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 .
The Applicant has amended independent claims 1, 11, 14, and dependent claims 3-5; canceled claims 6, 7, 13. The pending claims are claims 1-5, 8-12, and 14.
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 9-12,14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tadashi et al., JP 2008066048.
Regarding claim 1, Tadashi et al., teaches a power storage device (0006-0010) comprising: a first electrode (0018-0021) having an elongated sheet (strip-shaped; 0016; 0025) first current collector (0018-0022), and a first active material layer carried on the first current collector (0016; 0025; 0035), an elongated sheet (strip-shaped) second electrode (0016; 0025; 0035), a separator interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode (0016; 0023), a non-aqueous electrolyte (0021), and a first current collecting portion electrically connected to the first current collector (terminal portions) (0015; 0023-0027), wherein the first electrode (0016; 0023; 0025), the second electrode (0016; 0023; 0025), and the separator (0016; 0023; 0025) form a columnar wound body (0016; 0023), one end portion along a longitudinal direction of the first current collector is a first exposed portion not having the first active material layer (0016) and projected from one end face of the wound body (0028), the first current collecting portion has a porous metal portion (0016; 0025; 0035), and one or more projected portions (0027) that are pressed into the porous metal portion (0016), and the porous metal portion abuts on the first exposed portion (0016; 0025; 0035); at least one projected portion of the one or more projected portions (0007-0008; 0027; 0029) has a distal end of a hook (burr-like protrusions) (0018; 0022) and the first exposed portion (0025; 0031) is folded (“crimped”; 0020) at least once (0016; 0023; 0025) (Tadashi teaches: “during manufacturing, the pressing force acting on the sealing body when the opening edge of the battery case is crimped inward can be used to press the current collectors on the positive and negative sides against the respective strip-shaped connecting portions of the positive and negative electrode plates using the restoring force associated with compression.” (0020; 0033).
Regarding claim 2, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the porous metal portion (0016) is an aggregate of a plurality of metal particles (metal powder) (0009).
Regarding claim 3, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the first current collecting portion (0016-0019) includes a first current collecting plate (0016-0023), and the projected portion (protrusions; projections) is projected from the first current collecting plate (0018; 0022; 0027).
Regarding claim 4, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the projected portion has a through hole (0027; 0029) penetrating the first current collecting plate (0027; 0029).
Regarding claim 5, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the projected portion (0027; 0029) is projected from a bottom portion of a bottomed case (0016; 0029; 0031) accommodating the first electrode, the second electrode, the separator, and the non-aqueous electrolyte (0021; 0023; 0028).
Regarding claim 9, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the porous metal portion (0027; 0029) is formed intermittently in a winding direction (0027) of the first exposed portion (0025; 0031).
Regarding claim 10, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein a plurality of portions of the porous metal portion (0016-0020); are arranged in the winding direction (0025; 0031) with a space interposed therebetween and at the end face of the wound body (0024), some of the plurality of portions are arranged to overlap with each other (0022) in a radial direction of the wound body (0016; 0023).
Regarding claim 11, Tadashi et al., teaches a method for producing a power storage device (alkaline storage batteries) (0026), the method comprising the steps of: preparing a first electrode (0016) having an elongated sheet first current collector (strip-shaped; 0016; 0025) and a first active material layer carried on the first current collector (0016-0020), wherein one end portion along the longitudinal direction of the first current collector is a first exposed portion not having the first active material layer (0016; 0020; 0023), preparing an elongated sheet second electrode (strip-shaped; 0016; 0025), preparing a separator to be interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode (0016; 0023) forming a columnar wound body (0016; 0023) from the first electrode, the second electrode, and the separator (0016; 0023) such that the first exposed portion is projected from one end face of the wound body (0022; 0027), applying an electrically conductive paste (0021-0022; 0031-0037) including metal particles (metal powder) (0009) to the first exposed portion, solidifying or curing the electrically conductive paste (0021-0022; 0031-0037) to form a porous metal portion (0017; 0019-0020) filling a gap of the first exposed portion (0029; 0031), and pressing one or more projected portions (0016) into the porous metal portion (0020) to form a first current collecting portion (0027-0028); wherein before electrically conductive paste (0021-0022) is applied to the one end portion of the first electrode, the one end portion is folded at least once folded (“crimped”; 0020) at least once (0016; 0023; 0025) (Tadashi teaches: “during manufacturing, the pressing force acting on the sealing body when the opening edge of the battery case is crimped inward can be used to press the current collectors on the positive and negative sides against the respective strip-shaped connecting portions of the positive and negative electrode plates using the restoring force associated with compression.” (0020; 0033)., and at least one projected portion of the one or more projected portions (0007-0008; 0027; 0029) has a distal end of a hook (burr-like protrusions) (0018; 0022).
Regarding claim 12, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the step of applying the electrically conductive paste (0021-0022; 0031-0037) to the first exposed portion includes while applying the electrically conductive paste to the one end portion of the first electrode before being wound (0016; 0023), the first electrode and the second electrode are wound with the separator interposed therebetween (0016; 0023; 0025).
Regarding claim 14, Tadashi et al., teaches wherein the step of applying the electrically conductive paste (0021-0022; 0031-0037) to the first exposed portion includes preparing a first current collecting plate (0016-0022) from which the projected portion is projected (0027), applying the electrically conductive paste to a face of the first current collecting plate from which the projected portion is projected to form a coating (0021-0022; 0031-0037), and disposing the first current collecting plate to the one end face of the wound body with the coating interposed therebetween (0016; 0023; 0025; 0031).
Thus, the claims are anticipated.
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(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tadashi et al., JP 2008066048, in view of Liang et al., WO 2020073887 .
Regarding claim 8, Tadashi et al., does not teach wherein at least a portion of the first exposed portion is finely split by a plurality of slits extending in a transverse direction of the first current collector.
Liang et al., teaches at least a portion of the first exposed portion is finely split by a plurality of slits (“grooves”) (0114; Fig. 21) extending in a transverse direction of the first current collector (Fig. 21).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to insert the teachings of Liang into the teachings of Tadashi, because Liang teaches a “strip-shaped groove” (0007), which has beneficial effects, such as the “strip groove can effectively release the force on the first conductive layer, reduce stress concentration, effectively reduce the risk of the first conductive layer falling off the surface of the insulating substrate, and ensure the performance of the electrode component.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/18/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues that “the Applicant respectfully submits that Tadashi does not expressly or inherently describe at least, for example, the features of "at least one projected portion of the one or more projected portions has a distal end of a hook, and the first exposed portion is folded at least once," as recited in amended independent claim 1.”
However, at least one projected portion of the one or more projected portions (0007-0008; 0027; 0029) has a distal end of a hook (burr-like protrusions) (0018; 0022) and the first exposed portion (0025; 0031) is folded (“crimped”; 0020) at least once (0016; 0023; 0025) (Tadashi teaches: “during manufacturing, the pressing force acting on the sealing body when the opening edge of the battery case is crimped inward can be used to press the current collectors on the positive and negative sides against the respective strip-shaped connecting portions of the positive and negative electrode plates using the restoring force associated with compression.” (0020; 0033).
Conclusion
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727