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/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of 4/29/2026 in the reply filed on 4/29/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the amended claims address the specific “discharge capacity” claim terms and that the species election requirement should be withdrawn. This is persuasive because of the amendment to the claim and, therefore, the requirement of Group I is withdrawn. Applicant’s election of graphite as the negative electrode material is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being anticipated by Wang et al. (CN 105390775, “Wang”).
With regard to claim 1, Wang teaches a power supply apparatus comprising a primary battery and a secondary battery coupled in parallel with the primary battery (claim 1). The apparatus includes an output terminal that outputs electric power from the secondary battery to an outside (background section and throughout). A discharge capacity of the primary battery is larger than a discharge capacity of the secondary battery. The primary battery and a secondary battery may be lithium batteries (throughout, claims 1-16). In order to meet different application requirements and the capacity of battery components needs to be increased, multiple primary lithium/oxyhalide batteries can be connected in parallel (paragraph 3 of the detailed description).
Claim 1 includes that limitation that the discharge capacity of the primary battery is obtained when the primary battery is discharged at 0.01 C is a within a predetermined voltage range corresponding to a combination of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the primary battery, and wherein the discharge capacity of the secondary battery is obtained when the secondary battery is discharged at 0.01 C within a predetermined voltage range corresponding to a combination of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the secondary battery. (A C-rate of 1 C means that a battery is discharged for 1 hour. As other examples to clarify the means in of the term, a C-rate of 2C means that a battery is discharged for 30 minutes. A C-rate of 0.1 C means a discharge time of 10 hours and, as claimed, a discharge time of 0.01 C means discharged over 100 hours). The measurement of the discharge capacity over a discharge time of the cell is noted to be based on the combination of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the primary and secondary batteries. Wang teaches the same electrode materials in combination as those disclosed in the specification. The materials would provide the same properties over an equivalent discharge cycle.
With regard to claims 2-3, Wang teaches a secondary battery that intersects a discharge curve of the primary battery based on the materials used in the batteries and the configuration of the batteries (see claims 1-14 and the figures). The discharge curve of the secondary battery intersects the discharge curve of the primary battery at a point at which a depth of discharge of the primary battery is greater than 0 percent and less than or equal to 99 percent.
With regard to claim 4, Wang teaches the secondary battery is coupled to the primary battery without a charge control circuit being interposed between the secondary battery and the primary battery. The reference teaches a simple parallel connection via a conductive connection (detailed description paragraph 2).
With regard to claim 5, Wang does not disclose that the secondary battery is coupled to the output terminal with a discharge protection circuit interposed between the secondary battery and the output terminal.
With regard to claim 6, Wang teaches a rectifier between the primary battery and the secondary battery, the rectifier setting a direction in which a current flows from the primary battery to the secondary battery to a forward direction. Although the reference does not use the term rectifier, it does show that the current flows from the primary battery to the secondary battery to a forward direction.
With regard to claim 7, the primary battery comprises a lithium primary battery, and the secondary battery comprises a lithium secondary battery (claims 1-13).
With regard to claim 11, the primary battery may be replaceable.
With regard to claim 12 (currently amended): A communication apparatus comprising a power supply apparatus, the power supply apparatus including a primary battery, a secondary battery coupled in parallel with the primary battery, and an output terminal that outputs electric power from the secondary battery to an outside, wherein a discharge capacity of the primary battery is larger than a discharge capacity of the secondary battery-, wherein the discharge capacity of the primary battery is obtained when the primary battery is discharged at 0.01 C within a predetermined voltage range corresponding to a combination of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the primary battery, and wherein the discharge capacity of the secondary battery is obtained when the secondary battery is discharged at 0.01 C within a predetermined voltage range corresponding to a combination of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the secondary battery.
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 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN 105390775, “Wang”) as applied to claim 1.
With regard to claims 9-10, Wang does not teach that a planar shape of the primary battery is substantially similar to a planar shape of the secondary battery or that the batteries have a flat columnar shape. Wang does teach that the lithium secondary test battery is a pouch-type battery. Pouch batteries are known in the art to have a planar shape and a flat columnar shape. It would whole would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to form the primary battery in a substantially similar shape to the shape of the secondary battery in order to place them in the same housing or electronic device.
Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim above, and further in view of Johnson et al. (US 8,119,276).
With regard to claim 8, Wang teaches that the primary battery comprises a lithium battery, and the secondary battery comprises a lithium-ion secondary battery. The lithium-ion secondary battery includes a positive electrode and a negative electrode. The positive electrode includes a lithium-containing compound having an olivine structure and the negative electrode includes graphite (see claim 4 for anode materials and claims 8-9 for cathode materials including olivine structured LiFePO4).
Wang does not teach that the primary battery comprises a lithium manganese dioxide battery. Johnson et al. (US 8,119,276) teaches a power supply apparatus comprising a primary battery and a secondary battery coupled in parallel with the primary battery (claims). The primary battery and a secondary battery may be lithium batteries (throughout, claims 1-24). Johnson teaches that lithium manganese dioxide batteries may be used as the primary battery of the power supply apparatus (see col. 4, lines 29-49.) It would whole would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains to use a lithium manganese dioxide battery as the primary battery in a hybrid power system as taught in Johnson to provide charge to the system as noted in the reference.
Conclusion
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