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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In paragraph [0014], pg. 5, line 17, "outside of the outside of the" should read --outside of the--; in paragraph [0014], pg. 5, line 19, "the the" should read --the--; in paragraph [0024], pg. 9, lines 14-15, "the gently-sloped portion 122 is more gently sloped than the gently-sloped portion 122" should read --the gently sloped-portion 122 is more gently sloped than the steeply-sloped portion 121--; in paragraph [0032], pg. 11, line 16, "gently-shaped" should read --gently-sloped--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informality: pg. 14, line 2, "gently-shaped" should read --gently-sloped--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 4-5 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 4 and 5 recite the same limitation that the sealing resin member "further includes a step portion located outside and continuous with the gently-sloped portion". Since claim 4 depends on claim 2, and claim 5 depends on claim 3, which depends on claim 2, both claims 4 and 5 are understood to include all limitations of the embodiment recited by claim 2. Thus, it is unclear if the applicants mean the limitation included in claims 4 and 5 as stated above, or the limitation of claim 2 that "the gently-sloped portion having an outer edge connected to the outer surface of the closing member". The limitation from claim 2 requires that the outside edge of the gently-sloped portion directly contact the closing member. However, dependent claims 4 and 5 require that a step portion be positioned intermediate between the outer edge of the gently-sloped portion and the closing member. Since the outer edge of the gently-sloped portion cannot simultaneously make contact with the step portion and the closing member, the embodiment according to dependent claims 4 and 5 preclude the limitation from the parent claim 2. For purposes of prosecution the examiner interprets claims 4 and 5 to require that the sealing resin member "further includes a step portion located outside and continuous with the gently-sloped portion".
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which they depend, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which they depend.
Regarding claims 4 and 5, claim 4 depends on claim 2 and claim 5 depends on claim 3, which is a dependent of claim 2. Thus, both claims 4 and 5 are required to include the limitation of claim 2 that "the gently-sloped portion having an outer edge connected to the outer surface of the closing member". However, dependent claims 4 and 5 both recite the limitation that the sealing resin member "further includes a step portion located outside and continuous with the gently-sloped portion" requiring that the gently-sloped portion’s outer edge directly connect to the claimed step portion. Since the limitation of dependent claims 4 and 5, and that of claim 2 are mutually exclusive, i.e., the outer edge of the gently-sloped portion cannot connect to both the step portion and the closing member outer surface, the dependent claims fail to include all limitations of the parent claim. For the purposes of prosecution, the examiner will interpret claims 4 and 5 to require that the sealing resin member "further includes a step portion located outside and continuous with the gently-sloped portion".
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (CN 217468605 U) hereinafter "Chen" in view of Dey et al. (US 3736190 A), hereinafter "Dey", wherein an English machine translation of Chen is used and cited herein.
Regarding Claim 1, Chen teaches a “power battery” (Chen, [0005]) corresponding to the claimed battery;
a “plurality of battery cells” (Chen, [0002]) corresponding to the claimed power generating element;
“a pair of poles” (Chen, [0005]) corresponding to the claimed terminal member, a “bus assembly that connects the battery cells in parallel” where the poles “are electrically connected to the bus assembly and transmit electrical energy” (Chen, [0005]), corresponding to the claimed terminal member being connected to the power generating element inside the outer casing, and the poles (2a and 2b) are shown extending outside of the top cover (Chen, Fig. 1), corresponding to the claimed terminal member including a terminal surface exposed outside the outer casing;
“a safety top cover for a power battery, which includes a cover plate” (Chen, [0005]) where “the cover plate 1 made of aluminum or steel alloy material” (Chen, [0045]) corresponding to the claimed conductive closing member; and “the first pole installation slot and the second pole installation slot both have a first installation hole vertically penetrating the cover plate” (Chen, [0011]) corresponding to the claimed conductive closing member and includes a through hole through which the terminal member is inserted;
“a first insulating member for insulating and isolating the first pole from the cover plate” (Chen, [0014]), where “the first insulating member 4a” is “formed by injection molding of insulating and corrosion-resistant polymer materials (such as PP, PVC, PS, ABS, PC, etc.)” (Chen, [0051), and the insulating member 4a is shown closing the entire perimeter of the pole 2a (Chen, Fig. 1) and filling the gap between the cover plate 1 and the pole 2a (Chen, Fig. 1, 3), corresponding to the claimed insulating sealing resin member (first insulating member 4a) that closes a gap between the closing member (cover plate 1) and the terminal member (pole 2a) over an entire perimeter of the through hole;
the insulating member 4a is shown to have an outer shape including a flat top portion continuous with the pole 2a and a sloped portion inclined away from the pole 2a (Chen, Fig. 3) as depicted in the examiner annotated figure below corresponding to the claimed sealing resin member (insulating member 4a) has an outer shape, outside the closing member (top cover), defined by: an outward-facing portion (flat top portion) connected to an outer perimeter of the terminal member (pole 2a); and a sloped portion located outside and continuous with the outward- facing portion, the sloped portion being more steeply sloped than the outward-facing portion so that a height from an outer surface of the closing member is smaller toward a farther side from the terminal member, where the sloped portion encloses the entire perimeter of the pole (Chen, Fig. 1, 2), corresponding to the claimed outward-facing portion (flat top portion) and the sloped portion are provided outside an outer edge of the terminal (pole 2a) surface over an entire perimeter of the terminal (pole 2a) surface.
Chen is silent on an outer casing internally accommodating the power generating element or a conductive closing member that is a part of the outer casing.
However, Dey teaches a “case comprising a container and a cover therefore, which encloses the electrodes, electrolyte and associated separator system leads and terminal connections for the electrochemical system” (Dey, col. 2, par. 4) corresponding to the claimed outer casing internally accommodating the power generating element and the closing member that is a part of the outer casing. Dey further teaches the casing “is hermetically sealed for protecting batteries and cells based upon active metal organic electrolyte systems” required because “the anodes are active metals which are easily decomposed by the presence of moisture” and to further seal “electrolytes for organic electrolyte systems” which “may be quite toxic” (Dey, col. 4, par. 2). Thus, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to add the container component of Dey’s case to the power battery taught by Chen such that Chen’s top cover closes the container thereby hermetically sealing the power generating elements within the battery, protecting the battery components from decomposition and preventing toxic electrolytes from leaking out as taught by Dey (Dey, col. 4, par. 2).
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Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Dey as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (KR 102258025 B1), hereinafter “Kim”, wherein an English machine translation of Kim is used and cited herein.
Regarding claim 2, Chen modified by Dey suggests the embodiment according to claim 1. Chen also shows the outer edge of the sloped portion connecting to the top cover 1 (Chen, Fig. 3), corresponding to the outer edge of the gently-sloped portion connected to the cover plate.
Chen does not teach the sloped portion including a steeply-sloped portion and a gently-sloped portion continuous with the outside of the steeply-sloped portion, the gently-sloped portion is sloped more gently than the steeply-sloped portion, and both the steeply-sloped portion and the gently-sloped portion are provided surrounding the terminal surface over the entire perimeter thereof.
However, Kim teaches “a pouch-type battery that can suppress the phenomenon that dew is formed on the sealant portion that is extended and exposed outside the pouch” (Kim, [0010]) where “an inclined portion 18 is formed in the exposed portion 171 of the sealant 17” (Kim, [0028]) corresponding to the claimed sloped portion, such that “dew condensation flows down from the exposed portion 171 to the upper end of the flexible case 14 by its own weight” and “electrical connection by the dew between the tabs 11 and 12 and the metal layer of the flexible case 14 may be prevented” (Kim, [0034]) where the tabs 11 and 12 are tab terminals extending outside the battery housing. Kim also teaches variations to the outer surface shape of the inclined portion 18 including “a concave curved inclined portion 18e” (Kim, [0041], Fig. 3e). The concave curved variation of Kim’s inclined portion 18e includes a steeply-sloped portion and a gently-sloped portion continuous with the outer edge of the steeply sloped portion (Kim, Fig 3e) as depicted in the examiner annotated figure below and corresponding to the claimed sloped portion including a steeply-sloped portion and a gently-sloped portion continuous with the outside of the steeply-sloped portion, the gently-sloped portion is sloped more gently than the steeply-sloped portion. Thus, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant invention to substitute the outer shape of Chen modified by Dey’s sloped portion with the concave curved outer shape of Kim’s inclined portion in order to prevent dew condensation from collecting near the pole and creating an electrical connection between the pole and the outer surface of the top cover as taught by Kim (Kim, [0034]). Doing so would have provided the insulating member having a sloped portion suggested by Chen modified by Dey whose outer shape included a gently-sloped portion continuous with and further from the electrode than a steeply-sloped portion as taught by Kim (Kim, [0041], Fig. 3e). Furthermore, since the modification is to the outer shape of the sloped portion only, and since the sloped portion of Chen modified by Dey is provided surrounding the entire perimeter of the pole (Chen, Fig. 1), the gently-sloped portion and steeply-sloped portion of Chen modified by Dey and Kim would have also been provided surrounding the entire pole corresponding to the claimed steeply-sloped portion and the gently-sloped portion are provided surrounding the terminal surface over the entire perimeter thereof.
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Regarding claim 3, the embodiment suggested by Chen modified by Dey and Kim described above having a sloped portion including Kim’s concave-curved outer shape can be clearly seen to also include a concave-curved rounding to the gently-sloped portion (Kim, Fig. 3e) as depicted in the examiner annotated figure below and corresponding to the claimed gently-sloped portion has a shape with a concave-curved surface more gently sloping toward the farther side from the terminal member.
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Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Dey, and Kim as applied to claims 2-3 above, and further in view of GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS LLC (DE 202014010102 U1), hereinafter "GM", wherein an English machine translation of GM is used and cited herein.
Regarding claims 4 and 5, as interpreted based on the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) and 35 U.S.C. 112(d) issues identified above, Chen modified by Dey and Kim suggests the battery according to claims 2 and 3 where the sloped portion of modified Chen’s plastic cover (corresponding to the claimed sealing resin member) forms an angular edge at the connection point with the top cover (corresponding to the claimed cover member). Chen discloses that “the plastic cover 70 is injection-molded” (Chen, [0040]) and thus the angular edge of Chen’s sloped portion is formed during injection molding. GM teaches that an “angular edge, which was produced in the context of the plastic injection molding process” (GM, [0013]) is “rounded off during cooling on account of the material shrinkage” (GM, [0005]). Thus, the angular edge suggested by modified Chen would form a rounded step portion (corresponding to the claimed step portion having a convex curved surface more steeply sloped than the gently-sloped portion) as the hot material cooled after injection molding, as evidenced by GM (GM, [0005], [0013]). The suggested embodiment of Chen modified by Dey and Kim, and evidenced by GM would further meet the limitation that the step portion be located outside and continuous with the gently-sloped portion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chen et al. (US 20190280257 A1), Ehara (US 20220123446 A1), Tsutsumi et al. (US 20170214030 A1), Crow (US 4237603 A), Masuda (US 20130136977 A1), Chen (US 10818886 B1), Tang et al. (US 11362395 B2), Zhao et al. (US 20210043913 A1), Lai et al. (CN 115084738 A), Li et al. (CN 110957438 A), Du et al. (CN 114421065 A), and Chen et al. (WO 2023065190 A1) all teach the sealing resin member according to claim 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SIMRAN S SAUND whose telephone number is (571)270-0845. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm.
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, Jonathan Johnson can be reached at (571) 272-1177. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/SIMRAN S. SAUND/Examiner, Art Unit 1734
/JONATHAN JOHNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1734
Prosecution Insights