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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 1/10/24 and 1/2/25 have been considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 11-12 and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Suzuki et al., US 2010/0258538 A1.
Suzuki teaches a method of producing a welded structure and a method of producing a battery. The battery includes a case body (a first member) and a cap member (a second member) that have not been subjected to welding include a protrusion consisting of at least one of a first protrusion that protrudes from a first outer surface and a second protrusion that protrudes from a second outer surface when the case body and the cap member are assembled together such that the first outer surface is flush with the second outer surface. The protrusion is placed between the first outer surface and the second outer surface. In a condition where the first outer surface and second outer surface of the pre-welding case body and cap member are flush with each other, and the protrusion is placed between the first outer surface and the second outer surface, the protrusion is irradiated with a laser beam, so that the case body and the cap member are welded together with the protrusion providing a part of a weld. The See at least Figure 17 of Suzuki:
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The case body 430 made of aluminum and the cap member 440 made of aluminum are prepared. The pre-welding case body 430 has a frame-like first protrusion 435 that protrudes from a first outer surface 431 (corresponding to each upper end face at the periphery) of the case body 330 and extends over the entire periphery thereof (see FIG. 17). The pre-welding cap member 440 has a frame-like second protrusion 445 that protrudes from a second outer surface 441 (corresponding to the upper surface) of the cap member 440 and extends over the entire periphery thereof (see FIG. 17). As is understood from a comparison between FIG. 17 and FIG. 9, the fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the position of the first protrusion of the case body, the direction in which the first protrusion protrudes, the position of the second protrusion of the cap member, and the direction in which the second protrusion protrudes.
The electrode assembly 10 is placed in the interior of the case body 430, and the opening 430S of the case body 430 is closed with the cap member 440. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, a peripheral portion 443 of the cap member 440 is laid or placed on opening end faces 432 (“a first stepped portion”) of the case body 430, so that the opening 430S of the case body 430 is closed with the cap member 440. In this condition, the first outer surface 431 (corresponding to each upper end face at the periphery) of the case body 430 is flush with the second outer surface 441 (corresponding to the upper surface) of the cap member 440, and a protrusion 425 consisting of the first protrusion 435 and the second protrusion 445 is formed between the first outer surface 431 and the second outer surface 441.
While the opening 430S of the case body 430 is closed with the cap member 440, the protrusion 425 consisting of the first protrusion 435 and the second protrusion 445 is irradiated with a laser beam LB emitted from the laser welding machine 80, as shown in FIG. 17 (“thermal management component” on second stepped face). The irradiation with the laser beam LB is performed over the entire periphery of the frame-like protrusion 425. In this manner, the case body 430 and the cap member 440 are welded together such that the protrusion 425 provides a part of a weld 452.
Thus, the claims are anticipated.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-10 and 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claims are directed toward a battery cell or a method for manufacturing a battery cell or a device for manufacturing a battery cell wherein the battery cell comprises:
a housing, wherein the housing comprises a sidewall and a bottom wall, the sidewall encloses the bottom wall on all sides, and the sidewall and the bottom wall jointly form an accommodation cavity with an opening made at one end;
an electrode assembly, disposed in the accommodation cavity; and
an end cap, configured to cover the opening;
wherein the sidewall comprises a body portion and an end portion, the body portion is connected to the bottom wall, the end portion is connected to an end of the body portion, the end is away from the bottom wall, an outer peripheral surface of the end cap is welded to an inner surface of the end portion, a first stepped face is formed between the inner surface of the end portion and an inner surface of the body portion, and the first stepped face is configured to restrict the end cap from moving closer to the bottom wall, and wherein,
the end cap comprises an end cap body, an edge portion, and a connecting portion;
the end cap body is connected to the edge portion by the connecting portion;
an outer peripheral surface of the edge portion is connected to the inner surface of the end portion;
the connecting portion extends outward from the end cap body along a radial direction of the housing and toward the bottom wall; and
the edge portion extends away from the bottom wall from the connecting portion.
The prior art does not teach or suggest the structure recited by claim 3. Note claims 4-10 depend from claim 3. Suzuki teaches a battery cell comprising a first stepped face. However, Suzuki does not teach the connecting portion of the claimed invention wherein the connecting portion extends outward from the end cap body along a radial direction of the housing and toward the bottom wall and the edge portion extends away from the bottom wall from the connecting portion.
Regarding claim 13, Suzuki does not teach the claimed second stepped face between the outer surface of the end portion and the outer surface of the body portion and a thermal management component positioned on the second stepped face and in contact with the outer surface of the body portion wherein a width of the second stepped face in a radial direction of the housing is less than a half of a thickness of the thermal management component.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The following three references teach a battery cell that reads upon the first stepped face of the claimed invention. None of the following three references teach the structure of claim 3 and/or the second stepped face of claim 12:
Kim US2011/0294002 A1
Kajiwara et al. US2017/0338448 A1
Sakai et al. US 2013/0224566 A1
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/TRACY M DOVE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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