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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group II, claims 5 and 6, drawn to a power storage device in the reply filed on 05/20/206 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-4 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group I, drawn to a method of producing a power storage device, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/20/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Maeda (US 20180097208 A1) in view of Tsutsumi (US 20130171510 A1) in view of Ogita (JPH06128482A, Machine Translation).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Maeda discloses a power storage device comprising (See Figs. 1-12, 100 [0031]-[0058]):
a case (11, see Figs. 1-3 [0033]) including a bottomed tube-shaped case body having an opening portion (see Fig. 1, 11a, [0033])
and a lid (12) that is welded to the case body (11) over an entire circumference and closes the opening portion ([0033]);
a terminal member (30 [0032], see Figs. 1-3) inserted in an insertion hole (12e, [0044]) that penetrates through the lid (12) in a lid thickness direction; and
a resin member (31, 41, 50, and 60 [0042]) joined to the terminal member (30 [0032]) and joined to an insertion-hole (12e) surrounding portion of the lid, which surrounds the insertion hole (12e), while insulating between the terminal member (30 [0041]-[0042]) and the insertion-hole (12e) surrounding portion of the lid (12),
wherein the resin member has an outer surface exposed on an outside of the case (see Figs. 1-3 and Fig. 16 which show 31 and 41 exposed to outside).
Maeda discloses that a welding process is done to seal the portions between the lid and the casing, however, no details on the welding process are disclosed ([0033]).
Maeda discloses that the resin member can be formed of polyphenylene sulfide ([0042]).
Tsutsumi discloses a casing and a lid member for a rectangular battery case that are laser-welded in order to seal the battery casing and that heat shielding members (4 [0101]-[0103]) can be formed which are embedded within resin members (20) which surround terminals (See Fig. 2)
Tsutsumi discloses that the heat-shielding member can be formed of polyphenylene sulfide resin which is a heat shielding material ([0103]).
Tsutsumi discloses that the heat-shielding member also reflects light ([0127]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the method of sealing the portion between the lid and casing of Maeda by using a laser-welding method as disclosed by Tsutsumi because Tsutsumi discloses that this method effective seals between the lid and casing of a rectangular battery casing and furthermore because Maeda discloses that the insulating gasket can be formed of a heat shielding resin so damage from laser welding is likely reduced.
Ogita discloses a polyphenylene sulfide resin composition that be used to be make molded articles of high heat resistance and light reflectivity ([0001][0006]) with a surface roughness that is less than 0.6 microns (see Table 1 Examples 1-3).
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to modify the material used to form the insulating gasket of Maeda by using the polyphenylene sulfide resin composition of Ogita because Tsutsumi discloses that heat resistance materials experience less damage due to the process done during laser welding and Maeda further discloses that this an appropriate material for the insulating gasket.
Modified Maeda discloses that the insulating gasket resin member formed of a polyphenylene sulfide resin wherein the outer surface including a scattered light-reached surface to which scattered light, which is radiated from an irradiated portion applied with the laser beam, of the opening portion of the case body and the peripheral portion of the lid, directly reaches, and at least a part of the scattered light-reached surface including a region having a surface roughness Ra of 0.6 µm or less and wherein the outer surface of the insulating gasket resin member includes the region.
With regards to the claim limitation “smoothed region” even though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process.” In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964, 966 (Fed. Cir. 1985)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DEVINA PILLAY whose telephone number is (571)270-1180. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jeffrey T Barton can be reached at 517-272-1307. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DEVINA PILLAY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1726
/DEVINA PILLAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726
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