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 § 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.
Claims 1–4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites that “the sealing plate has … an annular thin portion adjacent to the outer peripheral portion” (lines 6–8; see lines 9–14 for additional recitations), as well as “an adjacent portion, of the thin portion, that is adjacent to the outer peripheral portion … [and] a gradient of an outer surface of the thin portion changes toward the outer peripheral portion such that a thickness of the adjacent portion is small” (lines 12–14). The terms “thin portion” and “small” are relative terms that render the claim indefinite. These terms are not defined by the claim; the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Specifically, absent special definition of “thin” or “small” or other point(s) of reference within the claim, the skilled artisan would be unapprised of the component(s) relative to which the “thin portion” is “thin” and to which the “adjacent portion” is “small”.
¶ 0028 and fig. 5A/B describe that a thickness of the thin portion in the axial direction is smaller than a thickness of the outer peripheral portion in the axial direction and smaller than a thickness of the center portion in the axial direction. This portion of the disclosure further details that an axial directional thickness of an annular adjacent portion, of the thin portion, that is adjacent to the outer peripheral portion, is smaller than thicknesses of remaining portions of the thin portion in the axial direction. However, such descriptions are exemplary (see ¶ 0009, where the figs.—and, thus, the corresponding description in ¶ 0028—pertain to “an embodiment” of the disclosure), and, thus, the claimed “thin” and “small” portions are not limited to this configuration.
Thus, under the claim’s broadest reasonable interpretation, in light of the specification, claim 1 will be interpreted to require a “thin portion” that is “thin” relative to any component of the sealing assembly, as well as an “adjacent portion, of the thin portion” that is “small” relative to the remainder of the “thin portion”, as appears intended by at least ¶ 0028, fig. 5A/B, and claim 1.
The dependent claims fail to correct these deficiencies and are rejected likewise. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Haraguchi et al. (WO 2019082712 A1, from 07/11/23 IDS; citation to English equivalent US 20200259202 A1, from same IDS) (Haraguchi).
Regarding claim 1, Haraguchi discloses a cylindrical battery (Title, figs.), comprising (per annot. figs. 2/3 below) a bottomed tubular exterior can (exterior; see also fig. 1’s ref. 13); and a sealing assembly closing an opening of the exterior can (denoted SA), wherein the sealing assembly includes a sealing plate (22) that discharges gas inside to an outside by rupturing (¶ 0015), the sealing plate has an outer peripheral portion at least part of which is crimped and fixed to the opening of the exterior can (denoted OPP; see also ¶ 0013); and an annular thin portion adjacent to the outer peripheral portion (denoted TP, which would be annular by wrapping around battery radially, as implied from fig. 3’s cross-section; compare to substantially similar instant fig. 3),
the thin portion has an inclined portion that is inclined to a bottom side of the exterior can in an axial direction as going inward in a radial direction (denoted IP), and in a cross section of the thin portion as cut along a plane including the radial direction and the axial direction, an inner surface of an adjacent portion (denoted AP), of the thin portion, that is adjacent to the outer peripheral portion has a curved shape (denoted as IS within AP), and a gradient of an outer surface of the thin portion changes toward the outer peripheral portion such that a thickness of the adjacent portion is small (depicted via flattening slope at 23a).
PNG
media_image1.png
185
527
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
314
621
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 2, Haraguchi discloses the cylindrical battery according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface spreads in the adjacent portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction (note, in annot. fig. 2, flattening left to right and, thus, orthogonal to axial direction).
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.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haraguchi et al. (WO 2019082712 A1; citation to English equivalent US 20200259202 A1) (Haraguchi), as applied to claim 1, in view of Ma (CN 208835103 U).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Haraguchi discloses the cylindrical battery according to claim 1.
As seen in fig. 3, Haraguchi discloses 1) a separate, radially centered, convex terminal cap 29 including an unshown vent hole and disposed atop valve member 22, i.e., sealing plate, and protruding upward axially past the top lip of the can, i.e., a “shoulder portion”, as part of sealing unit 20A (see also ¶ 0053), as well as 2) the ability to weld valve member 22 to other members such as metal plate 26 (¶ 0022) and, thus, integrate such members, though Haraguchi fails to disclose that cap 29 is welded/integrated with valve member 22 and, thus, that the “sealing plate” has, in a center portion in the radial direction, a convex portion protruding outward in the axial direction, wherein a top surface of the convex portion is positioned more outward in the axial direction—i.e., upward in the height direction (spec.’s ¶ 0028)—than a shoulder portion of the exterior can.
Ma teaches a cylindrical battery with sealing plate 1A including upper cover 1 and lower cover 2 (fig. 1, ¶ 0061), respectively corresponding to Haraguchi’s terminal cap 29 and valve member 22. Ma teaches that the upper and lower covers are welded (¶ 0070) and, thus, integrated into “one” plate.
Ma and Haraguchi are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely sealing plates in cylindrical batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to weld Haraguchi’s terminal cap to the valve member/“sealing plate” to integrate these members into “one” plate as a routine engineering choice with the reasonable expectation of successfully sealing the battery, as suggested by Ma (see also MPEP 2144.04 (V.)(B.) for obviousness of integrating separate parts).
Thus, modified Haraguchi would disclose that the sealing plate has, in a center portion in the radial direction, a convex portion protruding outward in the axial direction (Haraguchi’s cap 29), wherein a top surface of the convex portion is positioned more outward in the axial direction than a shoulder portion of the exterior can (higher than can’s lip, as in Haraguchi’s fig. 3).
Conclusion
The cited art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
WO 2019026525 A1 (citation to English equivalent US 20210119286 A1): sealing plate with similar inclined and thin portions as Haraguchi.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN S MEDLEY whose telephone number is (703)756-4600. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00–5:00 EST M–Th and 8:00–12:00 EST F.
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, Jonathan Leong, can be reached on 571-270-192. 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.
/J.S.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 2/2/2026