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) filed on 17 April 2024 and 19 December 2025 were considered by the examiner.
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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2023/0106248 (Xu).
Considering claim 1, Xu teaches a battery cell that uses an electrode assembly which includes a first electrode plate and a second electrode plate that have opposite polarities, a separator that separates the electrode plates, and an electrolyte, all housed within a shell [ABS, 0027, 0094]. An end cap assembly is used for closing the opening of the shell and includes an adapter, located between the end cap body and electrode assembly, that electrically connects tabs of the electrode plates to the battery cell terminal [0105, 0107]. The adapter is considered to be analogous to the current collector plate of the instant claim. Furthermore, at least one of the first and second electrode plates includes a main body portion that comprises a current collector with an active material layer provided on a surface of the current collector [0034]. The main body portion has an active material region A and a flow guiding region B, with the flow guiding region B including a guide region B2 that is not provided with a coating layer [0142, 0152, 0153, Fig 13A]. Additionally, an end portion of the wound main body includes a conductive region along with a liquid guiding region, with the conductive region including two tabs in an embodiment that may be bent inwards in the radial direction [0164, 0185]. The tabs from the conductive region are electrically connected to the terminal of the battery cell via the adapter [0164]. No tabs are provided in the liquid guiding region after the tabs of the conductive region are flattened [0117, 0164]. The conductive region and liquid guiding region taught by Xu anticipate the cover region and exposure region respectively of the instant claim.
Considering claim 2, Xu teaches the liquid guiding region 111 to be annular around the center of the electrode assembly 10 [Fig 7, Fig 9].
Considering claim 3, Xu teaches that the liquid guiding region 111 may be inside the conductive region 121 in the radial direction in an embodiment of the invention [Fig 9].
Considering claim 4, Xu teaches the conductive region 121 to be annular around the center of the electrode assembly [Fig 7, Fig 9].
Considering claim 5, Xu teaches that the conductive region 121 may be inside the liquid guiding region 111 in the radial direction in an embodiment of the invention [Fig 7].
Considering claim 6, Xu teaches that the conductive region 121 may be outside the liquid guiding region 111 in the radial direction in an embodiment of the invention [Fig 9].
Conclusion
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/E.H.C./Examiner, Art Unit 1784
/HUMERA N. SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1784
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