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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Interpretation
“power storage device” is used by the claims to indicate conventional structure known in the art [i.e., batteries; para. 0010: “As used in this specification, the term "power storage device" refers to a device that can perform charging and discharging. The power storage device encompasses a battery, such as a primary battery, a secondary battery (for example, a lithium-ion secondary battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery), or the like, and a capacitor (physical battery), such as an electric double layer capacitor or the like. A nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery that is one preferred embodiment of a power storage device that is manufactured by a manufacturing method disclosed herein will be described below. Note that a power storage device that is manufactured according to the present technology is not limited to a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery.”].
“nipping” is used by claim 3, and is being interpreted as indicating pinching/squeezing [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nip; fig. 3, para. 0023: “In this preferred embodiment, the first pressurizer 200 nips the stacked plural positive electrode current collecting foil exposed portions 52a between a first upper jig 210 arranged on a surface of the stacked plural positive electrode current collecting foil exposed portions 52a at one side and a first lower jig 220 arranged on a surface of the stacked plural positive electrode current collecting foil exposed portions 52a at the other side from the stacking direction. ”]
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.
Claims 2-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 2:
The limitation “the stacking direction” lacks sufficient antecedent basis and should be “a stacking direction”. However, in lieu of amending claim 2, Examiner recommends amending claim 1, lines 10-16 to recite “applying, while pressing the stacked plural current collecting foils against the current collector, a tensile force to the stacked plural current collecting foils that are pressed in a [[predetermined straight line]]stacking direction in at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and irradiating a portion of a surface of the stacked plural current collecting foils that are pressed against the current collector located in the [[predetermined straight line]]stacking direction with laser light” [i.e., the stacking direction being the vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal tensile force direction] so as to avoid any possible indefiniteness with claim 6, which recites “the straight line direction”, wherein the first pressurizer is moved in that horizontal straight line direction [fig. 5: straight line direction ST; paras. 0041-42].
Claims 3-6 are also rejected due to dependence on claim 2.
Claim 4:
“a surface” renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear if it is distinct from the surface recited in claim 1, and should be “the surface”
line 4 should recite “by rotating the roller in the [[predetermined straight line]]stacking direction” [i.e., the first pressurizer is rotated, clockwise or counterclockwise, in the same plane formed by the stacking direction and a direction of applied tensile force direction/the straight line direction of claim 6]
Claim 6:
“the straight line direction” lacks sufficient antecedent basis, and should be “[[the]]a straight line direction”
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 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Watanabe (WO 2013160932 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
Watanabe teaches:
A method for manufacturing a power storage device [p. 2: “The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for joining a current collecting portion in which a large number of electrode plates are laminated by laser welding in an electrode assembly of an electronic component such as a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a capacitor.”],
the power storage device including
a positive electrode including
stacked plural positive electrode current collecting foils and
a positive electrode current collector connected to the stacked positive electrode current collecting foils, and
a negative electrode including
stacked plural negative electrode current collecting foils and
a negative electrode current collector connected to the stacked negative electrode current collecting foils,
Watanabe describes this conventional battery structure [p. 2: “Currently, secondary batteries such as large-capacity to small-capacity lithium-ion batteries are in the limelight as a power source for power engines and electronic devices as an environmental measure. Taking a lithium ion battery as an example, the positive electrode plate is a strip-shaped positive electrode current collector made of an aluminum foil with a positive electrode active material applied, and the negative electrode plate is made of copper foil. An electrode assembly produced by applying a negative electrode active material to a strip-shaped negative electrode current collector and winding a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate in a cylindrical shape with a separator interposed therebetween is a cylindrical battery. A battery element housed in a can or wound in a wound form is formed into a flat shape and housed in a square battery can or bag, filled with an electrolyte, and then closed. In the current collector part of such an electrode assembly, a large number of current collectors of the same polarity (no positive electrode active material or negative electrode active material are applied to this part) are stacked and bonded by pressure bonding or ultrasonic welding. In addition, electrode terminals are joined to this portion…”].
the method comprising:
applying, while pressing the stacked plural current collecting foils against the current collector, a tensile force to the stacked plural current collecting foils that are pressed in a predetermined straight line direction in at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and
Watanabe teaches the current collector with integrated thin foils [p. 3: “Since a large number of very thin foils are integrated, the heat capacity of each sheet is very small. Therefore, if the adjacent current collectors are not in close contact with each other, the heat cannot be diffused and the laser light can be emitted. When irradiated, the irradiated part was heated and evaporated, and a hole was instantly opened. In reality, laser welding was considered impossible.”], and
nipping/pinching and pulling at the base 14a of the current collector 14 with base-side clamping bodies 20/21 [see fig. 5] and at the tip 14b with clamping bodies 30/31 [see figs. 4-7], while pressing at pressing part 14c with pressing member 40 against an upper receiving surface 22 [see figs. 7-8].
[p. 3: “The base (14a) of the current collector (14) is clamped by the base-side clamping body (20) (21), and the tip (14b) of the current collector (14) is clamped by the tip-side clamp (30) (31). After pressurization, at least one of the base side clamping body (20) (21) and the distal side clamping body (30) (31) is moved away from the other and stopped at a predetermined position, Between the base side clamping body (20) (21) and the distal side clamping body (30) (31), the pressing member (40) is pressed against the current collecting part (14) to cover the current collecting part (14). Pressurize the pressing part (14c)”]
irradiating a portion of a surface of the stacked plural current collecting foils that are pressed against the current collector located in the predetermined straight line direction with laser light [p. 3: “The pressed portion (14c) of the current collector (14) is irradiated with a laser beam (50) to form a laser welded portion (14y) at the irradiated portion of the pressed portion (14c).”].
Watanabe further teaches the combination of tensile and pressing forces provided by the movable clamping bodies of predetermined shapes, e.g., in addition to smoothening features of movable, roller shaped clamping bodies, improves weld quality [
p. 3: “As a result, the pressed portion (14c) of the current collector (14) is coated with a large number of current collectors (14d) constituting the current collector (14). If the gap (t) between them is eliminated and they are in close contact, and the pressed portion (14c) of the current collector (14) is irradiated with a laser beam (50) in this state, the adherent current collector (14d) seems to be integrated, heat transfer is instantaneously performed between adjacent current collectors (14d), and the total thickness (T) of the irradiated part is reduced without opening a hole in the irradiated part. A good weld is formed.”; p. 4: “By curving the current collector (14) by pressing the pressing member (40), a slight slip occurs between the adjacent current collectors (14d), and at the same time, the base side clamping body ( 20) (21) and the tip side clamping body (30) (31) are pushed out to generate tension. As a result, the air between the current collectors (14d) is pushed out by simple pressing, the degree of adhesion between the adjacent current collectors (14d) is improved, and better laser welding is realized.”; p. 5: “If the front end side clamping body (30) is formed of a roller, the front end side clamping body (30) (31) is moved to the front end side while holding the current collector (14), or a planar front end side Smooth when rolling on the sandwiching body (31) and moving while pressing with rollers or surfaces and rollers from both sides, so the air between the current collectors (14d) adjacent in the moving direction of the rollers Can be driven out and the adhesion between the two can be increased. In particular, when the roller which is the front end side clamping body (30) moves beyond the through hole (23), it is possible to directly increase the adhesion degree of the most important laser welded portion (14y).”].
Regarding claim 2, Watanabe teaches the method according to claim 1.
Watanabe teaches:
wherein in the predetermined straight line direction,
a first pressurizer that pressurizes the stacked plural current collecting foils in the stacking direction [clamping bodies 30/31] and
a second pressurizer that pressurizes the stacked plural current collecting foils in the stacking direction in a different position from a position where the first pressurizer pressurizes the stacked plural current collecting foils [clamping bodies 20/21]
are provided and
the tensile force is applied to the stacked plural current collecting foils located between the first pressurizer and the second pressurizer [i.e., the tensile force is applied therebetween, at pressing part 14c; fig. 7].
Regarding claim 3, Watanabe teaches the method according to claim 2.
Watanabe teaches:
wherein while the stacked plural current collecting foils are nipped from the stacking direction in the first pressurizer, a force that pulls the stacked plural current collecting foils in an opposite direction to a direction toward the second pressurizer is given to apply the tensile force [Watanabe teaches that either pinching end of the apparatus can be moved; p. 3: “…After pressurization, at least one of the base side clamping body (20) (21) and the distal side clamping body (30) (31) is moved away from the other and stopped at a predetermined position…”].
Regarding claim 4, Watanabe teaches the method according to claim 2.
Watanabe teaches:
wherein in the first pressurizer, a roller is arranged on a surface of the stacked plural current collecting foils and the tensile force is applied to the stacked plural current collecting foils by rotating the roller in the predetermined straight line direction [p. 3: “Here, the front end side clamping body (31) may be a roller as shown in FIG. 1 or a curved body whose section perpendicular to the axis is convexly curved as shown in FIG. In such a way that the other tip side clamping body (30) can roll (a flat surface as shown in the figure, or a cylindrical curved surface arranged in parallel to the tip side clamping body (30), not shown) )”].
Regarding claim 6, Watanabe teaches the method according to claim 2.
Watanabe teaches:
further comprising:
moving, before irradiating the portion with the laser light, the first pressurizer in the straight line direction such that the laser light passes the surface of the stacked plural current collecting foils that is irradiated with the laser light [i.e., Watanabe teaches the movable clamping bodies moving in a horizontal direction from an initial position in fig. 4 to the position of figs. 6/7, wherein the pressed portion 14c is irradiated; p. 3: “The pressed portion (14c) of the current collector (14) is irradiated with a laser beam (50) to form a laser welded portion (14y) at the irradiated portion of the pressed portion (14c).”; p. 10: “As shown in FIG. 9, the tilt of the upper and lower levers (64) and (74) is substantially equal, and the distal end holding member (30 ) (31) may pinch the tip (14b) and be pulled in a straight line.”].
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe (WO 2013160932 A1) in view of Miura (JP 2014136242 A).
Regarding claim 5, Watanabe teaches the method according to claim 2.
However, although Watanabe discloses a pressing plate with an opposed surface inclined with respect to the current collector [fig. 8: receiving surface 22], Watanabe does not disclose:
further comprising:
placing the stacked plural current collecting foils overlapping the current collector such that end portions of the stacked plural current collecting foils protrude from an end portion of the current collector in the predetermined straight line direction; and
arranging, in the first pressurizer, a pressing plate at a side where the current collecting foils are present such that an opposed surface of the pressing plate opposed to the current collecting foils is inclined with respect to the surface of the current collecting foils and pressurizing the end portions of the stacked plural current collecting foils protruding from the end portion of the current collector by the opposed surface and the stacked plural current collecting foils located on the end portion of the current collector by the opposed surface.
Specifically, Watanabe’s method welds current collectors 14d together, wherein the pressing portion 40 corresponds to the base portion 400 in instant figs. 4-6, i.e., Watanabe’s method is applied to a battery structurally different from the battery of claim 6, and thus does not explicitly disclose applying the inclined surface 22 as a pressing plate to a battery having stacked current collecting foils overlapping the current collector such that protruding foil end portions are thereby stretched/pressed thereon.
Miura, in the same field of endeavor, also teaches the benefits of compressing and stretching when conventionally welding parts of a battery together [p. 2: “Conventionally, a plurality of metal foils such as an aluminum foil and a copper foil and a metal plate are widely joined in a manufacturing process of a lithium ion battery, a capacitor, a capacitor, and the like. As this type of lap joining, a technical idea has been proposed in which a plurality of metal foils are laminated on a convex portion formed on a metal plate, and the convex portion and the plurality of metal foils are ultrasonically joined ( For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).” p. 4: “Furthermore, since the pressing member 60 is configured in an annular shape (annular), the outer peripheral portion 20 of each metal foil 12 can be pressed in an annular shape. Thereby, since each welding object part 24 can be pulled annularly, the welding object part 24 which adjoins mutually more closely, and the tip surface 16 of the convex part 14 is closely contacted.”], wherein foils of a battery that overlap and protrude from a portion of a metal plate 10 [fig. 4A:, metal foils 12, convex part 14 of metal plate 10] by laser light L.
Therefore, since the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references, but rather what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art [see In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981)], it would have been obvious to a PHOSITA to apply and modify the method and opposed inclined surface/pressing plate of Watanabe to weld the foils of a battery to the collector of a battery, so as to arrive at claim 6, since Miura further teaches tensile forces/pressing, and the benefits therefrom, may also be advantageously applied to a battery so arranged, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE J EVANGELISTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST.
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/THEODORE J EVANGELISTA/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 /EDWARD F LANDRUM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761
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