DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-10 and 12-21 are pending, with claims 18-20 withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention. Claim 11 has been canceled.
The Office Action presents new grounds of rejection for claims 1-10, 13-17, and 21.
Therefore, the Office Action is made non-final. The examiner apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 102 that forms 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, 13, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhong et al. (CN 108336286 A, with attached machine translation).
With regard to claims 1 and 13, Zhong et al. teach the stacked cores of fig.5:
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A lithium-ion battery comprises a core (3) formed by stacking and winding a positive electrode sheet, a separator and a negative electrode, the uncoated sides of the positive electrode and the negative electrode form the tab welding areas (4), and tabs (5) and (7) are welded to the tab welding areas (claim 3, par.0030).
Insulating pads (6) are provided at the tab welding areas (4) to ensure that the overall thickness of the tab welding area is consistent with the thickness of the main body of the core (3)( claim 1, par.0031).
Zhong et al. further teach that the stacked cores (3) padded with the insulation gaskets (6) are encapsulated to prepare a battery (claim 8).
The container/shell housing the stacked cores (3) padded with the insulation gaskets (6) is equivalent to the “housing provided with an accommodating cavity” in claim 1.
A core (3) is equivalent to “an electrode assembly accommodated in the accommodating cavity” in claim 1. The central portion of a core (3) is “a main body portion”, and the tab welding areas (4) meet the limitation for “thinned portions”. Fig.5 clearly shows that the limitation “both ends of the main body portion in a first direction are connected to the thinned portions, and a part of an electrode plate of the electrode assembly at the main body portion has a thickness greater than that of a part of the electrode plate of the electrode assembly at the thinned portions” is met.
An insulation gasket (6) is “a first support structure arranged corresponding to the thinned portion, the first support structure being configured to support the thinned portion when the electrode assembly is expanded” in claim 1.
Fig.5 shows that for the top and bottom cores (31) “the surface of the first support structure facing away from the thinned portion is flush with the surface of the main body portion”.
Fig.5 also shows that an insulating gasket (6)(“first support structure”) is arranged around on outer periphery of the tab welding area (4) (“thinned portion”), as in claim 13.
Therefore, the battery of Kuan et al. anticipates the battery cells in claims 1 and 13.
With regard to claim 2, Fig. 5 of Zhong et al. shows a plurality of cores (3)(“electrode assemblies”) stacked side-by-side in a thickness direction of the battery cell, and an insulating gasket (6)(“first support”) comprises an abutting portion arranged between the tab welding areas (4) (“thinned portions”) of adjacent cores (3)(“electrode assemblies”).
With regard to claim 21, Zhong et al. teach that the insulating pad may be made of silicone (par.0015).
An electrically insulating silicone is a silicon rubber, as evidenced in par.0051 of Deguchi et al. (US 2005/0078976).
Claims 1, 2, 4-10, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (CN 210006793 U, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0359370).
With regard to claim 1, Wang et al. teach the battery units in fig.16 and fig.17:
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The housing (20) includes a plurality of battery cores (31) (par.0037, fig.17). The housing (20)(fig.1-3, par.0043) it is equivalent to “a housing provided with an accommodating cavity” in claim 1.
The battery core (31) includes an electrode assembly (34), which is equivalent to the “electrode assembly accommodated in the accommodating cavity” in claim 1.
The battery core (31) has two end portions that are thinner than the central portion of the battery core (31) (par.0044), which is equivalent to “the electrode assembly comprising a main body portion and thinned portions, wherein the ends of the main body portion in a first direction is connected to the thinned portions, and a part of the electrode plate of the electrode plate of the electrode assembly at the main body portion has a thickness greater than that of a parti of the electrode plate of the electrode assembly at the thinned portion”.
Fig. 16 and fig.17 also show first cushion portions (41) and second cushion portions (42)(par.0060), wherein the cushion portions are in contact with the end thinner portions of the battery core (31) (par.0060-0061).
The first cushion portions (41) and second portions (42) are equivalent to the “first support structure arranged corresponding to the thinned portion, the first support structure being configured to support the thinned portion when the electrode assembly is expanded” in claim 1.
Fig.16 and 17 show that the first cushion portions (41) and second cushion portions (42) meet the limitation for “in a direction in which the first support structure faces away from the thinned portion, a surface of the first support structure facing away from the thinned portion protrudes from a surface of the main body portion” in claim 1.
Therefore, the battery of Wang et al. anticipates the battery cell in claim 1.
With regard to claim 2, fig.16 and 17 show a plurality of battery cores (31) arranged side-by-side in a thickness direction of the battery cell.
Fig.16 and 17 show that the first cushion portions (41) and second cushion portions (42) comprise a first abutting portion arranged between the thinned portions of two adjacent battery cores (31).
With regard to claim 4, fig.16 and 17 show the left cushion portions (41) and (42) which meet the limitations for “the first support structure comprises a second abutting portion between the thinned portion of the battery core (31) and an inner wall of the housing (2), and the second abutting portion abuts against the inner wall of the housing (20) when the electrode assembly is expanded, so as to support the thinned portion of the battery core (31)”.
With regard to claims 5 and 6, fig.8, 16, and 17 show that the part of the electrode plate at the thinned portion has a thickness gradually decreasing in a direction in which the thinned portion faced away from the main body portion.
Fig.16 and 17 show that the cushion portions (41) and (42) have a thickness that gradually increases in the direction in which the thinned portion faces away from the main body portion.
With regard to claim 7, figh.17 shows an intermediate cushion portion (43) (par.0060), which is “a second support structure arranged corresponding to the main body portion to support the main body portion when the electrode assembly is expanded”.
With regard to claim 8, fig.17 shows that the one end of the first cushion portion (41) and one end of the second cushion portion (42) are connected to the intermediate cushion portion (43) in a first direction.
With regard to claim 9, Wang et al. teach that the first cushion portion (41) and the second cushion portion (42) may be integral with the intermediate cushion portion (43) (par.0060).
With regard to claim 10, fig.17 shows that the surface of the first cushion portion (41) and the second cushion portion (42) facing away from the thinned portions are flush with a surface of the intermediate support portion (43) facing away from the main body portion.
With regard to claim 13, fig.16 and 17 show clearly that the first cushion portions (41) and second cushion portions (42) are arranged around the outer periphery of the thinned portions.
With regard to claim 15, fig.8 shows electrode plates comprising current collectors and active layers, wherein the active layers have greater thickness at the main portion than at the end portions (par.0045).
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.
Claims 1-6, and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu et al. (CN 213520076U, with attached machine translation) in view of Zhong et al. (CN 108336286 A, with attached machine translation).
With regard to claim 1, Fu et al. teach the battery of fig.2:
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The battery includes the battery body (10) and the tabs (20) extending outward from the end face of the battery body (10)(par.0023-0024, par.0031). The battery body (1) comprises the thinner areas (11), and pieces of adhesive paper (31) are attached to the thinner areas (11)(par.0031).
The battery body (10) comprises positive and negative electrode sheets in a wound or stacked structure. The ends of the electrode sheets are thinner than the middle, so the ends of the body (10) are thinner than the middle (par.0023).
The battery body (10) which comprises the thinner areas (11) is equivalent to the “electrode assembly comprising a main body and thinned portions, wherein the ends of the main body portion in a first direction are connected to the thinned portion, and a part of the electrode plate of the electrode assembly at the main body portion has a thickness greater than that of a part of the eledtrode plate of the electrode assembly at the thinned portions” in claim 1.
The pieces of adhesive paper (31) are “a first structure arranged corresponding to the thinned portion, the first support structure being configured to support the thinned portion when the electrode assembly is expanded” in claim 1.
Fig.2 of Fu et al. clearly shows that the surfaces of the adhesive paper parts (31) meet the limitations for “the surface of the first support structure facing away from the thinned portion is flush with the surface of the main body”.
Fu et al. fail to teach that the battery is inside a housing.
Zhong et al. teach the stacked cores (3) (see fig.5), wherein a core (3) is formed by stacking and winding a positive electrode sheet, a separator and a negative electrode, the uncoated sides of the positive electrode and the negative electrode form the tab welding areas (4), and tabs (5) and (7) are welded to the tab welding areas (claim 3, par.0030). Insulating pads (6) are provided at the tab welding areas (4) to ensure that the overall thickness of the tab welding area is consistent with the thickness of the main body of the core (3)( claim 1, par.0031).
Zhong et al. further teach that the stacked cores (3) padded with the insulation gaskets (6) are encapsulated to prepare a battery (claim 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to encapsulate the battery body (10) and the pieces of adhesive paper (31) of Fu et al. in order to prepare a battery.
The container/shell accommodating the battery body (10) and the pieces of adhesive paper (31) of Fu modified by Zhong is equivalent to the “housing provided with an accommodating cavity” in claim 1, and the battery body (10) of Fu modified by Zhong is equivalent to the “electrode assembly accommodated in the accommodating cavity” in claim 1.
Therefore, the battery of Fu modified by Zhong is equivalent to the battery in claim 1.
With regard to claims 2 and 3, Fu et al. fail to teach the claimed batteries.
However, Zhong et al. teach the stacked cores (3) (see fig.5), wherein insulating pads (6) are provided at the tab welding areas (4) to ensure that the overall thickness of the tab welding area is consistent with the thickness of the main body of the core (3)( claim 1, par.0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use multiple wound cores/electrode assemblies of Fu modified by Zhong in the same battery shell/housing in order to obtain a battery with the desired output and capacity.
There are three possible choices: to arrange the wound cores/electrode assemblies in the thickness direction of the battery, in the longitudinal direction, or both.
When a plurality of wound cores of Fu modified by Zhong are arranged side by side in the thickness direction of the battery, the adhesive paper parts will be back-to-back as indicated by the arrow in the figure below:
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The back-to-back adhesive paper parts will form “a first support structure with two first abutting portions arranged between the thinned portions of the two adjacent electrode assemblies, and the two first abutting portions abut against each other in the thickness direction of the battery cell when the electrode assemblies are expanded as to support the thinned portion” in claims 2 and 3.
With regard to claim 4, the side of the adhesive paper (31) in fig.2 of Fu et al. towards an inner wall of a container/ shell is equivalent to the claimed “second abutting portion arranged between the thinned portion and an inner wall of the housing, the second abutting portion abuts against the inner wall of the housing when the electrode assembly is expanded, so as to support the thinned portion”.
With regard to claims 5 and 6, fig.2 of Fu et al. clearly shows that the part of the electrode plate at the thinned portion (11) has a thickness gradually decreasing in a direction in which the thinned portion faces away from the main body.
The adhesive paper parts (31) in fig.2 of Fu et al. meet the limitations of claim 6 for “a part of the first support structure corresponding to the thinned portion has a thickness gradually increasing in the direction in which the thinned portion faces away from the main body”.
With regard to claim 13, fig.2 clearly shows that the adhesive paper parts (31) meet the limitations for “the first support structure is arranged around an outer periphery of the thinned portion”.
With regard to claim 14, Fu et al. teach that the pieces of adhesive papers are attached to the thinner areas (abstract).
With regard to claim 15, Fu et al. further teach that the electrode sheets are coated so that the end portions of the electrode sheets are thinner than the middle portions thereof (par.0023). This implies that an electrode active material layer is coated on an electrode current collector, and the electrode active material layer has a greater thickness at the main body portion than at the thinned portion.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fu et al. (CN 213520076U, with attached machine translation) in view of Zhong et al. (CN 108336286 A, with attached machine translation) as applied to claim 1, and in further view of Lim (US 2012/0129030).
With regard to claim 16, Fu modified by Zhong teach the battery of claim 1 (see paragraph 8 above). Fu et al. further teach that the battery has excellent safety, it is easy to use and has improved electrochemical performance (par.0018).
Fu et al. and Zhong et al. fail to teach the battery in claim 16.
However, it is well-known in the art that a battery module may comprise a plurality of battery cells inside of a battery module housing (see par.0002 of Lim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to obtain a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells of Fu modified by Zhong inside of a battery module housing, in order to take advantage of the properties of the battery cells.
With regard to claim 17, Fu modified by Zhong teach the battery of claim 1 (see paragraph 8 above). Fu et al. further teach that the battery has excellent safety, it is easy to use and has improved electrochemical performance (par.0018).
Fu et al. and Zhong et al. fail to teach a power consumption apparatus.
However, it is well-known in the art that a battery cell may be used as energy source for a small mobile apparatus such as a cell phone (see par.0004 of Lim).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use the battery cell of Fu modified by Zhong in a small mobile apparatus, in order to take advantage of its properties.
A small mobile apparatus is the claimed power consumption apparatus.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Zhong et al. (CN 108336286 A), Wang et al. (CN 210006793 U, with citations from the English language equivalent US 2021/0359370). Fu et al. (CN 213520076U) fail to teach the battery cell of claim 12.
There are no prior art teachings that would motivate one of ordinary skill to modify any of the references above and obtain the battery cell in claim 12 of the instant application.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6 and 7 of the Remarks filed on March 04, 2026, with respect to the rejection of claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph and the rejection of claims 1, 4-6, 11, and 13-15 under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Fu et al. (CN 213520076U, with citations from the English equivalent US 2023/0207969) have been fully considered and are persuasive. The above-mentioned restrictions have been withdrawn.
The examiner would also like to note that the rejection of claims 1, 5-10, 12, and 14 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liang (US 2020/0365841) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1.
However, new grounds of rejection for claims 1-10, 13-17, and 21 are presented in paragraphs 4-9 above.
Conclusion
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/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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