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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15 are currently pending.
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Su (WO 2023/097584 A1, and hereinafter using, for citation purposes, corresponding US 2024/0162558 A1) in view of Zhou (US 2024/0154218 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Su teaches a secondary battery comprising: a case (23+21) comprising an end wall (top cover 23 in fig. 4) and a side wall (21) surrounding the end wall, wherein an opening is formed at an end of the sidewall away from the end wall (figs. 3-4; [0084]-[0088]); a terminal (26) passing through the end wall (fig. 4; [0089] & [0154]); an electrode assembly (22) accommodated in the case and comprising a first tab (222) facing the opening; and a second tab (221) facing the end wall, the second tab being electrically connected with the terminal (figs. 3-4; [0089]); a first current collector (24) disposed at an end of the electrode facing the opening, wherein the first current collector is connected with the first tab by welding (fig. 4; [0094]); and a cover assembly comprising a first cover plate (233+234+232) and a second cover plate (252+253), wherein the first cover plate covers the opening and is connected with the sidewall, the first cover plate being connected with the first current collector by welding, the first cover plate comprising a through hole (2321), and the second cover plate being welded to the first cover plate and sealing the though hole (figs. 6-8; [0114], [0129]-[0130], [0134] & [0136]). While Su does not explicitly teach the terminal being insulated from the end wall, one of ordinary skill in the art readily understands that structure between the terminal and the top cover 23 in fig. 4 necessarily constitutes an insulating structure to prevent the occurrence of a short circuit because the electrode assembly is electrically connected to the bottom cover 23 in fig. 4 and the sidewall (via the bottom cover 23 which is connected to the sidewall). Accordingly, an electrical connection between the terminal, which is electrically connected to the electrode assembly, and the top cover can be prevented by providing the insulating structure. Furthermore, Su does not explicitly teach the sidewall and the first cover plate being connected by welding, however, Su discloses that the first cover plate and the sidewall can each be made of the same metal such as copper, iron and aluminum to isolate the internal environment of the battery from the external environment ([0081]). Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to connect the sidewall and the first cover plate through welding as a known means for connecting a cover and a sidewall of a cylindrical battery as taught by Zhou ([0111], [0120] & [0124]-[0126]). As noted in Zhou, a welding connection can improve air-tightness, improve safety by reducing leakage of electrolyte and reliability of the connection between the cover and the sidewall as taught by Zhou ([0121] & [0125]).
Regarding claim 2, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 1, wherein the first current collector comprising a cover plate weld part (i.e bottom surface of 24 in fig. 4) and a tab weld part (i.e top surface of 24 in fig. 4), the cover plate weld part is connected with the first cover plate by welding and the tab weld part is connected with the first tab by welding (fig. 4; [0092] & [0094]).
Regarding claim 3, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 2, wherein, along a height direction of the secondary battery, a projection of the through hole on the first current collector covers the tab weld part (fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 3, wherein the cover plate weld part is disposed between the first cover plate and the electrode assembly, and a side of the cover plate weld part away from the electrode assembly is connected with the first cover plate by welding (fig. 4; [0092]).
Regarding claim 5, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 3, wherein the cover plate weld part is welded to an edge of the though hole, and the tab weld part is recessed toward a side of the electrode assembly with respect to the cover plate weld part, and is connected with the first tab by welding (fig. 4; [0092] & [0094]).
Regarding claim 6, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 3, wherein the case is in a cylindrical shape, the first cover plate is in a ring shape, and the through hole is provided coaxially with the first cover plate (figs. 3-4).
Regarding claims 7-8, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 3 but is silent as to, wherein an outer diameter of the sidewall set as D, the tab weld part is distributed within an annular region with an end surface center of the electrode assembly as a center, an inner circle diameter of the annular region is greater than or equal to 0.25D, and the outer circle diameter of the annular region is less than or equal to 0.87D (claim 7) and wherein a diameter of the through hole is greater than or equal to 0.43D and less than or equal to 0.96D (claim 8). However, the Federal Circuit held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device. In Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). See MPEP 2144.04 IV (A).
Regarding claim 9, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 1, wherein an inner edge (234+232) of the first cover plate comprises a recessed part, the through hole is provided in the recessed part, and the cover plate is at least partially accommodated in the recessed part (fig. 4).
Regarding claim 10, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 9, wherein a bottom part of the recessed part comprises a platform region (232), the platform region is disposed around the through hole, the second cover plate is installed to a side of the platform region away from the electrode assembly and is connected with the platform region by welding (28) (fig. 8; [0127]-[0128]).
Regarding claim 11, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 1, wherein an explosion proof structure (253) is disposed on the second cover plate, the explosion proof structure comprises a notch (2531) provided on the second cover plate, and an opening of the notch is near the electrode assembly (figs. 4 & 7-8; [0118]).
Regarding claim 12, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 1, wherein an explosion proof structure is disposed on the second cover plate, and the explosion proof structure comprises a second welding mark between the first cover plate and the second cover plate (figs. 7-8; [0118]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Su teaches the secondary battery of claim 3 but is silent as to a solution injection hole provided on the terminal, and a blocking plate welded to the terminal and sealing the solution injection hole. Zhou teaches a secondary battery comprising a solution injection hole (323) provided on a terminal (32) and a blocking plate (33) welded to the terminal and sealing the solution injection hole (figs. 6 & 10; [0207]-[0209], [0221] & [0228]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide a solution injection hole on the terminal along with a blocking plate welded to the terminal as a suitable configuration for injecting an electrolyte solution in a battery as taught by Zhou.
Regarding claim 14, modified Su teaches a battery pack comprising the secondary battery of claim 1 (fig. 2; [0080]-[0082]).
Regarding claim 15, modified Su teaches an electronic apparatus comprising the battery pack of claim 14 (fig. 1; [0077]-[0079]).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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