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 § 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) 12-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhou USPG Pub. No.: US 2014/0002296.
Regarding Claim 12, Zhou teaches an apparatus to detect battery failure (see [0031], [0038], and figures 1-2c, teaching a detection configuration that ultimately determines battery failure), comprising:
a housing including an insulating outer surface and a first conductive inner surface, the housing surrounding the battery; a second conductive surface located a first distance from the enclosure (seen in figure 2a and [0032]-[0033], 250 with an insulation surface of the QTC, conductive surface 220 and a capacitive surface 222, which qualifies as a second conductive surface);
means for capacitance measurement coupled to the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface (see [0031] and figures 2a-2c, 220); and
means for charge control to adjust an input charge value to the second conductive surface and a third conductive surface based on an output value of the means for capacitance measurement (see figures 1-2c, in which 140 and 240 serve to control charge based on signal feedback).
Regarding Claim 13, Zhou teaches the apparatus as defined in claim 12, further including a first conductive lead coupled to the first conductive inner surface and a second conductive lead coupled to the second conductive surface (seen in figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 14, Zhou teaches the apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein the means for capacitance measurement is: coupled to the first conductive inner surface with the first conductive lead; and coupled to the second conductive surface with the second conductive lead (seen in figures 1-2c and in particular 2b-2c).
Regarding Claim 15, Zhou teaches the apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein the first conductive lead and the second conductive lead are wires (seen in figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 16, Zhou teaches the apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the means for capacitance measurement is to measure a capacitance value between the first conductive inner surface and the second conductive surface (seen in figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 17, Zhou teaches the apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the second conductive surface is at least one of an anode or a cathode of the battery (seen in [0037] and figures 1-2c).
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) 1-4, 6, 10-11, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou USPG Pub. No.: US 2014/0002296 in view of Gray USPG Pub. No.: US 2022/0334186.
Regarding Claim 1, Zhou teaches an apparatus to detect battery expansion (see [0031] and figures 1-2c, teaching a detection configuration comprising means for swelling, or expansion, detection but not explicitly outgassing), comprising:
an enclosure having a first conductive surface located proximate to an outer boundary of the enclosure; a second conductive surface located a first distance from the first conductive surface (seen in figure 2a and [0032]-[0033], 250 with an insulation surface of the QTC, conductive surface 220 and a capacitive surface 222, which qualifies as a second conductive surface);
a capacitance circuit coupled to the first conductive surface and the second conductive surface (see [0031] and figures 2a-2c, 220); and
a charge control circuit to control an input signal to the second conductive surface and a third conductive surface based on an output of the capacitance circuit (see figures 1-2c, in which 140 and 240 serve to control charge based on signal feedback).
Although Zhou teaches detection of battery expansion, which the present application implements to detect outgassing, the prior art is silent in making the connection between expansion detection and detection of outgassing. However, Gray implements a pressure sensor to detect expansion of the battery in order to detect gas build up due to outgassing over time (see Gray [00400]-[0402]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified the teachings of Zhou with those of Gray in order to detect battery expansion and failure (as discussed in Gray [0400]-[0405]).
Regarding Claims 18, the device as recited in claim 1 is specific to this method and thus it must perform the method. The method is intrinsic to the apparatus because the recited method steps will be performed during normal operation of the apparatus. Therefore, Claim 18 is also rejected.
Regarding Claim 2, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including a first wire coupled to the first conductive surface and a second wire coupled to the second conductive surface (see Zhou figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 3, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein the capacitance circuit is coupled to the first conductive surface via the first wire and the capacitance circuit is coupled to the second conductive surface via the second wire (see Zhou figures 1-2c and in particular 2b-2c).
Regarding Claim 4, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the enclosure is a battery housing (see Zhou figure 2a).
Regarding Claim 6, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the second conductive surface is one of an anode or a cathode of the battery housing (see Zhou [0037] and figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 10, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the second conductive surface is one of a battery anode or a battery cathode (see Zhou [0037] and figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 11, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 10, teach wherein the third conductive surface is the other one of the battery anode or the battery cathode (see Zhou [0037] and figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 19, Zhou and Gray teach the method as defined in claim 18, wherein the first conductive battery surface is a conductive housing of the battery and the second conductive battery surface is one of an anode of the battery or a cathode of the battery (see Zhou [0037] and figures 1-2c).
Regarding Claim 20, Zhou and Gray teach the method as defined in claim 19, further including determining whether the capacitance threshold value satisfies a permissive charge condition or a prohibit charge condition (see Zhou [0039]-[0045] which discusses the capacitive threshold conditions for control of charge).
Claim(s) 5 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou USPG Pub. No.: US 2014/0002296 in view of Gray USPG Pub. No.: US 2022/0334186 and in further view of Matsuno et al. USPG Pub. No.: US 2015/0086853.
Regarding Claim 5, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 4, are silent in explicitly teaching wherein an outer layer of the enclosure is an insulating material and the first conductive surface is an aluminum material adjacent to the insulating material. However, Riemer teaches wherein an outer layer of the enclosure is an insulating material and the first conductive surface is an aluminum material adjacent to the insulating material (Matsuno [0015], [0018]-[0019], [0100]-[0102] and figures 2-3, in which the first conductive surface is an anode formed of aluminum between insulators 218 as well as interposing the aluminum). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified the teachings of Zhou and Gray with those of Matsuno in consideration of stabilizing volume expansion and contraction during charging and discharging cycles (as discussed in Matsuno [0005]).
Regarding Claim 8, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 4, but do not explicitly teach wherein the battery includes stacked anode layers and cathode layers. However, Matsuno teaches wherein the battery includes stacked anode layers and cathode layers (seen in figures 1-2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified the teachings of Zhou and Gray with those of Matsuno in consideration of stabilizing volume expansion and contraction during charging and discharging cycles (as discussed in Matsuno [0005]).
Regarding Claim 9, Zhou and Gray teach the apparatus as defined in claim 4, but do not explicitly teach wherein the battery includes rolled anode layers and cathode layers. Matsuno teaches wherein the battery includes rolled anode layers and cathode layers (seen in figures 1-2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified the teachings of Zhou and Gray with those of Matsuno in consideration of stabilizing volume expansion and contraction during charging and discharging cycles (as discussed in Matsuno [0005]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is 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.
RE Claim 7, the prior art of record does not disclose or suggest “wherein the battery includes two or more active layers, respective ones of the active layers including: an anode having a copper foil layer between a first graphite layer and a second graphite layer; and a cathode separated from the anode with a separator, the cathode having an aluminum foil layer between a first active material and a second active material,” in combination with the other claim limitations. Although Matsuno teaches active anode and cathode materials, the prior art does not disclose the limited structure of the claim recitation.
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL A HARRISON/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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