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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to Application Ser. No. 18/677,211 to Park et al., assigned to LG Energy Solution, Ltd., Seoul, Korea, filed 05/29/2024 and published as 2024/0313266 A1 on 09/19/2024.
This application is a continuation of Application No. 17/282,127, filed on 04/01/2021, which claims the priority benefit from International Application No. PCT/KR2019/012790 filed 10/01/2019, which claims priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0118989, filed on 10/ 05/ 2018.
Claims 1-17 are pending in this application.
Foreign Priority Benefit
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim to foreign priority benefit from Korean Patent Application KR10-2018-0118989. A certified copy of the priority document has been filed with the parent application 17/282,127, now U.S. Patent 12132173.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 05/29/2024 has been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered by the examiner. A duly initialed and signed copy is attached herewith. Accordingly, information disclosure statement(s) is/are being considered if signed and initialed by Examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheon et al. (U.S. PG Publication 2005/0277020) in view of Lee (U.S. PG Publication 2006/0024572)
Regarding claim 1, 7 and 17 Cheon discloses a secondary battery (Cheon paragraph 0014) includes a container; an electrode assembly including a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between those two electrodes, the electrode assembly being mounted in the container (Cheon paragraph 0015), the positive electrode and second electrode considered equivalent to the first electrode and the second electrode, and collector plates including contact regions to connect to the one of the positive and negative electrodes (Cheon paragraph 0015). Cheon discloses the positive or negative electrode have an uncoated regions 22b, 23b absent active material along the edge thereof, and collector plates including contact regions the contact portion may make contact and be fixed to the uncoated region (Cheon Fig. 3, paragraph 0016, 0043) and the positive and negative electrodes are wound (Cheon Fig. 3, paragraph 0044); the uncoated regions 22b, 23b protrudes further than the separator 21 (Cheon Fig. 6), and either of the protruding uncoated regions are considered equivalent to the plurality of first conductive portions protruding further than the separator. Cheon discloses the uncoated regions 22b, 23b are electrically connected to a positive collector plate 70, and negative collector plate 50 (Cheon Fig. 3, paragraph 0017, 0045).
Chon is silent about the plurality of conductive regions (equivalent to the first conductive portions protruding further than the separator in a first direction along the central axis) (Cheon Fig. 6) include bent conductive portions.
Lee discloses a secondary battery comprises an electrode assembly 10 including a positive electrode 11, a negative electrode 12 and a separator 13 interposed therebetween (Lee Fig. 1, paragraph 0017, 0036), and at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode has an uncoated region uncoated with active material, the uncoated region has a bent portion 110a (Lee paragraph Fig. 2, 4, 0018). Lee teaches that such a configuration can enhance the fixing state of the collector plate and the electrode assembly (Lee paragraph 0015).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the battery of Cheon (Cheon paragraph 0014, 0015) and made the protruding uncoated part 23b of the positive electrode (Cheon Fig. 6) have a bent portion so as to enhance the fixing state of the collector plate 70 and the electrode assembly as taught by Lee (Lee paragraph 0015). Such a modification is considered the use of known technique to improve similar devices (methods, or products) in the same way; (MPEP 2143 I C).
Cheon discloses a secondary battery includes a container 11 (Cheon paragraph 0014, 0015) to accommodate the electrode assembly (Cheo Fig. 1, paragraph 0036), considered equivalent to the can, and has a positive collector plate 70 disposed over the electrode assembly towards an upper end of the container 11 (can) (Cheo Fig. 1, 3, paragraph 0045), and has a concentric contact portions or surfaces 73 defining circular pattern or annular around the central axis and spaced from each other in a radial direction of the electrode assembly (Cheo Fig. 1, 3). Further the uncoated conductive protruding portion of Cheo is modified by the disclosure of Lee and is bent to contact the plurality of contact surfaces 73 of the collector plate defining a first end of the can (Cheo Fig. 1, 3).
Regarding claim 2 Cheon teaches a plurality of contact surfaces or contact region 73 equivalent to the protrusions, and having a spiral circular shape from the center (Cheon paragraph 0048) of the positive collector plate 7 comprise a protrusions having a shape protruding towards the electrode assembly and electrically connected to the cap assembly (Cheon Fig. 1, 3, paragraph 0046).
Regarding claim 3 Cheon discloses wherein the contact surfaces has a shape that is concave surface protruding from the can and away from the electrode assembly (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5).
Regarding claim 4 in the battery of Cheon (Fig. 1, 3, 4, 5) the conductive portions extend along the contact surface of the collector plate about the central axis (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5).
Regarding claim 5 Cheon discloses the conductive portions protruding further than the separator of Cheon as modified by the bent portion of Lee (Lee paragraph Fig. 2, 4, paragraph 0018) are coupled to the contact surface (Cheon Fig. 4, 5, 6).
Regarding claim 6 Cheon disclose the first non-coated portion is welded and fixed to the first protrusion (Cheo paragraph 0045). Thus, the bent potion of Cheon as modified by Lee (Lee paragraph Fig. 2, 4, 0018) would be welded to the plurality of contact surfaces.
Regarding claim 8 Cheon discloses the positive or negative electrode can have an uncoated regions 22b, 23b absent active material along the edge thereof, and the contact portion may make contact and be fixed to the uncoated region (Cheon Fig. 3, paragraph 0016, 0043) considered equivalent to first conductive portions to be a conductive portion.
Regarding claim 9 Lee teaches that at least one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode has an uncoated region uncoated with active material, the uncoated region has a bent portion (Lee paragraph Fig. 2, 4, paragraph 00180018).
Regarding claim 10 the bent portion will contact the contact annular surface of current collector plate of Cheon (Cheon Fig. 4, 5, 6).
Regarding claim 11 Lee discloses the bent portion define an annular pattern around the central axis. (Lee Fig. 2, 4, paragraph 0018).
Regarding claim 12 Cheon discloses the contact surface of Cheon protrudes from the can towards the electrode assembly (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5).
Regarding claim 13 Cheon discloses the collector plate 50, 70 of the can includes a concave surface protruding from the can and away from the electrode assembly (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5) .
Regarding claim 14 the non-coated conductive portion of Cheon extend along an annular contact surface about the central axis (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5).
Regarding claim 15 the first non-coated conductive of Cheon is coupled to the annular contact surface (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5).
Regarding claim 16 the first non-coated conductive portion of Cheon (Cheon Fig. 3, 4, 5) can be welded to the annular contact surfaces because Cheon teaches that the contact region 73 equivalent to the protrusions, of the positive collector plate 70, connected to the cap assembly, facilitates laser welding the collector plate to the uncoated portion of the positive electrode (Cheon paragraph 0049).
Conclusion
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/JONATHAN G JELSMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
/OMAR M KEKIA/Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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