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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the curved positive connector at the connection position must be shown bending in the first width-wise direction not the stacking direction or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). Note that the Fig. 5 and 6 show the positive connector is bent and curved in the same direction, indicated as D in both figures and denoting “thickness-wise direction” also referred to as “stacking direction” (see [0038]) and not in the first width-wise direction. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 2 and 4 recite the limitation “the positive connector is configured to be curved in the first width-wise direction at a connection position”. The Instant Specification does not properly describe the subject matter of this limitation. Specifically, while the Instant Specification discloses the connection position as being different from the boundary position (see CP and BP in Fig. 4), and Fig. 5 and 6, show the positive connector at the boundary position and at the connection position, respectively, (see [0017] & [0018], the Fig. 5 and 6 show that the positive connector is bent and curved in the same direction, indicated as D in both figures and denoting “thickness-wise direction” also referred to as “stacking direction” (see [0038]).
Therefore “the positive connector is configured to be curved in the first width-wise direction at a connection position” is neither disclosed in the specification nor shown in the drawings.
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 1-4 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.
Regarding Claims 1 and 3,
The phrase “includes a region in the rolling direction” in Line 8 of Claim 1 and Line 8 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner how there may be a region included in a particular direction. For the purpose of this Office action, the phrase “includes a region in the rolling direction” is interpreted as “includes a region”.
The phrase “including a flat surface in the stacking direction” in Line 9 of Claim 1 and Line 9 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner how there may be a surface specified in a particular direction. For the purpose of this Office action, the phrase “including a flat surface in the stacking direction” is interpreted as “including a flat surface”.
The phrase “including a curved surface in the stacking direction” in Line 10 of Claim 1 and Line 10 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner how there may be a surface specified in a particular direction. For the purpose of this Office action, the phrase “including a curved surface in the stacking direction” is interpreted as “including a curved surface”.
The phrase “includes a positive connector disposed in a first width-wise direction” in Lines 11-12 of Claim 1 and Lines 11-12 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner the location of the positive connector as the claim does not recite neither point of reference nor distance from said point of reference in said first width-wise direction.
The phrase “first width-wise direction in a width-wise direction” in Lines 11-12 of Claim 1 and Lines 11-12 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner the definition of a first width-wise direction and the redundancy of specifying it exists in a width-wise direction. The examiner suggests deleting “in a width-wise direction”.
The phrase “the positive connector being defined by a portion of the positive substrate” in Line 13 of Claim 1 and Line 13 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner what is meant by “the positive connector being defined by a portion of the positive substrate”. For the purpose of this Office action, the phrase “the positive connector being defined by a portion of the positive substrate” is interpreted as “the positive connector comprising a portion of the positive substrate”.
The phrase “a distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction” in Lines 16-17 and 26-27, as well as Lines 16-17 and 27-28 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner how the end of the separator may be in a particular direction. For the purposes of this Office action, the phrase “a distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction” has been interpreted to mean “a distal end of the separator”.
The phrase “the curved surface region in the rolling direction” in Line 22 of Claim 1 and Line 22 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner how there may be a region included in a particular direction. For the purposes of this Office action, the phrase “the curved surface region in the rolling direction” has been interpreted to mean “the curved surface region”.
The phrase “the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction” in Lines 23-24 of Claim 1 and Line 24 of Claim 3 is an unclear term which renders the claim indefinite. It is unclear to the examiner how the end of the plate may be in a particular direction. For the purposes of this Office action, the phrase “the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction” has been interpreted to mean “the distal end of the negative plate”.
Additionally, dependent Claim 2 is rejected as a result of its dependence on indefinite Claim 1, as it includes all the limitations of Claim 1 and as it does not resolve the issues identified in rejections set forth above.
Additionally, dependent Claim 4 is rejected as a result of its dependence on indefinite Claim 3, as it includes all the limitations of Claim 3 and as it does not resolve the issues identified in rejections set forth above.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Applicant may cancel the claims, amend the claims to place the claims in proper dependent form, rewrite the claims in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claims comply with the statutory requirements.
Claims 2 and 4 recite that “the positive connector is configured to be curved” in Line 5 of both claims, while Claims 1 and 3, on which Claims 2 and 4 depend, respectively, recite that “the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle” in Line 20 of both claims. Therefore claims 2 and 4 are improper dependent claims because it is not clear how the same positive connector can be bent at acute angle in the stacking direction at the boundary position while at the same time being curved the first width wide direction at the connection position.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 and 3 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Regarding Claim 1, Sakai (JP-2020057587A; see machine translation for citation purposes), is considered to be the closest prior art reference of record. The reference discloses a rechargeable battery (see paragraph [0018: “a prismatic secondary battery”),
an electrode body including a positive plate, a negative plate, and a separator disposed between the negative plate and the positive plate (see paragraph [0021: “electrode body including positive electrode sheets, negative electrode sheets, and separators),
the positive plate includes a positive substrate and positive mixture layers disposed on two opposite surfaces of the positive substrate (see paragraph [0022]: positive electrode mixture layer formed on both surfaces of the positive current collector),
the positive plate, the negative plate, and the separator are stacked in a stacking direction, the electrode body is rolled in a rolling direction that intersects the stacking direction and includes a region in the rolling direction, the region including a flat surface region including a flat surface in the stacking direction and a curved surface region including a curved surface in the stacking direction, (see paragraph [0021]: The separators that are not the outermost in the stacking direction are arranged between the positive electrode sheets and the negative electrode sheets and insulate these positive electrode sheet and negative electrode sheet. Here, the wound electrode body is formed),
the positive plate includes a positive connector disposed in a first width-wise direction in a width-wise direction that intersects the stacking direction and the rolling direction, the positive connector being defined by a portion of the positive substrate where the two opposite surfaces are free of the positive mixture layers (see paragraph [0022]: The positive electrode collectors extend outward in the width direction and are joined to a positive electrode collector plate)
the electrode body is configured so that at least a portion of the positive connector does not face the negative plate, a distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction projects beyond a distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wised direction, and the flat surface region includes a positive connection region in which the positive connector is connected to a positive current collector (see Figure 2, numbers 200a, 201a, 202a (positive connectors) and 220-226 (separators)).
Sakai fails to disclose that the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle in the stacking direction in a region between a first position and a second position on a boundary position between the flat surface region and the curved surface region in the rolling direction, the first position refers to a position at which the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction is located, the second position refers to a position separated, in a second width-wise direction that is opposite to the first width-wise direction, from a position at which the distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the positive mixture layer disposed on a surface of the positive substrate.
Sakai does disclose that the buckling region is further widthwise outward than the separator end and the positive electrode current collector is bent at the end position of the negative electrode sheet (Figs. 3 and 4 as well as paragraph [0032]) and that this may have the benefit of preventing short circuiting due to breakage of the separator and so that the area of the positive electrode material mixture layer at the positive electrode current collecting end portion can be expanded, and the area of the negative electrode material mixture layer at the negative electrode current collecting end portion can be expanded, so that the storage capacity of the electrode body can be increased (see [0032]). Sakai however, neglects to mention the importance of the buckling happening in a region relating to the thickness of the positive mixture layer and the thickness of the separator nor would it be obvious to do so.
The examiner notes that the instant specification discloses that the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle in the stacking direction in a region between a first position and a second position on a boundary position between the flat surface region and the curved surface region in the rolling direction, the first position refers to a position at which the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction is located, the second position refers to a position separated, in a second width-wise direction that is opposite to the first width-wise direction, from a position at which the distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the positive mixture layer disposed on a surface of the positive substrate for the purpose of inhibiting the heat shrink of the separator after the electrode body is heated (see paragraph [0105] of Instant Specification) and sufficient amount of nonaqueous electrolyte is retained in the gap between the separator and the negative plate and the gap between the separator and the positive plate (see paragraph [0107] of Instant Specification).
In light of the above, the closest prior art fails to disclose, teach, suggest, or render obvious the claim limitation "that the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle in the stacking direction in a region between a first position and a second position on a boundary position between the flat surface region and the curved surface region in the rolling direction, the first position refers to a position at which the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction is located, the second position refers to a position separated, in a second width-wise direction that is opposite to the first width-wise direction, from a position at which the distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the positive mixture layer disposed on a surface of the positive substrate" in combination with all of the other limitations taken as a whole.
Regarding Claim 3, Sakai is considered to be the closest prior art reference of record. The reference discloses a rechargeable battery (see paragraph [0018: “a prismatic secondary battery”),
an electrode body including a positive plate, a negative plate, and a separator disposed between the negative plate and the positive plate (see paragraph [0021: “electrode body including positive electrode sheets, negative electrode sheets, and separators),
the positive plate includes a positive substrate and positive mixture layers disposed on two opposite surfaces of the positive substrate (see paragraph [0022]: positive electrode mixture layer formed on both surfaces of the positive current collector),
the positive plate, the negative plate, and the separator are stacked in a stacking direction, the electrode body is rolled in a rolling direction that intersects the stacking direction and includes a region in the rolling direction, the region including a flat surface region including a flat surface in the stacking direction and a curved surface region including a curved surface in the stacking direction, (see paragraph [0021]: The separators that are not the outermost in the stacking direction are arranged between the positive electrode sheets and the negative electrode sheets and insulate these positive electrode sheet and negative electrode sheet. Here, the wound electrode body is formed),
the positive plate includes a positive connector disposed in a first width-wise direction in a width-wise direction that intersects the stacking direction and the rolling direction, the positive connector being defined by a portion of the positive substrate where the two opposite surfaces are free of the positive mixture layers (see paragraph [0022]: The positive electrode collectors extend outward in the width direction and are joined to a positive electrode collector plate)
the electrode body is configured so that at least a portion of the positive connector does not face the negative plate, a distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction projects beyond a distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wised direction, and the flat surface region includes a positive connection region in which the positive connector is connected to a positive current collector (see Figure 2, numbers 200a, 201a, 202a (positive connectors) and 220-226 (separators)).
Sakai does not disclose that the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle in the stacking direction in a region between a first position and a second position on a boundary position between the flat surface region and the curved surface region in the rolling direction, the first position refers to a position separated, in the first width-wise direction from a position at which the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the separator, and the second position refers to a position separated, in a second width-wise direction that is opposite to the first width-wise direction, from a position at which the distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the positive mixture layer disposed on a surface of the positive substrate.
Sakai does disclose that the buckling region is further widthwise outward than the separator end and the positive electrode current collector is bent at the end position off the end of the negative electrode sheet (Fig. 4 as well as paragraph [0032]) and that this may have the benefit of preventing short circuiting due to breakage of the separator and so that the area of the positive electrode material mixture layer at the positive electrode current collecting end portion can be expanded, and the area of the negative electrode material mixture layer at the negative electrode current collecting end portion can be expanded, so that the storage capacity of the electrode body can be increased. Sakai however, neglects to mention the importance of the buckling happening in a region relating to the thickness of the positive mixture layer and the thickness of the separator nor would it be obvious to do so.
The examiner notes that the instant specification discloses that the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle in the stacking direction in a region between a first position and a second position on a boundary position between the flat surface region and the curved surface region in the rolling direction, the first position refers to a position separated, in the first width-wise direction from a position at which the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the separator, and the second position refers to a position separated, in a second width-wise direction that is opposite to the first width-wise direction, from a position at which the distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the positive mixture layer disposed on a surface of the positive substrate for the purpose of limiting damage to the separator even when tension is applied by the rolling of electrode body (see paragraph [0117] of Instant Specification).
In light of the above, the closest prior art fails to disclose, teach, suggest, or render obvious the claim limitation " the positive connector is configured to be bent at an acute angle in the stacking direction in a region between a first position and a second position on a boundary position between the flat surface region and the curved surface region in the rolling direction, the first position refers to a position separated, in the first width-wise direction from a position at which the distal end of the negative plate in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the separator, and the second position refers to a position separated, in a second width-wise direction that is opposite to the first width-wise direction, from a position at which the distal end of the separator in the first width-wise direction is located by an amount corresponding to a thickness of the positive mixture layer disposed on a surface of the positive substrate" in combination with all of the other limitations taken as a whole.
Conclusion
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/B.M.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725