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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/18/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 102 rejection of claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on Kitamura to teach “the side welded portion extending to an inner surface of the sidewall of the case, wherein the inner surface of the sidewall of the case faces in a diameter direction crossing the height direction” as required by amended claim 1.
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 1-2 and 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitamura (US 2023/0057980 A1; previously cited) in view of Minagata (US 2018/0331331 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kitamura discloses a button cell (100α, FIG. 1B, [0075]) comprising:
an electrode assembly (10, FIG. 2, [0089]) comprising a first electrode (2, FIG. 2, [0089]), a second electrode (1, FIG. 2, [0089]), a separator (3, FIG. 2, [0089]) positioned between the first electrode (2) and the second electrode (1), a first electrode tab (42, FIG. 2, [0089]) extending from the first electrode (2), and a second electrode tab (41, FIG. 2, [0089]) extending from the second electrode (1);
a case (cup-shaped exterior member 51, FIG. 1B, [0075]) connected to the first electrode tab (42) (FIG. 2) and accommodating the electrode assembly (10) and comprising an opening (opening in annotation of Kitamura FIG. 1B below) exposing the electrode assembly (10);
a cap plate (lid-shaped exterior member 52, FIG. 1B, [0075]) coupled to the case (51) to cover an outer region of the opening (opening) and comprising a through hole (through hole in annotation of Kitamura FIG. 1B below) penetrating the cap plate (52) along a height direction (height direction in annotation of Kitamura FIG. 1B below) and exposing a central region of the opening (opening), and a step portion (53, FIG. 1B, [0075]) recessed to correspond to a sidewall (sidewall in annotation of Kitamura FIG. 1B below) of the case (51) and in which the sidewall (sidewall) of the case (51) is inserted;
a terminal plate (60, FIG. 1B, [0075]) connected to the second electrode tab (41) (FIG. 2), insulatively bonded to the cap plate (52, bonded via insulating member 70 [0090]), and covering the through hole (through hole);
a bonding layer (insulating member 70, FIG. 1B, [0075]) between the cap plate (52) and the terminal plate (60) and insulatively bonding between the cap plate (52) and the terminal plate (60) ([0090]); and
a side welded portion (20, FIG. 1B, [0075]) between the step portion (53) of the cap plate (52) and the sidewall (sidewall) of the case (51).
Kitamura does not disclose wherein the side welded portion extending to an inner surface of the sidewall of the case, wherein the inner surface of the sidewall of the case faces in a diameter direction crossing the height direction.
PNG
media_image1.png
348
474
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Annotation of Kitamura figure 1
Minagata teaches a battery comprising: a case (13, Fig. 7, [0036]); a cap plate (14, Fig. 7, [0036]) coupled to the case (13) and comprising a step portion (above mounting surface 13c, see Fig. 3A for illustrative purposes), recessed to correspond to a sidewall (13b, Fig. 7, [0043]) of the case (13) and in which the sidewall (13b) of the case (13) is inserted; and a side welded portion (32, Fig. 7, [0075]) between the step portion (above 13c) of the cap plate (14) and the sidewall (13b) of the case (13), the side welded portion (32) extending to an inner surface (13a) of the sidewall (13b) of the case, wherein the inner surface (13a) of the sidewall (13b) of the case (13) faces in a diameter direction (X direction in Fig. 7) crossing a height direction (Z direction in Fig. 7).
A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have modified the button cell of Kitamura such that the side welded portion extends to an inner surface of the sidewall of the case, wherein the inner surface of the sidewall of the case faces in a diameter direction crossing a height direction, because Minagata teaches that this configuration can provide sufficient weld strength without increasing the thickness of the circumferential wall ([0021]). Further, Kitamura teaches that the button cell may be modified beyond the disclosed design ([0019]).
Regarding claim 2, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein the bonding layer (70) protrudes from the terminal plate (60) toward the step portion (53) of the cap plate (52) (Kitamura: FIG. 1B).
Regarding claim 10, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein the step portion (53) is recessed from a rear surface of the cap plate (52) (Kitamura: surface facing electrode assembly 10 in FIG. 1B).
Regarding claim 11, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein the bonding layer (70) is on a front surface of the cap plate (52) (Kitamura: surface opposite to rear surface facing electrode assembly 10 in FIG. 1B).
Regarding claim 12, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein the terminal plate (60) comprises: a flange portion (flange portion in annotation of Kitamura FIG. 2 below) covering the through hole (through hole) and contacting the bonding layer (70); and a protrusion (protrusion in annotation of Kitamura FIG. 2 below) extending through the through hole (through hole) from the flange portion (flange portion) and connected to the second electrode tab (41).
PNG
media_image2.png
394
560
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Annotation of Kitamura FIG. 2
Regarding claim 13, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein the bonding layer (70) is in contact with the flange portion (flange portion), and the bonding layer (70) is not in contact with the protrusion (protrusion) (see annotation of Kitamura FIG. 2 above).
Regarding claim 14, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein the case (51) and the cap plate (52) have a same polarity as that of the first electrode (2), and the terminal plate (60) has a same polarity as that of the second electrode (1) (Kitamura: [0037]).
Regarding claim 15, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches wherein a ratio of a height to a diameter of the button cell is 1 or less (Kitamura: thickness of the cell, or height, is smaller than the diameter [0074]).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitamura (US 2023/0057980 A1) in view of Minagata (US 2018/0331331 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wang (CN-111900276-A; the rejection below refers to English-language equivalent US 2023/0076187 A1; both documents were previously cited).
Regarding claim 3, Kitamura in view of Minagata does not disclose wherein the bonding layer (70) overlaps the step portion (53) (Kitamura FIG. 1B).
Wang teaches a button cell (see Fig. 1 [0026]) comprising: a case (400); a cap plate (200) coupled to the case; and a terminal plate (100) insulatively bonded to the cap plate (200) via a bonding layer (300, Fig. 1, [0027]), wherein the bonding layer (300) covers overlaps a portion of the cap plate (300) covering the sidewalls of the case (400) (Fig. 1). A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have modified the button cell of Kitamura in view of Minagata such that the bonding layer overlaps the step portion because Wang teaches that increasing the size of the bonding layer increases the adhesion force between the cap plate and the terminal plate ([0014]). Further, Kitamura teaches that the button cell may be modified beyond the embodiments described in the disclosure ([0119]).
Claims 4, 6, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitamura (US 2023/0057980 A1) in view of Minagata (US 2018/0331331 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Inoue (US 2003/0157404 A1; previously cited).
Regarding claims 4, 6, and 7, Kitamura in view of Minagata teaches that the side welded portion (20) is formed by irradiating an outer surface of the step portion (53) where the case (51) and the cap plate (52) meet each other with a laser ([0066]), but Kitamura in view of Minagata does not disclose “wherein the case further comprises a first welding groove recessed from an outer surface of the sidewall corresponding to the step portion” (claim 4), “wherein the cap plate further comprises a second welding groove recessed from a surface of an edge of the cap plate corresponding to the step portion to communicate with the first welding groove” (claim 6), or “wherein the side welded portion is positioned inside the first welding groove and the second welding groove” (claim 7).
Inoue teaches a battery comprising (see Fig. 8, [0050]-[0051]): a case (1), a cap plate (2) coupled to the case (1), and bonding areas (1a and 2a) between the cap plate (2) and a wall of the case (1) where the components are laser welded together. The case (1) comprises a first welding groove (1d) recessed from an outer surface of the wall and the cap plate (2) comprises a second welding groove (2g) recessed from a surface of an edge of the cap plate (2) corresponding to the wall to communicate with the first welding groove (1d) such that a welded portion is positioned inside the first welding groove (1d) and the second welding groove (2g) (Figs. 8 and 13, [0050]-[0051]).
A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have found it obvious to have modified the button cell of Kitamura in view of Minagata such that the case further comprises a first welding groove recessed from an outer surface of the sidewall corresponding to the step portion, the cap plate further comprises a second welding groove recessed from a surface of an edge of the cap plate corresponding to the step portion to communicate with the first welding groove, and the side welded portion is positioned inside the first welding groove and the second welding groove, with a reasonable expectation of successfully sealing the battery and reducing the risk of weld defects as taught by Inoue ([0050]-[0051]). Further, Kitamura teaches that the button cell may be modified beyond the embodiments described in the disclosure ([0119]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTINE C. DISNEY whose telephone number is (703)756-1076. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:30 MT.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette-Thompson can be reached at (571) 270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/C.C.D./Examiner, Art Unit 1723 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723