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 .
Priority
Should applicant desire to obtain the benefit of foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) prior to declaration of an interference, a certified English translation of the foreign application must be submitted in reply to this action. 37 CFR 41.154(b) and 41.202(e).
Failure to provide a certified translation may result in no benefit being accorded for the non-English application.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 currently recites “wherein one or a plurality of concave parts are existed at at least any one of the electrode terminal…”. Examiner suggests amending to “wherein one or a plurality of concave parts exists at at least any one of the terminal terminal…”
Claims 1,2 also recite “the concave part is existed at …”, which Examiner suggests amending to “the concave part exists at…”
Claim 3 also recites “a plurality of the concave parts are existed at …” Examiner suggests amending to “a plurality of the concave parts exists at…”
Claim 3 further recites “the plurality of concave parts are respectively existed along …” Examiner suggests amending to “the plurality of concave parts respectively exists along …”
Claim 3 currently recites “an angle existed between the concave parts adjacent to each other … is roughly 90°”. Examiner suggests amending to “an angle between the concave parts adjacent to each other … is roughly 90°”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ito (US20190044107A1, IDS cited 03/07/2024).
Regarding claim 1, Ito discloses a battery (energy storage device 10; Fig 2; [0039]) comprising:
an electrode body (electrode assembly 140) including respective electrodes of positive and negative electrodes [0050];
a battery case (case body 111; Fig 2) including an opening, and for accommodating the electrode body [0042-0043];
a sealing plate (lid body 110) including a terminal mounting hole (through hole 112; Fig 3), and for sealing the opening (“for closing an opening of the case body 111” [0042]);
an electrode terminal (electrode terminals 200, 205; [0040, 0043]) electrically joined at one end thereof with any electrode of the positive and negative electrodes inside the battery case (i.e., via electrode current collectors 120, 130), and
inserted at another end thereof through the terminal mounting hole to be exposed to outside the sealing plate (body portion 211 of the terminal portion 210; see Fig 3)
an insulating member (electrode sealing members 160; see Fig 3; e.g., resin such as polyphenylene sulfide, polypropylene, polyethylene [0053]) for establishing an insulation between at least a part of the sealing plate (lid body 110) and the electrode terminal (electrode terminal 205),
wherein one or a plurality of concave parts exist at at least any one of the electrode terminal and the insulating member (see the annotated Fig 3 below with a plurality of concave parts including concave portions 221,222,233,234 in Fig 4),
when the concave part is existed at the electrode terminal, the concave part is filled with the insulating member opposed to the concave part, and when the concave part is existed at the insulating member, the electrode terminal opposed to the concave part is buried in the concave part (i.e., the concave parts of the insulating member and electrode terminal match in shape; see annotated Fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 3, Ito discloses the battery according to claim 1,
wherein the terminal mounting hole (through hole 112) has a cylindrical shape,
a portion of the electrode terminal to be inserted through the terminal mounting hole has a cylindrical shape (terminal 205 in Fig 1-3),
a plurality of the concave parts exists at at least any one of the electrode terminal and the insulating member (see annotated Fig 3 below),
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the plurality of concave parts are respectively existed along a rotation direction of the cylindrical portion of the electrode terminal (i.e., vertical direction in Fig 3), and
an angle between the concave parts adjacent to each other in the rotation direction is roughly 90° (see the annotated Fig 3 below).
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Regarding claim 4, Ito discloses the battery according to claim 1,
wherein the terminal mounting hole (through hole 112; Fig 3) has a cylindrical shape,
a portion of the electrode terminal to be inserted through the terminal mounting hole has a cylindrical shape (electrode terminal 205 in Fig 3), and
at each of the concave parts, at at least a portion opposed to a rotation direction of the cylindrical portion of the electrode terminal, a corner of the opening has an R shape (note: “R shape” is interpreted as having a surface with surface gradient or curvature; see annotated Fig 3 having 4 areas with concave parts, where each area comprises at least a surface with at least a surface curvature or surface gradient)
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Regarding claim 6, Ito discloses the battery according to claim 1, wherein the electrode terminal (terminal 205) and the insulating member (electrode sealing members 160) are included as an integrally molded product [0089].
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito (US20190044107A1, IDS cited 03/07/2024).
Regarding claim 2, Ito discloses the battery according to claim 1,
wherein a portion of the electrode terminal (electrode terminal 205 in Fig 3) to be inserted through the terminal mounting hole (through hole 112; Fig 3) has a cylindrical shape (cylindrical portion 213; see Fig 3; [0058]),
the concave part exists at at least a cylindrical portion of the electrode terminal (see annotated Fig 3 above with a plurality of concave parts in the cylindrical portion 213)
While Ito in Fig 3 shows the cylindrical portion having a diameter and the concave part having a depth, Ito does not explicitly disclose “wherein the depth of the concave part is at least 1/5 of a diameter of the cylindrical portion” as claimed since drawings are not necessarily to scale.
In this regard, Ito discloses that a depth of the concave portions 233 and 234 can be changed as desired and a protrusion amount of the cylindrical portion 217, 218 corresponding to a depth of the concave portions 233 and 234 are determined. Ito further discloses that the depth of the concave portions provides the connecting side contact surfaces that is brought into contact with the inner side surfaces of the cylindrical portion (e.g., 233a, 233c, 234a, 234c in annotated Fig 4 below; [0075]) such that a gap is not formed between the cylindrical portion 213 and the shaft 232, thereby ensuring a large contact area whereby an electric conduction resistance can be lowered [0075]. Ito further recognizes that the shaft 232 connects the terminal portion and electrode current collector [0058].
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have optimized the depth of the concave part and the diameter of the cylindrical portion by way of routine experimentation to arrive at a desired balance between ensuring a large contact area between the cylindrical portion and the connector to lower the electric conduction resistance while also connecting the terminal and the electrode current collector [0058, 0075].
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Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito (US20190044107A1, IDS cited 03/07/2024), in view of Yohei (US20190189998A1, IDS cited 09/24/2024).
Regarding claim 5, Ito discloses the battery according to claim 1, wherein the insulating member (electrode sealing members 160) is made of a resin material, or a combination of plural kinds of resin materials, a combination of a resin material and an elastomer material, or a material formed by adding a granular or fibrous inorganic material into a resin material [0053]. However, Ito does not explicitly disclose “wherein the insulating member includes an insulation filler” as claimed.
In this regard, Yohei is also directed to a battery comprising an electrode terminal 7, a sealing plate 2, and a heat-resistant layer 80 between the sealing plate and the electrode terminal, wherein the heat-resistant layer 80 comprising resin (e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene [0078, 0117]), ceramic particles or ceramic fiber (e.g., alumina, zirconia, titania, silica [0076]).
Thus, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the insulating member of Ito to include an insulation filler, such as the ceramic particles or fiber, with a reasonable expectation to prevent a conduction path from forming between the electrode terminal and the sealing member [Yohei 0113].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAEYOUNG SON whose telephone number is (703)756-1427. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm.
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/T.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 2/5/2026