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/restriction
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention Group I (Claims 1-10) in the reply filed on 3/17/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Status
Claims 1-10 are pending. Claim 11 has been withdrawn.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-3, and 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogata et al. (US20170062818) in view of Jung et al. (KR20210103745A - English translation furnished with Office Action).
Regarding Claim 1, Ogata discloses a secondary battery (abstract) comprising: a wound electrode body ([0028]) including a stack (see annotated Figure 2) wound around a central axis (see annotated Figure 2) extending in a first direction (see annotated Figure 2), the stack including a positive electrode (5, see annotated Figure 2), a negative electrode (6, see annotated Figure 2), and a separator (7, see annotated Figure 2), the positive electrode and the negative electrode being stacked with the separator interposed therebetween (abstract); a positive electrode current collector plate (5a, see annotated Figure 2) facing a first end face of the wound electrode body (see annotated Figure 2) and coupled to the positive electrode (see annotated Figure 2), the first end face being an end face in the first direction (see annotated Figure 2); a negative electrode current collector plate (6a, see annotated Figure 2) facing a second end face of the wound electrode body (see annotated Figure 2)and coupled to the negative electrode (see annotated Figure 2), the second end face being opposite to the first end face in the first direction (see annotated Figure 2); an electrolytic solution ([0026-0027]); and a battery can containing the wound electrode body, the positive electrode current collector plate, the negative electrode current collector plate, and the electrolytic solution (1, see annotated Figure 2), and that the positive electrode edge being located on an inner side relative to the negative electrode edge(see annotated Figure 2), but does not explicitly disclose wherein in the wound electrode body, the positive electrode includes an innermost wind portion having a positive electrode edge, the negative electrode includes an innermost wind portion having a negative electrode edge, and the positive electrode edge includes an inclined portion inclined with respect to the central axis.
PNG
media_image1.png
879
1429
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure A: Annotations of Figure 2 from Ogata et al. (US20170062818A1)
Jung discloses a secondary battery ([0005]) wherein in the wound electrode body, the positive electrode includes an innermost wind portion having a positive electrode edge ([0032]), the negative electrode includes an innermost wind portion having a negative electrode edge ([0029]), and the positive electrode edge includes an inclined portion inclined with respect to the central axis ([0005]) in order to disperse stress generated during charging and discharging of the secondary battery and consequently prevent a short circuit ([0016]). Ogata and Jung are both analogous to the current invention because they are both related to the same field endeavor, namely secondary batteries comprising a wound electrode body. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to have modified the secondary battery of Ogata to include an innermost wind portion having a negative electrode edge and a positive electrode edge that includes an inclined portion inclined with respect to the central axis in order to relieve deformational stress and prevent short circuits, as taught by Jung.
Regarding Claim 2, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1. Jung further discloses wherein, the inclined portion has a first end in the first direction ([0005]) and a second end located between the first end and the positive electrode current collector plate in the first direction ([0005]), and the inclined portion extends in such a direction as to decrease in distance to the negative electrode edge ([0032]), toward the second end from the first end ([0032]).
Regarding Claim 3, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1. Jung further discloses wherein, the inclined portion has a first end in the first direction ([0005]) and a second end located between the first end and the positive electrode current collector plate in the first direction ([0005]), and the inclined portion extends in such a direction as to increase in distance to the negative electrode edge ([0032]), toward the second end from the first end ([0032]).
Regarding Claim 5, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1. Ogata further discloses wherein the electrolytic solution includes a fluorine compound ([0067]) and a nitrile compound ([0067]).
Regarding Claim 6, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 5. Ogata further discloses , wherein the fluorine compound includes fluorinated ethylene carbonate ([0067]).
Regarding Claim 7, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 5. Ogata further discloses wherein the nitrile compound comprises succinonitrile ([0067]).
Regarding Claim 8, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1. Ogata further discloses wherein the electrolytic solution includes lithium hexafluorophosphate as the electrolyte salt ([0026]) and a concentration of the electrolyte salt in the electrolytic solution is 0.72-1.52 moles per kilogram ([0026, 0066] – see Table 1), as further evidenced by the Sigma Aldrich safety data sheets (furnished with the Office Action) for fluoroethylene carbonate, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, ethyl methyl carbonate, and dimethyl carbonate (used to convert molarity concentrations to molality concentrations – see Table 1 for evidentiary reference values used).
Table 1: Densities of selected compounds with associated evidentiary reference for a given value
Compound
Density
(grams/milliliter)
Evidentiary reference
Fluoroethylene carbonate
1.485
Sigma-Aldrich
Ethylene carbonate
1.321
Sigma-Aldrich
Propylene carbonate
1.189
Sigma-Aldrich
Ethyl methyl carbonate
1.01
Sigma-Aldrich
Dimethyl carbonate
1.069
Sigma-Aldrich
Regarding Claim 9, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1. Ogata further discloses wherein the negative electrode includes a negative electrode active material layer (abstract), the negative electrode active material layer including a negative electrode active material (abstract) including silicon, a silicon oxide, a carbon-silicon compound, or a silicon alloy ([0059]).
Regarding Claim 10, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1. Ogata further discloses wherein the positive electrode includes a positive electrode active material layer (abstract), the positive electrode active material layer including a positive electrode active material (abstract), the positive electrode active material including at least one of lithium cobalt oxide, lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide, or lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide ([0056-0057]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogata et al. (US20170062818) in view of Jung et al. (KR20210103745A – English translation furnished with Office Action) as applied to Claim 1, further in view of Nakagiri et al. (US20120225337A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Modified Ogata discloses the secondary battery according to Claim 1, but does not explicitly disclose wherein the inclined portion is inclined at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to about 5 degrees with respect to the central axis. Nakagiri discloses a secondary battery comprising a wound electrode body (abstract). Nakagiri is analogous to the current invention because it is related to the same field endeavor, namely secondary batteries comprising a wound electrode body. Nakagiri teaches that it was well known in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that increasing the angle of the inclined portion with respect to the central axis is positively correlated with both reductions in tension applied to the electrode and with likelihood of manufacturing defects ([0012]). Accordingly, both tension applied to the electrode and likelihood of manufacturing defects are variables that can be modified, among others, by varying the angle of the inclined portion with respect to the central axis. For that reason, the angle of the inclined portion with respect to the central axis would have been considered a result effective variable by one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention. As such, without showing unexpected results, the specific angle of the inclined portion with respect to the central axis cannot be considered critical. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention would have optimized, by routine experimentation, the angle of the inclined portion with respect to the central axis to obtained the desired balance between reducing tension in the electrode and limiting manufacturing defects (In re Boesch, 617 F.2d. 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980)), since it has been held that where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art (In re Aller, 105 USPQ 223).
References cited but not relied upon
The following prior art made of record and not relief upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure:
Nakazawa et al. (JP2004296159A – machine translation furnished with Office Action) discloses a cylindrical storage battery with a wound electrode featuring a tapering terminal end of a positive electrode plate.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kent G. Mendoza whose telephone number is (571)482-9953. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:30-5:00 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, Susan Leong can be reached at (571)270-1487. 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.
/K.G.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1754
/SUSAN D LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1754
Prosecution Insights