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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 11/05/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 10/16/2025 does not place the application in condition for allowance.
In view of the amendment to the claims, the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 of claims 1-8 has been withdrawn.
New analysis follows.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-8 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et. al. (KR20200007559A, cited in IDS dated 11/16/22, reference made to English translation) in view of Shimizu (US20200381683A1).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Hwang discloses A rechargeable battery comprising:
a first case (i.e. housing cup 100) accommodating an electrode assembly (400) and having a first opening (¶[0017], Fig. 2);
a second case (i.e. housing cover 200) having a second opening smaller than the first opening, the second case covering the electrode assembly and an outer surface of the second case being coupled to an inner surface of the first case with the outer surface while covering the electrode assembly (Fig. 2);
an insulating material (i.e. insulating member 300) interposed between the first case and the second case (Fig. 2, ¶[0017]) to form an electrically insulating state (see insulating member prevents short circuits ¶[0038]); but does not disclose a plurality of protruded parts protruded from the outer surface of the second case; and a plurality of accommodating parts formed in the first case and coupled to the plurality of protruded parts, wherein the first case and the second case are coupled together to form a closed state in which the plurality of protruded parts extend into to the plurality of accommodating parts.
Shimizu, related to assembled batteries, teaches a plurality of protruding parts (i.e. snap fits 41) protruding from the outer surface of a first case (i.e. lid 4) (¶[0034], Fig. 2) and corresponding plurality of accommodating parts (i.e. holes 32) formed in a second case (i.e. upper case 3) wherein the first case and the second case are coupled together to form a closed state in which the plurality of protruded parts extend into to the plurality of accommodating parts thereby causing the first case and second case to be securely coupled and fixed together(¶[0034], Fig. 2).
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized adding the snap fits and holes of Shimizu to the first case and second case of Hwang would securely couple and fix the cases together.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have added the snap fit and holes of Shimizu to the cases of Hwang to have securely fixed the cases together.
Regarding claim 2, modified Hwang discloses the rechargeable battery of claim 1, and Hwang further discloses wherein
the electrode assembly includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a separator disposed there between (¶[0047], Fig. 2), and
the first case is connected to the first electrode by a first electrode tab (¶[0060], Fig. 2), and
the second case is connected to the second electrode with a second electrode tab (¶[0068], Fig. 2).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, modified Hwang discloses the rechargeable battery of claim 1, and Hwang further discloses wherein the insulating material is interposed between the first case and the second case and as discussed in the rejection of claim 1, the plurality of protruded parts and the plurality of accommodating part are part of the first and second case such that the insulating material would also be between the protruded part and accommodating part and the insulating member has a sealing property to close off the space between the first and second case (¶[0022]).
Regarding claim 6 modified Hwang discloses the rechargeable battery of claim 5, and Shimizu further teaches each of the plurality of protruded parts, when viewed in a longitudinal cross-section, has quadrangle shape and has a convex shape that is coupled to the accommodating part (see shape of snap fits 41 in Fig. 2). Furthermore, the change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design. See In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
Regarding claim 7 modified Hwang discloses the rechargeable battery of claim 3, and Hwang further discloses the insulating material is interposed between the inner bottom of the first case and the end of the second case, as seen in Fig. 2, where insulating member 300 wraps around the bottom of housing cover 200, providing further electrically insulated openings.
Regarding claim 8, modified Hwang discloses the rechargeable battery of claim 1, wherein Shimizu further teaches the plurality of accommodating and protruding parts are disposed at an equal interval along the circumferential direction of the first and second case respectively ( see symmetrical placement in Fig. 2).
Conclusion
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/K.J.A./Examiner, Art Unit 1726 /RYAN S CANNON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726