DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. 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 § 103
2. 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.
3. Claims 1-4 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (CN 115020933A, as disclosed in the IDS mailed on 2 November 2023, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Jeon et al. (KR 20110034489A, as disclosed in the IDS mailed on 2 November 2023, machine translation is used for the rejection below).
As to claim 1, Ji discloses a pole for a battery (figure 1, page 4, lines 16-20), comprising:
a pole body (figure 1, page 4, lines 20-21) comprising a weak section (figure 1, weak area 1), and a cross-sectional area of the pole body having a lower limit value at the weak section to allow the pole body to be electrically fused at the weak section when an overload current flows through the pole body (page 4, lines 21-34);
wherein the pole body comprises a terminal (figure 1, upper pole cylinder 3) and a base (figure 1, lower pole cylinder 4), and the weak section is connected between the terminal and the base (figure 1, weak area 1), wherein the weak section comprises a first end plate (figure 4, bottom of upper pole cylinder 3) and a second end plate (figure 4, top of lower pole cylinder 4), the first end plate is arranged at one end of the weak section (figure 4, upper pole cylinder 3), the weak section is electrically connected with the terminal through the first end plate (figure 4, upper pole cylinder 3), the second end plate is arranged at the other end of the weak section (figure 4, lower pole cylinder 3), and the weak section is electronically connected with the base through the second end plate (figure 4, lower pole cylinder 3),
wherein the weak section comprises a plate portion (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26), the plate portion is connected between the first end plate and the second end plate (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26), a first cavity is defined on one side of the plate portion (figure 4, weak area 1), and a second cavity is defined on the other side of the plate portion (figure 4, weak area 1).
However, Ji does not disclose wherein the pole for a battery further comprises an expansion material arranged in the weak section, and configured to expand when an ambient temperature or a temperature of the pole body is higher than a set temperature, to allow the pole body to be broken at the weak section and to realize a breakage protection or that the expansion material is arranged in one of the first cavity and the second cavity, and is configured to break the plate portion when expanding.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery, wherein the pole for a battery further comprises an expansion material (figure 1, blowing agent 62) arranged in the weak section (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60), and configured to expand when an ambient temperature or a temperature of the pole body is higher than a set temperature, to allow the pole body to be broken at the weak section and to realize a breakage protection (page 3, lines 9-11) to stop the discharge of electricity (page 2, lines 38-40). Jeon further discloses wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is arranged in one of the first cavity and the second cavity (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) and is configured to break the plate portion when expanding (page 3, lines 9-11) to stop the discharge of electricity (page 2, lines 38-40).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to further include an expansion material within a cavity of the weak section that is designed to expand and break the pole at the weak section to stop the discharge of electricity when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon.
As to claim 2, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the weak section is located in a middle part of the pole body (figure 1, weak area 1).
As to claim 3, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the weak section has a plurality of cavities (figure 4, weak area 1, page 5 lines 21-26). However, Ji does not disclose wherein the expansion material is arranged in at least a part of the plurality of cavities.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is arranged in at least a part of the plurality of cavities (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) so that the expansion material will expand and break the pole at the weak section when exposed to high temperature (page 3, lines 9-11).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally include an expansion material arranged in at least a part of the plurality of cavities to expand and break the weak section when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon.
As to claim 4, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the weak section is located in a middle part of the pole body (figure 4, weak area 1) and wherein the weak section has a plurality of cavities (figure 4, weak region 1, page 5 lines 21-26). However, Ji does not disclose wherein the expansion material is arranged in at least a part of the plurality of cavities.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery, wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is arranged in at least a part of the plurality of cavities (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) so that the expansion material will expand and break the pole at the weak section when exposed to high temperature (page 3, lines 9-11).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally include an expansion material arranged in at least a part of the plurality of cavities to expand and break the weak section when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon.
As to claim 8, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the plate portion (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26) has a groove (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26), and the groove is located on a side of the plate portion facing the second cavity (figure 4, weak area 1). However, Ji does not disclose wherein the expansion material is located in the first cavity.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is located in the first cavity (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) and is configured to expand and break the weak area when exposed to a high temperature (page 2, lines 38-40).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally include an expansion material arranged in a first cavity that is configured to expand and break the weak section when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon.
As to claim 9, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the plate portion (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26) is an arc-shaped plate and protrudes towards the second cavity (page 5 lines 21-26). However, Ji does not disclose wherein the expansion material is arranged in the first cavity.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is located in the first cavity (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) with the expansion material being configured to expand and break the weak area when exposed to a high temperature (page 2, lines 38-40).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally include an expansion material arranged in a first cavity with the expansion material being configured to expand and break the weak section when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon.
As to claim 10, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the plate portion (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26) has a groove (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26), the groove is located on a side of the plate portion facing the second cavity (figure 4, weak area 1), the plate portion (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26) is an arc-shaped plate and protrudes towards the second cavity (page 5 lines 21-26). However, Ji does not disclose wherein the expansion material is located in the first cavity.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is located in the first cavity (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) with the expansion material being configured to expand and break the weak area when exposed to a high temperature (page 2, lines 38-40).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally include an expansion material arranged in a first cavity with the expansion material being configured to expand and break the weak section when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon.
4. Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (CN 115020933A, as disclosed in the IDS mailed on 2 November 2023, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Jeon et al. (KR 20110034489A, as disclosed in the IDS mailed on 2 November 2023, machine translation is used for the rejection below) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Motokawa et al (US 2019/0363334 A1, as described in the IDS mailed on 19 April 2024).
As to claim 13, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the expansion material comprises at least one of polyurethane foaming agent and a polypropylene foaming agent.
Motokawa discloses a battery having an expansion material (resin foam component 465) designed to expand when exposed to high temperatures to interrupt an electrical circuit at the terminals of the battery [0036] wherein the expansion material comprises a polyurethane foaming agent [0035] to ensure that the expansion material will expand when heated.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally require that the expansion material be comprised of polyurethane foaming agent as disclosed with Motokawa to ensure that the expansion material expands when heated.
5. Claims 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (CN 115020933A, as disclosed in the IDS mailed on 2 November 2023, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Jeon et al. (KR 20110034489A, as disclosed in the IDS mailed on 2 November 2023, machine translation is used for the rejection below), Liu et al. (US 2025/0149690 A1), and further in view of Reitsma et al (US 2024/0405314 A1).
As to claim 15, Ji discloses a battery (page 4, lines 8-14), comprising a pole (figure 1, page 4, lines 16-20), the pole comprising:
a pole body (figure 1, page 4, lines 20-21) comprising a weak section (figure 4, weak region 1), and a cross-sectional area of the pole body having a lower limit value at the weak section to allow the pole body to be electrically fused at the weak section when an overload current flows through the pole body (page 4, lines 21-34);
wherein the pole body comprises a terminal (figure 1, upper pole cylinder 3) and a base (figure 1, lower pole cylinder 4), and the weak section is connected between the terminal and the base (figure 1, weak area 1), wherein the weak section comprises a first end plate (figure 4, bottom of upper pole cylinder 3) and a second end plate (figure 4, top of lower pole cylinder 4), the first end plate is arranged at one end of the weak section (figure 4, upper pole cylinder 3), the weak section is electrically connected with the terminal through the first end plate (figure 4, upper pole cylinder 3), the second end plate is arranged at the other end of the weak section (figure 4, lower pole cylinder 3), and the weak section is electronically connected with the base through the second end plate (figure 4, lower pole cylinder 3),
wherein the weak section comprises a plate portion (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26), the plate portion is connected between the first end plate and the second end plate (figure 4, page 5 lines 21-26), a first cavity is defined on one side of the plate portion (figure 4, weak area 1), and a second cavity is defined on the other side of the plate portion (figure 4, weak area 1).
However, Ji does not disclose wherein the battery further comprises an insulator, wherein the pole for a battery further comprises an expansion material arranged in the weak section, and configured to expand when an ambient temperature or a temperature of the pole body is higher than a set temperature, to allow the pole body to be broken at the weak section and to realize a breakage protection, wherein the weak section is fitted in the insulator, the expansion material is located on an outer peripheral side of the weak section, the insulator has a channel for filling the expansion material to the weak section, and that the expansion material is arranged in one of the first cavity and the second cavity, and is configured to break the plate portion when expanding.
Jeon discloses poles for a battery, wherein the pole for a battery further comprises an expansion material (figure 1, blowing agent 62) arranged in the weak section (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60), and configured to expand when an ambient temperature or a temperature of the pole body is higher than a set temperature, to allow the pole body to be broken at the weak section and to realize a breakage protection (page 3, lines 9-11) to stop the discharge of electricity (page 2, lines 38-40). Jeon additionally discloses wherein the expansion material is located on an outer peripheral side of the weak section (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) when positioned in the weak section disclosed in figure 4 of Ji. Jeon further discloses wherein the expansion material (blowing agent 62) is arranged in one of the first cavity and the second cavity (figure 1, separation member 60, page 2 lines 57-60) and is configured to break the plate portion when expanding (page 3, lines 9-11) to stop the discharge of electricity (page 2, lines 38-40). However, Jeon does not disclose wherein the battery additionally comprises an insulator, wherein the weak section is fitted in the insulator, and the insulator has a channel for filling the expansion material to the weak section.
Liu discloses a battery having a pair of terminals wherein the battery further comprises an insulator (figure 2, insulating seal 43) and wherein the weak section is fitted in the insulator (figure 2, insulating seal 43) to isolate the terminal to assist in avoiding short circuiting [0024]. However, Liu does not disclose wherein the insulator has a channel for filling the expansion material to the weak section.
Reitsma discloses a battery having a pair of terminals wherein the battery configured to assist in stopping thermal runaway wherein the insulator has a channel for filling the expansion material to the weak section [0013] with the channel providing access to the electrical terminals in the battery.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to further include an expansion material within a cavity of the weak section that is designed to expand and break the pole at the weak section to stop the discharge of electricity when exposed to a high temperature as disclosed within Jeon. It would have additionally been obvious to further include the insulators as disclosed within Liu and Reitsma to assist in avoiding short circuiting of the battery while still providing access to the electrical terminals of the battery.
As to claim 16, modified Ji discloses the pole for a battery as disclosed within claim 15, but does not disclose wherein the pole comprises a first protrusion and a second protrusion, the weak section is located between the first protrusion and the second protrusion, the insulator has a first limiting groove and a second limiting groove, the first protrusion is fitting in the first limiting groove, and the second protrusion is fitted in the second limiting groove.
Liu discloses a battery having a pair of terminals wherein the pole comprises a first protrusion (figure 2, boss 411) and a second protrusion (figure 2, fixing block 42), the weak section is located between the first protrusion and the second protrusion (figure 2, body of first terminal 4 between boss 411 and fixing block 42), the insulator has a first limiting groove (figure 2, insulating seal 43) and a second limiting groove (figure 2, insulating seal 43), the first protrusion is fitted in the first limiting groove (figure 2, insulating seal 43, [0024]), and the second protrusion is fitted in the second limiting groove (figure 2, insulating seal 43, [0024]) to assist in sealing the terminal within the body of the battery.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the pole for a battery as disclosed within Ji to additionally include protrusions and seal grooves as disclosed within Liu to assist in sealing the terminal within the body of the battery.
Response to Arguments
6. Applicant's arguments filed 21 July 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
a. Applicant argues that Jeon does not disclose a pole and instead discloses two leads connected together. It is appreciated that the leads in Jeon are used to electrically connect the battery to another device like the poles in the present application. The Applicant further argued that the expansion material was positioned within the weak section of the pole and that positioning the expansion material within the leads of Jeon is not equivalent. However, the leads in Jeon serve a similar function to the pole in the present application and in Ji, therefore, it would be obvious to put the expansion material disclosed within Jeon in the cavities of the pole in Ji.
b. Applicant argues that the arrangement in Jeon where the blowing agent is positioned is not equivalent to the claimed arrangement because the arrangement in Jeon is formed by welding and would have higher connection strength. However, the blowing agent in Jeon is designed to have enough force to separate the leads (page 3 lines 9-11) and as such, the arrangement in Jeon can be equated to the weak section in the present application.
c. Applicant argues that in the claimed invention, the expansion material will only expand when the ambient temperature is excessively high and that the blowing agent in Jeon only expands when the internal temperature of the battery is raised. However, this temperature distinction is not included within the current claims as amended and therefore Jeon does disclose an expansion agent that expands when exposed to higher temperatures.
d. Applicant argues that Ji does not disclose the distinguishing features of the weak section in the present application, and states that the present application is comprised of two end plates connected together by a plate portion to form the cavities instead and the Applicant further argues that the pole in the present application is instead just hollowed out. However, the Applicant does not distinguish that these plates are not integral with each other and as such, the pole in figure 4 of Ji satisfies having two end plates and a plate portion extending between to form two cavities.
Conclusion
7. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB JEROME SCHULER whose telephone number is (571)272-8487. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 7:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at 5712721330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.J.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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