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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office Action.
Claims 1-2, 4, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ono (US 2020/0373625 - previously cited) in view of Sohn et al., hereinafter, Sohn (KR 20160004094).
Regarding claim 1, Ono teaches:
A secondary battery (¶ 23, stacked battery), comprising:
an electrode assembly (¶ 23, power generation element) including a plurality of first electrode plates (¶ 23, plurality of electrodes) coated with a first active material (¶ 24, positive electrode active material layer 12 is disposed on at least one surface of a positive electrode current collector 11), a plurality of second electrode plates coated with a second active material (¶ 24, negative electrode active material layer 22 is disposed on at least one surface of a negative electrode current collector 21), and a separator positioned between each of the plurality of first electrode plates and each of the plurality of second electrode plates (¶ 23, plurality of separators); and
a case accommodating the electrode assembly through an internal space (¶ 23, exterior member 50 that accommodates the power generation element), wherein the electrode assembly includes a fixing member on at least one surface in contact with the case and in direct contact (¶ 23, second bonding portions 62 for bonding outermost layers 40a of the power generation element 40 and an inner side 50a of the exterior member 50), and
a plurality of first substrate tabs protruding from the plurality of first electrode plates (see Fig. 4 below).
Ono also teaches that the outermost layer 40a of the power generation element 40 shown in Figure 4 is the negative electrode current collector 21, but that it is not limited to this case and can be any other layer of the power generation element, including the negative electrode active material layer 22, or the positive electrode active material layer 12, but does not teach that these layers are semi-coated in a region spaced apart from the substrate tabs, and that the fixing member attaches to the semi-coated portion.
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Figure 4 of Ono
In a related field of endeavor, Sohn teaches a battery with an electrode plate 110 that has both a coated area 114 and a non-coated area 116a with a fixing member exemplified as tape only on the non-coated area 116a (see Fig. 2 of Sohn below). It would have been obvious one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date to modify the electrode assembly of Ono with the electrode assembly of Sohn. One would have been motivated to do so to create an electrode assembly that was fixed together (Sohn ¶ beginning with “However, according to one embodiment”).
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Figure 2 of Sohn
Regarding claim 2, Ono in view of Sohn teaches the secondary battery of claim 1, wherein the fixing member is attached to at least a portion of a lower surface of the electrode assembly (second bonding portions 62 on lower surface of electrode assembly, Fig. 4 of Ono)
Regarding claim 4, Ono in view of Sohn teaches the secondary battery of claim 1, wherein the fixing member is attached to two side surfaces facing each other among the side surfaces of the electrode assembly (second bonding portions 62 on the upper and lower sides of the electrode assembly, Fig. 4 of Ono).
Regarding claim 8, Ono in view of Sohn teaches the battery of claim 1, wherein the fixing member includes polystyrene or polyethylene (Ono ¶ 31, the second bonding portion 62 can be made of an olefin-based resin such as polyethylene).
Claims 6-7, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ono (US 2020/0373625 - previously cited) in view of Sohn (KR 20160004094) in further view of Maeda (2017/0346130 - previously cited).
Regarding claims 6-7, and 9, Ono in view of Sohn teaches the battery of claim 1, but does not teach a first thickness of the fixing member corresponding to a second thickness of the active material in an area other than the semi-coated portion, that the fixing member is a tape or spray coating, or that the fixing member is 10µm - 60µm.
In the same field of endeavor of batteries, Maeda is directed to a double-sided tape for fixing electrode stacks to cases. The tape is made of a heat-sensitive adhesive with thickness of 1 - 20µm (¶ 0059), a pressure-sensitive adhesive with thickness of 2 - 10 µm (¶ 0060), and a substrate polyolefin film with thickness of 10 - 100µm (¶ 0029), for a combined thickness of 13 - 130µm. Maeda also teaches a negative electrode active material with thickness of 30 - 300µm (¶ 0115), overlapping with the range of the fixing member. The thickness of the heat-sensitive and pressure-sensitive adhesive layers are between 1 - 20µm and of 2 - 10µm, respectively, to optimize adhesive force and battery capacity (¶ 0059), and the thickness of the polyolefin film is between 10 - 100µm for ease of handling (¶ 0029). Additionally, using both a heat-sensitive side and pressure-sensitive side allows for better capacity retention ratios after vibration and high temperature tests (¶ 0170, Table 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have utilized the double-sided tape of Maeda with the stacked battery and case of Ono in view of Sohn. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the battery’s resilience to high temperatures and vibrations.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks section C ¶ 6-8, filed 3 June 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-2, 4, and 6-9 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 103 in view of Ono and Maeda have been fully considered and are persuasive. Ono does not teach the amended limitation that the outermost layer comprises a semi-coated region not overlapping the substrate tabs and that the fixing member only attaches to the semi-coated portion. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ono, Sohn, and Maeda as outlined above.
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.
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/M.F./Examiner, Art Unit 1784
/HUMERA N. SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1784
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