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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (i.e. Claims 1-2) in the reply filed on 01/23/26 is acknowledged. Accordingly, non-elected Claims 3-16 are withdrawn from consideration.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the bent side sealing part." There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim (while “a side sealing part bent on a side surface thereof,” is previously cited in Claim 1, said phrase does not explicitly provide anteceded basis for “the bent side sealing part”).
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Choi et al. (KR 20190057472, using the provided English machine translation for citation purposes).
Regarding Claim 1, Choi teaches a secondary battery module (“secondary battery assembly”) (Abstract, [0002]-[0003], [0020], [0040]-[0041]). As illustrated in Figure 1 (and the annotated Figure 1 below), the module comprises a pouch-shaped secondary battery having, at least at one end thereof, an electrode tab (14) (“electrode tab”) including a “tab sealing part” ([0023]). As illustrated in Figure 7 (and the first annotated Figure 7 below), the pouch-shaped secondary battery further comprises a “side sealing part” bent on a side surface thereof to a predetermined length (i.e. the total length of the bent side sealing part) ([0040]-[0041]). As illustrated in Figure 7 (and the first annotated Figure 7 below), the battery module further comprises a bending support member (221) (“venting delay device”) that includes a “protrusion” (i.e. wide support surface (223)) formed to be, at least in part, spaced apart from and face the side sealing part (it is noted that the bending support member is interpreted as a “venting delay device” insofar as said support member would, at least in part, delay venting of gas to the environment out from surfaces and/or the end of the side sealing part by physically blocking said venting of said gas and/or first routing said gas along the curved slot (222) prior to said venting) ([0040]-[0041]).
PNG
media_image1.png
427
635
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
578
821
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding Claim 2, Choi teaches the instantly claimed invention of Claim 1, as previously described.
As illustrated in Figure 7 (and the second annotated Figure 7 below), the bending support member is spaced apart from the side sealing part by a “height distance” (i.e. HD1, or alternatively, HD2) which is smaller than a bent length of the side sealing part. As illustrated in Figure 7 (and the third annotated Figure 7 below), the protrusion is formed such that there exists an “overlapping portion” where “a width of the protrusion” and “a bent width of the side sealing part,” which face each other, overlap in a vertical direction.
PNG
media_image3.png
533
646
media_image3.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image4.png
512
628
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW W VAN OUDENAREN whose telephone number is (571)270-7595. The examiner can normally be reached 7AM-3PM EST M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Martin can be reached at 5712707871. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MATTHEW W VAN OUDENAREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1728
Prosecution Insights