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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements submitted on April 4, 2024, October 7, 2024, and June 6, 2025, have been considered by the examiner.
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2013/0034764, hereinafter Ochi (IDS dated April 04, 2024), and U.S Pre-Grant Publication 2017/0250388, hereinafter Unno (IDS dated October 07, 2024).
Regarding Claim 1, Ochi teaches a battery cell (1,) comprising a case body (11, “exterior container”) having a bottom surface (11 B, “bottom surface”), a pair of first side surfaces (11 C, “pair of main surfaces”), and a second side surface (11 D, “side surfaces”). The pair of first side surfaces (11 C) each rise from the bottom surface (11 B) and face each other, and the second side surface (11 D) rises from the bottom surface (11 B) and has an area smaller than an area of each of the first side surfaces (11 C). The case body (11) forms an external appearance in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped (figure 5). Image taken from Fig. 5 of Ochi incorporated below for reference.
Ochi further teaches an insulating sheet (2, “electrically insulating film”) that covers the case body (11) (para. [0013]). The main, bottom and side surface covering portions 21, 22, and 23 are continuously arranged, and cover the main, bottom and side surfaces 11 C, 11 B, and 11 D of the exterior container 11, respectively.).
Ochi also teaches that the insulating sheet (2) is applied to and covers the case body (11) through folding the insulating sheet (2) (figs. 15 and 16; fold lines S1, S2, and S3), the insulating sheet (2) having a strip shape (thin and rectangular) (para. [0091], FIGS. 6, 13, 17 and 21). The insulating sheet (2) has a second side surface (23, “side surface covering portions”) which includes a first side (fig. 6, L2 “boundary line”) and a pair of second sides (fig. 6, L3 “boundary line”), the first side forming a boundary with the bottom surface (fig. 6, L2). The pair of second sides each rise from the first side and form boundaries (fig. 6, L3) with the pair of first side surfaces (11 C). Annotated Ochi Figs. 5 and 6, where Fig. 5 shows the “sides” formed folding along the boundary lines as indicated in Fig. 6.
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Ochi also teaches the insulating sheet (2) to have a bottom portion (22, “bottom surface covering portion”) in contact with the bottom surface (11 B) of the case body (11) and a pair of first side portions (21 “main surface covering portions”) respectively in contact with the first pair of side surfaces (11 C).
Ochi teaches the insulating sheet (2) has a trapezoidal portion (23 B, “second side surface covering portion”) having a trapezoidal shape (figs. 15 and 16, 23 B shown to have a trapezoidal shape) including a lower side (along line L 2) and a pair of first oblique sides (formed by S 2, “fold line”), where the pair of first oblique sides (S 2) extend in oblique directions with respect to the second sides (L 3) from intersections of the first side (L 2) and the second sides (L 3), respectively. Annotated Ochi Figs. 13 and 15, show the “boundary line” L2 that forms the lower side (Fig. 13) and “fold line” S2 that forms the oblique sides (Fig. 15).
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Ochi teaches a pair of triangular portions (26, “triangular folded part”) overlapping with the trapezoidal portion (23 B) with the pair of triangular portions (26) being folded from the trapezoidal portion (23 B) along the pair of first oblique sides (figs. 15 and 16, S 2 “fold line” shows 26 “triangular folded parts” being formed from the trapezoidal 23 B “second side surface covering”; para. [0094], “The right-triangular folded part 26 can be defined by the boundary line L 4 and the fold line S 1.”). Each of the triangular portions (26) include a corresponding one of the first oblique sides (S 2), a second oblique side (formed by S 1, “fold line”), and a third oblique side, the second oblique side (S 1) extending between the first oblique side (S 2) and the first side (L 2) from an intersection of the first side (L 2) and a corresponding one of the second sides (L 3). The third oblique side connects the first oblique side (S 2) and the second oblique side (S 1) (shown in Fig. 16 as the dashed line connecting fold lines S 1 and S 2). The insulating sheet (2) has a pair of second side portions (23 A, “first side surface covering portions”) overlapping with the second side surface (11 D) with the pair of second side portions (23) being folded from the triangular portions (26) along the pair of second oblique sides (S 1). The pair of second side portions (23) are folded from the pair of first side portions (21, “main surface covering portions”) along the second side (L 3) (shown in fig. 16). Annotated Ochi Fig. 16 diagrams sides as discussed herein.
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Ochi is silent as to the application of an adhesive agent to one of a front surface and a rear surface of the insulating sheet, to the adherence between the trapezoidal portions and the second side surface of the case body, and to the adherence between the bottom and first side portions of the insulating sheet and the bottom surface and first pair of side surfaces of the case body.
Unno teaches an insulating sheet (50, “insulating film”) for application to the outside of a prismatic battery cell (90, “rectangular secondary battery”) case body (1, “battery can”) with an adhesive agent applied to one of its surfaces ([0047], “The insulating film 50 has an adhesive layer on a surface facing the battery container to be bonded to the battery container.”) to improve the seal created by wrapping the insulating sheet (50) around the case body (1) of the battery cell (90), thereby increasing the watertightness of the battery cell (90).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the insulating sheet Ochi’s insulating sheet (2) by applying Unno’s adhesive agent to one surface of the insulating sheet (2) to improve the watertightness of the battery cell (1) once the case body (11) has been wrapped in the insulating sheet (2) as taught by Unno ([0047]).
Regarding Claim 2, Ochi teaches a battery cell (1) wherein the trapezoidal portion (23 B) further includes an upper side (formed along line L 2) extending parallel to the lower side and the pair of second side portions (23 A) include overlapping portions (25, “superposed part”) that overlap with each other on the second side surface (11 D). The length of the upper side (line L 2) is equal to or more than a length of each of the overlapping portions (25) in a direction in which the upper side extends. Annotated Ochi Figs. 15 and 16 below for reference, where the pair of second side portions (23 A, Fig.15) are shown to lay over each other to form overlapping portions (25, Fig. 16). In fig. 16, the “upper side” (23B) extends past the dashed and solid lines indicating the boundaries the pair of second side portions (23 A) when they are overlayed with one another to form the overlapping portion (25).
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Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ochi and Unno as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of U.S Pre-Grant Publication 2015/0357607, hereinafter Tsutsumi.
Regarding claim 3, Ochi teaches the trapezoidal portion (23 B) further includes an upper side extending parallel to the lower side (formed along line L 2) and connecting a pair of first oblique sides (formed by S 2, “fold line”). Ochi is silent as to the length between the lower side and the upper side being equal to or more than a length of the lower side.
Tsutsumi teaches a secondary battery cell with an insulating sheet (2, “insulating cover”) that wraps and covers the case body (1 a, “case body”). The insulating sheet (2) has portions (24, “projecting parts”) that extend outward from the bottom portion of the insulating sheet (21, “rectangular section” that forms 2 a, “bottom surface part”) to wrap over overlapping portions (23, “third sections”) that cover the second side surfaces of the case body (1 a) (figs. 3 and 5). These portions (24) of the insulating sheet (2) have a length between their lower side and upper side that is equal to or more than a length of the lower side ([0076], “The first section 21 has the same size as the inner surface of the bottom plate of the case body 1 a. Each of the third sections 23 has the same width as the inner surface of the edge plate of the case body 1 a. The length of each of the projecting parts 24 projecting from the first section 21 is equal to the width of the third section 23.”) to improve the simplicity of the insulating sheet (2) design.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the dimensions of Ochi’s trapezoidal portions (23 B) following Tsutsumi’s design and making the length between the lower side (L 2) and the upper side equal to or more than a length of the lower side (L 2) to improve the simplicity of the insulating sheet (2) design barring evidence of criticality.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BARBARA GRACE SAUNDERS whose telephone number is (571)272-0457. The examiner can normally be reached M-Tr 7:30AM-5PM, F 7:30-11:30AM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached at (571) 270-5256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BARBARA GRACE SAUNDERS/ Examiner, Art Unit 1724
/MIRIAM STAGG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1724
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