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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2011/0274955, hereinafter “Park”; listed in the IDS filed 11 April 2024).
Regarding claim 1, Park teaches a secondary battery comprising:
an electrode assembly (electrode assembly 21; see Figs. 5-13 and [0103]); and
a pouch-type casing (case 220; see Figs. 5-13 and [0055]-[0059], [0074]) in which the electrode assembly is disposed (electrode assembly 21; see Figs. 5-13 and [0103]), the pouch-type casing comprising upper and lower casings (see [0016]) thermally bonded to each other (see [0038] and [0083]-[0087]),
wherein the pouch-type casing (case 220; see Figs. 5-13 and [0055]-[0059], [0074]) comprises a sealing part formed along at least a part of an edge of the pouch-type casing for thermally bonding the upper and lower casings together (see [0083]-[0087]),
wherein electrode leads connected to the electrode assembly protrude from sides of the pouch-type casing (electrode leads 25 and 27; see Figs. 5-16 and [0103]),
wherein the sealing part comprises a notch portion formed at an end of any one of the sides from which the electrode leads protrude (see Figs. 6, 9-11, and13), and
wherein the notch portion has a curvature and is recessed toward the inside of the pouch-type casing (see Figs. 6, 9-11, and13).
Regarding claim 2, Park teaches wherein:
the notch portion is not formed at another end positioned opposite to the end at which the notch portion is formed with the electrode lead interposed therebetween (see Figs. 6 and 9).
Regarding claim 3, Park teaches wherein: a width of the notch portion is equal to or smaller than a width of another portion of the sealing part, except for the notch portion (see Figs. 6 and 9).
Regarding claim 4, Park teaches wherein:
the electrode leads protrude from two opposite sides and in a longitudinal direction of the pouch-type casing (see Fig. 13 and [0106]).
Regarding claim 5, Park teaches wherein:
the notch portion includes first and second notches respectively provided at the two opposite sides from which the electrode leads protrude (see Fig. 13).
Regarding claim 7, Park teaches wherein:
a portion where the upper casing and the lower casing are not thermally bonded is disposed between the notch portion and an edge of the pouch-type casing (see Fig. 10, [0051], and [0074] – “folded” edge where the upper and lower cases are connected is equated to the not thermally bonded region).
Regarding claim 8, Park teaches wherein:
the upper casing and the lower casing are integrally formed and the pouch-type casing defines a folding line interposed therebetween, and the notch portion is disposed adjacent to the folding line (see Fig. 10, [0051], and [0074]).
Regarding claim 9, Park teaches a battery module (see Figs. 14-16 and [0107]) comprising a plurality of secondary batteries according to claim 1 (see rejection for claim 1).
Regarding claim 10, Park teaches wherein:
all the notch portions of the plurality of secondary batteries are arranged in a same direction (see Figs. 14-16).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2020/0381678, hereinafter “Kim”; listed in the IDS 5 June 2025).
Regarding claim 6, Park is silent to wherein:
a radius of curvature of the notch portion is 2 mm or less.
Kim teaches a pouch-type secondary battery 100 (see Figs. 1-4) wherein the pouch member 120 includes an indent portion 123. The indent portion can serve to prevent space loss by the protrusion portion 210 when mounted on the housing member 120, thereby enlarging the accommodating portion 121 for increased capacity of the electrode assembly 110 (see [0041]). The indent portion 123 may be formed of a plurality of cutting edges 123a and 123b cut at a plurality of angles and a rounded edge 123c between the cutting edges 123a and 123b (see Fig. 1 and [0042]). The rounded edge 123c is defined as having a minimum radius of curvature of 2 mm to prevent burring or cracking from occurring (see [0060]).
In view of Kim’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the secondary battery of Park to include a radius of curvature of the notch portion is 2 mm or less because it prevents burring or cracking from occurring.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN HA whose telephone number is (571)270-5934. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:00 EST.
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/S.S.H/Examiner, Art Unit 1735 18 September 2026
/KEITH WALKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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