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 (IDS) submitted on 4/23/24 and 8/28/25 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) 1-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al., US 2016/0204411 A1.
Lee teaches a rechargeable battery which makes placement of the electrode assembly in the case during assembly easy. The rechargeable battery includes an electrode assembly including a first electrode, a separator, and a second electrode, a case housing the electrode assembly and having an opening in a plane parallel to a flat side surface of the electrode assembly, the case being electrically connected to the first electrode, a cover closing the opening in the case, and an electrode terminal mounted to a terminal opening in the case and connected to the second electrode, wherein the electrode terminal and the second electrode are insulated from the case (abstract).
As shown in Figures 2-3, the case 15 may have a substantially rectangular hexahedral shape having an open side (e.g., having an opening) to form a space for housing the electrode assembly 10. The opening in the case 15 is formed in a plane (e.g., a x-y plane) parallel to a flat side surface of the electrode assembly 10. That is, the opening is formed in a wide side of the case 15, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The case 15 has a first long side wall 171 that may have at least one opening. A cover 20 (end cover) is mounted to the opening of the case to tightly close the case 15. An electrode of the electrode assembly may be connected through a first lead tab 181 (connecting component). An uncoated portion of the electrode (12b/11b) is connected to an electrode terminal 21 via a lead tab 181 (connecting component) [0047-0056]. See at least Figures 2 and 3:
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As shown in the Figures and described by Lee, the lead tab 181 is bent resulting in a first portion and a second portion. The first portion and second portion are perpendicular to each other. The first portion is parallel to the first side wall 171. Regarding claim 4, “close to” may be given the broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding claim 5, the battery may further comprise a gasket 36 (insulation component). See also Figures 5-8 regarding the support structure limitations of claims 5-10. Thus, the claims are anticipated.
Conclusion
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/TRACY M DOVE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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