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 .
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-7, 9-11, and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (CN 108232051 A, hereinafter Huang, cited by applicant) in view of Higuchi et al. (JP 2008-262827 A, hereinafter Higuchi, cited by applicant) and Nakamura et al. (US 2011/0300444 A1, hereinafter Nakamura, previously cited).
Re Claim 1. Huang teaches a battery (Fig. 1) comprising:
an outer package member (item 1) having a flat and columnar shape and including a first bottom part (item 12) and a second bottom part (bottom of item 11) opposed to each other;
an electrode terminal provided (item 4) on the first bottom part and insulated from the first bottom part;
a battery device (item 2) contained inside the outer package member and including a first electrode (item 22) and a second electrode (item 21), the first electrode and the second electrode being opposed to each other and being wound (Fig. 1);
a first wiring line (item 22) that is so coupled to the first electrode as to protrude from the battery device toward the first bottom part and is coupled to the electrode terminal; and
a second wiring line (item 21) that is so coupled to the second electrode as to protrude from the battery device toward the first bottom part and is coupled to the first bottom part, wherein
the battery device has a winding center space (Fig. 1) at a center around which the first electrode and the second electrode are each wound, and
the second wiring line includes a tip part (end of item 21) that is bent in a direction approaching the winding center space and is coupled to the first bottom part,
the first wiring line is coupled to the first electrode in a region on a front side (right side of item 2) relative to the winding center space.
Huang fails to specifically teach that the battery is a secondary battery, the first wiring line is extended from the region on the front side relative to the winding center space to a region on a back side relative to the winding center space, and that the first wiring line is folded back at the region on the back side relative to the winding center space.
The invention of Higuchi encompasses coin shaped lithium secondary battery having a wound electrodes.
In view of Higuchi, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the invention of Huang to make a secondary battery, as one can reuse the battery.
The invention of Nakamura encompasses lithium ion secondary battery. Nakamura teaches that the first wiring line (Fig. 2, item 25) is extended from the region on the front side (left side of item 20) relative to the winding center space (item 24) to a region on a back side (right side of item 20) relative to the winding center space, and that the first wiring line is folded back at the region on the back side relative to the winding center space (Fig. 2).
In view of Nakamura, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the invention of Huang in view of Higuchi to have first wiring line extended from the region on the front side relative to the winding center space to a region on a back side relative to the winding center space, and that the first wiring line folded back at the region on the back side relative to the winding center space, since using a well-known configuration for the wiring line is within purview of one skill in the art.
Re Claim 2. The combination teaches wherein the outer package member further includes a sidewall part (Huang, Fig. 1) provided between the first bottom part and the second bottom part, and the second wiring line is separated from the sidewall part (Fig. 1).
Re Claim 3. The combination teaches wherein the battery device further includes a separator (Huang, Fig. 1, item 23) provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, the first electrode, the second electrode, and the separator are wound in such a manner that the separator is disposed in an outermost wind (Fig. 1), and the second wiring line is separated from the sidewall part (Fig. 1), the separator disposed in the outermost wind in the battery device being provided between the second wiring line and the sidewall part (Fig. 1).
Re Claim 4. The combination teaches teach the second wiring line (Nakamura, Fig. 8, item 65) folded back once between the battery device and the first bottom part.
Re Claim 5. The combination teaches wherein the second wiring line (Nakamura, Fig. 8, item 65) has a crease at a location where the second wiring line is folded back.
Re Claim 6. The combination teaches wherein the tip part (Huang, Fig. 1, end of item 21) is separated from the first wiring line (item 22), and is so disposed as not to overlap with the first wiring line.
Re Claim 7. The combination teaches wherein a position where the first wiring line (Huang, Fig. 1, item 21) is coupled to the first electrode and a position where the second wiring line (item 22) is coupled to the second electrode are opposed to each other with the winding center space provided therebetween.
Re Claim 9. The combination teaches the first wiring line (Nakamura, Fig. 2, item 25) is folded back once or more between the battery device and the electrode terminal.
Re Claim 10. The combination teaches wherein the first wiring line (Nakamura, Fig. 2, item 25) has a crease at a location where the first wiring line is folded back.
Re Claim 11. The combination teaches wherein the outer package member further includes a sidewall part lying between the first bottom part and the second bottom part, and a length of the first wiring line between the battery device and the electrode terminal satisfies a relationship represented by Expression (1) below,
L1≥(L2+L3) (1) where L1 is the length of the first wiring line between the battery device and the electrode terminal, L2 is a distance from a position where the first wiring line is coupled to the first electrode, to the sidewall part located on a side opposite, across the winding center space, to the position where the first wiring line is coupled to the first electrode, and L3 is a distance from the sidewall part located on the side opposite, across the winding center space, to the position where the first wiring line is coupled to the first electrode, to a position where the first wiring line is coupled to the electrode terminal (Nakamura, Fig. 2).
Re Claim 14. The combination teaches wherein the first bottom part includes a recessed part (Huang, Fig. 1, item 121) resulting from the first bottom part being bent to protrude in part toward an inside of the outer package member, and at least a portion of the electrode terminal is disposed inside the recessed part (Fig. 1).
Re Claim 15. The combination teaches wherein the outer package member further includes a sidewall part (Huang, Fig. 1, vertical wall of item 11) lying between the first bottom part and the second bottom part, the outer package member includes a cover part (item 12) corresponding to the first bottom part, and a container part (item 11) containing the battery device inside (Fig. 1), the container part corresponding to the second bottom part and the sidewall part and having an opening (Fig. 1), and the cover part is welded to the container part at the opening (P3).
Re Claim 16. The combination teaches wherein the secondary battery comprises a lithium-ion secondary battery (Higuchi).
Claim(s) 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang in view of Higuchi and Nakamura as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Fuhr et al. (US 2011/0256433 A1, hereinafter Fuhr, previously cited).
The teachings of Huang in view of Higuchi and Nakamura have been discussed above.
Huang in view of Higuchi and Nakamura fails to specifically teach that the secondary battery comprises a plurality of the first/second wiring lines, and the secondary battery further comprises a first/second electric coupling member that couples the plurality of first/second wiring lines to each other.
The invention of Fuhr encompasses current collector for an electrochemical cell. Fuhr teaches that the secondary battery comprises a plurality of the first wiring lines (Fig. 9, item 142), and the secondary battery further comprises a first electric coupling member (center of item 140) that couples the plurality of first wiring lines to each other, and that the secondary battery comprises a plurality of the second wiring lines (Fig. 21, item 642), and the secondary battery further comprises a second electric coupling member (item 644) that couples the plurality of second wiring lines to each other.
In view of Fuhr, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to modify the invention of Huang in view of Higuchi and Nakamura to employ a plurality of the first/second wiring lines and a first/second electric coupling member that couples the plurality of first/second wiring lines to each other, since Fuhr teaches the advantage of using them, which is to contact the edge of the electrode and collect current (para. 72 & 73).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Newly applied reference, Nakamura addresses the new limitations.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
The rejections above rely on the references for all the teachings expressed in the text of the references and/or one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably understood from the texts. Only specific portions of the texts have been pointed out to emphasize certain aspects of the prior art, however, each reference as a whole should be reviewed in responding to the rejection, since other sections of the same reference and/or various combinations of the cited references may be relied on in future rejections in view of amendments.
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/KEVIN E YOON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735
1/17/2026