DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is responsive to the August 12th, 2026 arguments and remarks (“Remarks”).
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 .
Response to Amendments
In response to the amendments received in the Remarks on August 12th, 2026:
Claims 1-19 are pending in the current application. Claims 1 and 19 have been amended.
The previous rejection under 35 USC 112 is overcome in light of the amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed with the Remarks on August 12th, 2026 with respect to Claims 1-19 are acknowledged, however, Applicant’s arguments are not persuasive.
Applicant’s argument that the prior art of record does not disclose wherein one of the first case or the second case being arranged between the sealing member and one of the pair of current collector plates is not persuasive.
This argument is not persuasive as Figures 2 and 3 of Postler (reproduced in the rejection below) explicitly show wherein the sealing member 80 is disposed between the first case 62 and the second case 61 such that at least a portion of the second case 61 is disposed between the sealing member 80 and the electrode unit 10 (wherein the electrode unit 10 comprises the current collector plates 31/32). The inclusion of the sealing member 80 between the second case 61 and the electrode unit 10 (comprising current collector plates 31/32) does not prohibit the secondary battery of Postler from reading on the instant claim limitation. And, thus, Postler does disclose wherein the second case is arranged between the sealing member and one of the pair of current collector plates within the electrode unit 10.
Therefore, the argument is not persuasive and the rejection of record is maintained. Any modification to the rejection is as necessitated by the amendment.
Prior Art
Previously cited Postler US PG Publication 2020/0127244 (“Postler”)
Previously cited Tononishi US PG Publication 2007/0279001 (“Tononishi”)
Previously cited Schoenherr US PG Publication 2019/0019998 (“Schoenherr”)
Previously cited Mizawa US PG Publication 2021/0249698 (“Mizawa”)
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office Action.
Claims 1 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Postler US PG Publication 2020/0127244.
Regarding Claim 1, Postler discloses a secondary battery (Abstract, [0002], [0009], entire disclosure dependent upon) comprising:
a second housing part 62 (corresponding to the instantly claimed first case) having a hexahedral shape (Fig. 1, [0027]);
a first housing part 61 (second case) having a hexahedral shape and coupled to the first case 62 (Fig. 1, [0027], [0037]-[0038]);
an electrode unit 10 (electrode assembly) in the first case 62 and the second case 61 (Fig. 1, [0029]-[0030] wherein the electrode unit 10 is provided in the interior of the cell housing 3, and the interior of the cell housing 3 is defined by the first housing part 61 and the second housing part 62);
a pair of current collector [plates] 31/32 electrically connected to the electrode assembly 10 ([0030]-[0033] wherein the current collectors 31/32 are each a part of an anode 21 and a cathode 22 which are a part of the electrode unit 10), and electrically connected to the first case 62 and the second case 61, respectively ([0033]-[0034]); and
an insulating element 80 (a sealing member comprising an insulating material) between the first case 62 and the second case 61 (Fig. 2, [0036]-[0037]), the second case (which falls within and therefore anticipates the instant claim limitation of one of the first case or the second case) being arranged between the sealing member and one of the pair of current collector plates (Fig. 3, [0036]-[0037]).
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Annotated Figure 1 of Postler
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Annotated Figure 2 of Postler
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Annotated Figure 3 of Postler
Regarding Claim 14, Postler teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 1, and Postler discloses wherein the first case 62 comprises a positive terminal 12 (positive electrode case) having a positive polarity ([0027]), and
wherein the second case 61 comprises a negative terminal 11 (negative electrode case) having a negative polarity ([0027]).
Regarding Claim 15, Postler teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 14, and Postler discloses wherein an anode 21 (negative electrode plate) is at an outermost side of the electrode assembly 10 to face the first case 62 and the second case 61 (Fig. 1, [0029]-[0031]).
Regarding Claim 16, Postler teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 15, and Postler discloses wherein the electrode assembly 10 comprises a cathode 22 (positive electrode plate) facing the first case 62, and the negative electrode plate 21 facing the second case 61 (Fig. 1, [0029]-[0031]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office Action.
Claims 2, 4-12, and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Postler US PG Publication 2020/0127244, as applied to Claim 1, further in view of Tononishi US PG Publication 2007/0279001.
Regarding Claim 2, Postler teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 1.
Postler fails to explicitly disclose wherein the first case or the second case is larger than the other, and is coupled thereto to overlap a portion thereof.
However, Tononishi discloses a battery assembly of a battery pack (Abstract, entire disclosure dependent upon).
Tononishi teaches the use of an upper plate 4 made of an insulating material and a case 3 that are coupled together to surround a battery assembly 2, such that the upper plate 4 comprises side parts 42 which over the side plates 32 of the case 3, and the upper plate 4 comprises a cut-out 43 for windows 33 of the case 3 in order to form the battery case with a simple structure to reduce the potential number of errors or man hours required during assembly (Fig. 2, [0094]-[0098]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the secondary battery of Postler such that the first case or second case is larger than the other, and is coupled thereto to overlap a side portion thereof and such that the cases comprise a cut-out and a window in order to form the battery case with a simple structure to reduce the potential number of errors or man hours required during assembly, as taught by Tononishi.
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Annotated Figure 2 of Tononishi
Regarding Claim 4, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 2, and (as previously described in the rejection of Claim 2) Postler in view of Tononishi discloses wherein the first case or the second case that is larger than the other comprises a vent region (such as cut-out 43) adjacent to a portion comprising windows 33 of the other (Tononishi Fig. 2, [0094]-[0098]).
Regarding Claim 5, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 4, and Postler discloses wherein the electrode assembly 10 has a hexahedral shape (Fig. 2, [0029]-[0030]), and
wherein the current collector plates 31/32 are respectively at end portions of the electrode assembly 10 in a direction perpendicular to the length direction (which meets the claim direction of in a length direction or in a direction perpendicular to the length direction) (Fig. 1, [0031]-[0034]).
Regarding Claim 6, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 5, and (as previously described in the rejection of Claim 2) Postler in view of Tononishi discloses wherein the vent region is in a side portion of the first case 62 or the second case 61 that is larger than the other (Tononishi Fig. 2, [0094]-[0098]).
While Postler in view of Tononishi does not explicitly discloses wherein the vent region is in a short side portion or a long side portion, the skilled artisan would recognize that the plane of the sides of cases 62/61 of Postler in view of Tononishi are defined within a rectangular shape – and, therefore, the side portion of cases 62/61 would have to be either (or both) of the short side portion or the long side portion of the rectangular shape.
Regarding Claim 7, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 6, and the skilled artisan would recognize that since the vent region of Postler in view of Tononishi is a part of either the short side portion or the long side portion where there is no side portion, then the vent region would have a thickness that is less than a thickness of the short side portion or the long side portion.
Regarding Claim 8, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 2, and (as previously described in the rejection of Claim 2) Postler in view of Tononishi discloses a vent at a vent hole (i.e. windows 33 at cut-out 43) that is defined in the first case 62 or the second case 61 that is larger than the other (Tononishi Fig. 2, [0094]-[0098]).
Regarding Claim 9, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 8, and Postler discloses wherein the electrode assembly 10 has a hexahedral shape (Fig. 2, [0029]-[0030]), and
wherein the current collector plates 31/32 are respectively at end portions of the electrode assembly 10 in a direction perpendicular to the length direction (which meets the claim direction of in a length direction or in a direction perpendicular to the length direction) (Fig. 1, [0031]-[0034]).
Regarding Claim 10, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 9, and Postler in view of Tononishi discloses wherein the current collector plates 31/32 are adjacent to either a long side portion or a short side portion (which meets the claim limitation of to the vent or to a long side portion or to a short side portion away from the vent) (Postler Fig. 1, [0031]-[0033]).
Regarding Claim 11, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 10, and Postler discloses wherein the current collector plates 31/32 have a plate shape (Fig. 1, [0031]-[0034]).
While Postler in view of Tononishi fails to explicitly disclose a bent portion, Tononishi does disclose a substrate holder 23k which comprises protrusions 23i/23j that are adjacent to and contacting the side of the casing 3/4 in order to stably hold the case while preventing exposure of the inside of the case (Fig. 12, [0100]-[0103]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the secondary battery of Postler in view of Tononishi such that the current collector plates comprise a bent portion that is bent toward and contacting the long side portion or the short side portion of the case 62/61 adjacent thereto in order to stably hold the case while preventing exposure of the inside of the case, as taught by Tononishi.
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Annotated Figure 12 of Tononishi
Regarding Claim 12, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 10, and Postler discloses wherein the sealing member 80 has a width that is greater than a width of a portion where the first case 62 and the second case 61 overlap around the area defining the vent of Postler in view of Tononishi (Postler Fig. 1, [0036]-[0039], and Tononishi Fig. 2, [0094]-[0098]).
Regarding Claim 18, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 11, and Postler discloses wherein the first case 62 comprises a positive terminal 12 (positive electrode case) having a positive polarity ([0027]),
wherein the second case 61 comprises a negative terminal 11 (negative electrode case) having a negative polarity ([0027]), and (as described in the rejection of Claim 11) Postler in view of Tononishi discloses
wherein the bent portion of one of the current collector plates 31/32 at a positive electrode side electrically connected to a positive electrode plate of the electrode assembly 10 contacts the first case 62 (Tononishi Fig. 2, [0100]-[0103]), and
wherein the bent portion of another of the current collector plates at a negative electrode side electrically connected to a negative electrode plate of the electrode assembly contacts the second case 61 (Tononishi Fig. 2, [0100]-[0103]).
Regarding Claim 19, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 18.
While Postler in view of Tononishi does not explicitly disclose an insulator, Postler does teach adhesively bonding an insulating element to the case to seal off the interior of the cell housing from the outside and between the negative terminal 11 and the positive terminal 12 to electrically insulate from one another ([0036]-[0039]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the secondary battery of Postler in view of Tononishi to further comprise an insulator comprising an insulating material between the first case and the one of pair of current collector plates and between the second case and another one of pair of current collector plates in order to seal off the interior of the cell housing from the outside and electrically insulate the positive and negative current collectors from one another, as taught by Postler.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Postler US PG Publication 2020/0127244 in view of Tononishi US PG Publication 2007/0279001, as applied to Claim 2, further in view of Schoenherr US PG Publication 2019/0019998.
Regarding Claim 3, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 2.
While Postler teaches that the sealing member surrounds a portion of where the first case 62 and the second case 61 overlap such that no humidity can enter the interior of the cell housing ([0036]-[0039]), Postler in view of Tononishi fails to disclose wherein the sealing member has a ring shape.
However, Schoenherr discloses a rectangular cell housing (Abstract, entire disclosure dependent upon). Schoenherr teaches that a retaining ring 92 may be used to retain the seal 90 within the groove 78 defined between the sides of the housing and that the sealing material may be an O-ring due to the fact that this is a commonly available material and would thereby be cost effective ([0043]-[0045]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the secondary battery of Postler in view of Tononishi such that the sealing member has a ring shape due to the fact that this is a commonly available material and would thereby be cost effective, as taught by Schoenherr.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Postler US PG Publication 2020/0127244 in view of Tononishi US PG Publication 2007/0279001, as applied to Claim 12, further in view of Schoenherr US PG Publication 2019/0019998.
Regarding Claim 13, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 12.
Postler in view of Tononishi fails to disclose wherein the sealing member comprises a sealing gasket.
However, Schoenherr discloses a rectangular cell housing (Abstract, entire disclosure dependent upon). Schoenherr teaches that a retaining ring 92 may be used to retain the seal 90 within the groove 78 defined between the sides of the housing and that the sealing material may be a gasket material due to the fact that this is a commonly available material and would thereby be cost effective ([0043]-[0045]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the secondary battery of Postler in view of Tononishi such that the sealing member comprises a gasket material due to the fact that this is a commonly available material and would thereby be cost effective, as taught by Schoenherr.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Postler US PG Publication 2020/0127244 in view of Tononishi US PG Publication 2007/0279001, as applied to Claim 16, further in view of Mizawa US PG Publication 2021/0249698.
Regarding Claim 17, Postler in view of Tononishi teaches the instantly claimed secondary battery according to Claim 16.
Postler in view of Tononishi fails to disclose wherein a surface of the positive electrode plate that faces the first case is not coated with an active material.
However, Mizawa discloses a secondary battery (Abstract, entire disclosure dependent upon). Mizawa teaches a surface of the positive electrode plate is exposed and not covered with the positive electrode active material in order to connect the positive electrode terminal to the positive electrode plate ([0035]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the secondary battery of Postler in view of Tononishi such that at least a portion of the positive electrode plate that faces the first case is not coated with an active material in order to connect a positive electrode terminal to the positive electrode plate, as taught by Mizawa.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
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/O.M.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
