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 .
Summary
This is the initial Office Action based on the 18/276,530 application filed on 08/09/2025.
Claims 1-15 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
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 –
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) 1-2, 4, 6-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 2006/0093922).
Addressing claims 1, 4, 6 and 9, Kim discloses a secondary battery (fig. 2) comprising:
an electrode assembly (fig. 2), in which a laminated sheet having a structure, in which a positive electrode 140 provided with a positive electrode tab 146 (fig. 3b), a separator 150, and a negative electrode 130 provided with a negative electrode tab 136 are laminated, and a core part is formed at a center thereof (fig. 2);
a can 160 into which the electrode assembly is inserted and to which the negative tab is connected (via intervening structures, fig. 2);
a cap assembly (170) which is coupled to an opening of the can and to which the positive electrode tab 146 is connected (fig. 2); and
a reinforcing member 725 (fig. 8) provided on an end of the separator 750 exposed to the outside from the positive electrode 740 (the reinforcing member 725 positioned on the upper surface of the upper separator layer 750 in fig. 8 is provided on an end of the separator 750 exposed to the outside from the positive electrode) or the negative electrode (the reinforcing member 725 positioned on the lower surface of the lower separator layer 750 in fig. 8 is provided on an end of the separator 750 exposed to the outside from the negative electrode 730) to prevent heat of the positive electrode tab or the negative electrode tab from being transferred to the separator (the insulation tape 725 or the claimed reinforcing member is made of composite material tape 10 described in paragraph [0036] as having adiabatic characteristics or heat insulating property that accomplishes the claimed function).
Claim(s) 1-2, 4, 6-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shibutani (US 2022/0255081). Further evidence is provided by Itou et al. (US 2009/0029253) and Shimamura et al. (US 2024/0043289).
Addressing claims 1, 4, 6 and 9, Shibutani discloses a secondary battery (title) comprising:
an electrode assembly 20, in which a laminated sheet having a structure, in which a positive electrode 21 provided with a positive electrode tab 25, a separator 23, and a negative electrode 22 provided with a negative electrode tab 26 are laminated, is wound in the form of a jelly-roll (fig. 1, electrode wound body, [0027]), and a core part 24 is formed at a center thereof;
a can 11 into which the electrode assembly is inserted (fig. 1) and to which the negative electrode tab 26 is connected (fig. 1);
a cap assembly 14 which is coupled to an opening of the can and to which the positive electrode tab 26 is connected; and
a reinforcing member 41 provided on an ed of the separator exposed to the outside form the positive electrode (configuration in figs. 3-4 where the reinforcing member 41 is provided on an end of the separator 23 exposed to the outside from the positive electrode 21) or the negative electrode (configuration in figs. 2 and 4 where the reinforcing member 41 is provided on an end of the separator 23 exposed to the outside from the negative electrode 22) to prevent heat of the positive electrode tab or the negative tab from being transferred to the separator (Shibutani discloses the reinforcing member 41 is made of polyethylene terephthalate [0053], which is a heat insulative material according to Shimamura in paragraph [0040], or polyethylene [0053], which is a heat insulative material according to Itou in paragraph [0100]; therefore, the reinforcing member 41 of Shibutani is structurally configured to perform the claimed function of preventing heat of the positive electrode tab or the negative electrode tab from being transferred to the separator as claimed due to the material and the position of the reinforcing member 41).
Addressing claims 2 and 7, in fig. 2, the reinforcing member 41 is positioned on the surface of the separator that faces away from the tab 26, which places the reinforcing member 41 on the surface of the separator in the core part as claimed.
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, 5 and 8is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shibutani (US 2022/0255081) in view of Miller et al. (US 2007/0172726).
Addressing claims 3, 5 and 8, Shibutani silent regarding the second reinforcing layer of current claims.
Miller discloses reinforcing material 420 provided on surfaces of the separator 419 facing the respective negative and positive electrode on both sides of the separator (fig. 10) and at the terminal end of the separator 419 (fig. 15).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the secondary battery of Shibutani with the reinforcing material provided at the terminal end of the separator and on surfaces facing the respective negative and positive electrodes as disclosed by Miller in order to protect the areas of the battery structure adjacent the terminal end, to reduce and to prevent occurrence of a conductive breach between the electrode active materials resulting from separator punch-through (Miller, [0038]). In the modified secondary battery of Shibutani in view of Miller, the limitation “second reinforcing member provided only on an end of the separator disposed within a set range with respect to the positive electrode tab or the negative electrode tab” of claims 3 and 8 because Miller discloses the second reinforcing member at an end of the separator facing the respective negative and positive active material, which places the second reinforcing members of Miller as being disposed at an end of the separator within a distance from the positive electrode tab or negative electrode tab within the electrode assembly that falls within the claimed range because the claim does not require any numerical value associated with the claimed range. Furthermore, the modified secondary battery of Shibutani in view of Miller also meets the limitation of claim 5 with the reinforcing layers at the end of the separator facing the respective positive and negative electrode being separated from each other so as not to be in contact thereby preventing heat transfer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BACH T DINH whose telephone number is (571)270-5118. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Friday 8:00 - 4:30 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, Jeffrey Barton can be reached at (571)-272-1307. 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.
/BACH T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726 03/04/2026