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 claims 1-16 in the reply filed on 12/9/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-16 are currently being examined. Claim 17 is withdrawn.
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 1-16 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.
Claims 1, 5, 7-9, 12 and 16 recite the limitation "the two adjacent first tabs”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the aforementioned claims. Dependent claims 2-4, 6, 10, 11 and 13-15 are concurrently rejected because they depend from rejected independent claim 1.
Claims 1 and 16 recite the limitations “a width of the first tab close to a winding center” and “a width of the first tab away from the winding center. There is insufficient antecedent basis for “the first tab”.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the plurality of second tabs”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the aforementioned claim.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “the two adjacent second tabs”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the aforementioned claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-8 and 10-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hosokawa et al. (US 2023/0006315 A1), herein referred to as Hosokawa.
Regarding claims 1 and 16, Hosokawa teaches [0071-0075 and Figure 4] the preparation of a wound electrode body that includes a distal side of winding (winding ending section) and a proximal side of winding. Hosokawa further teaches (annotated Figure 4 below) adjacent electrode tabs (first tabs) can be configured to have a first tab with a larger width closer to a winding center and a first tab with a smaller width away from the winding center of the wound electrode body (represented by the arrows in Figure 4). Also, electrode tabs, on a side closer to the distal side of winding, can be configured to have smaller widths than adjacent tabs on a side closer to the proximal side of winding. Hosokawa further indicates the tabs are stacked on each other (first tabs are laminated).
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Regarding claim 2, Hosokowa teaches [0026] the electrode tabs each have a width that gradually increases from the distal side of winding to the proximal side of winding and the electrode tabs are stacked on each other (laminated). As seen in Figure 4 above, the proximal side of winding section (winding start section which is depicted as the section to the left of the winding center) is connected to the distal side of winding section (winding ending section which is depicted as the section to the right of the winding center). The electrode tab designated with the width TW therefore is considered to be a tab that has a width greater than or equal to the tab close to the winding center (width of the second tab being greater than or equal to the width of the first tab closest to the winding center).
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Regarding claim 3, Hosokowa teaches [0025-0026] multiple second tabs being formed in the proximal side of winding section and the widths of the second tabs can be configured to be equal.
Regarding claim 4, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) four second tabs being formed on the wound electrode body, which is less than 25.
Regarding claim 5, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) the second tab closest to the winding center has a width greater than a second tab positioned adjacent to the second tab which is away from the winding center.
Regarding claim 6, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) the first tabs have portions that attach to the distal side of winding section (connection ends) and portions that extend from the distal side of the winding section (free ends).
Regarding claim 7, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) a width difference between first tabs (distance between features 40a in the distal winding section) is equal.
Regarding claim 8, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) in a stacking direction of the plurality of first tabs, a width difference between two adjacent first tabs gradually increases in a direction of the plurality of first tabs facing away from the winding center.
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) the height of the first tabs can be configured to decrease in a direction away from the winding center and a ratio of the width and height of the respective first tabs can be configured to be the same.
Regarding claim 12, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 4) a distance between the two adjacent first tabs gradually increases in a winding direction of the wound electrode body.
Regarding claims 13 and 14, Hosokowa teaches (Figure 1) a battery cell comprising a case and the wound electrode body accommodated in the case, wherein the case has a box configuration.
Regarding claim 15, Hosokowa teaches [0006] a battery structure (electrical device) that comprises the battery cell with the wound electrode body.
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hosokawa et al. (US 2023/0006315 A1), herein referred to as Hosokawa, in view of Li et al. (US 2020/0373546 A1), herein referred to as Li, provided in Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement filed 1/2/2025.
Hosokawa teaches the wound electrode assembly recited in claim 1. Hosokawa does not appear to explicitly teach the limitations of claim 9 directed to the width difference of adjacent first tabs being between 0.5 mm and 4 mm.
However, from the same field of technology, Li discloses an electrode sheet and battery cell. In view of claim 9, Li teaches [0036-0037] an electrode sheet comprising a plurality of tabs connected to the electrode sheet. The length difference between the widths (width difference) of every two adjacent tabs is about 2 millimeters and the tabs may further be stacked. The length difference between the widths of the tabs taught by Li falls within the claimed range of 0.5 mm to 4 mm.
At the time of the filing date of the pending application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the wound electrode body taught by Hosokawa to include the teachings of Li directed to forming electrode tabs having a spacing interval of 2 millimeters between respective electrode tabs in order to devise a battery with improved electrical conduction between the electrode tabs of the electrode and an electrical device connected to the battery. Therefore, claim 9 would have been obvious at the time the pending application was filed.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEWART A FRASER whose telephone number is (571)270-5126. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 7am-4pm, EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached at 571-270-5256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEWART A FRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724