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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on 05/24/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-2 are amended, Claims 3-4 are canceled and Claims 1-2 are pending.
Claim Objections
The objections to Claims 1-2 are withdrawn in view of the amendments filed 05/24/2026
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable by Lee et al. (US 20160049623 A1), hereinafter "Lee" in view of Okada et al. (US 6174620 B1), hereinafter “Okada”. Lee and Okada et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely manufacturing power storage devices.
In regard to Claim 1, Lee et al. discloses a manufacturing method for a power storage device, which comprises an electrode body, a case made of metal for housing the electrode body, and a closing plate made of metal (Lee, 0044-0045]). Lee et al. also discloses the shape of the case and closing plate as not particularly limited but that it includes a first surface; a second surface parallel to the first surface; a third surface coupling the first and second surfaces which is shown to be a rectangular and that the closing plate is configured to be inserted in an opening of the case for closing the opening (Lee, [0009, 0044], Figures 2-3).
Lee et al. further discloses the power storage device being welded over entire circumferences of an opening wall portion of the case surrounding the opening and an outer peripheral edge portion of the closing plate, and closing to close the opening by the closing plate in a manner that the electrode body is housed inside the case and the closing plate is inserted into the opening of the case; and welding to laser-weld the outer peripheral edge portion of the closing plate and the opening wall portion of the case over the entire circumferences in a state where the opening of the case has been closed by the closing plate, as is common practice (Lee, [0009, 0045], Figure 3).
Further, Lee et al. discloses an outer circumferential end face positioned on an outermost side of an outer circumferential surface of the closing plate is formed to extend in parallel to a thickwise direction of the closing plate wherein a length in the thickwise direction of a corner-portion end face included in each of the closing corner portions is represented as LK and a length in the thickwise direction of a long-side end face included in each of the closing long-side portions is represented as LL, the length LK is shorter than the length LL (Lee, Figures 5-6, [0011-0018]).
Lee et al. also discloses the tilt of the chamfer is not particularly limited and may be variable or constant and can gradually increase toward short side portions, corner portions from the long side portions (Lee, [0011-0014]) wherein in a particular embodiment LS=LK and LK<LL (Lee, [0061-0062]), which by definition means LS<LL.
Lastly, Lee et al. discloses the opening wall portion of the case used for the closing is of a rectangular shape and includes a pair of opening long-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, a pair of opening short-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, and an arcuate circular shape connecting the opening long-side portions and the opening short-side portions (Lee, Abstract, Figure 4). Additionally, Lee discloses the closing plate used for the closing is configured such that: the outer peripheral edge portion is of a rectangular annular shape and includes a pair of closing long-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, a pair of closing short-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, and a circular shape connecting the closing long-side portions and the closing short-side portions (Lee, Figure 4). While Lee is silent as to the shape of the cover and housing being rectangular with arcuate corners the skilled artisan of Lee would be well aware of different variations in the shape of the housing as evidenced by Okada et al. which discloses a metallic outer case has an opening portion. A first corner portion is provided at an outer periphery of the opening portion, an end face of the opening portion is sealed by a metallic cover member. The cover member has a second corner portion corresponding to the first corner portion of the outer case and are welded to the outer case (Okada, Abstract). Okada et al. also discloses the opening wall portion of the case used for the closing is of a rectangular annular shape and includes a pair of opening long-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, a pair of opening short-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, and four opening corner portions of arcuate circular shape connecting the opening long-side portions and the opening short-side portions, the closing plate used for the closing is configured such that: the outer peripheral edge portion is of a rectangular annular shape and includes a pair of closing long-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, a pair of planar closing short-side portions arranged in parallel to each other, and four closing corner portions of arcuate circular shape connecting the closing long-side portions and the closing short-side portions (Okada, Figures 5, 9, 10) with a benefit to this configuration taught as increasing the corner radius from a rectangle decreases expansion of the long side and suppresses deformation caused by internal pressure (Okada, Cols 6-7). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide the rectangular housing with arcuate corners as taught in Okada as the housing and cover shape of Lee as doing so would give the skilled artisan the reasonable expectation of achieving the benefits taught in Okada and as doing so would amount to nothing more than a variation of the shape of the housing and cover for use in the same field based on design incentives or other market forces, as the variations are predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art;
In regard to Claim 2, Lee et al. discloses the manufacturing method for the power storage device according to claim 1. Lee et al. also discloses wherein the closing plate used for the closing is configured such that: the closing plate has a front face facing one side in the thickwise direction and a rear face facing the other side in the thickwise direction; a portion located on a rear face side of the outer peripheral edge portion is chamfered over an entire circumference; the closing corner portions are chamfered more largely than the closing long-side portions to make the length LK shorter than the length LL; and the closing is to insert the closing plate into the opening of the case from the side of the rear face (Lee, [0009-0019], Figure 3).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 has been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection has been changed from a 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) rejection to a 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection and the combination of references teaches all of the limitations of amended claims 1-2.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yamafuku et al. (US 20170092901 A1), hereinafter “Yamafuku” discloses an energy storage device includes a rectangular metal case with arcuate corners which houses an electrode assembly therein, and an insulation sheet mounted on a portion of an outer surface of the case. The case includes a projecting portion which extends in a thickness direction of the insulation sheet along an edge surface of at least a portion of the insulation sheet, and a distal end of the projecting portion projects from the insulation sheet (Yamafuku, Abstract, Figure 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH MAX OTERO whose telephone number is (571)272-2559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F Generally 7:30-430.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at (571) 270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/K.M.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/NICOLE M. BUIE-HATCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725
Prosecution Insights