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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 3/20/23 and 12/16/25 have been considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I (claims 1-9) in the reply filed on 2/27/26 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Claims 10-14 are withdrawn from consideration.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoon et al., KR2022-0011029 A and/or Yoon et al., US 2023/0148346 A1 in view of Ryosuke, JP 2020-161287 A.
Note the US document will be used to as an English language equivalent of the Korean document.
Yoon teaches an apparatus for manufacturing unit cells includes reels, rollers, conveyors, headers, and a cutter. A lower separator sheet is unwound from a lower separator reel. A feeding roller moves the lower separator sheet in a first direction. A conveyor moves a first electrode in a second direction parallel to the first direction. A first header conveys that electrode from the conveyor and onto the lower separator sheet. An upper separator sheet is unwound from an upper separator reel. Another feeding roller moves, in the first direction, a first ordered stack of the lower separator sheet, first electrode, and upper separator sheet. Another conveyor moves a second electrode in the second direction. Another header conveys that electrode from the second conveyor and onto the upper separator sheet. The cutter cuts, at preset intervals, a second ordered stack of the lower separator sheet, first electrode, upper separator sheet, and second electrode (abstract). Figure 2 depicts the apparatus:
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As illustrated in FIG. 2, the lower separator sheet 1211 is unwound from the lower separator reel 121 and moves in the first direction D1 (S101). Also, the first electrode 1112, which has been manufactured in a separate electrode manufacturing process, is supplied to the first electrode magazine 311 or the first electrode table (not shown) provided on one side of the lower separator sheet 1211. Subsequently, the first conveyor 31 moves the first electrode 1112 in the second direction D2 parallel to the first direction D1 (S102). Then, the first electrode 1112 adheres to the first header 141, and is then conveyed from the first conveyor 31 and placed on the top surface of the lower separator sheet 1211 (S103) [0060].
Meanwhile, the upper separator sheet 1221 is unwound from the upper separator reel 122 and moves in the first direction D1 (S104). As the upper separator sheet 1221 is stacked on the top surface of the first electrode 1112, the first stack 21 is formed. Also, the second electrode 1122, which has been manufactured in the separate electrode manufacturing process, is supplied to the second electrode magazine 321 or the second electrode table (not shown) provided on one side of the first stack 21. Subsequently, the second conveyor 32 moves the second electrode 1122 in the second direction D2 parallel to the first direction D1 (S105). Then, the second electrode 1122 adheres to the second header 142 and is conveyed from the second conveyor 32. Then, the second electrode 1122 is placed on the top surface of the upper separator sheet 1221 (S106). Accordingly, the second stack 22 is formed. Also, as the second stack 22 is cut at preset intervals by the cutter 17, the unit cell 2 may be manufactured [0061].
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the apparatus 1 further includes: a first vision sensor 191 which is disposed between the lower separator sheet 1211 and the first conveyor 31 and captures an image of the first electrode 1112 before the first electrode 1112 is placed on the top surface of the lower separator sheet 1211; a second vision sensor 192 which is disposed between the first stack 21 and the second conveyor 32 and captures an image of the second electrode 1122 before the second electrode 1122 is placed on the top surface of the upper separator sheet 1221; a third vision sensor 193 which is disposed above the first conveyor 31 to capture an image of the first electrode 1112; and a fourth vision sensor 194 which is disposed above the second conveyor 32 to capture an image of the second electrode 1122. The first to fourth vision sensors 191, 192, 193, and 194 may capture the images of the first electrode 1112 before placed on the lower separator sheet 1211, the second electrode 1122 before placed on the top surface of the upper separator sheet 1221, the first electrode 1112 moved by the first conveyor 31, and the second electrode 1122 moved by the second conveyor 32, respectively. The second vision sensor 192 captures the image of the second electrode 1122 before the second electrode 1122 is placed on the top surface of the upper separator sheet 1221. The second vision sensor 192 is disposed between the first stack 21 and the second conveyor 32, and may capture an image of a state in which the second electrode 1122 is conveyed while adhering to the second header 142. Accordingly, it is easily identified whether or not the second electrode 1122 has the defect with respect to the position. If there is a defect in position, the position of the second electrode 1122 may be corrected before placed on the upper separator sheet 1221. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto. The second vision sensor may be disposed above the first stack 21 to capture an image of the second electrode 1122 placed on the upper separator sheet 1221 [0064-0070]. The position of the electrode itself is directly checked by the vision sensor [0071].
Yoon does not explicitly teach a vision sensor configured to detect the location of the first electrode through the second separator sheet. At least Figure 2 of Yoon teaches and suggests the second electrodes on the second separator sheet correspond to the locations of the first electrodes on the first separator sheet. Ryosuke teaches an electrode with separator manufacturing device comprising an inspection unit (first inspection unit) 40. The inspection unit 40 acquires an image of the base material WK by imaging the base material WK, and inspects the base material WK based on the image. The inspection unit 40 includes a lighting 41, a camera 42, and a control unit 43. The illumination 41 and the camera 42 are arranged so as to face each other via the base material WK. The illumination 41 and the camera 42 are arranged on the downstream side of the heater roller 26 and on the upstream side of the cutting portion 31. Here, the illumination 41 and the camera 42 are arranged between the heater roller 26 and the transfer roller 27, but may be arranged on the downstream side of the transfer roller 27. The illumination 41 illuminates the base material WK with illumination light (transmitted light) transmitted through separator members 18a, 18b [0053-0054].
Furthermore, Ryosuke teaches an electrode with separator manufacturing device as shown in Figure 5:
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The device of Ryosuke includes an inspection part 50 for imaging a positive electrode 11 with separator under transportation (abstract). The inspection unit 50 acquires an image of the positive electrode 11 with a separator by imaging the positive electrode 11 with a separator, and inspects the positive electrode 11 with a separator. The inspection unit 50 includes a camera 51 and a control unit 52. The camera 51 is arranged above the suction conveyor 71. The camera 51 takes an image of the positive electrode 11 with a separator from a position facing the suction conveyor 71. The camera 51 captures the light reflected by the positive electrode 11 with a separator. In this way, the inspection unit 50 inspects the positive electrode 11 with a separator by photographing the positive electrode 11 with a separator conveyed by the adsorption conveyor 71 [0059].
Therefore, the invention as a whole would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing because Ryosuke teaches it was known in the art to use a vision sensor to detect the location of an electrode through a separator sheet. One of skill would have been motivated to modify Yoon to include a vision sensor that can detect the position of the first electrode through the separator sheet and align the second electrode in view of the teachings of Ryosuke that it was known in the art to use a vision sensor to detect the location of an electrode through a separator sheet. Furthermore, Yoon teaches and suggests the second electrodes correspond to the locations of the first electrodes, respectively.
Yoon teaches rollers 131, 132, 152 and 16, as shown by Figure 2. A laminating process may be performed to apply heat and pressure to the stack in which the electrodes and the separator are stacked [0006].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 8 are 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter. The claims are directed toward an apparatus for manufacturing a unit cell, the apparatus comprising:
a first separator unwinder from which a first separator sheet is configured to be unwound;
a first magazine configured to receive a plurality of first electrodes;
a first transfer part configured to repeatedly retrieve the first electrodes from the first magazine and seat the first electrodes on the first separator sheet;
a second separator unwinder from which a second separator sheet is configured to be unwound so as to cover the first electrodes seated on the first separator sheet;
a vision sensor configured to detect the locations of the first electrodes through the second separator sheet;
a second magazine configured to receive a plurality of second electrodes; and
a second transfer part configured to repeatedly retrieve the second electrodes from the second magazine and seat the second electrodes on the second separator sheet so as to correspond to the locations of the first electrodes detected by the vision sensor, respectively, the apparatus further comprising
bonding roller configured to bond the first electrodes to the first separator sheet before the first electrodes are covered by the second separator sheet; and,
a film unwinder configured to unwind a protective film so as to pass between the stack and the bonding roller; and a film rewinder configured to rewind the protective film.
The prior art does not teach or suggest the claimed apparatus. Specifically, a film unwinder configured to unwind a protective film so as to pass between the stack and the bonding roller; and a film rewinder configured to rewind the protective film is not taught or suggested by the prior art. Similarly, a film unwinder configured to unwind a protective film so as to pass between the stack and the rolling device; and a film rewinder configured to rewind the protective film, as recited by claim 8, is not taught or suggested by the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TRACY DOVE whose telephone number is (571)272-1285. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-3:00.
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/TRACY M DOVE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
Prosecution Insights