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
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Adelman (U.S. Patent 5,057,169).
Regarding claims 1 and 5, Adelman discloses a device, the device comprising: a pair of sealing blocks (141, 151 or 142, 152) arranged to face opposing sides, respectively, of materials or articles worked upon (e.g. comprising 121, 113, 122), wherein the pair of sealing blocks is configured to compress and seal the materials or articles worked upon at a seal temperature and a seal pressure; and a preheating member configured to preheat the materials or articles worked upon and the pair of sealing blocks, wherein the preheating member comprises: a first heating body (lamps 171) configured to preheat a surface of the materials or articles worked upon to a first preheat temperature, and a second heating body (lamps 170) configured to preheat a surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks to a second preheat temperature and (regarding claim 5) wherein each of the first heating body and the second heating body is a heating lamp (Figures 2 and 3 and Column 7, lines 4-66).
As to the limitations in claim 1 of “for manufacturing a secondary battery” and “a sealing part of a pouch from which an electrode lead protrudes”, the claim is directed to an apparatus/device wherein these limitations are directed to the materials or articles worked upon by the apparatus and/or functional limitations. Inclusion of the material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims (see MPEP 2115). Further, a claim containing a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. If an examiner concludes that a functional limitation is an inherent characteristic of the prior art, then to establish a prima case of anticipation or obviousness, the examiner should explain that the prior art structure inherently possesses the functionally defined limitations of the claimed apparatus. The burden then shifts to applicant to establish that the prior art does not possess the characteristic relied on (see MPEP 2114). Adelman teaches all of the structural limitations of the claims as set forth above which structure is configured for manufacturing a secondary battery including to compress and seal a sealing part of a pouch from which an electrode lead protrudes wherein as the materials or articles worked upon transferred through the device under the first heating body and between the sealing blocks includes a sealing part of a pouch for a secondary battery from which an electrode lead protrudes.
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.
Claims 2-4, 8, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adelman.
Adelman is described above in full detail.
Regarding claim 4, Adelman teaches the pre-heating conditions should be adjusted to cause the subsequent sealing operations to barely bring the materials or articles worked upon to heat-sealing temperature such as 100 oC (Column 7, lines 10-12 and Column 11, lines 6-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the first heating body and the second heating body as taught by Adelman are each temperature adjustable such as to at least 100 oC (and regarding claim 4 the first and second preheat temperatures are in a range from 100oC to 230oC as in the case where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art a prima facie case of obviousness exists and similarly, a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close (see MPEP 2144.05)) following that taught by Adelman wherein the pre-heating conditions should be adjusted to cause the subsequent sealing operations to barely bring the materials or articles worked upon to heat-sealing temperature such as 100 oC.
Regarding claims 2, 3, 8, and 16, as noted above the claims are directed to an apparatus/device wherein these limitations are directed to the materials or articles worked upon by the apparatus and/or functional limitations. Adelman teaches all of the structural limitations of the claims as set forth above and is configured for “the first preheat temperature and the second preheat temperature are the same as one another” wherein the temperatures of the first and second heating body are adjusted to be the same as one another, “the first preheat temperature and the second preheat temperature are different from each other, the first preheat temperature being lower than the second preheat temperature” wherein the temperature of the first heating body is adjusted to be lower than the temperature of the second heating body, “the first preheat temperature is lower than the seal temperature” wherein the temperature of the first heating body is adjusted to be lower than the temperature of the second heating body, and “the second preheat temperature is lower than the seal temperature” wherein the temperature of the second heating body is adjusted to be lower than the temperature of the first heating body.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adelman in view of Maurizio et al. (GB 229250).
Adelman is described above in full detail.
Regarding claim 7, Adelman does not expressly teach moving the heating bodies. It is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art naturally controllable moving bodies (regulator means 17 of linear actuators 18) are configured to move the heating bodies (heaters 12, 14) toward and away from a heating position for heating and sealing materials or articles worked upon to reduce and to increase thermal capacity and maintain constant temperature as evidenced by Maurizio (Figure 1 and Page 7, lines 1-13 and Page 9, lines 8-19). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the preheating member of the device taught by Adelman comprise a controlled first moving body (linear actuator) configured to move the first heating body toward the materials or articles worked upon such as the sealing part or return the first heating body to an initial position of the first heating body; and a second controlled moving body (linear actuator) configured to move the second heating body toward the pair of sealing blocks or return the second heating body to an initial position of the second heating body as is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to reduce and to increase thermal capacity and maintain constant temperature as evidenced by Maurizio.
Claims 1-4, 8-12, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dongju et al. (KR 20210109793 and see also the machine translation) in view of Ju (KR 20150137742 and see also the machine translation).
Regarding claim 9, Dongju discloses a method for manufacturing a secondary battery, the method comprising: transferring the secondary battery in a transfer process to between a pair of first heating bodies of a preheating member (pouch preheating unit 200), wherein the secondary battery comprises an electrode assembly (20) and a pouch (12) accommodating the electrode assembly; disposing a pair of sealing blocks (tab heating unit 100 applies heat and pressure) facing opposing sides (10a, 10b), respectively, of a sealing part of the pouch of the secondary battery in a disposing process; preheating a surface of opposing sides of the sealing part of the pouch to a first preheat temperature in a preheating process by using a preheating member; and heating the pair of sealing blocks to a sealing temperature and then compressing and sealing the sealing part of the pouch with the pair of sealing blocks in a sealing process wherein the preheating process comprises: preheating the surface of the opposing sides of the sealing part to the first preheat temperature by a first heating body of the preheating member (Figures 3 and 5 and Paragraphs 0041-0046).
Regarding claim 1, Dongju discloses a device configured such as for manufacturing a secondary battery, the device comprising: a pair of sealing blocks (tab heating unit 100 applies heat and pressure) arranged to face opposing sides, respectively, of materials or articles worked upon such as a sealing part of a pouch (12) from which an electrode lead (21) protrudes, wherein the pair of sealing blocks is configured to compress and seal the materials or articles worked upon such as the sealing part at a seal temperature and a seal pressure; and a preheating member configured to preheat the materials or articles worked upon such as the sealing part of the pouch, wherein the preheating member comprises: a first heating body (pouch preheating unit 200) configured to preheat a surface of the materials or articles worked upon such as a surface of the sealing part to a first preheat temperature (Figures 3 and 5 and Paragraphs 0041-0046).
As to the limitations in claim 9 of preheating “a surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks to a second preheat temperature” wherein “preheating the surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks to the second preheat temperature by a second heating body of the preheating member” and in claim 1 of a preheating member configured to preheat “the pair of sealing blocks” the preheating member comprises: “a second heating body configured to preheat a surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks to a second preheat temperature”, Dongju does not expressly teach the heating body for the pair of sealing blocks (tab heating unit 100) preheats a surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks. Dongju does not teach away from preheating a surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks, and Dongju suggests heat from the pair of sealing blocks is applied together with heat from the first heating unit for pre-heating (Paragraph 0046). It is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art the heating body (212, 222) for the pair of sealing blocks (210, 220) preheats the pressing surfaces (211, 221) of the pair of sealing blocks (and including further preheats the part of the pouch (120) directly adjacent the surfaces) prior to pressing as taught by Ju (Figure 12 and Pages 9 and 10 of the machine translation). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the heating body for the pair of sealing blocks taught by Dongju comprises a preheating member comprising a second heating body configured to preheat a pressing surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks to a second preheat temperature to preheat the surfaces (and part of the pouch directly adjacent the surfaces) prior to pressing as is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art as evidenced by Ju.
Regarding claims 2-4, 8, 10-12, and 16, Dongju teaches a controller controls the first preheat temperature to a temperature of 40oC to 250oC (Paragraph 0015), the controller controls the second (preheat and/or sealing) temperature to a temperature of 40oC to 250oC (Paragraph 0015), the controller may control the heating bodies to the same temperature (Paragraph 0016), and the outer surface of the pouch is heated for sealing to a temperature of 40oC to 200oC (Paragraph 0020). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention in Dongju as modified by Ju in the preheating process and sealing process, the controller controls/is configured to control the first preheat temperature and the second preheat temperature are the same as one another or the first preheat temperature and the second preheat temperature are different from each other, such as the first preheat temperature being lower than the second preheat temperature and further in each case the first and second preheat temperatures are controllable in a range from 100oC to 230oC and the seal temperature is controllable in a range from 100oC to 230oC such as the first and second preheat temperatures are lower than the seal temperature as in the case where the claimed ranges overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art a prima facie case of obviousness exists and similarly, a prima facie case of obviousness exists where the claimed ranges or amounts do not overlap with the prior art but are merely close (see MPEP 2144.05).
Regarding claim 15, transferring the secondary battery in a transfer process to between the pair of first heating bodies of the preheating member (pouch preheating unit 200) in Dongju is considered wherein the transfer process further comprises temporarily preheating the sealing part during transfer (from the heated pouch preheating unit), or alternatively, if not necessarily considered to teach the limitation of claim 15 the following rejection is made wherein it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention transferring the secondary battery in a transfer process to between the pair of first heating bodies of the preheating member (pouch preheating unit 200) in Dongju as modified by Ju further comprises temporarily preheating the sealing part during transfer as a function of the first heating bodies being heated as the first heating bodies are either on or off wherein being on and heated provides the function for which the first heating bodies are present to preheat the sealing part.
Claims 5 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dongju and Ju as applied to claims 1-4, 8-12, 15, and 16 above, and further in view of Adelman.
Regarding claims 5 and 13, Dongju teaches the first heating body is a directly contacting heating body or non-contacting heating body such as one or more of high frequency, IR, and UV (Paragraphs 0011 and 0012). Dongju as modified by Ju teaches the second heating body may be provided on the pressing surface (Figure 12 and Pages 9 and 10 of the machine translation). Dongju as modified by Ju does not expressly teach each of the first heating body and the second heating body is a heating lamp. Dongju as modified by Ju does not teach away from each of the first heating body and the second heating body is a heating lamp. It is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art each of the first heating body (lamps 171) configured to preheat a surface of the materials or articles worked upon to a first preheat temperature, and a second heating body (lamps 170) configured to preheat a surface of each of the pair of sealing blocks to a second preheat temperature is a heating lamp including as is both non-contacting and as an alternative to heaters fitted to the outer faces of the pair of sealing blocks as evidenced by Adelman (described above in full detail and see including Column 9, lines 49-51). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention each of the first heating body and the second heating body taught by Dongju as modified by Ju is a heating lamp as a simple substitution of one known heating body for another to yield predictable results as evidenced by Adelman.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dongju, Ju, and Adelman as applied to claims 5 and 13 above, and further in view of Maurizio.
Regarding claim 7, Dongju as modified by Ju and Adelman above teach all of the limitations in claim 7 except for a specific teaching of moving the second heating body wherein the second heating body is a lamp (Dongju depicts moving the first heating body see arrow as shown in Figure 5). Maurizio is described above in full detail. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the preheating member of the device taught by Dongju as modified by Ju and Adelman comprise a controlled first moving body (linear actuator) configured to move the first heating body toward the first material or article worked upon such as the sealing part or return the first heating body to an initial position of the first heating body (including as is consistent with Dongju depicting such movement); and a second controlled moving body (linear actuator) configured to move the second heating body wherein the second heating body is a lamp toward the pair of sealing blocks or return the second heating body to an initial position of the second heating body as is well understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to reduce and to increase thermal capacity and maintain constant temperature as evidenced by Maurizio.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest a device for manufacturing a secondary battery as claimed and including the preheating member further comprises: a temperature detecting sensor configured to detect a first temperature of the sealing part and a second temperature of the pair of sealing blocks; and a controller configured to stop the preheating of the sealing part and the pair of sealing blocks by stopping an operation of each of the first heating body and the second heating body when the first and second temperatures detected by the temperature detecting sensor are the same as the respective first and second preheat temperatures. There is no teaching or suggestion the controller taught by Dongju or Rosa is configured as claimed.
Regarding claim 14, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest a method for manufacturing a secondary battery as claimed and including wherein the preheating process further comprises: detecting a first temperature of the sealing part and detecting a second temperature of the pair of sealing blocks by a temperature detecting sensor; and stopping, by a controller, the preheating by stopping an operation of each of the first heating body and the second heating body when the first and second temperatures detected by the temperature detecting sensor are the same as the respective first and second preheat temperatures.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN L GOFF II whose telephone number is (571)272-1216. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM EST Monday - Friday.
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/JOHN L GOFF II/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746
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