DETAILED OFFICIAL 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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Group I: claims 1-16 in the reply filed on 31 March 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 17-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-19 are pending in the current application, claims 17-19 are withdrawn, and claims 1-16 are under consideration on the merits.
Examiner Note
It is noted that all references hereinafter to Applicant’s specification are to the published
application US 2025/0007119 A1, unless stated otherwise. Further, it is noted that italicized text in parenthesis recited in any rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 indicates the element of the claimed invention to which the preceding prior art element corresponds.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) filed 06 July 2023 and 08 May 2024 are in compliance with 37 CFR 1.97 and have been considered.
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.
Claims 1-7, 9-14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuura et al. (US 2018/0131030 A1; “Matsuura”).
Regarding claim 1, Matsuura discloses an electrode body (battery cell) [element 10, 0040] housed in a case [element 2, 0037, FIG. 1], of which includes a case body [element 3, 0037-0040, FIG. 1] and a lid [element 4, 0037]. The electrode body includes a stack (stack) [0040, FIG. 4] of alternately arranged positive electrode plates (C cathode electrodes) [element 11, 0040, 0046, 0048] and negative electrode plates (A anode electrodes) [element 12, 0040, 0047-0048], with separators (S separators) interposed between the positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates [0048-0049, 0068], thereby reading on C, A, and S are integers greater than one.
The positive electrode plates [0046] include positive electrode active material [0046, 0083] coated on (arranged on) a base member [0046], of which may be, inter alia, aluminum foil (cathode current collector) [0046], with a positive electrode tab (external tab(s) of the C cathode electrodes) [element 21, 0043, 0046, FIGs. 4 and 14] protruding (extending) from the base member of the positive electrode plate [0046, 0052, 0069]. The negative electrode plates [0047] include negative electrode active material [0047, 0083] coated on (arranged on) a base member [0047], of which may be, inter alia, copper foil (anode current collector) [0047], with a negative electrode tab (external tab(s) of the A anode electrodes) [element 26, 0043, 0047, FIGs. 4 and 15] protruding (extending) from the base member of the negative electrode plate [0047, 0052, 0069].
Furthermore, portions of positive electrode tabs and negative electrode tabs extend through (inserted into) [0092-0096] open-ended gap portions (of which encompasses a first slot) of corresponding comb-like “L-shaped” [0058-0059, 0064, 0072, 0093, 0095, FIG. 13] positive and negative current collecting terminals [0093, 0095, FIG. 13] and are bent (folded) [0004, 0105-0106] and laser welded (laser welded) [0060-0061, 0105] to a surface and sides of tooth portions of the corresponding positive and negative current collecting terminals [0057-0064, 0077, 0092-0096, FIGs. 13 and 15], wherein one of the positive and negative current collecting terminals corresponds to and reads on the first internal terminal including a first slot, and the “L-shaped” terminals have a first portion and a second portion that extends transversely relative to the first portion [0059, 0061, FIG. 13]. The positive and negative current collecting terminals are in contact with corresponding positive and negative external terminals [elements 41 and 46, 0056, 0072, 0103, FIGs. 1, 5, and 14].
Regarding claim 2, the rejection of claim 1 above reads on the second internal terminal defined by claim 2. The other of either the positive and negative current collecting terminals corresponds to and reads on the second internal terminal of claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, the rejection of claim 2 above reads on the portions of the external tabs of the other electrodes defined by claim 3. The other of either the positive and negative electrode tabs corresponds to and reads on the external tabs of the other one of the C cathode electrodes and the A anode electrodes of claim 3.
Regarding claim 4, the rejection of claim 1 above reads on the first internal terminal defined by claim 4. The open-ended gap portions of corresponding comb-like “L-shaped” [0058-0059, 0064, 0072, 0093, 0095, FIG. 13] positive and negative current collecting terminals [0093, 0095, FIG. 13] encompass and read on N first slots, where N is an integer greater than one.
Regarding claim 5, the rejection of claim 4 above reads on the external tabs of one of the C cathode electrodes and the A anode electrodes defined by claim 5. The positive and negative electrode tabs are inserted into gap portions of their corresponding comb-like positive and negative current collecting terminal structures [0092, 0095] and are bent [0004, 0105-0106] and laser welded [0060-0061, 0105] to each other, thereby reading on being divided into N groups that are inserted through the N first slots.
Regarding claim 6, the rejection of claim 1 above reads on the N first slots defined by claim 6.
Regarding claim 7, the rejection of claim 1 above reads on the first slot defined by claim 7.
Regarding claim 9, the rejection of claim 1 above reads on the first internal terminal defined by claim 9.
Regarding claim 10, the rejection of claim 3 above reads on the battery cell composition defined by claim 10.
Regarding claim 11, Matsuura discloses an electrode body [element 10, 0040] housed in a case [element 2, 0037, FIG. 1], of which includes a case body [element 3, 0037-0040, FIG. 1] and a lid [element 4, 0037]. The electrode body includes a stack [0040, FIG. 4] of alternately arranged positive electrode plates [element 11, 0040, 0046, 0048] and negative electrode plates [element 12, 0040, 0047-0048], with separators interposed between the positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates [0048-0049, 0068], thereby reading on C, A, and S are integers greater than one.
The positive electrode plates [0046] include positive electrode active material [0046, 0083] coated on a base member [0046], of which may be, inter alia, aluminum foil [0046], with a positive electrode tab [element 21, 0043, 0046, FIGs. 4 and 14] protruding from the base member of the positive electrode plate [0046, 0052, 0069]. The negative electrode plates [0047] include negative electrode active material [0047, 0083] coated on a base member [0047], of which may be, inter alia, copper foil [0047], with a negative electrode tab [element 26, 0043, 0047, FIGs. 4 and 15] protruding from the base member of the negative electrode plate [0047, 0052, 0069].
Furthermore, portions of positive electrode tabs and negative electrode tabs extend through [0092-0096] open-ended gap portions (of which encompasses R slots) of corresponding comb-like “L-shaped” [0058-0059, 0064, 0072, 0093, 0095, FIG. 13] positive and negative current collecting terminals [0093, 0095, FIG. 13] and are bent [0004, 0105-0106] and laser welded [0060-0061, 0105] to a surface and sides of tooth portions of the corresponding positive and negative current collecting terminals [0057-0064, 0077, 0092-0096, FIGs. 13 and 15], wherein one of the positive and negative current collecting terminals corresponds to and reads on the first internal terminal including R slots, and the “L-shaped” terminals have a first portion and a second portion that extends transversely relative to the first portion [0059, 0061, FIG. 13]. The positive and negative current collecting terminals are in contact with corresponding positive and negative external terminals [elements 41 and 46, 0056, 0072, 0103, FIGs. 1, 5, and 14].
Regarding claim 12, the rejection of claim 11 above reads on the second internal terminal defined by claim 12. The other of either the positive and negative current collecting terminals corresponds to and reads on the second internal terminal of claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, the rejection of claim 11 above reads on the battery cell defined by claim 13.
Regarding claim 14, the rejection of claim 11 above reads on the first internal terminal defined by claim 14.
Regarding claim 16, the rejection of claim 12 above reads on the battery cell composition defined by claim 16.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 8 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuura, in view of Okuda et al. (JP 2013/196959 A, herein English machine translation is utilized for all citations; “Okuda”).
Regarding claim 8, Matsuura discloses the battery cell of claim 1, as set forth above, and incorporated herein, with emphasis on the positive and negative electrode tabs being laser welded [0060-0061, 0105] to a surface and sides of tooth portions of corresponding comb-like “L-shaped” [0058-0059, 0064, 0072, 0093, 0095, FIG. 13] positive and negative current collecting terminals [0057-0064, 0077, 0092-0096, FIGs. 13 and 15].
Matsuura remains silent regarding the external tabs of the one of the C cathode electrodes and the A anode electrodes are separated into a first group and a second group, folded in first and second directions, respectively, and laser welded to a surface of the first internal terminal on opposite sides of the first slot.
Okuda is directed to a secondary battery [0001] electrode tab configuration [0003]. Okuda teaches positive and negative electrodes [0019-0020] include corresponding positive and negative electrode tabs are divided into a first group and a second group [0003, 0010, 0019-0020, FIGs. 1, 2, and 6], and are inserted into open-ended slits of a main body portion [element 19, 0043, FIGs. 5(a) and 6] and bent in opposite directions along a clamping surface [0045].
Matsuura and Okuda each constitute prior art which is directly analogous to the claimed invention – ------electrode tab configuration. In view of the combined teachings of the foregoing prior art, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the positive and negative electrode tabs of Matsuura so that when inserted through the comb-like “L-shaped” positive and negative current collecting terminals they are bent and welded in first and second (opposite) directions like that of Okuda, while still being laser welded to a surface of the positive and negative current collecting terminals. Doing so would allow for the tabs to not come into contact with the battery case, thereby preventing a short circuit, as well as, it would increase the contact area between the tab portions and the terminals, thereby improving current collection efficiency and increase output density as recognized by Okuda [Okuda, 0035-0041, 0046].
Regarding claim 15, Matsuura discloses the battery cell of claim 11, as set forth above, and incorporated herein, with emphasis on the positive and negative electrode tabs being laser welded [0060-0061, 0105] to a surface and sides of tooth portions of corresponding comb-like “L-shaped” [0058-0059, 0064, 0072, 0093, 0095, FIG. 13] positive and negative current collecting terminals [0057-0064, 0077, 0092-0096, FIGs. 13 and 15].
Matsuura remains silent regarding the external tabs of the one of the C cathode electrodes and the A anode electrodes include first external tabs and second external tabs that are folded in first and second directions and laser welded to the inner surface of the first internal terminal through the at least one of the R slots of the first internal terminal.
Okuda is directed to a secondary battery [0001] electrode tab configuration [0003]. Okuda teaches positive and negative electrodes [0019-0020] include corresponding positive and negative electrode tabs are divided into a first group and a second group [0003, 0010, 0019-0020, FIGs. 1, 2, and 6], and are inserted into open-ended slits of a main body portion [element 19, 0043, FIGs. 5(a) and 6] and bent in opposite directions along a clamping surface [0045].
Matsuura and Okuda each constitute prior art which is directly analogous to the claimed invention – ------electrode tab configuration. In view of the combined teachings of the foregoing prior art, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the positive and negative electrode tabs of Matsuura so that when inserted through the comb-like “L-shaped” positive and negative current collecting terminals they are bent and welded in first and second directions like that of Okuda, while still being laser welded to the inner surface of the positive and negative current collecting terminals through the tooth portions of corresponding comb-like “L-shaped” terminals, of which reads on the at least one of the R slots of the first internal terminal. Doing so would allow for the tabs to not come into contact with the battery case, thereby preventing a short circuit, as well as, it would increase the contact area between the tab portions and the terminals, thereby improving current collection efficiency and increase output density as recognized by Okuda [Okuda, 0035-0041, 0046].
Pertinent Prior Art
The following constitutes a list of prior art which are not relied upon herein, but are considered pertinent to the claimed invention and/or written description thereof. The prior art are purposely made of record hereinafter to facilitate compact/expedient prosecution, and consideration thereof is respectfully suggested.
Matsumoto, US 2018/0316050 A1 – teaches “L” shaped terminals with slots [elements 22 and 24, 0023, 0029, 0031, 0038, FIG. 3].
Yamamoto et al., US 2018/0315981 A1 – teaches variations of “L” shaped terminals with slots [element 22 and element 24, 0020-0030, 0043-0046, 0056-0058, FIG. 6-16].
Ali et al, WO 2013/122448 – teaches terminals with slots [elements 61 and 62].
Joong et al., KR 2007/0111217 – teaches terminals with slots [elements 1 and 60, FIG 1-5].
Kato, JP 2018/125238 – teaches terminals with slots [elements 61 and 62, 0025].
Lim et al., US 20250239743 A1 – teaches laser welding of electrode tabs [0191] and electrode tabs having a bent shape [0222].
Lee et al., US 2021/0184303 A1 – teaches electrode tabs inserted through a plurality of open-ended terminal slots [0095-0097, FIG. 2].
Takahashi et al., WO 2022/190460 A1 – teaches bent electrode tabs [FIG. 6], that are inserted through an open-ended terminal slot [FIG. 6].
Counts et al., US 2022/0328942 A1 – teaches folded tabs through a plurality of open-ended slots of a terminal [FIG. 17].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JENNA X. COLTON whose telephone number is (571)272-2210. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM.
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/JENNA X. COLTON/Examiner, Art Unit 1782
/AARON AUSTIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1782
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