tabs 112 and the negative tabs 11 of the two cells 103 in the fixed frame 102 are respectively arranged on both sides of the corresponding positive pole 203 and the negative pole 202”, see pg. 4).
Chang teaches that the support helps achieve parallel and series connections in the cell’s assembly (Chang, “four positive poles 203 and four negative poles 202 to realize parallel and series connection of the cells in the module. In other embodiments, the busbar can be electrically connected to different numbers of poles to form battery modules in different series and parallel forms.”, pg. 4).
Hu and Chang are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery assembly.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the cell arrangement as taught in Hu with the cell support as taught in Chang in order to allow for the cells to be arranged in series or in parallel.
Regarding Claim 10,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 9, wherein the tab support is connected to the first electrode lead-out member and a corresponding tab on different surfaces of the tab support (Chang, “ parallel to the sides of the positive pole 203 and the negative pole 202. The positive pole 203 and the negative pole 202 maintain a flat and vertical initial state, and the tabs are welded to the side walls of the poles by a laser beam to achieve surface contact and electrical connection between the tabs and the poles, wherein the positive tabs 112 are welded to the positive pole 203, and the negative tabs 111 are welded to the negative pole 202”, see pg. 4).
Regarding Claim 11,
Modified Hu the battery core assembly according to claim 9, wherein the tab support comprises two first surfaces opposite to each other, and the two adjacent tabs are respectively attached to the two first surfaces of the tab support .
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Regarding Claim 12,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 11, support comprises the two first surfaces, a third surface and a fourth surface located between the two first surfaces, and the third surface faces the electrode core body; and the tab support is connected to the first electrode lead-out member through the fourth surface, wherein the tab support is a square piece (see annotated figure below)
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Regarding Claim 13,
Modified Hu teaches The battery core assembly according to claim 9, wherein the tab support has a hollow cavity (see annotated figure below)
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Regarding Claim 14,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 13, wherein the hollow cavity has an opening on at least one cavity wall (see annotated figure above)
Hu does not teach wherein the and the hollow cavity forms a second liquid reservoir.
Hu teaches that cavities for liquid storage can benefit the battery through increasing electrolyte retention (Hu, “The invention protects the spacer 40 by the built-in ear protection with the liquid storage function, and increases the electrolyte retention without affecting the volumetric energy density of the battery.”, see pg.2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tab support in Modified Hu as a liquid reservoir to furth increase electrolyte retention without affecting energy density.
Regarding Claim 15,
Modified Hu the battery core assembly according to claim 11, wherein the tab support is a U-shaped piece having an opening, the U-shaped piece comprises two opposite side walls and a bottom wall between the two opposite side walls, and outer surfaces of the two opposite side walls are the two first surfaces respectively (Chang, “The positive pole 203 and the negative pole 202 are U-shaped sheet metal plates made of the same metal material.”, see pg. 4).
Regarding Claim 16,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 15, wherein the opening of the U-shaped piece faces the electrode core body, and the tab support electrically connected to the first electrode lead-out member through the bottom wall (see annotated figure below).
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Regarding Claim 17,
Modified Hu the battery core assembly according to claim 15, wherein the opening of the U-shaped piece faces the cap, and the tab support electrically connected to the first electrode lead-out member through one of the side walls (see annotated figure below)
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Regarding Claim 18,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 15, wherein the opening of the U-shaped piece communicates with the electrode lead-out hole on the cap (Chang, “positive pole 203, and the positive pole ear 112 and the positive pole 203, and the negative pole ear 111 and the negative pole 202 are welded by a laser beam to form a metallurgical bond.”, see pg. 3) and an cavity in the U-shaped piece forms a second liquid reservoir.
Modified Hu does not teach wherein the and the hollow cavity forms a second liquid reservoir.
Hu teaches that cavities for liquid storage can benefit the battery through increasing electrolyte retention (Hu, “The invention protects the spacer 40 by the built-in ear protection with the liquid storage function, and increases the electrolyte retention without affecting the volumetric energy density of the battery.”, see pg.2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the tab support in Modified Hu as a liquid reservoir to furth increase electrolyte retention without affecting energy density.
Regarding Claim 19,
Modified Hu teaches assembly according to claim 9, wherein an insulating spacer is disposed between the tab support and the electrode core body (Hu, “glue 30 is attached on both sides, so that the spacer is integrated with the battery to improve production efficiency and quality reliability.”, pg. 3).
Regarding Claim 20,
Modified Hu the battery core assembly according to claim 19, wherein each of two opposite ends of the electrode core body in the first direction has a V-shaped end in a cross-sectional view with a tip protruding outward, the two tabs of each of the at least two electrode cores are respectively located at tips of the two V-shaped ends, and V-shaped ends of two adjacent electrode core bodies at a same end form a V-shaped space; and the insulating spacer has a shape matching the V-shaped space (Chang, “ The pole support 201 has a V-shaped protrusion 209 at the bottom. When the pole assembly 2 is installed on the fixed frame 102, the V-shaped protrusion 209 separates the two positive pole ears 112 on both sides of the positive pole 203, and the two negative pole ears 111 on both sides of the negative pole 202.”, see pg. 4)
Regarding Claim 21,
Modified Hu teaches The battery core assembly according to claim 20, wherein an angle of the V-shaped space is 90-150 degrees (Park, see Fig. 9) (Park, “The first bent portion B1 and the second bent portion B2 are bent in opposite directions, and bending angles θ are the same in the range of about 30° to about 50°”, see [0064]) (The examiner notes that the bending angle is 30-50 degrees relative to the vertical direction, but when considered relative to the horizontal it is 90+30 to 90+50, which is 120-140 degrees).
Regarding Claim 23,
Modified Hu teaches the battery core assembly according to claim 6, wherein the cap has an accommodating space on a side of the cap facing the electrode core assembly body (Hu, liquid storage cavity, 42, see fig. 4)
Claim 22 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (CN-107579174-A) hereinafter referred to as ‘Hu’ in view of (US-20210036295-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Park’ in further view of (CN-108448041-B) hereinafter referred to as ‘Chang’ in further view of (US-20170125769-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Yang’
Regarding Claim 22,
Modified Hu does not teach the battery core assembly according to claim 19, wherein the insulating spacer is fixed to the tab support by a snap mechanism
Yang teaches wherein the insulating spacer is fixed to the tab support by a snap mechanism (Yang, “With the snap teeth mentioned above, the battery spacer may be stably fixed with the insulating member, thus further improving the stability of the position of the electric cores.”, see [0019])
Yang teaches that this stabilizes the electrodes (Yang, “With the snap teeth mentioned above, the battery spacer may be stably fixed with the insulating member, thus further improving the stability of the position of the electric cores.”, see [0019]).
Modified Park and Yang are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery arrangements and caps.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the cell arrangement as taught in Hu with the snap mechanism as taught in Chang in order to stabilize the electrodes.
Response to Arguments
Arguments filed on have been entered. Arguments are fully considered.
On pg. 9, The applicant argues:
“Accordingly, Park fails to disclose the claimed "cap" and therefore cannot possibly teach that "the cap comprises an electrode lead-out hole penetrating through the cap, and the first electrode lead-out member passes through the electrode lead-out hole arranged on the cap," as recited in amended claim 1.”
This is partially convincing. In order to make the rejection clearer, the examiner has introduced ‘Hu’, which teaches both the cap and the tabs through the cap. Therefore, the rejection is more clear.
Ong pg. 10, The applicant argues:
“Since the alleged "electrode lead-out hole" of Yang's cap is closed-ended, there is clearly no motivation or suggestion to combine Park and Yang to arrive the claimed structure in which "the cap comprises an electrode lead-out hole penetrating through the cap, and the first electrode lead-out member passes through the electrode lead-out hole arranged on the cap", as recited in amended claim 1.”
This is partially convincing. In order to make the rejection clearer, the examiner has introduced ‘Hu’, which teaches both the cap and the tabs through the cap. Therefore, it is clear that even if there is not obvious motivation to combine Park and Yang, Hu anticipates the scope of the independent claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAMUS PATRICK MCNULTY whose telephone number is (703)756-1909. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 8:00am to 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas A. Smith can be reached at (571) 272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752