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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, claim 1-11 in the reply filed on 8/10/26 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Claims 12-21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Groups II and III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 2/8/24, 7/9/25, 10/15/25 were filed on 2/8/24, 7/9/25, 10/15/25. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 2/8/24 are accepted 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.
Claims 1, 4-7, and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al (KR 20190050195 A, cited in IDS).
Regarding claims 1, 4-7, and 9-11, Lee et al discloses an electrode unit “1” (electrode assembly) comprising a separator stack comprising: a plurality of separators “31” & “32” stacked on each other, wherein each of the plurality of separators has a pair of first edges extending in a first direction “x” and a pair of second edges extending in a second direction “z” that is perpendicular to the first direction, and wherein each of the plurality of separators has an elongated central region centrally located between the pair of second edges and extending along the second direction; and a first bonding portion “AD1” (sealing portion) extending along the second direction and defined by the central regions of the plurality of separators sealed to one another;
wherein opposing sides of the first bonding portion “AD1” along the first direction have shapes that are mirrored with respect to one another;
wherein each of the plurality of separators is configured to be folded about the first bonding portion “AD1”;
wherein the separator stack is folded about the first bonding portion “AD1”; and a plurality of electrodes “10” & “20” each disposed between respective pairs of the plurality of separators, wherein the first bonding portion “AD1” is positioned on a first side of the plurality of electrodes.
wherein a subset of the plurality of electrodes is adjacent to the first bonding portion “AD1”;
wherein the first bonding portion “AD1” has a shape that is symmetrical with respect to a central plane “CL” of the electrode assembly in a stacking direction of the separator stack;
wherein an outer surface of the first bonding portion is convex toward an exterior region of the separator stack;
wherein the separator stack has a sub-sealing portion “AD2” & “AD3” positioned opposite to the sealing portion on an other side of the plurality of electrodes in a width direction of the electrode assembly, wherein each of the plurality of separators are sealed to each other, wherein the sub-sealing portion has a shape that is asymmetrical with respect to the first bonding portion ([0038],[0052],[0053],[0062],[0063] and Figs. 3, 4, and 7).
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.
Claims 2, 3, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (KR 20190050195 A, cited in IDS) in view of Kim (US 2022/0011817, cited in IDS). The Lee reference is applied to claims 1 and 6 for reasons stated above.
However, Lee et al does not expressly teach a width of the sealing portion in the first direction is reduced along a stacking direction of the plurality of separators (claim 2); the plurality of separators that are stacked along a stacking direction such that the pairs of second edges of each succeeding one of the plurality of separators along the stacking direction are positioned further inward toward the sealing portion than the pairs of second edges of preceding ones of the plurality of separators along the stacking direction (claim 3); a thickness of the sealing portion, in a stacking direction the separator stack, increases toward a central plane of the electrode assembly in the stacking direction (claim 8).
Kim discloses a separator and base portions of a foldable area/bonding portion “B” (sealing portion) that are disposed to have different lengths, thereby providing flexibility in folding, wherein a width of the foldable area in the first direction is reduced along a stacking direction of the plurality of separators; the plurality of separators are stacked along a stacking direction such that the pairs of second edges of each succeeding one of the plurality of separators “515e”,”515d”,”515c”,”515d”,”515a” along the stacking direction are positioned further inward toward the sealing portion than the pairs of second edges of preceding ones of the plurality of separators along the stacking direction ([0094],[0102] and Fig. 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Lee first bonding portion to include a width of the sealing portion in the first direction is reduced along a stacking direction of the plurality of separators; and plurality of separators that are stacked along a stacking direction such that the pairs of second edges of each succeeding one of the plurality of separators along the stacking direction are positioned further inward toward the sealing portion than the pairs of second edges of preceding ones of the plurality of separators along the stacking direction in order to provide a structure that is capable of relieving a stress on a foldable area, thus improving space utilization when mounting the battery in an electronic device ([0010]). In addition, a thickness of the sealing portion in a stacking direction the separator stack that increases toward a central plane of the electrode assembly in the stacking direction is an obvious matter of design choice which one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to make in order to further improve the foldability of the first bonding portion (Concrete Unlimited Inc. v. Cementcraft Inc. 227 USPQ 784 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Kuhle 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975)).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONY S CHUO whose telephone number is (571)272-0717. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:30pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Leong can be reached at 571-270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/T.S.C/Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 8/31/2026
Prosecution Insights