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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, the claim states that a plurality of electrodes, which includes the current collector foils, are arranged side by side in one direction. Thus, the current collector foils are effectively arranged side by side in the one direction (with separators interposed therebetween). The claim then states that the plurality of current collector tabs are formed by the respective parts of the current collector foils. The claim states these current collector tabs are arranged side by side in a second direction orthogonal to the one direction. It is unclear how the current collector tabs are arranged in such a way that they are side by side in a second direction orthogonal to the one direction and they each protrude from respective current collector foils which are all side by side in the one direction and they are at least partly superposed on one another. The specification and drawings do not sufficiently clarify. As such, the metes and bounds of the subject matter cannot be distinctly defined.
Examiner will interpret Claim 1 as, “…the plurality of current collector tabs are arranged, side by side when multiple tabs are located on the same current collector foil, and are bent in a state where a part of one current collector tab is superposed on another current collector tab near the one current collector tab…”.
Regarding Claim 2, claim 2 is considered indefinite by virtue of its dependence on claim 1.
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.
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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hyung (KR-20180108282-A, as found in IDS dated 06/29/2026 and using machine translation for citation purposes) in view of Shin et al. (US-20200106060-A1), hereafter referred to as Hyung and Shin, respectively.
Regarding Claim 1, Hyung teaches a power storage cell comprising: an electrode assembly (“A secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises an electrode assembly,” paragraph 7); an insulating plate disposed in contact with the electrode assembly [“an insulating plate (64) may be positioned between the first current collector (141) and the second current collector (142) and the electrode assembly (120),” paragraph 74; 64 in Fig. 5]; and a cell case containing the electrode assembly and the insulating plate (27 in Figs. 1 and 5), wherein the electrode assembly includes: a plurality of electrodes arranged side by side in one direction (121 and 122 in Fig. 4; 120 in Fig. 5); and a separator insulating the plurality of electrodes from each other (123 in Fig. 4), the plurality of electrodes include: respective current collector foils; and respective active material layers provided on the current collector foils [“first electrode (121) and the second electrode (122) include an electrode active portion (21a, 22a), which is an area where an active material is applied to a thin plate formed of a metal foil,” paragraph 30; 21a and 22a in Fig. 4],
the electrode assembly includes: an electrode assembly body in which respective parts of the current collector foils are arranged side by side in the one direction with the separator interposed therebetween, the parts being parts provided with the respective active material layers (21a, 22a, and 123 in Fig. 4); and a plurality of current collector tabs formed by respective parts of the current collector foils, the parts being parts that are not provided with the respective active material layers [“an electrode uncoated portion (21b, 22b), which is an area where an active material is not applied,” paragraph 30; 21b and 22b in Fig. 4], the plurality of current collector tabs protrude from the electrode assembly body in a first direction orthogonal to the one direction (Fig. 4 shows that the current collector tabs 21b and 22b protrude out in a first direction orthogonal to the direction in which the electrodes are arranged), and the plurality of current collector tabs are arranged, side by side when multiple tabs are located on the same current collector foil (Fig. 4 shows that the plurality of current collector tabs 21b and 22b protruding from any single electrode are arranged side by side), the plurality of current collector tabs are bent in a state where a part of one current collector tab is superposed on another current collector tab near the one current collector tab [“the first electrode blank portion (21b) and the second electrode blank portion (22b) can be formed by overlapping a plurality of thin films,” paragraph 35; 21b1/21b2 and 22b1/22b2 in Fig. 5 are shown to be bent and overlapping], the insulating plate includes: a base portion located between the electrode assembly body and the plurality of current collector tabs (Fig. 5 shows the insulating plate 64 between the plurality of current collector tabs and the electrode assembly).
Hyung does not specifically teach that the insulating plate include a thickness adjusting portion that tapers toward an inside in the second direction. However, Shin teaches a secondary battery with an insulating plate (16) between a current collector tab (131) and the electrode assembly (13). Shin teaches that the insulating plate has two portions, where the portion toward the inside in the second direction (“the central potion 161 may have a thickness less than that of the peripheral portion 162,” paragraph 82; Figs. 2-4). Shin explains the benefit is that a thinner portion allows for easier puncturing by syringe to inject electrolyte, particularly when the thinner portion is also made of fiber glass, while the peripheral portion still remains thicker and more robust (“the sharp syringe may be easily penetrated between the tissues of the glass fiber so that the electrolyte is easily injected,” paragraph 82). Hyung’s battery includes an electrolyte injection hole on the exterior, but an insulation plate with the design taught by Shin would allow for injection slightly deeper into the battery’s structure and thus closer to the electrode assembly itself.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to take the power storage cell taught by Hyung and modify the insulation plate to become thinner toward the inside in the second direction in order to create an avenue for injection of electrolyte past the insulation plate, as taught by Shin.
Regarding Claim 2, Hyung, modified by Shin, further teaches the power storage cell according to claim 1, wherein the cell case includes: a case body having an opening that opens in a direction in which the plurality of current collector tabs protrudes from the electrode assembly body (30 in Fig. 1); and a lid closing the opening of the case body (31 in Fig. 1), and the plurality of current collector tabs are welded to the lid (“the first current collecting member is connected by welding to a protruding terminal protruding from the cap plate toward the first current collecting member,” paragraph 17; Fig. 3 shows that the protruding terminal 50 is an extension of the plurality of current collector tabs).
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JORDAN P WILKERSON whose telephone number is (571)270-1891. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm.
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/JORDAN P WILKERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 1783
/MARIA V EWALD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1783
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