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 .
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 1-3, and 5-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jang et al. (US 20070154787 A1, “Jang”).
Regarding claim 1, Jang discloses a secondary battery (see abstract “secondary battery”) comprising: a jelly roll type (see [0015] “jelly roll”) electrode assembly having a first electrode, a second electrode, and a separator, wherein the first electrode, the second electrode, and the separator are wound together (see [0041] “jelly-role electrode assembly 210 obtained by winding the positive electrode plate 212, the negative electrode plate 214, and the separator 213” and role is a typo & see FIG. 2A), a battery case receiving the electrode assembly therein (see [0041] “cylinder-type can” which reads on battery case & see FIG. 1); and a swelling tape attached to an outer peripheral surface of the electrode assembly (see [0045] “the polymer material absorbs a solvent and swells” & “sealing tape 220 can be formed of a polymer material” & see FIG. 2A describes “220” is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the “electrode assembly 210” & see [0037]), wherein the first electrode comprises a first electrode current collector and a first active material layer having an electrode active material on the first electrode current collector (see [0038] “the positive electrode plate 212 includes a positive electrode collector, a positive electrode active material layer” & “the positive electrode collector is at least partially coated with the positive electrode active material layer”), wherein the first electrode current collector comprises an exposed portion exposed at the outer peripheral surface of the electrode assembly (see [0038] “the positive electrode plate 212” & “the positive electrode collector is at least partially coated with the positive electrode active material layer” & see FIG. 2A describes “212” comprises an exposed portion (annotated “e” in FIG. 2A) & see [0043]), and wherein the exposed portion directly contacts an inner surface of a side wall of the battery case (see FIG. 2A describes “212 positive electrode plate” & “220 sealing tape” & in annotated FIG. 2A describes the exposed portion annotated “e” near “212”; see [0037]; see [0041] describes “The sealing tape 220 is positioned between the outer circumference of the electrode assembly 210 and the internal surface of the cylinder-type can, not shown”; see [0014] “Another aspect of the current invention comprises the electrode assembly being closely attached to the can to prevent the welding part of an electrode tab from being damaged by the rotation and floating of the electrode assembly”).
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Regarding claim 2, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses further comprises an electrolyte solution inside of the battery case, wherein the swelling tape is expanded by absorbing the electrolyte solution (see [0045] “the sealing tape 220” & see [0047] “the sealing tape can be easily wetted by the electrolyte to absorb the electrolyte and to swell”; see [0041] “electrolyte injected into the bottom of the cylinder-type can contact the electrode assembly 210”).
Regarding claim 3, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses wherein: the swelling tape is attached to only part of the outer peripheral surface of the electrode assembly (see annotated FIG. 2A describes “220 sealing tape” is attached to only part of the outer peripheral surface of the electrode assembly & “212” & “electrode assembly 210”; see [0043] “the sealing tape 220 can be formed to have the length” & “smaller than the outer circumference of the electrode assembly 210”).
Regarding claim 5, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses wherein: the swelling tape extends along a height direction of the electrode assembly (see FIG. 2A describes “220 sealing tape” extends along a height direction of the electrode assembly 210).
Regarding claim 6, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses wherein: the swelling tape covers an outermost edge part of the exposed portion (see [0043] “when the sealing tape 220 is formed to wrap a part of the outer circumference, including the completing part 213a, the length of the sealing tape 220 can be formed to be smaller than the length of the circumference”; see FIG. 2A describes “213a” and “220” covers an outermost edge part of the exposed portion).
Regarding claim 7, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses wherein: the first electrode is an anode, and the first electrode current collector comprises at least one of copper (see [0041] “jelly-role electrode assembly 210 obtained by winding the positive electrode plate 212, the negative electrode plate 214, and the separator 213” & see FIG. 2A; see [0039] “negative electrode current collector, negative electrode active material layer”; see [0009] “negative electrode collector formed of a conductive thin metal plate, for example, a copper (Cu)”).
Regarding claim 8, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses wherein: the battery case is a cylindrical case (see [0041] “cylinder-type can” which reads on battery case & see FIG. 1).
Regarding claim 9, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses a device (see [0005] describes “portable wireless apparatuses”).
Regarding claim 10, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 7 and further discloses wherein: the first electrode includes a first electrode tab extending along a height direction of the electrode assembly, the first electrode tab contacting the battery case (see FIG. 2A describes “negative electrode tab 218” extends along a height direction of 210 electrode assembly & see FIG. 1 when assembled “118 negative electrode tab” would contact the battery case).
Regarding claim 11, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 10 and further discloses comprising a cap assembly located at an end of the battery case opposite an end where the first electrode tab contacts the battery case (see FIG. 1 describes a cap assembly (“cap assembly 150”) located at an end of the battery case opposite an end where the first electrode tab contacts the battery case).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 20070154787 A1, “Jang”).
Regarding claim 4, Jang discloses the secondary battery of claim 1 and further discloses wherein: the swelling tape wraps the outer peripheral surface of the electrode assembly (see [0043] “sealing tape 220 can be formed to have the length equal to or smaller than the outer circumference of the electrode assembly 210” & “when the sealing tape 220 is formed to wrap a part of the outer circumference, including the completing part 213a, the length of the sealing tape 220 can be formed to be smaller than the length of the circumference” & see [0060] describes “the sealing tape 520 is generally formed to occupy at least 30% of the entire area of the outer circumference” which reads on 0.3 times or more).
Jang discloses a range of at least 30% which overlaps with the claimed range of 0.3 times or more. MPEP 2144.05 I states that 'In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)'.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding Applicant’s arguments on P6 that “applicant respectfully submits that the applied art fails to disclose or render obvious the subject matter of claim 1” & on P7 “Applicant has reviewed these passages, and they discuss the separator and not an exposed portion of the first electrode”.
Jang discloses wherein the exposed portion directly contacts an inner surface of a side wall of the battery case (see FIG. 2A describes “212 positive electrode plate” & “220 sealing tape” & in annotated FIG. 2A describes the exposed portion annotated “e” near “212”; see [0037]; see [0041] describes “The sealing tape 220 is positioned between the outer circumference of the electrode assembly 210 and the internal surface of the cylinder-type can, not shown”). Jang discloses the electrode assembly is attached to the can (see [0014] “Another aspect of the current invention comprises the electrode assembly being closely attached to the can to prevent the welding part of an electrode tab from being damaged by the rotation and floating of the electrode assembly”). Jang discloses “sealing tape 220” in FIG. 2A & see [0045] “the polymer material absorbs a solvent and swells” & “sealing tape 220 can be formed of a polymer material” & see FIG. 2A describes “220” is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the “electrode assembly 210”.
It would have been obvious to a skilled artisan that the exposed portion contacts the side wall of the can during swelling because Jang discloses in [0055] the material can be polyethylene (PE) and does not swell easily & in [0056] “when the thickness of the coating layer 422 is less than 1 µm, the coating layer 422 is unable to swell sufficiently to secure the electrode assembly 410 in the cylinder-type can”. Jang discloses in [0057] “It is possible to easily control the degree of swelling in accordance with the specifications of the electrode assembly 410 and the cylinder-type can when the coating layer 422 is formed of the adhesive component because it is easy to manufacture a tape in which adhesive components vary in thickness”; see [0058] “In the sealing tape 420, the coating layer 422 is formed on the external or internal surface of the material 421 and absorbs the electrolyte molecules so as to swell and prevent the electrode assembly 410 from floating”; see [0014] “Another aspect of the current invention comprises the electrode assembly being closely attached to the can to prevent the welding part of an electrode tab from being damaged by the rotation and floating of the electrode assembly.”
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH APPLEGATE whose telephone number is (571)270-0370. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at (571) 270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.A.A./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/JAMES M ERWIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725 04/30/2026
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