DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 18/436,377, filed on 02/08/2024.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claims 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kikuyama et al. (JP2017076470A), hereinafter Kikuyama et al.
As to Claim 1, Kikuyama et al. discloses an energy storage cell comprising (see e.g. alkaline storage battery 1 in Fig. 1, Par. 19, Par. 62):
an electrode assembly (see e.g. electrode group 13 in Fig. 1, Pars. 19, 62); a cell case housing the electrode assembly (see e.g. outer can 3 in Fig. 1, Pars. 19, 62); and
an electrolyte solution contained in the cell case (see e.g. “an alkaline electrolyte is injected into the outer casing” in Par. 33), wherein: the electrode assembly includes (see e.g. electrode group 13 in Fig. 1)
a wound assembly obtained by winding (see e.g. electrode group 13 in Fig. 1, Par. 19) a positive electrode sheet (see e.g. positive electrode plate 10 in Fig. 1, Par.19) and a negative electrode sheet (see e.g. negative electrode plate 11 in Fig. 1, Par. 19) with a separator interposed between the (see e.g. separator 12 in Fig. 1, Par. 19) positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet,
a first tape attached to one end in an axial direction of the wound assembly (see e.g. first insulating tape 20 and electrode group 13 in Fig. 3a, Par. 29, and “insulating tape attached to the end of the winding of the separator located on the outer circumference of the electrode group and wound around the outer circumference of the electrode group” in Par. 9), and;
a second tape attached to another end in the axial direction of the wound assembly (see e.g. second insulating tape 20 and electrode group 13 in Fig. 3a, Par. 29, and “insulating tape attached to the end of the winding of the separator located on the outer circumference of the electrode group and wound around the outer circumference of the electrode group” in Par. 9); and
a force of fixing the wound assembly by the first tape is smaller than a force of fixing the wound assembly by the second tape (see e.g. in Par. 30 "the insulating tape 20 is applied to at least two of the three regions obtained by dividing the electrode group 13 into three sections in the height direction" and "it is desirable that the sum of the widths of the multiple insulating tapes 20 be between 20% and 80% of the height of the electrode group 13" then in Par. 52 it states "the application position of the insulating tape 20 was optimized" to the configuration depicted in Fig. 3a which shows the first insulative tape 20 is measurably smaller than the second insulating tape 20, and according to numbering in Fig. 3a and writing in Pars. 25 and 26 the pieces of tape are made of the same material, consequently the force of fixing the electrode group 13 by the smaller piece of first insulating tape 20 is smaller than the force of fixing by the larger piece of second insulating tape 20).
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Annotated Fig. 1
As to Claim 2, Kikuyama et al. discloses the energy storage cell according to claim 1, wherein the first tape is located below the second tape in a vertical direction (see e.g. alkaline storage battery 1 in Fig. 3a has no limitation on the top and bottom orientation, and when Fig. 3a is rotated 180° clockwise, the first insulating tape 20 is below the second insulating tape 20 as described in Pars. 10, 29).
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Annotated Fig. 3a
As to Claim 3, Kikuyama et al. discloses the energy storage cell according to claim 1, wherein: the first tape includes a first adhesive layer (see e.g. first insulating tape 20 in Fig. 3a, “with an adhesive applied to one side,” is the first adhesive layer, Par. 25); the second tape includes a second adhesive layer (see e.g. second insulating tape 20 in Fig. 3a, “with an adhesive applied to one side,” is the second adhesive layer, Par. 25); and
an adhesive area of the first adhesive layer to the wound assembly is smaller than an adhesive area of the second adhesive layer to the wound assembly (see e.g. the first adhesive layer, as defined earlier in this paragraph, has a smaller adhesive area than the second adhesive layer, consequently the first adhesive layer provides a smaller adhesive area to the electrode group 13 in Fig. 3a than the second adhesive layer, see claim 1 discussion on force of fixing for an explanation of insulating tape sizes).
As to Claim 4, Kikuyama et al. discloses the energy storage cell according to claim 1, wherein: the first tape includes a first adhesive layer (see e.g. first insulating tape 20 in Fig. 3a, “with an adhesive applied to one side,” is the first adhesive layer, Par. 25); the second tape includes a second adhesive layer (see e.g. second insulating tape 20 in Fig. 3a, “with an adhesive applied to one side,” is the second adhesive layer, Par. 25); and
an adhesive force of the first adhesive layer to the wound assembly is smaller than an adhesive force of the second adhesive layer to the wound assembly (see e.g. the first adhesive layer, as previously defined in this paragraph, has a smaller adhesive area than the second adhesive layer, consequently the first adhesive layer has a smaller adhesive force to electrode group 13 in Fig. 3a than the second adhesive layer, see claim 1 discussion on force of fixing for an explanation of insulating tape sizes).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Takahashi et al. (JPS60170171A) teaches a closed alkaline cell with 2 or 3 lines of
adhesive-backed tape wrapped around an electrode group and the tape pieces are the same size (see e.g. adhesive tape 4, Par. 1, Fig. 4).
Oka et al. (US2021159545A1) teaches a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery that
uses two pieces of tape of equal size to tightly wrap the electrode group (see e.g. tape 40, Fig. 6a, 6b).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FAUSTO I MARES DAVILA whose telephone number is (571)270-7298. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tong Guo can be reached at (571) 272-3066. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/FAUSTO I MARES DAVILA/Examiner, Art Unit 1723
/TONG GUO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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