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 .
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.
Specification
The specification and drawings have been reviewed and no clear informalities or objections have been noted.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kwon (US 2015/0072204).
Regarding claims 1, Kwon discloses an electrode assembly comprising:
a first electrode, a separator, and a second electrode (see paragraph 80 which discloses the presence of a separator in between two electrode plates 11 and 12),
wherein the first electrode comprises:
a current collector (see paragraph 10 which teaches a first current collector); and
an electrode active material layer provided on the current collector (see paragraph 10 which discloses coating an active material on the first current collector),
wherein an edge portion of the current collector provided at one end of a winding axis of the electrode assembly comprises a non-coated portion on which no electrode active material layer is provided (see paragraph 22 which discloses an uncoated electrode tab and teaches that the tab is an end portion, non-coated portion of the current collector, also see Fig. 1 which illustrates tabs 21 and 22), and
wherein the non-coated portion (tab 21, for example) of the first electrode is bent one or more times in a direction from a winding center of an electrode assembly toward an outer periphery of the electrode assembly (see annotated Fig. 1 below where tab/uncoated portion 21 is bent 2 times to face the lateral surface of the electrode assembly, and see Fig. 11 which illustrates that the non-coated portion comprises a plurality of segmented pieces such as 3 separated tabs 21).
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Regarding claim 5, Kwon further discloses a length from an initially bent portion of the non-coated portion of the first electrode to an end of the non-coated portion of the first electrode is 1 mm or more (see paragraph 123 which discloses that the thickness of the battery was 2.75mm which will indicated that the uncoated portion/tab 21 must be longer than 1mm as it extends more than half the width of the battery such that it can wrap/fold around to the lateral surface).
Regarding claim 6, Kwon further discloses the segmental piece on the outer periphery of the electrode assembly adjoins the lateral surface of the electrode assembly by 1% or more and 30% or less of an overall height of the electrode assembly (see Fig. 5 which illustrates an embodiment where the segmental piece/tab 21 adjoins the lateral surface by more than 1% and less than 30% of the overall eight of the electrode assembly).
Regarding claim 7, Kwon further discloses the first electrode is a positive electrode (paragraph 98 which discloses that the first electrode plate 11 and the first electrode tab 21 are connected to the positive electrode), the second electrode is a negative electrode (paragraph 98 which discloses the tab 22 is connected to the negative electrode), and the first electrode is exposed to the outside with respect to an upper surface of the electrode assembly (see Fig. 11 where the positive electrode tabs 21 are exposed to the outside of the cell at the top/upper surface of the electrode assembly as well as the peripheral side of the electrode assembly)).
Regarding claim 8, Kwon further discloses the first electrode (22) further comprises an insulation tape (16) provided on a surface opposite to a surface facing the lateral surface of the electrode assembly (see Fig. 29 which illustrates an insulation tape 16 on the side of tab that is opposite the side that is facing the lateral surface of the electrode assembly).
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.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (US 2015/0072204).
Regarding claim 4, Kwon teaches an embodiment where there are multiple segmental pieces (21 in Fig. 11, for example) that are adjacent to each other (as depicted in Fig. 11) and teaches another embodiment where a plurality of batteries, each with an uncoated tab/segmental piece (21) are adjoined by a wiring (31) that lays along the periphery of the battery in the radial direction (as depicted in Fig. 30). This configuration is beneficial in that it connects all the uncoated tabs to configure the batteries to be in a series or parallel configuration (paragraphs 106 and 108).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to utilize the wiring 31 of Fig. 30 of Kwon to connect a plurality of cells of Fig. 11 of Kwon) in order to orient multiple cells in a series or parallel configuration. Furthermore, such a modification would necessarily adjoin adjacent tabs of Fig. 11 to each other via the wiring 31.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kwon (US 2015/0072204) in view of Satoshi (JP H0992338 A with references made to the machine translation).
Regarding claim 9, Kwon further discloses a secondary battery comprising: an electrode assembly according to claim 1 (as discussed above) but is silent regarding a can and a cap to house the electrode assembly).
Satoshi also discloses a battery (see abstract).
Satoshi teaches a battery electrode assembly (as depicted in Fig.3) and teaches that this electrode assembly is placed within a can (17) which is covered by a cap (1, see Fig. 1). Satoshi teaches such a casing in order to provide protection for the electrode assembly.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to add the casing and cover of Satoshi to the electrode assembly of Kwon in order to provide protection for the electrode assembly and prevent impact damage in addition to short circuit risks.
Relevant Prior Art
KR 100599749 B1 - Discloses a wound battery, similar to the instant disclosure, which has multiple segments (23d) of uncoated portions of a current collector and are bent toward an outer peripheral side. This is a disclosure that teaches the multiple segments more similar to the instant disclosure).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 7/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. On page 5 and again on page 7, Applicant argues that the uncoated portions 11a, 12a of Kwon are not at tone of the winding axis but are at an end in the winding direction. The Office respectfully disagrees with this argument. Applicant appears to be arguing that the uncoated electrode tabs (21, 22) of the electrode assembly are not part of the “uncoated portion”. In the claims, Applicant does not expressly claim the difference between an uncoated tab and an uncoated portion of a current collector, as this argument appears to hinge on. The electrode tabs of Kwon are indeed part of the electrode of Kwon. In fact, Kwon even goes so far as to state that the tabs 21 and 22 are integrated with the electrode plate (see paragraphs 97 and 144 which disclose that the current collectors may be integral with the electrode tabs).
Applicant’s arguments directed toward the Satoshi reference are moot as such a rejection is not present in the current rejection.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J MERKLING whose telephone number is (571)272-9813. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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/MATTHEW J MERKLING/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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