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 in the reply filed on 11/11/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 12-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/11/2025.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/23/2023, 09/09/2024, and 02/06/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-11 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 front-end of the wound battery cell body" in step C and step A. introduces “at one front-end” (multiple front ends) and step B. uses “the front-end of the wound battery cell body having the conductive portion”. Thus, it is unclear as to which front-end step C is referring to. Appropriate clarification is required.
Claims 2-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 112 (b) as they are dependent from independent base claim 1, which is rejected under 35 U.S.C 112 (b).
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 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamashita et al. (US 20190217413 A1), hereinafter "Yamashita". Yamashita et al. is analogous prior art to the claimed invention because it pertains to the same field of endeavor, namely wound battery manufacturing.
In regard to Claim 1, Yamashita et al. discloses a manufacturing method of an intermediate product for a battery cell by means of ultrasonics (Yamashita, Abstract), comprising the steps of
a. Providing a wound battery cell body in which a layer of a first electrode, a separator and a second electrode is wound around a central longitudinal axis in a plurality of windings, wherein at least one of the first and the second electrode comprises a conductive portion extending at one front-end in a longitudinal direction (Yamashita, [0028, 0072]).
b. Placing the wound battery cell body in an ultrasonic device in an initial position so that the front-end of the wound battery cell body having the conductive portion faces a front- end working surface of a horn of the ultrasonic device (Yamashita, [0040]).
c. Moving the wound battery cell body and the horn with respect to each other from the initial position to a working position in which the front-end working surface of the horn abuts the front-end of the wound battery cell body (Yamashita [0041]).
d. Subsequently working the wound battery cell body by applying ultrasonics to the conductive portion at the front-end of the wound battery cell body at least partially so that the conductive portion is at least partially deformed at the front-end of the wound battery cell body by the horn and a worked wound battery cell body is the result (Yamashita, [0043]).
e + f. While Yamashita does not explicitly disclose the steps of moving the worked wound battery cell body and the horn with respect to each other from the working position to a removing position and removing the worked wound battery cell body from the ultrasonic device, it would be an obvious and necessary step in order to complete any process and the skilled artisan would reasonably do so and as such, it would ultimately result in a beneficial embodiment (Yamashita, [0054]).
In regard to Claims 2-4, Yamashita et al. discloses the manufacturing method according to claim 1. Yamashita et al. also discloses wherein the cross-section of the horn is round or angular (Yamashita, Figure 2B) and wherein the dimension of the working surface of the horn is adapted to the dimension of the front-end of the wound battery cell body and wherein the working surface of the horn comprises a contour adapted to the wound battery cell body. (Yamashita, [0041]).
In regard to Claim 7, Yamashita et al. discloses the manufacturing method according to claim 1. Yamashita et al. also discloses wherein the method is controlled by means of pressure and amplitude (Yamashita, [0042-0043]).
In regard to Claims 8-10, Yamashita et al. discloses the manufacturing method according to claim 1. Yamashita et al. also discloses wherein the conductive portion is bent during the step of working by the horn radially inwardly so that an extension of the worked wound battery cell body in a longitudinal direction is reduced compared to the initial wound battery cell body and wherein radially adjacent deformed conductive portions are fixedly connected and in contact with each other after the step of working. (Yamashita, [0043,0054]).
In regard to Claim 11, Yamashita et al. discloses the manufacturing method according to claim 1. Yamashita et al. also discloses wherein the step of placing comprises the step of fixing the wound battery cell body at the lateral surface and the step of removing comprises the step of releasing the fixing at the lateral surface of the worked wound battery cell body (Yamashita, [0040, 0054]). In addition, it would be obvious to the skilled artisan to fix the workpiece before commencing production as well as unfix and remove the workpiece when finished with the process.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamashita et al. (US 20190217413 A1), hereinafter "Yamashita" as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Oversteyns et al. (US 20060281252 A1), hereinafter "Oversteyns". Yamashita and Oversteyns et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely wound battery manufacturing.
In regard to Claims 5-6, Yamashita et al. discloses the manufacturing method according to claim 1. While Yamashita et al. discloses a wound battery cell body and subsequently working the wound battery cell body by applying ultrasonics at the front-end of the wound battery cell body it is silent as to the wound body comprising a jacket.
Oversteyns et al. discloses a wound battery cell body comprising a jacket wherein the jacket has an extension in a longitudinal direction which is lower than an extension of the wound battery cell body prior to the step of working (Oversteyns, [0019], Figure 5g), wherein the jacket has a benefit when applied to a wound body to provide insulation from the housing and that such that coextensive surface contact between the collectors can be achieved and such that better electrical and welded contact can subsequently be made thereto (Oversteyns, [0060]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide a wound battery cell body as disclosed in Yamashita with a jacket in the configuration taught in Oversteyns as doing so would give the skilled artisan the reasonable expectation of achieving the benefits taught in Oversteyns and as doing so would amount to nothing more than a variation of it for use in the same field based on design incentives or other market forces, as the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH MAX OTERO whose telephone number is (571)272-2559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F Generally 7:30-430.
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/K.M.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/JONATHAN CREPEAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725