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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP 2023-045144, filed on March 22, 2023.
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Young (KR 20210074505) in view of Takanori (JP 2004103258).
Regarding claim 1, Young teaches a battery module comprising stacked battery cells each including an electrode stack, an exterior package storing the electrode stack, and lead tabs to which current collectors of the electrode stack are connected (Figure 1 showing electrode assembly 20 where a plurality of electrodes are stacked, exterior package 20 to encase the electrode assembly, lead tabs 40), wherein the lead tabs each include an extension that extends from the exterior package (Figures 1 and 4, lead tab 40 extends from the exterior package), the battery module includes fixation members in the stacked direction that fix the battery cells (Figures 3-7, fixing members 50), ends of the fixation members adjacent to the electrode stack are disposed closer to the electrode stack than ends of the lead tabs adjacent to the electrode stack, in joint areas in which the current collectors and the lead tabs are joined to each other (Figure 4, fixing members 50 are closer to the electrode stack than are the joint areas at line X where the pressing protrusion 54 and pressing groove 56 join the current collectors and lead tab 40) .
PNG
media_image1.png
195
365
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Young does not teach the limitations of: the battery module includes fixation members that are disposed to be in contact with welding seals provided on an outer periphery of the exterior package, in a stack direction, and fix the battery cells, the fixation members have a larger width than a width of the welding seals.
Takanori does teach the battery module includes fixation members that are disposed to be in contact with welding seals provided on an outer periphery of the exterior package, in a stack direction, and fix the battery cells ([0045] pressure-fitting member 40 presses into heat welded portion 11B of the outer case 11 in the stack direction), the fixation members have a larger width than a width of the welding seals (Figure 5, pressure fitting member 40 has a frame shape encompassing the entire perimeter of the outer case 11, making it wider than the heat welded portion 11B).
Young and Takanori are considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they both address the same problem of fixation of electrode stacks in battery cells. While Young does not specify a specific method of sealing the cell case and lead tabs, Takanori recites welding as a method of sealing lead tabs protruding through a pouch exterior, where the fixation members are positioned in contact with the welding seals. Takanori teaches the benefits of positioning the fixation members on the periphery of the exterior package in contact with the welding seals is to prevent leakage at the lead tabs during heavy load and gas formation at high temperature. Furthermore, Takanori teaches modifying the fixation members to be wider than the welding seals that they cover. Takanori teaches the benefit of modifying fixation members to be wider than the welding seal in multiple embodiments to thoroughly and evenly apply pressure when multiple cells are stacked. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have modified Young to incorporate the teachings of Takanori and incorporate a welding seal at the point of fixation member and modify the fixation member to have a wider width than the welding seal.
Regarding claim 2, Young and Takanori teach the limitations of claim 1, described above.
Modified Young as described above does not explicitly teach the current collectors each include a joint joined to the lead tabs, and the fixation members are each disposed more outward from the electrode stack than an end of the joint adjacent to the electrode stack in the joint area.
Takanori further teaches the current collectors each include a joint joined to the lead tabs, and the fixation members are each disposed more outward from the electrode stack than an end of the joint adjacent to the electrode stack in the joint area (Figures 2 and 3, the electrode plates 13 and 16 are joined closer to the electrode stack than the pressure contact member 30).
To solve the same problem as the present application, Takanori recites the need to construct a battery cell that better handles gas evolution in a high temperature battery under heavy load. It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present application to join the current collectors between the electrode stack and fixing member in order to better accommodate the increased pressure in a battery cell that accompanies a higher temperature.
Regarding claim 3, Young and Takanori teach the limitations of claim 1, described above.
Young in view of Takanori described above does not teach the fixation members each have a rounded surface facing the current collector in the joint area.
An additional embodiment presented in Takanori does teach the fixation members each have a rounded surface facing the current collector in the joint area (Figure 8 and 9E, pressure contact member 60 has a rounded surface facing the current collector in the joint area).
PNG
media_image2.png
111
273
media_image2.png
Greyscale
The additional embodiments of Takanori are directed at the same problem as the claimed invention of fixing the welding seals of the lead tab protrusions to better accommodate pressurization of the battery cell through gas generation. It would have been obvious at the effective filing date of the present application to a person having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the rounded members of the fixation surface presented by Takanori to better accommodate gas generation in the battery cell.
A rationale to support a conclusion that a claim would have been obvious is that all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 389, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 (2007) (see MPEP §§ 2143 and 2143.02).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Young in view of Takanori, further in view of Hisashi (WO 2014109101).
Young in view of Takanori teaches the battery module according to claim 1, as described above.
Young and Takanori do not teach the fixation members are provided with the extension, and are used in combination with second fixation members provided in contact with parts without the extension of the exterior package, and the fixation members are made of a material different from a material of the second fixation members.
Hisashi teaches the fixation members are provided with the extension (Figure 16, holding member 40 with lead terminals 34), and are used in combination with second fixation members provided in contact with parts without the extension of the exterior package (Figure 16 protective member 60), and the fixation members are made of a material different from a material of the second fixation members (page 53 of attached document, protective member 60 made of insulating resin).
PNG
media_image3.png
609
714
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Hisashi is considered analogous to the claimed invention because it relates battery cells stabilized with exterior frame members. Young teaches the fixation members 50 may be made of a magnetic material to provide an attractive force between members ([0008] and [0036] describes the magnetic nature of the fixing members 50), while Hisashi teaches the second fixation members may be made of an insulating resin (page 53 of attached document, protective member 60 made of insulating resin). Together Young and Hisashi teach the usage of different materials for the fixation members and second fixation members. Taking the teachings of Young and Takanori and incorporating multiple fixing members would lead to the predictable result of tailoring the fixing member to either accommodate a lead tab or not. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date to incorporate the teachings of Hisashi into those of Young and Takanori to create a battery cell with multiple exterior fixing members. It also would be obvious to independently tailor the materials of all fixation members to best accommodate their given functions.
A rationale to support a conclusion that a claim would have been obvious is that all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 389, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 (2007) (see MPEP §§ 2143 and 2143.02).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Pil (KR 20180119041) teaches the connection of joined current collectors to a lead tab via a switch in a pouch battery assembly.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN G. DIAMOND whose telephone number is (571)270-5888. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5 pm.
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, Sam Xiao Zhao can be reached at (571) 270-5343. 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.
/B.G.D./Examiner, Art Unit 1744
/SADIE WHITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1721
Prosecution Insights