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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species A, claims 1-10 and 13-16 in the reply filed on 22 July 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that it would not be a significant burden on the Office to search for and examine each of the identified Species. This is not found persuasive because the mutually exclusive arrangements of the troughs require separate search criteria, and prior art applicable to one species may not be applicable to the other, see the rejection below, and therefore multiple grounds of rejection would be necessary, imparting a serious burden on examination.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-10 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1 or 2) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (CN 207338527 U, cited in IDS, see attached machine translation).
In regard to claim 1, Wang et al. teach an electrode assembly, comprising: a negative electrode plate (first pole piece 11 including current collector 112 – paragraph [071] of machine translation provided), wherein the negative electrode plate comprises a negative electrode active substance layer 113, and a first electrolyte storage trough (grooves 111) is disposed on the negative electrode active substance layer (paragraph [064]); and
a positive electrode plate (second pole piece 12 including current collector 122), wherein the positive electrode plate comprises a positive electrode active substance layer 123, the positive electrode active substance layer and the negative electrode active substance layer are disposed opposite each other in a first direction (y direction below), a second electrolyte storage trough (second grooves 121) is disposed on the positive electrode active substance layer, and the second electrolyte storage trough and the first electrolyte storage trough are disposed opposite each other in the first direction (figure 6 annotated below, paragraphs [038-073] of attached translation).
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In regard to claim 2, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 1, wherein width of the first electrolyte storage 111 trough is less than width of the second electrolyte storage trough 121 (see figure 6 above, the trapezoid shape of 111 has a smaller width inside of the active material 113 than the width of the trough 121 at the surface of the active material 123).
In regard to claim 3, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 2, wherein depth of the first electrolyte storage trough 111 is the same as depth of the second electrolyte storage trough 121 (figure 6 above).
In regard to claim 6, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 1, wherein in an extending direction (length direction) of the first electrolyte storage trough 111, the first electrolyte storage trough runs through two ends of the negative electrode active substance layer; and/or in an extending direction of the second electrolyte storage trough 121, the second electrolyte storage trough runs through two ends of the positive electrode active substance layer (see figure 6 above, rough runs through both top and bottom surfaces of electrode active material; trough also runs along entire length direction and therefore extends to both sides into and out of the page above).
In regard to claim 7, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 1, wherein the extending direction (z length direction) of the first electrolyte storage trough is the same as the extending direction of the second electrolyte storage trough (paragraph [064] – “When the first groove 111 and the second groove 121 are respectively provided with multiple along the length direction Z, a plurality of projection of the first groove 111 can be the same structure or different structures, a plurality of second recesses 121 of the projection can be the same structure or different structures”).
In regard to claim 8, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 1, wherein the first electrolyte storage trough 111 extends in a length direction of the negative electrode plate; and the second electrolyte storage trough 121 extends in a length direction of the positive electrode plate (paragraph [064] – “When the first groove 111 and the second groove 121 are respectively provided with multiple along the length direction Z, a plurality of projection of the first groove 111 can be the same structure or different structures, a plurality of second recesses 121 of the projection can be the same structure or different structures”).
In regard to claim 9, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 8, wherein in a width direction (X direction in figure 6 above) of the negative electrode active substance layer, the first electrolyte storage trough is disposed at a center position of the negative electrode active substance layer; and in a width direction of the positive electrode active substance layer, the second electrolyte storage trough is disposed at a center position of the positive electrode active substance layer (figure 6 above, troughs provided along entire width, including center).
In regard to claim 10, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 8, wherein both the first electrolyte storage trough 111 and the second electrolyte storage trough 121 are provided in plurality; and the plurality of first electrolyte storage troughs are spaced apart in a width direction of the negative electrode plate, and the plurality of second electrolyte storage troughs are spaced apart in a width direction of the positive electrode plate, the first electrolyte storage troughs corresponding to the second electrolyte storage troughs on a one-to-one basis (figure 6 above, paragraph [064]).
In regard to claim 13, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 1, wherein the negative electrode plate 11 further comprises a negative electrode current collector 112, and the negative electrode current collector is provided with the negative electrode active substance layer 113, 113 on both sides in the first direction; and the positive electrode plate 12 further comprises a positive electrode current collector 122, and the positive electrode current collector is provided with the positive electrode active substance layer 123, 123 on both sides in the first direction (figure 6 above, paragraphs [058-059]).
In regard to claims 14-16, Wang et al. teach an electric apparatus, such as an electric vehicle, which includes a battery cell within a housing or box (i.e. the car body or chasis), wherein the housing/box is configured to accommodate the electrode assembly and battery cells, wherein the battery is configured to supply electric energy (paragraph [002]).
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.
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN 207338527 U, cited in IDS, see attached machine translation) as applied to claim 1 or 2 above.
In regard to claims 4 and 5, Wang et al. teach the electrode assembly of claim 1 and 2, but does not specify wherein a difference between the width of the first electrolyte storage trough and the width of the second electrolyte storage trough is not less than 1 mm or wherein a ratio of the depth of the first electrolyte storage trough to thickness of the negative electrode active substance layer is in a range of 0.01 to 0.2; and/or a ratio of the depth of the second electrolyte storage trough to thickness of the positive electrode active substance layer is in a range of 0.01 to 0.2.
However, Wang et al. specifies that:
[065] It can be understood that if the area occupied by the first groove 111 over the entire surface of the first current collector 112 is too large, the amount of active material will be reduced, affecting the energy density of the secondary battery, and therefore, the width of the first groove 111 is along the width. The sum of the dimensions of the direction X is not greater than one-half the width of the first pole piece 11, and the sum of the sizes of the first groove 111 along the width direction X is equal to one-half and three-thirds of the first pole piece 11. One, a quarter and so on. Similarly, the sum of the sizes of the second grooves 121 along the width direction X is not more than half of the width of the second pole pieces 12, and the sum of the sizes of the second grooves 121 along the width direction X is equal to the second pole pieces. One-half, one-third, one-fourth, etc. of the width of 12 are used to ensure the amount of active material of the second pole piece 12 as much as possible, thereby increasing the energy density of the secondary battery. The width of the first pole piece 11 refers to the dimension of the first pole piece 11 in the width direction X, and the width of the second pole piece 12 refers to the dimension of the second pole piece 12 in the width direction X.
[066] Further, if the depth of the first groove 111 and the second groove 121 is too large, the lithium ion movement path of the groove bottom of the first groove 111 and the second groove 121 becomes longer, increasing the movement of lithium ions. In order to avoid the above problem, the resistance of the first groove 111 and the second groove 121 in the thickness direction Y is not more than 10 μm, such as 10 μm, 8 μm, 6 μm, 5 μm, and 3 μm. Of course, when only the first groove 111 is provided, the size of the first groove 111 in the thickness direction Y may be no more than 10 um.
Here the prior art appreciates the ability to change the size and shape of the various troughs to account for energy density and lithium-ion movement, and therefore the claimed ranges are taken to fall within optimization of the prior art conditions already described (see MPEP 2144.05 Part II) as the size and shape of the troughs and layers are result effective variables within the battery of the prior art. In any event, changes to size and shape of the prior art electrode are an obvious modification absent evidence to the contrary (see MPEP 2144.04 Part IV).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Pub 20110008662 A1 newly cited teaches -
[0006] To overcome this disadvantage, grooves for guiding the nonaqueous electrolyte are formed in a surface of an active material layer along a penetrating direction of the nonaqueous electrolyte to allow the nonaqueous electrolyte to penetrate into the whole part of the negative electrode.
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/NICHOLAS P D'ANIELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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