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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 4 and 10-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species B of a pouch-shaped battery cell group corresponding to the pair electrode leads of the battery cell being located to face the same direction, a nonelected battery module, and a nonelected method of manufacturing the pouch-shaped battery cell, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 14 April 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of species A of a pouch-shaped battery cell group corresponding to the pair electrode leads of the battery cell being located so as to face each other in the reply filed on 14 April 2026 is acknowledged.
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 is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al (US 2016/0064782 A1). This prior art reference cited as Lee hereinafter in this Office Action.
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a pouch-shaped battery cell (Fig. 5; “battery cell” [0073]) comprising:
an electrode assembly (“battery cell configured such that at least one electrode assembly of a structure having a cathode, an anode, and a separator interposed between the cathode and the anode is mounted in a battery case” [0022], “Referring to FIG. 1, a battery cell 100 includes two or more electrode assemblies 150 and 160” [0063]) having a pair of electrode tabs connected thereto (“The electrode assembly mounted in a receiving part of the battery case is not particularly restricted so long as the electrode assembly is configured to have a structure including a cathode formed by interconnecting a plurality of electrode tabs, an anode formed by interconnecting a plurality of electrode tabs, and a separator interposed between the cathode and the anode.” [0026], “electrode tabs 130 and 140 extending from the respective electrode assemblies 150 and 160” [0063]);
a case configured to receive the electrode assembly (“a battery case 170 covering outer surfaces of the electrode assemblies 150 and 160 including the electrode tabs 130 and 140” [0063]), the case having an upper case connected to a lower case (Fig. 4 shows that battery case 172 wraps around electrode assemblies 150 and 160 symmetrically such that either portion of battery case 172 disposed on the left and right side as shown in the figure reads on either the claimed upper case and lower case. For exemplary purposes, the portion of battery case 172 disposed on the left side of the battery cell shown is selected to correspond to the claimed lower case. “The battery case 172 is formed of a laminate sheet including a metal layer and a resin layer. The laminate sheet is thermally welded” [0069]), the lower case including a front plate, a rear plate, a bottom plate, and a pair of side plates (the claimed plates of relative positions indicated in the annotations of Figs. 4 and 5 below), the upper case being located at an upper part of the lower case (the portion of battery case 172 on the right side of the battery shown in Fig. 4 is located above the portion of the battery case on the left side of the battery shown); and
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a pair of electrode leads connected respectively to the pair of electrode tabs of the electrode assembly (“an electrode lead 110 welded to the electrode tabs 130 and 140,” [0063]), the pair of electrode leads being fixed to the case (in conjunction with the latter citation above, “battery case 170 covering outer surfaces of the electrode assemblies 150 and 160 including the electrode tabs 130 and 140” [0063]),
wherein each of the front plate, the rear plate, the bottom plate, and the upper case is made of a plastic material (“The battery case 172 is formed of a laminate sheet including a metal layer and a resin layer. The laminate sheet is thermally welded” [0069] with italics added for emphasis on the descriptor of the battery case that corresponds to the claimed plastic material), and each of the pair of side plates is made of a thermally conductive material (Fig. 5 in conjunction with “at least one side end 181 of a heat dissipation member 180 extends outward from a side of a battery case adjacent to ends of the battery case at which electrode terminals 112 and 114 are located” [0073] with italics added for emphasis on descriptors of an element of the corresponding side plates that is thermally conductive).
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses the pouch-shaped battery cell with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, and wherein one side of each of the electrode leads is located in the case (the side of the disclosed electrode lead that is “welded to the electrode tabs 130 and 140” [0063]), and the other side of each of the electrode leads protrudes outwards from the case (the side of 110 and 120 shown in Fig. 4 and 112 and 114 shown in Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses the pouch-shaped battery cell with all the features set forth in claim 2 above, and wherein the pair of electrode leads is located so as to face each other (110 and 120 in Fig. 4 and 112 and 114 in Fig. 5 are shown to face each other toward the center of the battery cell where the electrode assemblies are disposed).
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.
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 inventions 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.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US 2016/0064782 A1) in view of Cai et al (US 2023/0061023 A1). The latter prior art reference cited as Cai hereinafter in this Office Action.
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses the pouch-shaped battery cell with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, but does not disclose wherein the thermally conductive material comprises at least one of: aluminum, magnesium, zinc, or copper.
However, Cai discloses a pouch-shaped battery cell (12 Figs. 1 and 4; “battery cells 12” [0050]) comprising a case (“a main body 22” [0051]) made of at least a thermally conductive material (“heat dissipation tab 26 projects from one of the first side surfaces 32 of the main body 22” [0053]).
Cai teaches wherein the thermally conductive material comprises at least one of: aluminum, magnesium, zinc, or copper (“The heat dissipation tabs 26 are primarily or entirely made of metal (e.g., aluminum)” [0053]), and that the thermally conductive material increases the rate of heat dissipation from the pouch-shaped battery cell ([0053]) that decreases size and cost of the cooling system of the battery cell while satisfying cooling demands of a battery pack comprising the battery cell ([0048]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to replace the thermally conductive material of Lee, in view of Cai, with at least aluminum, in order to achieve a cooling system of the battery cell of decreased size and cost that meets increased cooling demands of battery packs.
Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses the pouch-shaped battery cell with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, but does not disclose wherein the plastic material comprises at least one of: polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and or polyvinyl chloride.
However, Cai discloses a pouch-shaped battery cell (12 Figs. 1 and 4; “battery cells 12” [0050]) comprising a case (“a main body 22” [0051]) made of at least a plastic material (“A method of making a battery cell according to the present disclosure includes forming a metal layer, forming a first plastic layer on one side of the metal layer, and forming a second plastic layer on the other side of the metal layer. The metal layer and the first and second plastic layers forming a tri-layer structure” [0013] and “The tri-layer structure 56 includes an inner plastic layer 62, an outer plastic layer 64, …” [0058]).
Cai teaches wherein the plastic material comprises at least one of: polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, or polyvinyl chloride (“The inner plastic layer 62 may be a polypropylene layer, the outer plastic layer 64 may be a layer made of nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)” [0058]), and that the plastic material is used to create a complete seal on an interior of the case of the battery cell by melting a portion of the case comprising the plastic material ([0059] and [0055]), attaching leads of the battery cell to be attached to the case ([0055]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to replace the plastic material of Lee, in view of Cai, with at least one of polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate, in order to achieve a means to completely seal the case of the battery cell by melting a portion of the plastic material that creates a further means to attaching the pair of leads of the battery cell to be attached to the case.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US 2016/0064782 A1) in view of Yang et al (US 2022/0320673 A1). The latter reference cited as Yang hereinafter in this Office Action.
Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses the pouch-shaped battery cell with all the features set forth in claim 1 above, but does not disclose wherein the case has a notch configured to be broken when a pressure in the case is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure or when a temperature in the case is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature.
However, Yang discloses a pouch-shaped battery cell (20 Figs. 2-4; “a battery cell 20” [0090]) comprising a case (“a housing 211, a cover plate 212” [0090] and “One wall of the battery cell 20, such as a first wall 21a shown in FIG. 4” [0094]).
Yang teaches wherein the case has a notch (“first wall 21a shown in FIG. 4, may be further provided with the pressure relief mechanism 213” [0094], and “the pressure relief mechanism 213 may be formed by disposing an indentation on the first wall 21 a” [0095] with italics added for emphasis on the descriptor that qualifies the disclosed pressure relief mechanism to correspond to the claimed notch) configured to be broken when a pressure in the case is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure or when a temperature in the case is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (“pressure relief mechanism 213 is configured to be actuated when an internal pressure or temperature of the battery cell 20 reaches a threshold, to relieve the internal pressure or temperature” [0094]).
Yang further teaches that the notch prevents the battery cell from exploding ([0095]) by relieving an internal pressure ([0149]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to add a notch to the case of Lee, in view of Yang, wherein the notch is configured to be broken when a pressure in the case is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure or when a temperature in the case is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, in order to achieve a means to prevent the battery cell of Lee from exploding by relieving an internal pressure of the battery cell.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHARLENE BERMUDEZ whose telephone number is (571)272-0610. The examiner can normally be reached Wednesdays generally from 8 AM to 5 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Allison Bourke can be reached at (303) 297-4684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CHARLENE BERMUDEZ/Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721
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