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 Status
This Office action is responsive to amendments and remarks filed on 7/10/2026.
Claim 1 has been amended.
Claim 5 has been newly added.
Claims 1-5 are currently pending.
Response to Amendment
In light of the amendment the objection to the specification is withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/10/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant's arguments fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.111(b) because they amount to a general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references.
Applicant asserts that a value of (A + B)/{(C + D + E)/F} is between 1300 and 3000 add criticality to the method without providing any supporting data, so is therefore unpersuasive.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20150129332 A1, SETO et al. in view of US 5746780 A, NARUKAWA et al.
Regarding claims 1-4. SETO discloses a method for manufacturing a battery pack, the method comprising:
[0074] forming a positive electrode plate by applying a positive electrode mixture layer to two surfaces of a positive electrode substrate facing opposite directions;
[0077] forming a negative electrode plate by applying a negative electrode mixture layer to two surfaces of a negative electrode substrate facing opposite directions;
[0082] forming a flat electrode body including two flat surfaces by stacking the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate with a [0083] separator arranged in between;
[0084] forming a battery cell by accommodating the electrode body in a case called a can with two opposing case side walls of the case respectively facing the two flat surfaces of the electrode body, the battery cell being one of battery cells;
[0061] applying a binding load called binding bars to the battery cells such that the case side walls of the battery cells approach one another; and
SETO does not explicitly disclose initially charging the battery cells while the binding load is applied to the battery cells, However,
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have charged the battery pack after it was assembled. In fact, the examiner cannot recall any examples of a battery or a battery pack being charged before assembly.
SETO does not explicitly disclose in the positive electrode plate forming one layer of the electrode body prior to the application of the binding load to the battery cells:
"A mg/cm2" represents a sum of a mass of a positive electrode active material included in the positive electrode mixture layer per unit area on a first one of the two surfaces of the positive electrode substrate and a mass of a positive electrode active material included in the positive electrode mixture layer per unit area on a second one of the two surfaces of the positive electrode substrate; and
"C cm3/cm2" represents a sum of a volume of pores included in the positive electrode mixture layer per unit area on the first surface of the positive electrode substrate and a volume of pores included in the positive electrode mixture layer per unit area on the second surface of the positive electrode substrate,
wherein
in the negative electrode plate forming one layer of the electrode body prior to the application of the binding load to the battery cells:
"B mg/cm2" represents a sum of a mass of a negative electrode active material included in the negative electrode mixture layer per unit area on a first one of the two surfaces of the negative electrode substrate and a mass of a negative electrode active material included in the negative electrode mixture layer per unit area on a second one of the two surfaces of the negative electrode substrate; and
"D cm3/cm2" represents a sum of a volume of pores included in the negative electrode mixture layer per unit area on the first surface of the negative electrode substrate and a volume of pores included in the negative electrode mixture layer per unit area on the second surface of the negative electrode substrate;
wherein in the separator forming one layer of the electrode body prior to the application of the binding load to the battery cells, "E cm3/cm2" represents a volume of pores included in the separator per unit area; and
wherein in the applying a binding load, "F N/mm2" represents pressure applied per unit area on an opposing portion of one of the two case side walls that faces a corresponding one of the two flat surfaces, and
wherein a value of (A + B)/{(C + D + E)/F} is between 1300 and 3000, inclusive.
While SETO fails to teach the specified amounts of (A + B)/{(C + D + E)/F} is between 1300 and 3000 with respect to claim 1, (A + B)/{(C + D + E)/F} is between 1500 and 2500 with respect to claim 2, wherein a value of B is between 37% and 43%, inclusive, of a value of (A + B) with respect to claim 3, and a value of F is between 0.4 N/mm2 and 0.9 N/mm2, inclusive with respect to claim 4,
Seto teaches “the flat secondary batteries are compressed in the predetermined binding pressure, the binding pressure is also applied to an electrode assembly which is stored in an outer case. Therefore, it happens that distances between electrode plates in a state of the battery stacked member with external pressure is shorter than distances between electrode plates in a state of the flat secondary battery of a single body without external pressure, depending on value of the binding pressure, and it is likely to influence the battery property.” [0013] furthermore that “the normal desire of scientists or artisans to improve upon what is already generally known provides the motivation to determine where in a disclosed set of percentage ranges is the optimum combination of percentages" (MPEP 2144.05), and that "[w]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation” (MPEP 2144.05).
SETO [0067] discloses forming the battery cell includes injecting a non-aqueous electrolyte into the case, and wherein
[0019] each of the battery cells is a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, and wherein
[0074] the positive electrode substrate is a metal foil formed from aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and wherein
[0074] the positive electrode mixture layer includes the positive electrode active material, the positive electrode active material including a lithium-containing composite metal oxide, and wherein
[0077] the negative electrode substrate is a metal foil formed from copper or a copper alloy, and wherein
[0077] the negative electrode mixture layer includes the negative electrode active material, the negative electrode active material including a carbon material in the form of graphite, and wherein
[0078] the separator is a porous polyolefin film, and wherein
[0080] the non-aqueous electrolyte includes ethylene carbonate as a non-aqueous solvent and lithium bis(oxalate)borate as a lithium salt, and wherein
[0070] the case is formed from aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and wherein
SETO does not explicitly disclose that the case side walls has a plate thickness between 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm, inclusive.
NARUKAWA [title] discloses A Method Of Manufacturing A Battery Containing A Non-circular Spiral Electrode Unit where
NARUKAWA [col 4 line 59] a 0.5 mm thickness of aluminum case material
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have experimented with the tightness of the bindings in order to optimize the battery stack with the properties of the electrode within. It also would have been obvious to this person of ordinary skill in the art to have used an aluminum case that was 0.5 mm thick as disclosed by NARUKAWA as is a common thickness of outer cases in the art.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE LA RAIA III whose telephone number is (703)756-5441. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thur 6:00am-4:00pm.
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LAWRENCE LA RAIA III
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/L.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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