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 § 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 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 non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (WO 2021/1210908) in view of Han et al. (US 2018/0138480).
Examiner Note: A foreign copy of Kim (WO 2021/1210908) and its English Translation is attached.
Kim et al. (WO ‘908) discloses a pouch film laminate body for a battery case, the laminate body comprising (claims 1-19; fig. 1 and 2; par. 121):
- an aluminum alloy thin film gas barrier layer comprising 1.2 – 1.7 wt% Fe (with a thickness of 60-100 µm, and a grain size of 10-13 µm; see claims 1 and 2 of Kim et al.),
- a base layer disposed on one surface of the gas barrier layer, the base layer comprising a laminate of polyethylene terephthalate and nylon (possessing a thickness of 6-25 µm; see claims 11, 12 and 15 of Kim et al.) and
- a polypropylene sealant layer disposed on an opposite surface of the gas barrier layer (with a thickness of 30-90 µm; see claims 9 and 10).
Moreover, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) discloses that the whole pouch film laminate body (base layer / Al gas barrier / sealant layer) possesses a tensile strength of 20 kgf /15 mm and an elongation of 150% (claim 17).
Kim et al. (WO ‘908) further discloses a battery case manufactured by drawing and molding the above mentioned pouch film laminate body (par. 56, 63, 121; fig. 1 and 2; claims 1 and 19).
However, although document Kim et al. (WO ‘908) discloses the tensile strength and the elongation of the totality of the pouch film laminate body, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) does not explicitly disclose the tensile strength and the elongation of the base layer within the pouch film laminate body, as claimed in claim 1.
In the analogous art, Han et al. (US ‘480), as to claim 1, discloses (Figs. 1 and 2; Tables 1 and 2; Claims 1-18) a pouch film laminate for battery case, said laminate comprising a nylon base layer. Based on the inventive examples of Tables 1 and 2, as well as the graphs of Figures 1 and 2, it is concluded that the base layer of Han et al. can possess elongations exceeding 150% which in turn correspond to tensile strengths exceeding 10 kgf / 15 mm.
As to claim 6, Han et al. (US ‘480) disclose the base layer has a tensile strength of 10 kgf/15 mm to 18 kgf/15 mm in the TD direction.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the time of Applicant’s invention, to modify the teachings of Kim et al. (WO ‘908) through providing a tensile strength of 10 kgf/15 mm to 20 kgf/15 mm in a TD direction, and has an elongation of 150% to 235% in the TD direction within the pouch film laminate body in order to improve the stiffness of a laminate and the elongation of the base layer within the pouch film laminate body so to provide excellent formability and improved elongation and homeostasis for the base layer of a battery case, as suggested by Han et al. (US ‘480): ¶ [0012] - ¶ [0013].
As to claim 2, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) disclose when a force with a load of 100 N and 150 N is repeatedly applied to a sample prepared by subjecting the pouch film laminate body to two-cup molding to a molding depth of 9.6 mm, and then cutting the pouch film laminate body to a size of 15 mm×80 mm, the sample is configured to withstand at least 2000 of the forces before breakage occurs. (¶ [0025])
As to claims 3, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) teach when a sample prepared by cutting the pouch film laminate body to a size of 90 mm×100 mm is repeatedly pierced with a 20 N load using a pin having a diameter of 1.0 mm, the sample is configured is configured to withstand at least 250 of the piercings before the sample is perforated. (¶ [0086])
As to claim 4, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) discloses when a sample prepared by cutting the pouch film laminate body to a size of 90 mm×100 mm is repeatedly pierced with a 22 N load using a pin having a diameter of 1.0 mm, the sample is able to withstand at least 150 of the piercings before the sample is perforated. (¶ [0086] and ¶ [0126])
As to claim 5, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) teach the gas barrier layer has a thickness of 60 μm to 100 μm. (¶ [0011])
As to claim 7, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) discloses the base layer has an elongation of 170% to 235% in the TD direction. (¶ [0086])
As to claim 8, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) teach the base layer has a laminate structure of a polyethylene terephthalate film and a nylon film. (¶ [0020] - ¶ [0021])
As to claim 9, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) disclose the polyethylene terephthalate film has a thickness of 5 μm to 20 μm; and the nylon film has a thickness of 20 μm to 30 μm. (¶ [0016] - ¶ [0019] and ¶ [0022])
As to claim 10, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) teach the gas barrier layer comprises an aluminum alloy thin film. (¶ [0011])
As to claim 11, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) disclose the aluminum alloy thin film comprises 1.2 wt % to 1.7 wt % of iron. (¶ [0011])
As to claim 12, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) teach the aluminum alloy thin film has a grain size of 10 μm to 13 μm. (¶ [0011])
As to claim 13, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) disclose the sealant layer has a thickness of 60 μm to 100 μm. (¶ [0011])
As to claim 14, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) disclose the sealant layer comprises polypropylene, cast polypropylene, acid-modified polypropylene, a polypropylene-butylene-ethylene copolymer, or a combination thereof. (¶ [0045] - ¶ [0046])
As to claim 15, Kim et al. (WO ‘908) teach a battery case manufactured by drawing molding the pouch film laminate body. See the abstract.
Conclusion
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/SEYED MASOUD MALEKZADEH/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1754 09/22/2026
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