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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 5/22/2026 has been entered.
Claims 1-4 and 7-18 are pending.
Claim Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because “a cover plate body” in lines 1 and 2 should be changed to “the cover plate body”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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 invention(s) 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 1-4, 7, 13, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2019-061949 to Matsuura et al. (machine translation previously provided for citation), in view of US 2022/0328938 to Chen et al. and US 2013/0177803 to Kugino et al.
Regarding claim 1, the instant claim contains process limitations reciting “the electrode leads form the tab through ultrasonic welding, and the tab is laser welded to the base plate, the tab has an ultrasonic welding region and a laser welding region, wherein the laser welding region is located in the ultrasonic welding region, and the laser welding region is in contact with the ultrasonic welding region”, which make the claim a product-by-process claim. Only the structure implied by the process limitations carries patentable weight. In this case, a welding region joins the electrode leads to form the tab and another welding region connects the tab to the base plate, the latter located inside and in contact with the former.
Matsuura et al. teaches a battery, comprising:
a cell, comprising a tab or tab group 18 (Figs. 1 and 2; [0029]);
a casing or case 11, comprising an opening 13, wherein the cell is accommodated in the casing;
a cover plate assembly including a rectangular flat plate-shaped cover 14, covering the opening (Figs. 1 and 2; [0025]); and
a terminal 15, fixed onto the cover plate assembly 14 and comprising a terminal body penetrating the cover plate assembly and a base plate or conductive member 17 connected to a surface of the cover plate assembly facing an inside of the casing, wherein the tab group 18 is welded to the conductive member 17 (Figs. 1 and 2; [0026]; [0029-31]; [0033]),
wherein the cell comprises at least one single cell, the at least one single cell has a plurality of electrode leads, and the electrode leads are overlapped and welded to form the tab or tab group 18 (Figs. 1 and 2; [0029]), and
the tab group 18 is formed via outer welded portion 31 and the tab group 18 is welded to a conductive member 17 of terminal 15 via inner welded portion 32 formed inside a region defined by the outer welded portion 31 (Figs. 2-3; [0026]; [0029-31]; [0033]).
Matsuura et al. does not expressly teach that the welding regions are in contact as claimed.
Chen et al. also relates to a battery and teaches that the battery comprises a cell having a plurality of foils in a stack joined by ultrasonic welding to define a joining region 30 and a weld joint 40 is generated by laser welding within and encompassed by the joining region 30 to connect the stack of foils to a tab (Figs. 1 and 2; [0053]; [0054]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the welding regions of Matsuura et al. so that they contact each other as demonstrated by Chen et al. because Chen et al. teaches that by providing a weld joint encompassed within the joining region, weld quality and strength of internal welds in a battery cell may be improved by reducing the occurrence of porosities and cracks in the foil/tab weld joints ([0008]). The skilled artisan would have obtained expected results using a known alternative weld structure in a similar product.
Further, Matsuura et al. teaches that the cover plate assembly comprises a cover plate body or the rectangular flat plate-shaped cover 14 (Fig. 1; [0026]), but does not expressly teach a seal ring sleeved on the terminal body, wherein a projection of the laser welding region along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate assembly does not overlap with the seal ring, at least a part of the seal ring is clamped between the base plate and the cover plate body, and a projection of the seal ring along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate body is entirely located within the base plate.
Kugino et al. also relates to a battery comprising a terminal 3 comprising a terminal body or threaded terminal portion 3A penetrating a cover plate assembly and a base plate including terminal body portion 3B connected to a surface of the cover plate assembly facing an inside of the casing, wherein the cover plate assembly comprises a cover plate body or lid 2 and a seal ring including annular elastic member 4 sleeved on the threaded terminal portion 3A, wherein at least a part of the seal ring 4 is clamped between the base plate and the cover plate body, and a projection of the seal ring 4 along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate body is entirely located within the base plate or terminal body portion 3B (Figs. 1-3; [0031-35]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included a seal ring between the base plate and the cover plate body of Matsuura et al., motivated by the fact that Kugino et al. teaches that the annular elastic member 4 made of an electrically insulating material provides insulation between the lid 2 and the electrode terminal 3 on the inside of the battery and the elastic member 4 is compressed to secure sealing performance and maintain the electrode terminal 3 assembly in the lid 2 ([0034]). The skilled artisan would have obtained expected results applying a known element to a similar product. Once incorporated into Matsuura et al., a projection of the laser welding region along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate assembly would not have overlapped with the seal ring in order to avoid damage to the seal ring during welding.
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Matsuura et al. teaches that the terminal body of terminal 15 is positioned off-centered on the conductive member 17 toward the outer edge of the cover 14 as seen in Fig. 1. This configuration corresponds to the claimed invention, where a projection of an axis of the terminal body on the base plate (the conductive member 17) is a point O; a straight line extending along a length direction of the cover plate assembly and passing through the point O is L, a projection of an edge of the base plate on the straight line L forms a line segment MN, a point M is a point on the base plate farthest from a center line along a width direction of the cover plate assembly, a point N is a point on the base plate closest to the center line, and a length of a line segment NO is longer than a length of a line segment MO.
Although Matsuura et al. does not expressly teach that a ratio of NO to MO is 1.5 to 4 per claim 2 or 2 to 3 per claim 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have arrived at the claimed invention because the projection of the terminal body of terminal 15 is positioned off-centered on the conductive member 17, which makes the NO to MO ratio greater than 1, overlapping with the claimed range. Further, the skilled artisan would have optimized the ratio of NO to MO in order to accommodate tab welding regions on the base plate and other structural elements between the two terminals.
Regarding claim 4, Matsuura et al. teaches that the terminal 15 is an integrally formed member (Fig. 1; [0025]).
Regarding claim 7, each of the electrode leads is stacked and welded to form the tab as demonstrated by Matsuura et al. and Chen et al. above, and a region formed by welding is the ultrasonic welding region; the projection of the axis of the terminal body on the base plate is the point O, a projection of a center of the tab welding region on the base plate is a point Q, and the point Q would have been closer to the center line of the cover plate assembly than the point O because point O of the terminal body of terminal 15 is off-centered on the conductive member 17 of Matsuura et al. toward an outer edge of the cover 14 as seen in Fig. 1, while the tab group 18 has a tab welding region closer to the center line of the cover plate assembly (Figs. 1 and 2; [0025]; [0026]; [0029-31]; [0033]).
Regarding claim 13, the tab welding region resulting from Matsuura et al. and Chen et al. would have been a strip-shaped tab welding region extending along the length direction of the cover plate assembly (Matsuura Figs. 1-3, 6, and 8; Chen Fig. 2); wherein a length of the tab welding region is a, and a distance between the point O and a projection point of the point Q on the center line would have been greater than or equal to 0.5a because the point O of the terminal body is farther from the center line than the entire tab welding region in Fig. 1 of Matsuura et al.
Regarding claim 17, Matsuura et al. teaches that the base plate or conductive member 17 is parallel to the cover plate assembly including the rectangular flat plate-shaped cover 14 (Fig. 1).
Claims 8-12, 14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuura et al., Chen et al., and Kugino et al. as applied to claim 7 above, in view of US 2019/0305288 to Jang et al.
Regarding claim 8, Matsuura et al. does not expressly teach that the point O and the point Q are not collinear along the length direction of the cover plate assembly.
Jang et al. also relates to a battery comprising a terminal, fixed onto a cover plate assembly including cap plate 40 (Figs. 1-3; [0033]) and comprising a terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522 penetrating the cover plate assembly and a base plate including a current collecting member 70 connected to a surface of the cover plate assembly facing an inside of the casing, wherein tab group G11, G12, G21, or G22 of a cell (Figs. 2-6; [0064]) is welded to the base plate to form a tab welding region (Figs. 1-3; [0033]; [0050-58]; [0061]; [0066]). When the projection of the axis of the terminal body on the base plate is the point O, a projection of a center of the tab welding region on the base plate is a point Q, Jang et al. teaches that the point O and the point Q are not collinear along the length direction of the cover plate assembly because the tab welding regions are formed on the sides of the terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522 when the tab groups G11, G12, G21, or G22 are welded to the current collecting member 70 (Figs. 5 and 6).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have arrived at the claimed invention, because Jang et al. demonstrates an alternative position of the tab welding region on the base plate, which results in a change in the relative position of point O and point Q and offers a possibility of combining two cells (Fig. 5, [0050]; [0063-66]), and the skilled artisan would have obtained expected results applying a known configuration to a similar product.
Regarding claim 9, Matsuura et al. does not expressly teach that the cell comprises two single cells, and the two single cells are disposed side by side along the width direction of the cover plate assembly; and tabs with a same polarity of the two single cells are welded to a same base plate.
Jang et al. also relates to a battery comprising a terminal, fixed onto a cover plate assembly including cap plate 40 (Figs. 1-3; [0033]) and comprising a terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522 penetrating the cover plate assembly and a base plate including a current collecting member 70 connected to a surface of the cover plate assembly facing an inside of the casing, wherein tab group G11, G12, G21, or G22 of a cell (Figs. 2-6; [0064]) is welded to the base plate to form a tab welding region (Figs. 1-3; [0033]; [0050-58]; [0061]; [0066]). Jang et al. teaches that the battery comprises two single cells and the two single cells are disposed side by side along the width direction of the cover plate assembly including cap plate 40 and tab groups G11, G12, G21, or G22 with a same polarity of the two single cells are welded to the same base plate including the current collecting member 70 of the terminal (Figs. 3-6; [0033]; [0050]; [0063-66]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have arrived at the claimed invention, because Jang et al. demonstrates a known configuration of a battery comprising two cells assembled with the terminals and the cover plate assembly. The skilled artisan would have obtained expected results applying a known configuration to a similar product.
Regarding claim 10, when the projection of the axis of the terminal body on the base plate is the point O, Jang et al. teaches that the two tabs welded to the same base plate are disposed on two sides of the point O along the width direction of the cover plate assembly (Figs. 5 and 6).
Regarding claim 11, Jang et al. teaches that a center line CL of the base plate or current collecting member 70 along the length direction of the cover plate assembly is a first center line, and the point O is located on the first center line or CL; a distance from any point on a boundary of the tab welding region close to the first center line to the first center line is greater than a radius of the terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522, because the tab groups G11, G12, G21, or G22 are welded to the side of the current collecting member 70, while the terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522, the same size as through-hole 713, is on the center line CL in Fig. 6.
Regarding claim 12, a center line along the length direction of the cover plate assembly is a second center line, and the first center line coincides with the second center line; the two tab welding regions are symmetrically disposed with the point O as a center of symmetry, as the tab groups G11, G12, G21, or G22 of Jang et al. are on the sides of the current collecting member 70, while the terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522, the same size as through-hole 713, is on the center line CL as seen in Fig. 6.
Regarding claim 14, each of the electrode leads is stacked and welded to form the tab as demonstrated by Matsuura et al. and Chen et al. above, and a region formed by welding is the ultrasonic welding region (Matsuura Figs. 1-3; [0029]; [0026]; [0029-31]; [0033]), but the prior arts do not expressly teach that the base plate is provided with a hollow portion, and the hollow portion is disposed avoiding the tab welding region and the terminal body.
Jang et al. also relates to a battery comprising a terminal, fixed onto a cover plate assembly including cap plate 40 (Figs. 1-3; [0033]) and comprising a terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522 penetrating the cover plate assembly and a base plate including a current collecting member 70 connected to a surface of the cover plate assembly facing an inside of the casing, wherein tab group G11, G12, G21, or G22 of a cell (Figs. 2-6; [0064]) is welded to the base plate to form a tab welding region (Figs. 1-3; [0033]; [0050-58]; [0061]; [0066]). Jang et al. teaches that the base plate or current collecting member 70 is provided with a hollow portion, e.g. slot 711, 712, and the hollow portion is disposed avoiding the tab welding region and the terminal body which is the same size as through-hole 713 in Fig. 6.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included a hollow portion in the base plate or conductive member 17 of Matsuura et al., motivated by the fact that Jang et al. teaches that the hollow portion or slot 711, 712 provide a fuse 80 therebetween to enable current disruption between the electrode terminal and the electrode assembly in case of overcurrent ([0069]; [0074]). The skilled artisan would have obtained expected results applying a known element to a similar product.
Regarding claim 18, Matsuura et al. teaches that the at least one single cell has a main body portion 12 and the tab or tab group 18 connected to the main body portion; the tab is bent and connected to the base plate or conductive member 17 (Figs. 1 and 2; [0026]; [0029-31]; [0033]), but does not expressly teach that a separation region is formed between the tab and the main body portion; the battery further comprises an insulator, disposed on sides of the tab and/or the main body portion facing the separation region.
Jang et al. also relates to a battery comprising a terminal, fixed onto a cover plate assembly including cap plate 40 (Figs. 1-3; [0033]) and comprising a terminal body or rivet portion 512, 522 penetrating the cover plate assembly and a base plate including a current collecting member 70 connected to a surface of the cover plate assembly facing an inside of the casing, wherein tab group G11, G12, G21, or G22 of a cell (Figs. 2-6; [0064]) is welded to the base plate to form a tab welding region (Figs. 1-3; [0033]; [0050-58]; [0061]; [0066]). Jang et al. teaches that the single cell has a main body portion and the tab including tab group G11, G12, G21, or G22 connected to the main body portion; the tab is bent and connected to the base plate or current collecting member 70, and a separation region is formed between the tab and the main body portion; the battery further comprises an insulator, e.g. top insulator 20, disposed on sides of the tab and/or the main body portion facing the separation region (Figs. 2-6; [0033]; [0039-42]; [0064]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have arrived at the claimed invention, because Jang et al. demonstrates that the separation region and insulator are known structures inside the battery to prevent short circuit between the electrode assembly and other electrical components. The skilled artisan would have obtained expected results applying known structures to a similar product.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuura et al., Chen et al., and Kugino et al. as applied to claim 1 above, in view of US 2019/0221791 to Wakimoto.
Regarding claim 15, Matsuura et al. does not expressly teach that the cover plate body and the base plate are both provided with electrolyte injection holes, the two electrolyte injection holes are coaxially disposed, and the electrolyte injection holes are located between the two tabs disposed on the base plate.
Wakimono also relates to a battery and teaches that the battery has an electrolytic solution injection hole 15 in a sealing plate 2 (Fig. 2; [0048]) and a coaxially disposed current collector opening 6e in the positive-electrode current collector 6 (Figs. 2 and 6; [0056]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have arrived at the claimed invention because Wakimono demonstrate that the electrolyte injection holes are provided through the layers of the cover assembly and current collector of one of the terminals so that the electrolyte can be injected into the interior of the battery. Accordingly, the skilled artisan would have positioned the electrolyte injection holes between the two tabs on the base plate so that the holes do not interfere with the connections between the tabs and the base plate while accessing the interior of the battery.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuura et al., Chen et al., and Kugino et al. as applied to claim 1 above, in view of US 2012/0208074 to Byun et al.
Regarding clam 16, Matsuura et al. does not expressly teach that a length of the base plate along a length direction of the cover plate assembly is 30 mm to 70 mm.
Byun et al. also relates to a battery and teaches that a total length of cap plate 151 is about 170 mm and that a length of each of the lateral regions B1 and B2 including first and second electrode terminals 122, 132 is about 20% to about 30% of the length of the cap plate 151 (Figs. 2 and 3; [0048]; [0049]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have arrived at the claimed length of the base plate in the prior art battery, because Byun et al. suggests that the length of a terminal area B1 and B2 is about 34 to 55 mm (Figs. 2 and 3; [0048]; [0049]) and one of ordinary skill in the art would have optimized the length of the base plate in order to provide sufficient space to accommodate the terminal body and tab welding regions on the base plate.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-4 and 7-18 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. Applicant amended claim 1 with limitation of the previous claim 6 and a new limitation reciting, “at least a part of the seal ring is clamped between the base plate and the cover plate body, and a projection of the seal ring along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate body is entirely located within the base plate.” In response, the Examiner has applied a new ground of rejection over Matsuura, Chen, and a newly discovered reference to Kugino. In brief, the first reference provides the battery structure, while Chen supplements by demonstrating a weld formed by disposing a laser welding region within and in contact with a ultrasonic welding region and Kugino addressing the claimed seal ring.
On Page 11 of the remarks filed 5/22/2026, Applicant pointed out that the insulating ring 16 of Matsuura penetrates the through hole 14a of the lid 14 and is not clamped between the conductive member 17 and the lid 14, and a leakage clearance is formed between the insulating ring 16 and the hole wall surface of through hole 14a, resulting in poor airtightness. The Examiner discovered that Kugino, which relates to a battery comprising a similar assembly of a terminal 3 having the terminal body 3A and base plate 3B disposed in cover plate body or lid 2, teaches a seal ring including annular elastic member 4 clamped between the base plate 3B and lid 2 to provide insulation between the terminal 3 and lid 2 and secure seal performance (Figs. 1-3; [0031-35]). A projection of the seal ring is entirely located within the base plate along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate (Figs. 2 and 3). This is believed to improve the structure of Matsuura and address Applicant’s concern with lack of sealing between the insulating ring 16 and the through hole 14a. It would have been within the skills of the ordinary artisan to incorporate the seal ring into the prior art structure. Accordingly, a projection of the laser welding region along a direction perpendicular to the cover plate assembly would not have overlapped with the seal ring in order to avoid damage to the seal ring during tab welding.
Since the combination of prior arts render obvious the claimed battery, the claims stand rejected.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HENG M CHAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5859. The examiner can normally be reached 9 am - 5:30 pm on Monday, 9 am - 3 pm on Tuesday, and 9 am to 1 pm on Wednesday and Thursday.
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/Heng M. Chan/Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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