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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5, 6, 8-11, 13, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chinese patent publication No. 112271374 to Wu, citing to the enclosed machine translation (“Wu”).
Regarding claims 1, 8, 9, 13, and 14, Wu discloses a multi-cell integrated lithium ion battery. The battery includes a battery case, cover, plurality of bare cells, and connecting leads. At paragraph [0008]. Each bare cell is an anode/cathode/separator electrode assembly. Id. at paragraph [0013]. The casing is divided into a plurality of cells, each accommodating a corresponding bare cell, where each cell of the casing has an open end into which the bare cell is placed, and a wall separating it from the neighboring cell . Id. at paragraph [0008] and Figure 3. The cover seals the plurality of cells housing the bare cells, and includes a pair of electrode terminals associated with each bare cell. Id. In some embodiments the case is made of ABS, polypropylene, glass-fiber reinforced resin or other insulating plastic.
Further regarding claim 5, the cover is in some embodiments connected to the housing via holt melt, which is considered to correspond to glue.
Further regarding claim 6, the cover is in some embodiments made of metal and attached to the housing via welding. Each portion of the cover having a pair of electrodes associated with a cell is considered to correspond to the recited sub end cover.
Further regarding claims 10 and 11, each bare cell incldes a positive terminal and negative terminal (tabs) which are connected to the terminals of the cover via connecting leads, the leads considered to correspond to the bus component of claim 11.
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(s) 2 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu. Wu is applied as described above. Regarding claim 2, Wu discloses a single opening for each bare cell, with each bare cell having its pair of terminals on the single side of the opening and a single cover on this one side of the housing. However, similar battery cells having a positive terminal on one end of the cell and the negative terminal on the opposed end are ubiquitous. Thus, adapting Wu for such bare cell arrangements such that each cell of the housing for holding such opposed-terminal bare cell is open on both ends to allow for access to each terminal on each side, and providing a cover on each end to cover those openings, with one cover having associated positive terminals and the opposed cover having associated negative terminals is considered to be nothing more than an obvious adaptation to an alternative commonly known cell structure.
Regarding claim 12, Wu is silent regarding the method of forming the shape of the housing. Nonetheless, because extrusion is a commonly known method for forming such structures, the office finds that forming the structure via extrusion amounts to nothing more than the obvious se of a commonly known technique to predictably achieve the desired structure.
Claims 3, 4, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0186669 to Obasih (“Obasih”). Wu is applied as described above. As noted above, Wu discloses that the housing and cover may be made of metals and/or plastic materials. Obasih discloses more particular uses of such materials for formation of battery cases, where plastic is beneficial for its light weight and insulating properties where metal, in particular aluminum, can be useful as an external layer of such components to improve thermal management of the battery and to improve gas barrier properties of the housing.
Thus, regarding claims 3 and 4, the person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention would have been motivated to make the housing of Wu primarily from a plastic material with an aluminum or aluminum/plastic layer on the outside of the housing as a means of minimizing the weight of the housing, while maintaining excellent thermal regulation and gas barrier properties of the hosing.
Further regarding claim 7, in addition to having reason to combine plastic and metal in making the cover in order to balance the weight and thermal management/conductivity/barrier properties of the cover, the Office finds that any commonly known technique, including injection molding, for making such structure would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention as the application of known techniques to predictable produce a desired structure.
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/WYATT P MCCONNELL/ Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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