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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 4/12/24, 8/14/25 and 8/18/26 have been considered by the examiner.
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) 1-12 and 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lim, US 2013/0040178 A1.
Lim teaches a battery including an electrode assembly including positive and negative electrodes separated by a separator and electrode tabs protruding from both sides. A case receives the plurality of electrode assemblies. First and second current collecting plates (cap plates) cover openings formed on both sides of the case. First and second insulation plates are respectively disposed between the plurality of electrode assemblies and the first and second current collecting plates. The electrode tabs at one side of the electrode assembly pass through a first through hole formed in the first insulation plate and the electrode tabs at the other side of the electrode assembly pass through a second through hole formed in the second insulation plate (abstract). See Figure 8 of Lim the illustrates the battery 103 further comprising a plurality of groove units that accommodate a protrusion connected to a peripheral side at the tab 314.
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FIG. 8 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a rechargeable battery 103 according to a fourth embodiment. As described in greater detail below, the fourth embodiment of the rechargeable battery 103 illustrates an alternative configuration for integrally forming the current collecting plate and the insulation plate. In describing the fourth embodiment of the rechargeable battery 103, components and configurations that are the same or similar to the first exemplary embodiment will be briefly described or omitted.
[0117] The rechargeable battery 103 may include a plurality of electrode assemblies 310 and a case 320 for receiving the electrode assemblies 310. A current collecting plate and the insulation plate can be fixed with a laminate 380 and can be integrally formed.
[0118] The laminate 380 may be configured with a metal layer 350 (i.e., a current collecting plate) and a first polymer layer 370 and a second polymer layer 330 (i.e., an insulation plate) bonded on both surfaces of the metal layer 350. The metal layer 350 can be made of metals including, but not limited to, aluminum, stainless steel, and clad metal bonded with aluminum and copper. In this manner, the metal layer 350 can function as a current collecting plate and the second polymer layer 330 can function as an insulation plate.
[0119] A plurality of groove units may be formed on the lower part of the metal layer 350 and the first insulator 352 may be bonded to the inside of the groove units. The first insulator 352 may be formed to have the groove shape and receive the positive tabs 314 and the negative tabs 315. A plurality of through-holes may be formed in the second polymer layer 330 to allow the positive tabs 314 and the negative tabs 315 to penetrate the through-holes.
[0120] The above-noted laminate 380 can be manufactured by using injection molding processes and can be respectively formed on the upper part and the lower part of the electrode assembly 310.
Thus, the claims are anticipated. Figure 8 teaches and suggests the limitations of claim 3 and claim 6. Figure 8 depicts the insulation plate 330 having through holes. See also [0079] and [0084]. The plurality of groove units correspond to the plurality of through holes [0048].
**
Claim(s) 1, 2, 9-11 and 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bai et al., CN 210743995 U.
Bai teaches a battery comprising a shell, an electrode unit and a tab, the tab is located at the electrode unit along the two ends of a height direction, along the height direction. An electrode assembly comprises two end surfaces opposite to each other, the tab at least partially covering the end face of the electrode terminal, the electrode assembly two ends along the height direction, the tab is connected to the electrode terminal. The battery comprises a top cover, the top cover located in electrode terminal far away from one side of the electrode assembly. The top cover and the electrode terminal connected through a first insulating part; a connecting piece for fixedly connecting the top cover and the electrode terminal, and a second insulating part, along the height direction, the second insulating part between a lug and the connecting piece, and an outer ring of the tab and the second insulating part. By setting the first insulating part, short circuiting of the electrode terminal with top cover and shell can be prevented. By setting the second insulating part, short circuiting of the tab with the connecting piece and the top cover can be prevented (abstract). See also [0104]-[0131]. The battery may further comprise an explosion-proof valve 3, the anti-explosion valve is set in a first through hole. See Figures 5-6 and 10-11.
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Thus, the claims are anticipated.
Conclusion
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/TRACY M DOVE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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