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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-11 are pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 10 recites the limitation "the end" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, examiner interprets the term “the end” to be “the edge portion”. This is consistent with the instant specification which states on Page 9, Lines 3-8 that “venting portion 32b connecting the recessed central portion 32a and the edge portion 32c” Appropriate correction is suggested.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-9, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al (US 20230395932 A1).
Regarding Claim 1,
Kim teaches a cap assembly configured to be coupled to an upper portion of a secondary battery can (Figure 1B, Element 140; connected to battery can 110).
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The cap assembly comprises a top cap (annotated Figure 2, Element 141) configured to be coupled to the upper portion of the secondary battery can; a safety vent (Figure 2, Element 142e) positioned under the top cap and coupled to a distal end of the top cap; and a current interrupt device (Element 144e) located under the safety vent and having at least a portion that is in contact with the safety vent.
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Kim teaches that the material of the current interrupt device is aluminum of purity greater than 99%, and the safety vent material is an aluminum alloy such as Al-Mn, Al-Si etc (Paragraph 0048). This coincides with the materials listed in instant specification on Page 12, Lines 9-16; and on Page 13, Lines 17-21. Since the materials used in Kim are the same as the materials in the instant invention, hence, the property related to hardness is the same. The hardness of the current interrupt device material is lower than a hardness of the safety vent. See MPEP 2112.01, products of identical chemical composition can not have mutually exclusive properties.
Regarding Claim 2, 4, 5,
Kim teaches that the safety vent includes aluminum or an aluminum alloy (Paragraph 0046).
Kim teaches that the material of the current interrupt device is aluminum of purity greater than 99%. This is within the claimed range of greater than 90%.
Regarding Claim 6 -9,
Kim teaches that the material of the current interrupt device is aluminum of purity greater than 99%, and the safety vent material is an aluminum alloy such as Al-Mn, Al-Si etc (Paragraph 0048). This coincides with the materials listed in instant specification on Page 12, Lines 9-16; and on Page 13, Lines 17-21. Since the materials used in Kim are the same as the materials in the instant invention, hence, the properties related to hardness, yield strength and elongation rate are the same. See MPEP 2112.01, products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties.
Hence, based on the similarity in the materials used, the safety vent in Kim has a hardness of 15 Kgf/mm2 to 35 Kgf/mm2, and the current interrupt device has a hardness of 10 Kgf/mm2 to 30 Kgf/mm2. Similarly, the safety vent would have a yield strength of 1 Kgf/mm2 to 5 Kgf/mm2, and current interrupt device would have a yield strength of 2 Kgf/mm2 to 6 Kgf/mm2.
Kim teaches that when the elongation rate of the cap-down portion 144 is greater than the elongation rate of the safety vent 142 (that is, when the material of the cap-down is a ductile material), the safety vent 142 may be separated from the cap-down portion 144 after the cap-down portion 144 is elongated upward by a predetermined length as the internal pressure of the can 110 increases. Thereafter, when the internal pressure of the can 110 further increases, the safety vent 142 is eventually broken and opened, and thus, the gas inside the can 110 is discharged to the outside. Hence, based on the material similarity and the motivation explained above, the elongation rate property of the safety vent and the current interrupt device would be the same as the claimed range.
Regarding Claim 11,
Kim teaches a cylindrical secondary battery which includes a cylindrical can; an electrode assembly accommodated in the cylindrical can; and a cap assembly for sealing the electrode assembly by covering the cylindrical can (Paragraph 0006).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim as evidenced by article on “Aluminum and its alloys” (https://web.archive.org/web/20190820010349/https://www.arnoldmagnetics.com/materials/aluminum-aluminum-alloys/).
Kim teaches that the safety vent material is an aluminum alloy such as Al-Mn, Al-Si etc (Paragraph 0048). Kim also teaches that the aluminum alloys can be from the 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 series. The definition of these alloy types is found in the article provided as evidentiary reference. The table within the articles cites % composition of a few of the commonly provided grades of aluminum alloy. The % range in the table coincides with the claimed ranges of 85% by weight to 98% by weight of aluminum, 0% by weight to 7% or less by weight of manganese, 0% by weight to 5% or less by weight of iron, and 0% by weight to 5% or less by weight of silicon.
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim in view of Tucholski et al (US 4025696).
Kim teaches that the safety vent includes vent contact part (Element 142a; edge portion) that is in contact with the cap-up, a vent inclined part (Figure 2, Element 142b; venting portion) that is inclined downward from the vent contact part, and vent bottom part (Element 142c; recessed central) that extends in parallel from the vent inclined part. Kim teaches a vent concave part 142f on the recessed central potion (akin to the notch).
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Kim does not teach that a lower surface of the venting portion is formed at an angle of 0° to 30˚ with an upper surface of the edge portion.
However, Tucholski teaches a sealed galvanic cell or battery in which the electrical continuity of the cell is broken in response to a predetermined physical deformation of the cell (Column 1, Lines 5-10). In other words, it teaches about a current interrupting device for a battery. In this device, the angle θ as shown in Figure 4b should not exceed 20˚ (Column 4, Lines 2-3). This angle range overlaps with the claimed range of 0 to 30˚. As can be seen in Tucholski, that the active switch member (safety vent) has an edge portion and a venting portion, and the angle θ is formed between the 2 portions. Hence, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the angle range in Tucholski for the inclination shown in Kim in order to ensure that the safety vent or switch member are irreversibly displaced upon the application of a predetermined force (Column 3, Lines 17-24), and in turn be able to cut off current flow through the cell (Column 1, Lines 26- 30, Lines 60-68).
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References of Interest
Mori et al (US 6242126 B1)
Vu et al (US 5691073 A)
Kim et al (US 20210184308A1)
Gong et al (US 20180366716 A1)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SUHANI JITENDRA PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-6278. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/SUHANI JITENDRA PATEL/Examiner, Art Unit 1783
/MARIA V EWALD/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1783