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 .
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendment received on 06/17/2026:
Claims 1-9 are pending in the current application. Claim 1 has been amended.
The previous prior art-based rejection have been withdrawn in light of the amendments to the claims.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks Page 5, filed 06/17/2026, with respect to the objection to the drawings have been fully considered. The objection has been withdrawn in light of Applicant showing reference numeral 11R is found in P32 of US20203/0335804A1 (the published version of the instant application).
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot due to the amendment to the claims.
Upon further consideration of claim 6, a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) and a new rejection utilizing Hamazaki et al (JP2008166030A, using the provided machine English translation from Espacenet) are set forth below.
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.
Claim 6 is 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 claim(s) contains 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 6 recites “…wherein the electrode wound body has one or more flat surfaces, in which the positive electrode active material uncovered part, the negative electrode active material uncovered part, or both are bent toward a central axis of the wound structure to form the one or more flat surfaces, and a groove provided in each of the one or more flat surfaces”.
Applicant’s specification recites:
“[0049] Next, a method of fabricating the lithium ion battery 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6, views A to F. First, the positive electrode active material was applied on the surface of the positive electrode foil 2IA having a band shape to thereby form the positive electrode active material covered part 21B, and the negative electrode active material was applied on the surface of the negative electrode foil 22A having a band shape to thereby form the negative electrode active material covered part 22B. At this time, the positive electrode active material uncovered part 21C without the positive electrode active material applied thereon was provided on one end side in the width direction of the positive electrode foil 21A, and the negative electrode foil 22A was provided with the negative electrode active material uncovered part 22C (including the first negative electrode active material uncovered part 221A, the second negative electrode active material uncovered part 221B, and the third negative electrode active material uncovered part 221C) without the negative electrode active material applied thereon. Further, the insulating layer 22D was provided when providing the negative electrode active material covered part 22B. Thereafter, the positive electrode 21 and the negative electrode 22 were subjected to processes including a drying process. Thereafter, the positive electrode 21 and the negative electrode 22 were laid over each other with the separator 23 interposed therebetween in such a manner that the positive electrode active material uncovered part 21 C and the negative electrode active material uncovered part 22C faced toward opposite directions, and they were wound in a spiral shape to allow the through hole 26 to develop on the central axis. Thus, the electrode wound body 20 as illustrated in FIG. 6, view A was fabricated.
[0050] Thereafter, grooves 43 were produced, as illustrated in FIG. 6, view B, in a portion of each of the end faces 41 and 42 by pressing an edge of a thin flat plate or the like (having a thickness of 0.5 mm, for example) perpendicularly against each of the end faces 41 and 42. By this method, the grooves 43 were produced to extend radially from the through hole 26. For example, the grooves 43 extend from an outer edge part 27 of the end face 41 to the through hole 26, or from an outer edge part 28 of the end face 42 to the through hole 26. Note that the number and arrangement of the grooves 43 illustrated in FIG. 6B are merely one example, and the illustrated example is thus non-limiting.
[0051 ] Thereafter, as illustrated in FIG. 6, view C, the end faces 41 and 42 were made into flat surfaces by applying equal pressures to the end faces 41 and 42 simultaneously from both electrode sides in directions substantially perpendicular to the end faces 41 and 42 and thereby bending the positive electrode active material uncovered part 21C and the negative electrode active material uncovered part 22C (in this example, the first negative electrode active material uncovered part 221A) toward the central axis of a wound structure. At this time, a load was applied using, for example, a plate surface of a flat plate or the like to cause portions of the positive electrode active material uncovered part 21 C that are located at the end face 41 to overlap with each other toward the central axis and to cause portions of the first negative electrode active material uncovered part 221A that are located at the end face 42 to overlap with each other toward the central axis.
Thereafter, the fan-shaped part 31 of the positive electrode current collector 24 was coupled to the end face 41 by laser welding, and the fan-shaped part 33 of the negative electrode current collector 25 was coupled to the end face 42 by laser welding.”.
From Applicant’s description of the specification, it appears the grooves are formed by the bending of the end faces of the positive electrode active material uncovered part and the negative electrode active material uncovered part. Then, from Applicant’s description of the specification, it appears the end faces are formed into flat surfaces after the grooves are formed. See Applicant’s Fig. 6 below annotated by the Examiner.
PNG
media_image1.png
638
549
media_image1.png
Greyscale
From Applicant’s description, it appears the grooves are separate from the flat surfaces formed and are not provided in each of the one of more flat surfaces as claimed in claim 6. The flat surfaces appear to be the sections between the grooves formed by the bending of the end faces rather than flat sections in which a groove is formed therein.
In order to advance prosecution, the Examiner has applied prior art to the best of their ability.
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.
Claim 1, thus dependent claims 2-9, is 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the metal or metal compound". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Given claims 2-9 depend from claim 1, they are rejected for the same reasons.
The Examiner is interpreting the claim to recite “…a metal or metal compound included in the insulating layer has an X-ray shielding effect higher than a predetermined X-ray shielding effect…”.
The Examiner further notes that claim 2 states “…wherein the insulating layer includes a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than an X-ray shielding effect of a metal included in the negative electrode foil, or includes a metal compound including a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than the X-ray shielding effect of the metal included in the negative electrode foil”.
In light of the interpretation of claim 1, which claim 2 depends upon, the “metal” or “metal compound” recited in claim 2 is being interpreted as the same metal or metal compound set forth in claim 1.
Appropriate correction to resolve the clarity issues highlighted above is required.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwak et al (US 20140147714 A1) in view of Ahn (US 20120321924 A1) in view of Lin (US 20200144595 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kwak discloses a secondary battery (rechargeable battery 101 in Fig. 1; see entire disclosure and especially P36) comprising:
an electrode wound body including a positive electrode having a band shape (11 in Figs. 1-3) and a negative electrode having a band shape (12 in Figs. 1-3), the positive electrode and the negative electrode being stacked with a separator interposed therebetween (13 in Figs. 1-3; see entire disclosure and especially P36);
a positive electrode current collector (current collecting tap 42 in Fig. 2; see entire disclosure and especially P41);
a negative electrode current collector (current collecting tap 41 in Fig. 2; see entire disclosure and especially P41); and
a battery can containing the electrode wound body, the positive electrode current collector, and the negative electrode current collector (case 28 in Fig. 2; see entire disclosure and especially P36, 38), wherein
the positive electrode includes, on a positive electrode foil having a band shape (positive electrode current collector 122 formed of a thin plate metal foil in Figs. 3-4), a positive electrode active material covered part covered with a positive electrode active material layer (positive electrode coating portion 11a with positive active material layer 113 in Figs. 3-4), and a positive electrode active material uncovered part (positive electrode side end uncoated region 11b in Figs. 3-4; see entire disclosure and especially P47, 49),
the negative electrode includes, on a negative electrode foil having a band shape (negative electrode current collector 122 formed of a thin plate metal foil in Figs. 3-4), a negative electrode active material covered part covered with a negative electrode active material layer (negative electrode coating portion 12a with negative active material layer 123 in Figs. 3-4), a negative electrode active material uncovered part extending at least in a longitudinal direction of the negative electrode foil (negative electrode side end uncoated region 12b in Figs. 3-4; see entire disclosure and especially P50, 52),
the positive electrode active material uncovered part is coupled to the positive electrode current collector at one of end parts of the electrode wound body, and the negative electrode active material uncovered part is coupled to the negative electrode current collector at another of the end parts of the electrode wound body (see Figs. 3-4).
Kwak further discloses the negative electrode foil is made of copper (P50).
However, Kwak does not disclose an insulating layer provided between the negative electrode active material covered part and the negative electrode active material uncovered part, wherein a metal or metal compound included in the insulating layer has an X-ray shielding effect higher than a predetermined X-ray shielding effect, and the insulating layer is provided on a surface of the negative electrode foil in the negative electrode active material uncovered part and is in contact with an end face of the negative electrode active material covered part to form a boundary.
In a similar field of endeavor, Ahn teaches a jelly roll (150 in Fig. 1) including a positive electrode plate (160 in Figs. 3A-3B), a negative electrode plate (170 in Figs. 3A-3B), and a separator (180 in Figs. 3A-3B, P36-37). Ahn teaches the negative electrode plate includes a negative electrode active material layer (173 in Figs. 3A-3B) formed on a negative electrode collector (171 in Figs. 3A-3B), and the negative electrode plate is divided into the negative active material layer section and a negative electrode non-coating portion (172 in Figs. 3A-3B, P40, 43).
Ahn teaches a portion of the negative electrode non-coating portion can be covered by an insulating member (175 in Figs. 3A-3B), however a side portion can stay exposed (P44, 47). Ahn teaches the insulating member serves as a reinforcing member for reinforcing the mechanical strength at the end of the jelly roll (P45).
As seen in Figs. 3A-3B of Ahn, the insulating member (175) is in contact with an end face of the negative electrode active material layer (173) and forms a boundary.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have utilized the teaching of Ahn and provided to Kwak an insulating layer provided between the negative electrode active material covered part and the negative electrode active material uncovered part, wherein the insulating layer is provided on a surface of the negative electrode foil in the negative electrode active material uncovered part and is in contact with an end face of the negative electrode active material covered part to form a boundary, such as providing the insulating member as taught by Ahn to the battery of Kwak, given Ahn teaches their insulating member can serve to reinforce the mechanical strength at the end of a rolled electrode assembly.
However, modified Kwak does not meet the limitation wherein a metal or metal compound included in the insulating layer has an X-ray shielding effect higher than a predetermined X-ray shielding effect.
In a similar field of endeavor, Lin teaches a cathode can include a current collector, active material layer, and insulating layer (P44). Lin teaches the insulating layer can include at least one of inorganic particles and polymers (P55). Lin teaches the inorganic particles can be yttrium oxide or barium sulfate, and the polymer can be polyethylene or polypropylene (P55).
While the insulating layer of Lin is utilized for a cathode rather than an anode, it is still an insulating layer having insulating properties; therefore, the materials used that provide the insulation would still be relevant to the insulating layer of modified Kwak. A rationale to support a conclusion that a claim would have been obvious is that all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 (2007) (see MPEP §§ 2143 and 2143.02).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have utilized the teaching of Lin and selected the materials of the insulating layer of modified Kwak to include inorganic particles of yttrium oxide or barium sulfate and a polymer of polyethylene or polypropylene, given Lin teaches these materials are known to be used in an insulating layer and the selection of a known material, which is based upon its suitability for the intended use, is within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960) (see MPEP § 2144.07).
Applicant’s instant specification states:
“A material of the negative electrode foil 22A is a metal foil including, for example, nickel, a nickel alloy, copper, or a copper alloy” (P21), and
“Furthermore, the insulating layer 22D includes a metal or metal compound having an X-ray shielding effect higher than a predetermined X-ray shielding effect. Specifically, the insulating layer 22D includes a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than that of the metal included in the negative electrode foil 22A (the metal mainly included in the negative electrode foil 22A), or a metal compound including a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than that of the metal included in the negative electrode foil 22A (the metal mainly included in the negative electrode foil 22A). More specifically, the insulating layer 22D includes particles of the above- described metal, or particles of the above-described metal compound. [0048] The metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than that of the metal included in the negative electrode foil 22A includes one or more selected from the group consisting of tungsten (W), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), and gold (Au), for example. The metal compound including a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than that of the metal included in the negative electrode foil 22A includes one or more selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide, a metal sulfate compound, and a metal carbonate compound. The metal oxide includes one or more selected from the group consisting of yttrium oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum pentoxide, and tungsten oxide, for example. The metal sulfate compound includes one or more selected from the group consisting of barium sulfate and strontium sulfate, for example. The metal carbonate compound includes strontium carbonate, for example” (P47-48).
Given modified Kwak includes a copper foil as the negative electrode current collector and an insulating layer including yttrium oxide or barium sulfate, modified Kwak would inherently meet the limitation “wherein the insulating layer includes a metal or metal compound having an X-ray shielding effect higher than a predetermined X-ray shielding effect”.
Regarding claim 2, modified Kwak meets the limitation wherein the insulating layer includes a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than an X-ray shielding effect of a metal included in the negative electrode foil, or includes a metal compound including a metal having an X-ray shielding effect higher than the X-ray shielding effect of the metal included in the negative electrode foil (yttrium oxide or barium sulfate for the insulating layer; copper for the negative electrode foil; see the rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 3, modified Kwak meets the limitation wherein the metal comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of tungsten, iridium, platinum, and gold, and the metal compound comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide, a metal sulfate compound, and a metal carbonate compound (yttrium oxide or barium sulfate; see the rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 4, modified Kwak meets the limitation wherein the metal oxide comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of yttrium oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum pentoxide, and tungsten oxide, the metal sulfate compound comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of barium sulfate and strontium sulfate, and the metal carbonate compound comprises strontium carbonate (yttrium oxide or barium sulfate; see the rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 5, modified Kwak meets the limitation wherein the metal included in the negative electrode foil comprises copper (see the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 7, Kwak discloses wherein the negative electrode further includes a negative electrode active material uncovered part at an end part in the longitudinal direction on each of a beginning side of winding and an end side of the winding (negative electrode inner uncoated region 12c and negative electrode outer uncoated region 12d in Figs. 3-4; see entire disclosure and especially P53).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwak et al (US 20140147714 A1) in view of Ahn (US 20120321924 A1) in view of Lin (US 20200144595 A1) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Hamazaki et al (JP2008166030A, using the provided machine English translation from Espacenet).
Regarding claim 6, Kwak discloses that their secondary battery is a rectangular lithium ion battery, however further states that various battery shapes can be used, such as a cylindrical battery (P37). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have changed the form/shape of the secondary battery of modified Kwak to be a cylindrical battery, given Kwak discloses the battery can be of a cylindrical shape, and the change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design. See In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1976) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
However, modified Kwak does not meet the limitation wherein the electrode wound body has one or more flat surfaces, in which the positive electrode active material uncovered part, the negative electrode active material uncovered part, or both are bent toward a central axis of the wound structure to form the one or more flat surfaces, and a groove provided in each of the one or more flat surfaces.
In a similar field of endeavor, Hamazaki teaches fabricating a spiral electrode body can be done by winding a negative electrode, a separator, and a positive electrode to create a winding body (P32). Hamazaki teaches an exposed portion of the negative electrode can protrude from one side (P32).
After the winding, Hamazaki teaches a plurality of grooves can be formed radially on the exposed portion of the negative electrode on the one side (P33). Then, Hamazaki teaches the rest of the exposed portion of the negative electrode can be tapped down in order to provide a flat surface for a current collector plate to be welded thereto (P34-35).
Hamazaki teaches providing the plurality of grooves before the tapping allows the entire exposed portion to bend radially inward in a nearly uniform manner (P34). Hamazaki further teaches their invention allows the spiral electrode body and the current collector plate to be welded in good condition using a simple method (P30).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have utilized the teaching of Hamazaki and formed the electrode wound body and battery of modified Kwak by the method set forth by Hamazaki such that grooves are formed in the negative active material uncovered part then the rest of the negative active uncovered material part is tapped/bent toward a central axis of the wound structure to form one or more flat surfaces, given Hamazaki teaches this allows an exposed portion to be bend radially inward in a uniform manner to provide a flat surface for a current collector to be welded thereto and allows a spiral electrode body and a current collector plate to be welded in good condition using a simple method.
Claims 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwak et al (US 20140147714 A1) in view of Ahn (US 20120321924 A1) in view of Lin (US 20200144595 A1) as applied to claim 1, further in view of Ichikawa (US 20150159996 A1).
Regarding claims 8-9, modified Kwak does not meet the limitation wherein the secondary battery is used within electronic equipment or an electric tool.
In a similar field of endeavor, Ichikawa teaches a lithium secondary battery is widely used for a portable electronic equipment, a camera, a watch, an electric tool, a hybrid vehicle battery, etc. (P5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have utilized the teaching of Ichikawa and used the secondary battery of modified Kwak within electronic equipment or an electronic tool, given Ichikawa teaches lithium secondary batteries are known to be used within them.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mary Byram whose telephone number is (571)272-0690. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-5 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MARY GRACE HARRIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1729
Prosecution Insights