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 .
The pending claims are claims 1-20.
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) 1-16, 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Che, CN 217134598.
Regarding claim 1, Che teaches a pin structure (Fig. 1-2), comprising a tab guide portion (main structure reference 1) and a pole welding portion (lead-out structure 2) connected to each other (Fig. 1-2), wherein the tab guide portion is provided to be connected to a tab (tab 101), and the pole welding portion is provided to be connected to an electrode terminal (terminal post 103) (n0050), the tab guide portion (main structure reference 1) and the pole welding portion (lead-out structure 2) are arranged with an angle formed therebetween (Fig. 1, bent angle between 1 and 2), wherein the tab guide portion (main structure 1) comprises a pier thinning area (reinforcing ribs 11) and a non-pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) (n0005-n0006), the pier thinning area (receiving ribs 11) is subjected to a pier thinning processing (n0039-n0040), and the pier thinning area (receiving ribs 11) is disposed in a symmetrical manner along a center line of the tab guide portion (main structure 1) (Fig. 1) (n0042).
Regarding claim 2, Che teaches wherein a projection of the tab (electrode tab 101) on a surface of the tab guide portion is located in the pier thinning area (n0039-n0042).
Regarding claim 3, Che teaches wherein a ratio of a thickness of the pier thinning area (receiving groove) (n0006) to a thickness of the non-pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) is greater than or equal to 1/8 and less than 1 (n0006; n0041-n0042).
Regarding claim 4, Che teaches wherein a thickness of the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) and a thickness of the tab are less than or equal to a thickness of the non-pier thinning area (n0041-n0042).
Regarding claim 5, Che teaches wherein after two of the tabs are respectively bent along two opposite sides (n0010) of the pin structure and extended toward each other (n0005; 0039), two of the tabs are welded on a surface of the tab guide portion away from an electrode assembly (n0002; n0009; n0045).
Regarding claim 6, Che teaches wherein two of the tabs form a relatively overlapped and intersecting area after two of the tabs are bent (n0005; n0010), and a thickness of the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) corresponding to the intersecting area is less than thicknesses of other areas of the pier thinning area (n0042).
Regarding claim 7, Che teaches wherein a first stepped structure (Fig. 7; protective element 1011 and tab 101 and side of electrode assembly 100) is formed by the relatively overlapped and intersecting area of two of the tabs (n0050), and a second stepped structure is formed by the non-overlapped areas of two of the tabs (Fig. 7; ref protective element 1011 and electrode assembly 100 are the stepped structure un Fig. 7) there is a gap between the first stepped structure and the second stepped structure (Fig. 7; protective element 1011 and electrode assembly 100), and a surface of the pier thinning area for accommodating the tab is formed with a gap structure matching the first stepped structure and the second stepped structure (Fig. 7; protective element ref 1011 and tab ref. 101) (Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 8, Che teaches wherein the tab guide portion (electrode tab 101) (n0040) comprises a welding area for welding with a tab of an electrode assembly (n0002; n0045), and the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) (part of tab guide portion) is at least partially located within the welding area (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9, Che teaches wherein welding marks are distributed on a surface of the welding area (n0002; n0009; n0045), and the tab guide portion is connected to the tab through the welding marks (n0002; n0009; n0045).
Regarding claim 10, Che teaches wherein a projection of the tab (0004; n0005) in the welding area is located within the pier thinning area (n0002; n0009; n0045).
Regarding claim 11, Che teaches wherein a ratio of a thickness of the welding area to a thickness of the non-pier thinning area is greater than or equal to 1/8 and less than 1 (n0006; n0041-n0042).
Regarding claim 12, Che teaches wherein a thickness of the welding area (n0009) and a thickness of the tab (n0042) are less than or equal to a thickness of the non-pier thinning area (n0040; n0042).
Regarding claim 13, Che teaches wherein the thickness of the welding area becomes thinner as the thickness of the welded tab increases (n0007; n0040).
Regarding claim 14, Che teaches wherein the welding area (n0009; n0045) is symmetrically distributed on both sides of the non-pier thinning area (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 15, Che teaches wherein the tab (tab 101) is led out from an electrode assembly (electrode assembly 100), the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) is disposed on a surface of the tab guide portion (protective component 1011) facing away from the electrode assembly (electrode assembly 100), and the tab is welded to the tab guide portion at the pier thinning area (n0009; n0045).
Regarding claim 16, Che teaches wherein the tab (tab 101) is led out from an electrode assembly (electrode assembly 100) (n0040), the pier thinning area is disposed on a surface of the tab guide portion facing the electrode assembly (electrode assembly 100) (Fig. 1), and the tab (tab 101) is welded to the tab guide portion (protective component 1011) at the pier thinning area (n0045) (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 18, Che teaches a battery cell assembly (n0012; Fig. 7 and 8), comprising:
a housing (n0032; n0052); an electrode assembly (n0005; n0032), provided in the housing (n0032; n0052), wherein the electrode assembly (n0012) comprises an electrode assembly body (n0040) and a tab (tab 101) extending from the electrode assembly body (n0040); a top cover assembly (n0012), the top cover assembly comprising a top cover body (n0012; n0032) and an electrode terminal (n0012; n0050) provided on the top cover body (n0012; n0032), and the top cover body being connected to the housing (n0032; n0052); the pin structure (main structure reference 1) according to claim 1, the tab guide portion in the pin structure (main structure reference 1) being connected to the tab (tab 101), and the pole welding portion in the pin structure (terminal post 103) (n0050) being connected to the electrode terminal (terminal post 103) (n0012; n0050).
Regarding claim 19, Che teaches wherein the tab (tab 101) is welded to the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) on the surface of the tab guide portion (protective component 1011) away from the electrode assembly (electrode assembly 100) (n0045).
Regarding claim 20, Che teaches wherein the number of the tab (tab 101) protruding from the electrode assembly (n0040) is two (n0010; n0047), after two of the tabs are respectively bent along two opposite sides of the pin structure and extended toward each other (n0046-n0047), two of the tabs are welded (n0009; n0045) in the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) of the surface of the tab guide portion away from the electrode assembly (main structure reference 1), and a projection of the tab (tab 101) on a surface of the pin structure (Fig. 1-2) is completely located within the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12); when two of the tabs (n0010; n0047) form the relatively overlapped and intersecting area after two of the tabs are bent (n0046-n0047), a thickness of the pier thinning area (receiving groove 12) corresponding to the intersecting area is less than thicknesses of other areas of the pier thinning area (receiving grooves 12) (n0006; n0008; n0041-n0042).
Thus, the claims are anticipated.
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.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Che, CN 217134598.
Regarding claim 17, Che does not teach wherein a hardness of a material of the pier thinning area is greater than a hardness of a material of the non-pier thinning area.
However, regarding the material and its location within the assembly, Che teaches “at least part of the outer edge of the main structure 1 away from the electrode assembly 100 is provided with a receiving groove 12. The receiving groove 12 extends along
the length direction of the main structure 1, and the ratio of the depth dimension of the
receiving groove 12 to the thickness dimension of the main structure 1 is in the range of 1/10-2/3.” (n0041).
Conclusion
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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