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 .
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, 3, 4 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ogura (JP Publication 2015-056274).
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Ogura discloses a secondary battery cell comprising a flat rectangular box-shaped outer container 12, and an electrode body 16 housed inside the outer containing along with an electrolyte 14, wherein a grid pattern is painted on the main wall of the outer casing (Paragraphs 0010, 0017).
As to claims 3 and 4, Ogura teaches that the grid pattern includes lines extending in a first direction X and lines extending in a second direction Y, and the spacing between lines that extend parallel to each other is between 1/4 and 1/12 of the width of the lines (Paragraph 0017), which shows that the spacing is adjustable.
Ogura teaches every limitation of claims 1, 3, 4 and 8 of the present invention and thus anticipates the claims.
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, 10 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura (JP Publication 2015-056274).
The teachings of Ogura have been discussed in paragraph 3 above. Regarding claims 10 and 12, Ogura teaches a method of processing the battery cell comprising: drawing the grid pattern on the surface of the battery cell, and calculating an amount of swelling of the battery cell (Paragraph 0031).
Ogura fails to specifically state that a ratio of a line length to an inter-line spacing length in the grid is an integer, that the grid is printed on the surface prior to mounting the surface portion on the cell, and that the grid is curve-printed on the battery cell after the surface portion is mounted on the cell.
Regarding claim 2, Ogura teaches that the grid pattern includes lines extending in a first direction X and lines extending in a second direction Y, and the spacing between lines that extend parallel to each other is between 1/4 and 1/12 of the width of the lines (Paragraph 0017).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the ratio of a line length to an inter-line spacing length in the grid could be an integer because Ogura teaches that the line sizing and spacing between the lines can be adjusted. Therefore, a ratio of the lengths could be adjusted to be an integer. Regarding claims 10 and 12, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the grid could be printed before or after mounting the surface portion on the cell because both techniques are known in the art and Ogura merely focuses on the grid being present so that a swelling amount can be calculated.
Claim(s) 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura (JP Publication 2015-056274) in view of Ast (WO Publication 9950811).
The teachings of Ogura have been discussed in paragraph 3 above.
Ogura fails to disclose that the grid comprises thermochromic ink, and that the grid is printed as a hologram.
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Ast discloses security labels that can be used on products, such as dry-cell batteries, wherein the labels can have security features that may contain thermochromic paints and be in the form of holograms (Page 2, paragraphs 2, 4, 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the grid of Ogura could comprise thermochromic ink or a hologram pattern because Ast teaches that these are commonly used as security features for a battery cell.
Claim(s) 7, 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura (JP Publication 2015-056274) in view of Hano (U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0029985).
The teachings of Ogura have been discussed in paragraphs 3 and 5 above.
Ogura fails to disclose that the battery cell has a cylindrical shape.
Hano discloses the use of a grid pattern on the case of battery cell to suppress bulging deformation, wherein the cell can be a cylindrical battery (Paragraphs 0044, 0068).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the grid pattern of Ogura could also be formed on a cylindrical battery because Hano teaches that the grid can be used to suppress bulging deformation of this type of cell, as is done in Ogura for a prismatic battery cell.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura (JP Publication 2015-056274) in view of Nakajima (JP Publication 2014-179271).
The teachings of Ogura have been discussed in paragraph 3 above.
Ogura fails to disclose that the battery cell is a pouch-type battery cell.
Nakajima discloses a pouch-type secondary battery cell comprising a grid pattern 11 on the outer surface of the battery casing material 6a (Paragraphs 0015-0016).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention that the grid pattern of Ogura could also be formed on a pouch-type battery because Nakajima teaches that the grid can be used to determine deformation of this type of cell, as is done in Ogura for a prismatic battery cell.
Conclusion
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BRITTANY L. RAYMOND
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1722
/BRITTANY L RAYMOND/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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