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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments filed July 8, 2026 have been entered. Claims 11 and 16 have been amended; support for the amendments can be found at least in paragraph [0076] in the Instant Specification. Claims 11-21 remain pending and have been examined on their merits in this office action.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed July 8, 2026 have been fully considered. Applicant argues that a) Kozuki does not teach the claim limitation of “wherein a distance between the collector lugs is greater than a respective length of each of the collector lugs in a radial direction to a cavity within the cylindrical cell roll” because Kozuki teaches the protrusion length of each tab may be, for example, equal to or less than radius R of the end surface of the wound body, may be equal to or more than half of radius R, or may be equal to or more than ⅔ of radius R (see e.g., Kozuki paragraph [0057]).
Regarding argument A, in Figures 1 and 2, Kozuki teaches the distance between the first current collecting tab 11tb to the last (in this example, fourth) current collecting tab 11tb is the circumference of the wound body. Kozuki teaches the number of current collecting tabs 11tb extending from the exposed part of the current collector may be one or more, but may be two or more and eight or less (see e.g., paragraph [0036]). Therefore, the distance between each of the current collecting tabs 11tb is the circumference (2πR) divided by the number of current collecting tabs, so Kozuki teaches the distance between each of the current collecting tabs ranges from πR (when there are two current collecting tabs) to πR/4 (when there are eight current collecting tabs). Therefore, Kozuki teaches the claim limitation of “wherein a distance between the collector lugs is greater than a respective length of each of the collector lugs in a radial direction to a cavity within the cylindrical cell roll” because the protrusion length of the current collecting tabs as taught by Kozuki (a range from R/2 to R) is smaller than that of πR (two current collecting tabs), 2πR/3 (three current collecting tabs), πR/2 (four current collecting tabs), 2πR/5 (five current collecting tabs), or πR/3 (six current collecting tabs).
Therefore, Applicant’s arguments have been fully considered but are not found to be persuasive.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 11-16, and 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kozuki et al. (WO 2022210138 A1 with a foreign priority date of 03/30/2021, citations from corresponding Published U.S. Patent Application US 20240194953 A1), hereinafter referred to as Kozuki.
Regarding claim 11, Kozuki teaches a power storage device (see e.g., Abstract). Kozuki teaches the power storage device includes a first electrode (“an electrode for an electrochemical storage cell”) (see e.g., paragraph [0020]). Kozuki teaches the first electrode includes a first current collector (“a collector foil”) having an elongated sheet shape and a first active material layer supported on the first current collector (“an electrode coating applied to the collector foil”) (see e.g., paragraph [0021]), wherein the current collector comprises a metal foil (see e.g., paragraph [0033]). Kozuki teaches a plurality of tabs extend from the exposed part of the current collector without the active material layer (see e.g., paragraph [0035]) to electrically connect the electrode (“wherein the collector foil has a plurality of collector lugs for electrically contacting the electrode”) (see e.g., paragraph [0022]). Kozuki teaches a first portion of the first current collector in a longitudinal direction comprises the plurality of tabs and a second portion of the first current collector does not comprise the plurality of tabs (“wherein the collector foil has a first portion and a second portion, which borders the first portion in the longitudinal direction of the collector foil, and has a side edge which extends from a first end to a second end, opposite along the longitudinal direction, of the collector foil over the first portion and second portion, wherein the collector foil has a plurality of collector lugs, starting from the side edge”) (see e.g., Annotated Figure 2). Kozuki teaches the plurality of tabs extend from a part corresponding to the outermost periphery of the positive electrode current collector exposed part (see e.g., paragraph [0045]), and while not specifically discussed, it is the Examiner’s position that “the outermost periphery” would provide the tabs extending to at most the middle, and therefore, meeting the claim limitation of wherein the collector lugs are disposed in the first portion, and the first portion extends from the first end of the collector foil to at most the middle of the side edge”).
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Annotated Kozuki Figure 2
Kozuki teaches the number of current collecting tabs 11tb extending from the exposed part of the current collector may be one or more, but may be two or more and eight or less (see e.g., paragraph [0036]). In Figures 1 and 2, Kozuki teaches the distance between the first current collecting tab 11tb to the last (in this example, fourth) current collecting tab 11tb is the circumference of the wound body. Therefore, the distance between each of the current collecting tabs 11tb is the circumference (2πR) divided by the number of current collecting tabs, so Kozuki teaches the distance between each of the current collecting tabs ranges from πR (when there are two current collecting tabs) to πR/4 (when there are eight current collecting tabs). Therefore, Kozuki teaches the claim limitation of “wherein a distance between the collector lugs is greater than a respective length of each of the collector lugs in a radial direction to a cavity within the cylindrical cell roll” because the protrusion length of the current collecting tabs as taught by Kozuki (a range from R/2 to R) is smaller than that of πR (two current collecting tabs), 2πR/3 (three current collecting tabs), πR/2 (four current collecting tabs), 2πR/5 (five current collecting tabs), or πR/3 (six current collecting tabs).
Regarding claim 13, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 11, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches the number of tabs extending from the exposed part of the current collector may be one or more, but may be two or more and eight or less (“wherein ten or fewer collector lugs are present”) (see e.g., paragraph [0036]).
Regarding claim 14, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 13, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches the number of tabs extending from the exposed part of the current collector may be one or more, but may be two or more and eight or less (“wherein six to eight collector lugs are present”) (see e.g., paragraph [0036]).
Regarding claim 15, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 11, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches the plurality tabs covers the inner peripheral side of the exposed part in a radially or angularly equivalent arrangement such that the tabs adjacent to each other may be disposed to form a central angle (for example, 2≤n≤6) of 360/n±5° (see e.g., paragraph [0035]) and uniformly distanced (“wherein the collector lugs are disposed at a uniform distance from one another”) (see e.g., Figures 1-2).
Regarding claim 16, Kozuki teaches a power storage device (“an electrochemical storage cell”) (see e.g., paragraph [0020]). Kozuki teaches the power storage device includes a first electrode (“wherein the cylindrical cell roll comprises an electrode”), a second electrode (“a counter electrode”), a separator interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode (“a separator disposed between the electrode and the counter electrode”) that constitute a columnar wound body (“a cylindrical cell roll”) (see e.g., paragraph [0020]). Kozuki teaches the power storage device includes a housing for the wound body (“a housing surrounding the cylindrical cell roll”) (see e.g., paragraph [0060]). Kozuki teaches the first electrode includes a first current collector (“wherein the electrode comprises a collector foil”) having an elongated sheet shape and a first active material layer supported on the first current collector (“an electrode coating applied to the collector foil”) (see e.g., paragraph [0021]), wherein the current collector comprises a metal foil (see e.g., paragraph [0033]). Kozuki teaches a plurality of tabs extend from the exposed part of the current collector without the active material layer (see e.g., paragraph [0035]) to electrically connect the electrode (“wherein the collector foil has a plurality of collector lugs for electrically contacting the electrode”) (see e.g., paragraph [0022]). Kozuki teaches a first portion of the first current collector in a longitudinal direction comprises the plurality of tabs and a second portion of the first current collector does not comprise the plurality of tabs (“wherein the collector foil has a first portion and a second portion, which borders the first portion in the longitudinal direction of the collector foil, and has a side edge which extends from a first end to a second end, opposite along the longitudinal direction, of the collector foil over the first portion and second portion, wherein the collector foil has a plurality of collector lugs, starting from the side edge, and wherein the collector lugs are disposed in the first portion, and the first portion extends from the first end of the collector foil to at most the middle of the side edge”) (see e.g., Annotated Figure 2). Kozuki teaches the current collecting tab is bent to cover the first end surface of the wound body (“wherein the collector lugs of the electrode are folded onto a topside formed by the cylindrical cell roll”) (see e.g., Figure 6). In Figure 6, Kozuki teaches the plurality of tabs at least partially overlap with each other near the center of the roll; however, the tabs near the outermost periphery of the roll do not overlap with each other. Therefore, Kozuki meets the claim limitation of “the collector lugs of the electrode are disposed with at least partly no overlap to one another” because even though there is overlap near the center of the roll, a part of the tabs near the outermost periphery of the roll do not overlap with one another.
Kozuki teaches the number of current collecting tabs 11tb extending from the exposed part of the current collector may be one or more, but may be two or more and eight or less (see e.g., paragraph [0036]). In Figures 1 and 2, Kozuki teaches the distance between the first current collecting tab 11tb to the last (in this example, fourth) current collecting tab 11tb is the circumference of the wound body. Therefore, the distance between each of the current collecting tabs 11tb is the circumference (2πR) divided by the number of current collecting tabs, so Kozuki teaches the distance between each of the current collecting tabs ranges from πR (when there are two current collecting tabs) to πR/4 (when there are eight current collecting tabs). Therefore, Kozuki teaches the claim limitation of “wherein a distance between the collector lugs is greater than a respective length of each of the collector lugs in a radial direction to a cavity within the cylindrical cell roll” because the protrusion length of the current collecting tabs as taught by Kozuki (a range from R/2 to R) is smaller than that of πR (two current collecting tabs), 2πR/3 (three current collecting tabs), πR/2 (four current collecting tabs), 2πR/5 (five current collecting tabs), or πR/3 (six current collecting tabs).
Regarding claim 18, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 16, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches the plurality tabs covers the inner peripheral side of the exposed part in a radially or angularly equivalent arrangement such that the tabs adjacent to each other may be disposed to form a central angle (for example, 2≤n≤6) of 360/n±5° (see e.g., paragraph [0035]) and uniformly distanced (“wherein the folded collector lugs are spaced uniformly from one another along an outer edge of the top side”) (see e.g., Figures 1-2).
Regarding claim 19, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 16, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches one of the first electrodes is a positive electrode and the other electrode is a negative electrode (“wherein the electrode is an anode and the counter electrode is a cathode”) (see e.g., paragraph [0040]).
Regarding claim 20, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 16, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches the first electrode, the second electrode, and the separator are wound such that the plurality of tabs at the first end are on the outer periphery of the wound body (“wherein the cylindrical cell roll has a wound electrode arrangement comprising the electrode, the counter electrode, and the separator, the electrode arrangement being rolled up along the longitudinal direction of the collector foil starting from the second end toward the first end”) (see e.g., Figure 1).
Regarding claim 21, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 16, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches a lithium ion secondary battery (“wherein the electrochemical storage cell is a lithium-ion cell”) (see e.g., paragraph [0040]).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kozuki et al. (WO 2022210138 A1, citations from corresponding Published U.S. Patent Application US 20240194953 A1) view of Kim et al. (Published U.S. Patent Application US 20200295341 A1), hereinafter referred to as Kim.
Regarding claim 17, Kozuki teaches the instantly claimed invention of claim 16, as previously described.
Kozuki teaches the protrusion of each tab may be equal to or less than radius R of the end surface of the wound body, may be equal to or more than half of radius R (see e.g., paragraph [0057]) to improve the mechanical strength of the connection between the tab and the current collecting plate (see e.g., paragraph [0032]) and may not overlap; however, Kozuki does not explicitly teach wherein the folded collector lugs are disposed with completely no overlap to one another.
However, Kim teaches a secondary battery in which an electrode tab is improved in mechanical strength (see e.g., Abstract). Kim teaches an electrode 100 comprises a coating portion 110 and a notching tab part 111 with a plurality of notching tabs 111a (see e.g., paragraph [0067] and Figure 3). Kim teaches the notching tabs 111a are bent with no overlap (“wherein the folded collector lugs are disposed with completely no overlap to one another”) (see e.g., Figure 5) to be coupled to a center of the can member in order to electrically connect the tabs to each other while minimizing the electrical resistance as the electrical connection is smooth (see e.g., paragraph [0075]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that one of ordinary skill would modify the plurality of tabs of Kozuki to not overlap with each other after bending, as taught by Kim, in order to electrically connect the tabs to each other while minimizing the electrical resistance as the electrical connection is smooth (see e.g., paragraph [0075]).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Katherine N Higgins whose telephone number is (703)756-1196. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays - Thursdays 7:30-4:30 EST, Fridays 7:30 - 11:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew T Martin can be reached at (571) 270-7871. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KATHERINE N HIGGINS/Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/MATTHEW T MARTIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728
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