DETAILED ACTION
Application 18/135,581, “SECONDARY BATTERY”, was filed with the USPTO on 4/17/2023 and is CON of PCT/JP2021/032811 filed on 9/7/2021. It has a foreign priority document of JP2020-176941 filed on 10/21/2020.
This office action is in response to communication filed on 4/17/2023.
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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 18/135,581, filed on 4/17/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on 4/17/2023 fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed.
The IDS filed on 4/17/2023 failed to provide legible copies of two foreign references: JP5160559 B2 and JP5269793 B2. Therefore, they have been marked with strike-out lines on the IDS. Abstract information of the two references has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it has 256 words. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: “according to any claim 1”, line 1, claim 9 should read “according to claim 1”. Appropriate correction is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1, 3, 5 and 11-13 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4 and 6-7 of U.S. Patent No. 11,276,894 (hereinafter 894’) in view of Sodeyama (WO 2018/225394 A1, provided on the IDS dated 4/17/2023, see machine translate for citation), further in view of Guan et al. (CN 105470558 A, see machine translate for citation).
Regarding Claim 1, 894’ teaches a secondary battery (secondary battery, claim 1 of 894’, line 28) comprising:
a container member (housing member, claim 1 of 894’, line 29) including a bent part (bent portion, claim 1 of 894’, line 29) defining an open end part (open end, claim 1 of 894’, lines 29-30);
a battery device (battery element, claim 1 of 894’, line 31) contained inside the container member (see claim 1 of 894’, lines 31-32);
a cover member (lid member, claim 1 of 894’, line 35) that closes the open end part (see claim 1 of 894’, line 37); and
a sealing member (sealing member, claim 1 of 894’, line 42) interposed between the bent part and the cover member (see claim 1 of 894’, lines 42-43), wherein
the cover member (lid member, claim 1 of 894’, line 35) includes a first bottom surface (bottom surface, claim 1 of 894’, line 38), a first top surface (top surface, claim 1 of 894’, line 39), and a first side surface (side surface, claim 1 of 894’, line 40), the first bottom surface being opposed to the battery device (see claim 1 of 894’, line 38), the first top surface being positioned on an opposite side to the first bottom surface (see claim 1 of 894’, line 39), the first side surface being coupled to each of the first bottom surface and the first top surface (see claim 1 of 894’, lines 40-41),
the bent part (the bent portion, claim 1 of 894’, line 44) includes a tip part (specific bent portion, claim 1 of 894’, line 44), the tip part provided along the first side surface and the first top surface in this order (see claim 1 of 894’, lines 44-46),
the container member (the housing member, claim 1 of 894’, line 48) has an outer diameter (first outer diameter D1 (mm), claim 1 of 894’, line 48) in an intersecting direction (cross direction, claim 1 of 894’, line 49), the outer diameter being defined based on the bent part (see claim 1 of 894’, lines 48-49), the intersecting direction intersecting with a placing direction (housing direction, claim 1 of 894’, line 36, 57) in which the battery device is placed into the container member (see claim 1 of 894’, lines 36-37), and
a proportion (bending ratio R1 (=(L1/D1)×100%), claim 1 of 894’, line 47) of a length of the tip part (bending length L1 (mm) of the specific bent portion, claim 1 of 894’, line 50) in the intersecting direction (the cross direction, claim 1 of 894’, line 51) to the outer diameter of the container member (first outer diameter D1 (mm), claim 1 of 894’, line 48).
894’ does not teach
the bent part is provided along the first bottom surface, the first side surface, and the first top surface in this order;
the outer diameter is greater than or equal to 25 millimeters and less than or equal to 27 millimeters;
the proportion is greater than or equal to 8.0 percent and less than or equal to 10.0 percent.
However, Sodeyama teaches the bent part (11P, Fig. 3) is provided along the first bottom surface (14BS, Fig. 3), the first side surface (14SS, Fig. 3), and the first top surface (14TS, Fig. 3) in this order (see [0053]).
Sodeyama also teaches the proportion (R1, R1 = L1/D1, see [0066]) is greater than or equal to 8.0 percent and less than or equal to 10.0 percent (R1 = 9.8% for example 1-1, table 1, see [0265]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the bent portion taught by 894’ such that the bent part is provided along the first bottom surface, the first side surface, and the first top surface in this order as taught by Sodeyama in order to form the caulking structure (see Sodeyama [0053]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify bending ratio taught by 894’ such that the proportion becomes 9.8% as taught by Sodeyama to achieve 100% contact ratio/rate (when R1 = 9.8%, contact ratio/rate of example 1-1 is 100%; see Sodeyama table 1, [0265]) and thus electrolyte does not leak (see Sodeyama [0263]).
894’ in view of Sodeyama does not teach the outer diameter is greater than or equal to 25 millimeters and less than or equal to 27 millimeters.
Guan et al. teaches the outer diameter of container member is greater than or equal to 25 millimeters and less than or equal to 27 millimeters (The outer diameter of the steel shell is 26.0 ± 0.05 mm, see [010], [017]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the outer diameter of the container member taught by 894’ in view of Sodeyama such that the container member has an outer diameter of 26.0 ± 0.05 mm as taught by Guan et al. to avoid poor heat dissipation (see Guan et al. [003]).
Regarding Claim 3, 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein
the sealing member is provided along the first side surface and the first top surface in this order (claim 2 of 894’, lines 64-65), and
the sealing member has a thickness that is gradually reduced as the sealing member is provided from the first side surface toward the first top surface (claim 2 of 894’, lines 66-67).
Regarding Claim 5, 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein the tip part (the specific bent portion, claim 4 of 894’, line 18) has a thickness (thickness T3 (mm), claim 4 of 894’, line 18) of greater than or equal to 0.27 millimeters and less than or equal to 0.31millimeters (0.27 mm or more and 0.31 mm or less, claim 4 of 894’, lines 18-19).
Regarding Claim 11, 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein the sealing member includes polypropylene (claim 6 of 894’, lines 34-35).
Regarding Claim 12, 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein
the battery device (the battery element, claim 1 of 894’, line 32) includes a positive electrode (positive electrode, claim 1 of 894’, line 33).
However, 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach the positive electrode includes a lithium phosphoric acid compound having an olivine crystal structure.
Sodeyama teaches the positive electrode (21, Fig. 1) includes a lithium phosphoric acid compound (phosphoric acid compound containing lithium, see [0105]) having an olivine crystal structure (crystal structure such as an olivine type, see [0105]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the positive electrode taught by 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the positive electrode includes a lithium phosphoric acid compound having an olivine crystal structure as taught by Sodeyama to obtain a high energy density (see Sodeyama [0104]).
Regarding Claim 13, 894’ in view of Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein the secondary battery comprises a lithium-ion secondary battery (see claim 7 of 894’, lines 37-38).
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 1-3, 5-6, 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sodeyama (WO 2018/225394 A1, provided on the IDS dated 4/17/2023, see machine translate for citation) in view of Guan et al. (CN 105470558 A, see machine translate for citation).
Regarding Claim 1, Sodeyama teaches a secondary battery (Abstract) comprising:
a container member (11, Fig. 1, 3, see [0021]) including a bent part (11P, Fig. 3, see [0051]) defining an open end part (11N, Fig. 3, see [0051]);
a battery device (20, Fig. 1, see [0018]) contained inside the container member (11, Fig. 1);
a cover member (14, Fig. 1,2,3) that closes the open end part (see [0026], [0052]); and
a sealing member (15, Fig. 1,2,3) interposed between the bent part and the cover member (see [0028]), wherein
the cover member (14, Fig. 3) includes a first bottom surface (14BS, Fig. 3), a first top surface (14TS, Fig. 3), and a first side surface (14SS, Fig. 3), the first bottom surface (14BS, Fig. 3) being opposed to the battery device (14BS facing 20, see [0052]), the first top surface (14TS, Fig. 3) being positioned on an opposite side to the first bottom surface (14TS opposite to 14BS, see [0052]), the first side surface (14SS, Fig. 3) being coupled to each of the first bottom surface and the first top surface (14SS connected to each 14BS and 14TS, see [0052]),
the bent part (11P, Fig. 3) is provided along the first bottom surface (14BS, Fig. 3), the first side surface (14SS, Fig. 3), and the first top surface (14TS, Fig. 3) in this order (see [0053]) and includes a tip part (11 PP, Fig. 3, see [0053]), the tip part (11 PP, Fig. 3, see [0053]) provided along the first side surface (14SS, Fig. 3) and the first top surface (14TS, Fig. 3) in this order (see [0053]),
the container member (11, Fig. 2) has an outer diameter (D1, Fig. 2) in an intersecting direction (intersecting direction, see [0019], [0066]), the outer diameter (D1, Fig. 2) being defined based on the bent part, the intersecting direction intersecting with a placing direction (storage direction, see [0019], [0054]) in which the battery device is placed into the container member (see [0019], [0066]), and
a proportion (R1, R1 = L1/D1, see [0066]) of a length of the tip part (L1, Fig. 3, see [0066]) in the intersecting direction (intersecting direction, see [0066]) to the outer diameter of the container member (D1, Fig. 2) is greater than or equal to 8.0 percent and less than or equal to 10.0 percent (R1 = 9.8% for example 1-1; table 1, see [0265]).
Sodeyama does not teach the outer diameter of the container member is greater than or equal to 25 millimeters and less than or equal to 27 millimeters.
Guan et al. teaches the outer diameter of container member is greater than or equal to 25 millimeters and less than or equal to 27 millimeters (The outer diameter of the steel shell is 26.0 ± 0.05 mm, see [010], [017]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the outer diameter of the container member taught by Sodeyama such that the container member has an outer diameter of 26.0 ± 0.05 mm as taught by Guan et al. to avoid poor heat dissipation (see Guan et al. [003]).
Regarding Claim 2, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein
the tip part (11 PP, Fig. 3, see Sodeyama [0053]) and the cover member (14, Sodeyama Fig. 3) overlap with each other in the placing direction (tip portion of 11 PP overlaps with 14TS, see Sodeyama [0054]),
the cover member (14, Sodeyama Fig. 2) has an outer diameter (D2, Sodeyama Fig. 2, see Sodeyama [0077]) in the intersecting direction (intersecting direction, see Sodeyama [0077]), and
a proportion (R2, R2 = L2/D2, see Sodeyama [0077]) of a length (L2, Sodeyama Fig. 2, see Sodeyama [0077]), in the intersecting direction (intersecting direction, see Sodeyama [0077]), of a range in which the tip part and the cover member overlap with each other to the outer diameter of the cover member (D2, Sodeyama Fig. 2).
Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not explicitly teach the proportion is greater than or equal to 4.0 percent and less than or equal to 6.0 percent.
Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach the outer diameter of cover member is greater than or equal to 24 millimeters and less than or equal to 26 millimeters.
Sodeyama teaches the proportion (R2, R2 = L2/D2, see [0077]) is greater than or equal to 4.0 percent and less than or equal to 6.0 percent (6% or more and 9% or less, claim 2, see [0298]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the proportion taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the proportion is 6% as taught by Sodeyama to have a good open pressure and a good contact rate (see Sodeyama [0270]).
Guan et al. teaches the outer diameter of cover member is greater than or equal to 24 millimeters and less than or equal to 26 millimeters (The cap is 25.4 ± 0.05 mm in diameter, see [017]). >
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the outer diameter of the cover member taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the cover member has an outer diameter of 25.4 ± 0.05 mm as taught by Guan et al. because it’s known in the art by applying such a common type of cap with such outer diameter (see Guan et al. [017]).
Regarding Claim 3, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein
the sealing member (15, Sodeyama Fig. 3) is provided along the first side surface (14SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) and the first top surface (14TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) in this order (see Sodeyama [0053]), and
the sealing member has a thickness that is gradually reduced as the sealing member is provided from the first side surface toward the first top surface (see Sodeyama [0061]).
Regarding Claim 5, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein the tip part (11 PP, Sodeyama Fig. 3) has a thickness (T3, Sodeyama Fig. 3) of greater than or equal to 0.27 millimeters and less than or equal to 0.31 millimeters (0.27 mm to 0.31 mm, see Sodeyama [0091]).
Regarding Claim 6, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches further comprising
an adjacent member (31, Sodeyama Fig. 3) disposed adjacent to the first bottom surface (14BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), wherein
the adjacent member (31, Sodeyama Fig. 3) includes a second bottom surface (31BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), a second top surface (31TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), and a second side surface (31SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the second bottom surface (31BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) being opposed to the battery device (see Sodeyama [0058]), the second top surface (31TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) being adjacent to the first bottom surface (14BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the second side surface being coupled to each of the second bottom surface and the second top surface (see Sodeyama [0058]),
the bent part (11P, Sodeyama Fig. 3) is provided along the second bottom surface (31BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the second side surface (31SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the first side surface (14SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), and the first top surface (14TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) in this order (see Sodeyama [0059]), and
a total thickness (TT = T4 + T5, see Sodeyama [0094]) resulting from adding a thickness of the cover member (T4, Fig. 3, see Sodeyama [0094]) and a thickness of the adjacent member (T5, Sodeyama Fig. 3, see Sodeyama [0094]) together.
Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach the total thickness is greater than or equal to 1.0 millimeter and less than or equal to 1.4 millimeters.
Sodeyama teaches the total thickness is greater than or equal to 1.0 millimeter and less than or equal to 1.4 millimeters (0.8 mm or more and 1 mm or less, claim 6, see [0298]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the total thickness taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the total thickness is 1 mm as taught by Sodeyama so that the external tab can be easily connected to the battery lid while securing the battery capacity (see Sodeyama [0197]).
Regarding Claim 11, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein the sealing member (15, Sodeyama Fig. 1) includes polypropylene (polypropylene, Sodeyama [0029]).
Regarding Claim 12, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein
the battery device includes a positive electrode (21, Sodeyama Fig. 1), and
the positive electrode (21, Sodeyama Fig. 1) includes a lithium phosphoric acid compound (phosphoric acid compound containing lithium, see Sodeyama [0105]) having an olivine crystal structure (crystal structure such as an olivine type, see Sodeyama [0105]).
Regarding Claim 13, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein the secondary battery comprises a lithium-ion secondary battery (lithium ion secondary battery, Sodeyama [0016]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sodeyama (WO 2018/225394 A1, provided on the IDS dated 4/17/2023, see machine translate for citation) in view of Guan et al. (CN 105470558 A, see machine translate for citation), and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2010/0119935 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches further comprising
an adjacent member (31, Sodeyama Fig. 3) disposed adjacent to the first bottom surface (14BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), wherein
the adjacent member (31, Sodeyama Fig. 3) includes a second bottom surface (31BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), a second top surface (31TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), and a second side surface (31SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the second bottom surface (31BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) being opposed to the battery device (see Sodeyama [0058]), the second top surface (31TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) being adjacent to the first bottom surface (14BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the second side surface being coupled to each of the second bottom surface and the second top surface (see Sodeyama [0058]),
the bent part (11P, Sodeyama Fig. 3) is provided along the second bottom surface (31BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the second side surface (31SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), the first side surface (14SS, Sodeyama Fig. 3), and the first top surface (14TS, Sodeyama Fig. 3) in this order (see Sodeyama [0059]),
the tip part (11 PP, Sodeyama Fig. 3) includes a first tip part (first tip part, Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3) and a second tip part (second tip part, Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3), the first tip part extending along the first side surface (14SS, Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3), the second tip part extending along the first top surface (14TS, Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3) and being coupled to the first tip part (see Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3),
an angle (angle, see Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3) defined by a direction in which the first tip part extends and a direction in which the second tip part extends (see Examiner’s Annotated Fig. 3), and
a thickness difference (DT, see Sodeyama [0086]) is greater than or equal to 0.10 millimeters (0.1 mm or more, claim 4, see Sodeyama [0298]), the thickness difference (DT = T1 – T2, see Sodeyama [0086]) resulting from subtracting a thickness of the sealing member at a position corresponding to a tip of the bent part (T2, Sodeyama Fig. 3, see Sodeyama [0086]) in the intersecting direction from a thickness of the sealing member at a position corresponding to the second bottom surface (T1, Sodeyama Fig. 3, see Sodeyama [0086]) in the placing direction.
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Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach the angle is greater than or equal to 80 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degree and a thickness difference is less than or equal to 0.29 millimeters.
Kim et al. teaches the angle (angle α, Fig. 4) is greater than or equal to 80 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees (60 to 85 degrees, see [0058]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the angle as taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the angle is 80 to 85 degrees as taught by Kim et al. because such angle maintain the tight contact between the gasket and the crimping region and prevents the leakage of the electrolyte (see Kim et al. [0037], [0058]).
Sodeyama teaches a thickness difference is less than or equal to 0.29 millimeters (0.3 mm or less, see claim 4, see [0298]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the thickness difference taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the thickness difference is less than or equal to 0.29 mm as taught by Sodeyama to have external tab easily connected to the battery lid while ensuring the safety of the secondary battery (see Sodeyama [0088]).
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sodeyama (WO 2018/225394 A1, provided on the IDS dated 4/17/2023, see machine translate for citation) in view of Guan et al. (CN 105470558 A, see machine translate for citation), and further in view of Takano et al. (US 2021/0257607 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches wherein
the container member (11, Sodeyama Fig. 3) includes a recessed part (11U, Sodeyama Fig. 3) at which the bent part (11P, Sodeyama Fig. 3) is folded back in part along the first bottom surface (14BS, Sodeyama Fig. 3).
Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of an inner wall, of the container member, on a side closer to the cover member relative to a position of the recessed part as a reference in the placing direction is less than an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of an inner wall, of the container member, on a side farther from the cover member relative to the position of the recessed part as the reference in the placing direction.
Takano et al. teaches an arithmetic mean roughness Ra (Ra1, [0037]) of an inner wall (inner surface, [0036]), of the container member (15, Figure 1), on a side (S1, Figure 1) closer to the cover member (26, Figure 1) relative to a position of the recessed part (21, Figure 1) as a reference in the placing direction (see [0036]) is less than (Ra1 < Ra2, [0037]) an arithmetic mean roughness Ra (Ra2, [0037]) of an inner wall (inner surface, [0037]), of the container member (15, Figure 1), on a side (S2, Figure 1) farther from the cover member (26, Figure 1) relative to the position of the recessed part (21, Figure 1) as the reference in the placing direction (see [0037]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the inner wall of the container member taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of an inner wall, of the container member, on a side closer to the cover member relative to a position of the recessed part as a reference in the placing direction is less than an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of an inner wall, of the container member, on a side farther from the cover member relative to the position of the recessed part as the reference in the placing direction as taught by Takano et al., because setting Ra2>Ra1 reduces the electrical contact resistance of negative electrode thus higher output realized (see Takano [0039]).
Regarding Claim 8, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach wherein the arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the inner wall, of the container member, on the side closer to the cover member is less than or equal to 0.4 micrometers, and the arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the inner wall, of the container member, on the side farther from the cover member is greater than 0.4 micrometers.
Takano et al. teaches wherein
the arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the inner wall, of the container member, on the side closer to the cover member is less than or equal to 0.4 micrometers (Ra1 < 0.4 µm, [0038]), and
the arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the inner wall, of the container member, on the side farther from the cover member is greater than 0.4 micrometers (Ra2 > 0.4 µm, [0038]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to further modify the inner wall of the container member taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the inner wall, of the container member, on the side closer to the cover member is less than or equal to 0.4 micrometers, and the arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the inner wall, of the container member, on the side farther from the cover member is greater than 0.4 micrometers as taught by Takano et al., based on a basis of the arithmetic mean roughness specified in JIS B 0601-2001 (see Takano [0038]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sodeyama (WO 2018/225394 A1, provided on the IDS dated 4/17/2023, see machine translate for citation) in view of Guan et al. (CN 105470558 A, see machine translate for citation), in view of Kato et al. (US 20090269663 A1) and further in view of Maeda (JP 2000243359 A, see machine translate for citation).
Regarding Claim 9, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. teaches further comprising
A protective layer (asphalt, see Sodeyama [0028]) covering a surface of the sealing member (surface of the gasket, see Sodeyama [0028]) and including asphalt (see Sodeyama [0028]).
Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. doesn’t teach wherein the protective layer has an area density of greater than or equal to 0.060 milligrams per square centimeter and less than or equal to 0.100 milligrams per square centimeter.
Kato et al. teaches a protective layer (asphalt, see [0041]) covering a surface of the sealing member (13 of 5, Fig. 3) and including asphalt (see [0041]), wherein the protective layer (asphalt, see [0041]) has an area density (see [0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the thickness of the asphalt layer covering the gasket taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the area density is greater than or equal to 0.060 milligrams per square centimeter and less than or equal to 0.100 milligrams per square centimeter to reduce the likelihood of difficulty in forming the layer (Maeda [0030]) and because Applicant has not disclosed that are area density of 0.060-0.100 milligrams per square centimeter provides an advantage, is used for a particular purpose, or solves a stated problem. Hence, the modification would be considered a mere design consideration which fails to patentably distinguish over Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. in view of Kato et al. Note: the examiner would like to note that Area Density (AD) = Volume Density (VD) x Thickness (T) and in this case because Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. in view of Kato. teaches asphalt as the material used to cover the gasket VD is constant and AD varies based on T.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sodeyama (WO 2018/225394 A1, provided on the IDS dated 4/17/2023, see machine translate for citation) in view of Guan et al. (CN 105470558 A, see machine translate for citation), and further in view of Sano et al. (US 5851693 A).
Regarding Claim 10, Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. does not teach wherein the cover member includes stainless steel.
Sano et al. teaches wherein the cover member (1, Fig. 1) includes stainless steel (stainless steel, col.1, lines 39-40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the material of cover member taught by Sodeyama in view of Guan et al. such that the cover member includes stainless steel as taught by Sano et al. because it’s known in the art to have the material of cover member to be stainless steel (see Sano et al. col.1, lines 37-40).
Relevant or Related Art
The prior art made of record and not replied upon is considered pertinent to application’s disclosure, though not necessarily pertinent to applicant’s invention as claimed.
(DOO) US 2025/0087791 A1: similar design (FIG. 2)
(Kim) US 2020/0358048 A1: similar design (Fig. 1B)
(Kunoike) US 2010/0273047 A1: gasket has a high-strength layer (Fig. 2)
(Yun) US 2023/0155219 A1: gasket has an anti-corrosion layer
Conclusion
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/NING CHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723