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 second Office Action based on Application 18/285,811 filed and is in response to Applicant Arguments/Remarks filed 07/06/2026.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, and 13-22 are previously pending, of those claims, claim 1 has been amended, and claims 5-6 have been canceled. Claims 1-3, 7-11, 13-22 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 –
(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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by YANG (US 9,508,969 B2).
With respect to claims 1. YANG teaches a secondary battery 20 which includes an electrode assembly 21, an electrode lead 22, a sealing tape 23 and a pouch case 24 (column 7 lines 58-60). The sealing tape is taken to be the claimed lead film and surrounds a portion of the outer surface of the electrode lead and interposed between the electrode lead and the sealing portion S (see Figures 5-6). The sealing tape 23 has a venting pattern portion 23a formed to have a size corresponding to a lead hole 22a (column 8 lines 1-4). The through holes 23a may have various shaped, such as wedge, rounded, and rectangular shape (column 8 lines 5-9). The region B where the through hole 23a is formed is included in the sealed area of the pouch case 24 (column 8 lines 8-9). Therefore gas generated inside the pouch case 24, pressure is concentrated on a region having weak adhesion by means of the through holes 23a, and so the adhesion between the sealing tape 23 and the pouch case 24 may be easily released (column 8 lines 9-13). The pouch case is sealed by thermally bonding the pouch case 14 in a state of accommodating the electrode assembly 11 so that the electrode lead is drawn out (column 6 lines 62-66). The sealed area S thermally bonded includes a region where a notch 13a is formed, so that when gas is generated inside the pouch case 14, the pressure concentrated on the notch 13a is applied to the pouch case, and so the adhesion between the sealing tape and the pouch case may be more easily released (column 7 lines 1-9). Either side of the venting pattern 23a is taken to be the claimed first and second region, spaced apart from each other by the venting pattern 23a (Figure 5). The sealed area S is thermally bonded and includes the region where the venting pattern is formed (column 7 lines 1-5). This thermal bonding is taken to be the claimed fused. The lead film is not fused in the area 23a.
With respect to claims 2-3. YANG teaches a first region located closer to the electrode assembly, and is at an inner end of the sealing portion and the second region is located at an outer end of the sealing portion (see Figure 6).
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) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YANG (US 9,508,969 B2).
Claim 7 is dependent upon claim 1, which is rejected above under 35 U.S.C. 102 in view of YANG. YANG teaches the region B where the through hole 23a is formed and is included in the sealed area S of the pouch case 24 (column 8 lines 7-10). Therefore, if gas is generated inside the pouch case 24, pressure is concentrated in a region having weak adhesion by means of the through hole 23a, and so the adhesion between the sealing tape 23 and the pouch case 24 may be easily released (column 8 lines 10-13). YANG does not explicitly teach that the width B, being the region of the through hole 23a, is between 20% and 80% of a width of the sealing portion S. However, the size of the region B may be adjusted as a matter of routine optimization in order to control the required pressure to release the sealing to the pouch case (see column 8 lines 10-13).
Claim(s) 8-11, and 13-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YANG (US 9,508,969 B2) in view of PARK (US 10,276,902 B2).
Claim 8 is dependent upon claim 1 which is rejected above under 35 U.S.C. 102 in view of YANG, and claims 9 and 13 are dependent upon claim 8. YANG teaches the lead film may be the sealing tape 23 (column 7 lines 58-60) but does not explicitly teach the lead film is a first and second lead film provided separately from each other.
PARK teaches a secondary battery which includes an electrode assembly formed in a pouch casing, with electrode leads extending out of the casing (abstract). The battery may include features to interrupt the current upon swelling or pressure generated within the battery (abstract). This allows for venting from the portion of the leads (abstract). In one embodiment the sealing member may be a first sealing member 11 disposed at the outside of the pouch-type battery, and a second sealing member 11’ disposed on the inside of the pouch type secondary battery (column 7 lines 1-6). When the internal pressure of the pouch sheath material exceeds a critical value, the second sealing member may be broken by the pressure similarly to the first sealing member 11 (column 7 lines 17-21).
At the time the invention was filed one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to substitute the sealing tape of YANG with the first and second sealing member 11 and 11’ of PARK as this is a simple substitution of one known prior art element for another in order to achieve predictable results as both YANG and PARK teaches sealing structures around electrode leads in response to an increase in the internal pressure of the battery.
With respect to claim 10-11. In the combination of YANG and PARK, the first region is located in the region of the first lead film 11’ and the second region is located in the region of the lead film 11, so that the sealing regions and the first and second region overlap, thus defining the inner and outer ends of the sealing portion S of YANG (see YANG Figure 6).
With respect to claims 14-15. PARK teaches the second lead film 11 extends along an extension direction of the sealing portion (see figure 4 of PARK, and Figures 5-6 of YANG). The first lead film then is taken to extend at a predetermined angle with respect to an extension direction of the second lead film. (see figure 4 of PARK, and Figures 5-6 of YANG)
With respect to claim 16. YANG teaches the through holes 23a may have various shapes included rounded, wedge, and rectangular shapes (column 8 lines 5-8). Therefore having the holes 23a having such shapes will cause at least one of the lead films 11 to have an angle, and therefore the angle of 15-60 degrees would have been achieved as a matter of routine experimentation based on the desired shape of the through hole 23a of YANG.
With respect to claims 17-20. Neither YANG nor PARK explicitly teaches the extension length of the first or second lead film with respect to the width of the sealing portion.
YANG teaches when gas is generated in the pouch case of the battery, the pressure concentration in a region h aving weak adhestion by the through holes 23, allow for the pouch case and sealing tape to be easilliy released (column 8 lines 5-13). Similarly PARK teaches the sealing member 11 is configured to control when the connection member is broken or separated based on the internal pressure, thereby interrupting electrical connection (column 6 lines 56-64). Therefore adjusting the extension length of the first and second regions, may be determined as a matter of routine optimization in order to control the venting and overcurrent protection respectively.
Claim(s) 21-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over YANG (US 9,508,969 B2) in view of YANG (US 10,026,949 B2).
Claim 21 is dependent upon claim 1 which is rejected above under 35 U.S.C. 102 in view of YANG ‘969, and claim 22 is dependent upon claim 21. YANG ‘969 does not explicitly teach a battery pack.
YANG ‘949 teaches a secondary battery 100 (column 5 lines 10-11). The battery 110 includes an electrode assembly 10, a pouch case 20, and an electrode lead assembly 30 (column 5 lines 18-20). The electrode lead assembly 30 includes a first lead plate 31, a second lead plate 32, a metal bridge 33, a first sealant 34, and a second sealant 35 (column 5 lines 56-58). The metal bridge 33 is disposed withing the gap formed between the lead plates 31 and 32 to connect the lead plates (column 6 lines 17-19). When overcurrent occurs in the secondary battery 100, the temperature increases due to the expansion pressure, and the metal bridge 33 melts to shut off a flow of electric current between the lead plates (column 6 lines 22-30). YANG ‘949 teaches a battery pack including a lithium secondary battery (column 2 lines 28-31). There is a device then connected to the battery pack (column 2 lines 32-35).
At the time the invention was filed one having ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to form the battery of YANG ‘969 as a battery pack, and connect the pack to a device as taught by YANG ‘949, as this is a combination of known prior art elements in order to achieve predictable results.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-6 of Applicant Arguments/Remarks, filed 07/06/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 5-6, 8-11, 13-16, and 21-22 under 35 U.S.C. 102 in view of YANG (US 10,026,949 B2) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of YANG (US 9,508,969 B2).
Applicant argues that claim 1 has been amended to recite the limitations of claims 5-6. Applicant argues that elements 33, and 34 are not fused to the case, and similarly element 35 is not fused to the case. Applicant argues that in YANG there are no elements at is fused to the case in two regions bot not between. Applicant points out that the fusion in the specification is defined by thermal fusion or ultrasonic fusion, and that YANG does not teach either of these two elements.
These arguments are persuasive, however, new grounds of rejection are made in view of YANG (US 9,508,969 B2). YANG specifically teaches an electrode lead 22, a sealing tape 23, taken to be the claimed lead film, and a case 24 (column 7 lines 58-60). The tape 23 has a venting pattern portion 23a, and is formed in the sealed area of the pouch case (column 8 lines 8-9). The sealed area S is thermally bonded, and includes venting pattern 23 (column 7 lines 1-5). This thermal bonding is taken to be the claimed fusing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN G JELSMA whose telephone number is (571)270-5127. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM EST.
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/JONATHAN G JELSMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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