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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 5/24/23 has been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon et al. (US 2014/0141326) in view of .
Regarding claim 1, Kwon teaches an electrode body, or unit electrode plate (600), including a current collector and active material layer (Figure 3, [0015]), and an electrode tab (200) coupled to the current collector.
Kwon further teaches that the electrode body includes first and second curved end parts as claimed:
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The examiner finds that it is clear from Figure 3 of Kwon that the curved end parts meet the noncurved end parts to form obtuse angles.
Further regarding claim 1 and with regard to claim 3, Kwon teaches third and fourth curved end parts wherein the curvature radii are different from each other, i.e. are asymmetrical ([0025]) but is silent on asymmetry of the first and second corners. However, Kwon additionally teaches that the shape of the corners of devices are optimized for improve grip, and that the shapes of the batteries provided for devices are also controlled to match the shape of the device in order to minimize dead space and increase capacity ([0004]-[0005]). The examiner finds that it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to change individually the shapes of the corners of the electrode body of Kwon in order to minimize dead space, resulting in different shapes, or curvature radii. It has been held that changes in shape are within he ordinary level of skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04 IV
Regarding claim 2, for the reasons discussed above with reference to claim 1, the examiner finds that it would have been obvious to the skilled artisan to find workable ranges for the curvature radii of the electrode body. MPEP 2144.05
With regard to claims 6-8, Kwon teaches a battery comprising the electrode discussed above and an electrolytic solution containing lithium salt, therefore forming a lithium-ion battery ([0033]). Kwon further teaches that the electrode discussed above is both the positive and negative electrodes ([0008]); therefore both contain corner parts as required.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon in view of Daidoji (WO 2013/031938).
The teachings of Kwon as discussed above are incorporated herein.
Regarding claim 4, Kwon teaches the electrode plate having the structural elements of claim 4 as discussed above with reference to claim 1. Kwon further teaches a manufacturing method for the electrode comprising:
preparing an electrode precursor, or a long electrode sheet having electrode active material applied and electrode tabs formed ([0008]-[0009]);
and cutting the electrode plate, or stamping the electrode sheet to form the notch portions ([0028]-[0031]), thereby forming the corner portions discussed above.
Kwon is silent on the use of first and second cutting blades to form the claimed structure.
Daidoji teaches a method of forming a chamfered portion of an electrode using a cutting tool ([0020]). Daidoji teaches that a cutting tool includes curved blade parts, or curved portions (613), and noncurved blade parts, or flat portions (612), in order to form the chamfered corners of the electrode (Figure 4, [0021]).
It would have been obvious to the skilled artisan at the time of the invention to use cutting blades such as suggested by Daidoji in the method of Kwon in order to form the chamfered, or rounded, corners, including more than one blade to form different corners and different shapes. It has been held that simple substitution of one known element (i.e. cutting blades) for another (i.e. stamping tool) for another to obtain predictable results (i.e. forming rounded corners) is within the ordinary level of skill in the art. MPEP 2143 I B
As for claim 5, it is seen in Figure 1 of Daidoji that the use of blades is repeated.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Vonderhagen et al. (US 2014/0072867) is pertinent to claim 2 and radii of curvature ([0022]).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALIX ECHELMEYER EGGERDING whose telephone number is (571)272-1101. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am - 4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ula Ruddock can be reached at 571-272-1481. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ALIX E EGGERDING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729