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 Species A (claims 1, 3 and 5-12) in the reply filed on 2/6/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2022002167 (to Fumika) in view of JP 2017506802 (hereinafter JP’802) – translations attached and relied upon below - in view of Nagano (US 2020/0365952 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Fumika teaches a secondary battery comprising: a laminate (5) (Figure 9) in which a positive electrode layer (10), and a negative electrode layer (20) are stacked (as illustrated below): and an exterior body (40) wrapping the laminate (5), wherein the exterior body (40) is formed by folding back one material for forming the exterior body (40) at a folding back portion (30a/30b), the exterior body (40) includes a housing portion (40) which includes the folding back portion (30a/30b) as a part thereof, and houses the laminate (5), and a peripheral edge portion (61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 73) around the housing portion (40), the peripheral edge portion (61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 73) includes a folding portion folded along the housing portion (40) and a bent portion (70, 72 & 70, 73) (as illustrated) – Figure 9 below is similar to instant Figure 8.
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Fumika fails to teach providing an electrolyte layer within the laminate in which a positive electrode layer and a negative electrode layer are stacked, but rather teaches providing a liquid electrolyte. Nagano teaches a battery cell (Figure 3) comprising a laminate in which a positive electrode layer (101), an electrolyte layer (103), and a negative electrode layer (102) are stacked (para. [0036]-[0037]) (as illustrated) in order to minimize the size of the battery cell.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing for the invention to have the electrode body in Fumika include laminate in which a positive electrode layer, an electrolyte layer, and a negative electrode layer are stacked, as taught by Nagano, in order to minimize the size of the battery cell.
Fumika fails to teach wherein the peripheral edge portion (61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 73), in the folding portion, the materials are not bonded to each other on a bent portion (70, 72 & 70, 73), and the materials are bonded to each other at portions other than the bent portion (70, 72 & 70, 73).
JP’802 teaches a secondary battery (Figures 1-7) comprising: an electrode assembly (30), an exterior body (20) wrapping the electrode assembly (30), wherein the exterior body (20) is formed by folding back one material for forming the exterior body (as illustrated in Figure 7) at a folding back portion (312 & 313) which includes a folding portion folded along the housing portion (as illustrated), and in the folding portion, the materials are not bonded to each other on a bent portion (321 & 322), and the materials are bonded to each other at portions (312, 313) other than the bent portion (321 & 322) in order to avoid unnecessary sealing to thereby minimize the volume of battery cell pouch.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing for the invention to have the peripheral edge portion in Fumika include a folding portion folded along the housing portion, and in the folding portion, the materials are not bonded to each other on a bent portion, and the materials are bonded to each other at portions other than the bent portion, as taught by JP’802, in order to avoid unnecessary sealing to thereby minimize the volume of battery cell pouch.
With respect to claim 3, Fumika teaches wherein the housing portion (40) has a rectangular shape when viewed from a stacking direction of the laminate (5), and the folding portion (30a/30b) is connected to one side of the rectangular shape of the housing portion (40) (as illustrated in Figure 2).
With respect to claim 5, Fumika teaches wherein the folding portion (30a/30b) includes a first region extending from a connection portion (61/62) with the housing portion (40) to one side in a stacking direction of the laminate (5), and a second region extending from an end on the one side of the first region to the other side opposite to the one side (as illustrated in Figure 9 above).
With respect to claim 6, Fumika teaches wherein the folding portion (30a/30b) includes a third region extending to the one side from an end on the other side of the second region to an edge of the peripheral edge portion (as illustrated in Figure 9 above).
With respect to claim 7, Fumika teaches wherein the first region and the third region are located on the laminate side relative to the second region (as illustrated in Figure 9 above).
With respect to claim 8, Fumika teaches wherein the second region extends
from a position of an end on the one side to a position of an end on the other side
of the laminate (5) in the stacking direction (as illustrated in Figure 9 above).
With respect to claim 9, Fumika teaches wherein a length from a connection
portion (61 & 62) between the folding portion (30a/30b) and the housing portion (40) to an edge portion of the folding portion (30a/30b) is substantially twice a length in a stacking direction of the laminate (as illustrated in Figure 9) – i.e. the unfolded length of folding portion (30a) measures twice the height of the laminate.
Claims 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2022002167 (to Fumika) in view of JP 2017506802 (hereinafter JP’802) in view of Nagano (US 2020/0365952 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Choi et al. (US 2020/0388891 A1).
With respect to claim 10, Fumika discloses all claim limitations as set forth above but fails to teach wherein a highly viscous fluid is applied to the folding portion. Choi teaches a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells (Figure 4) (10a & 10b), wherein a highly viscous fluid/(thermal grease (90)) (para. [0090]) is applied to the folding portion (2022) (as illustrated) in order to provide a heat transfer member to thereby facilitate heat dissipation.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing for the invention to apply a highly viscous fluid to the folding portion in the modified battery of Fumika, as taught by Choi, in order to provide a heat transfer member to thereby facilitate heat dissipation.
With respect to claim 11, modified Fumika discloses all claim limitations as set forth above but fails to teach a battery module comprising: a cooling and heating unit configured to cool or heat the secondary battery. Choi teaches a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells (Figure 4) (10a & 10b), and a cooling and heating unit (20) configured to cool or heat the secondary battery (10a & 10b) (para. [0109]-[0111]) in order to prevent thermal runaway.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing for the invention to provide the modified battery of Fumika with a cooling and heating unit configured to cool or heat the secondary battery, as taught by Choi, in order to prevent thermal runaway.
With respect to claim 12, Choi further teaches:
a first heat transfer member (90) disposed between the secondary battery (10a & 10b) and the cooling and heating unit (20) (at the top end); and
a second heat transfer member (90) disposed on an opposite side (at the bottom) of the first heat transfer member (90) with the secondary battery (10a & 10b) interposed therebetween, wherein the second heat transfer member (90) is in contact with the folding portion (2022) (as illustrated).
Conclusion
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/KAITY V CHANDLER/ 2/27/2028Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725