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
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 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 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20240322278-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Cho’ in view of (US-20240186644-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Yu’
Regarding Claim 1,
Cho teaches a method of manufacturing a secondary battery (Cho, “A secondary battery includes a pouch coated with a gas absorbent and its manufacturing method are provided.”, see Abstract), the method comprising: providing an electrode assembly holding device that includes an exterior material including an exterior material bending part on a first end of the exterior material (Cho, “ is an electrode assembly, into the lower storage part 11 b of the pouch case 10; (c) folding the pouch case 10 so that the upper storage part 11 a of the pouch case 10 covers the cell 20 stored in the lower storage part 11 b of the pouch case 10;”, see [0007]); a main room (Cho, lower storage part, 31b, Fig. 2); and a gas room spaced apart from the main room in a direction from the exterior material bending part to a second end of the exterior material (Cho, gas pocket part, 30b, Fig. 2) ; inserting an electrode assembly into the main room of the electrode assembly holding device (Cho, “: (a) molding an upper storage part 11 a and a lower storage part 11 b in a pouch case 10; (b) inserting a cell 20, which is an electrode assembly, into the lower storage part 11 b of the pouch case 10; ”, see [0007]); sealing open ends of the exterior material extending from sides of the exterior material bending part (Cho, “(d) forming a side sealing part 12 by heat sealing a surplus part 10 a formed on the side of the pouch case 10; ”, see [0007]); forming a support sealing part in a space between the gas room and the main room to divide the space into at least two spaces in a longitudinal direction of the main room (see Fig. 2) ; injecting an electrolyte into each of the at least two spaces; sealing the second end of the exterior material (Cho, “pouch case 10 after injecting electrolyte in liquid state into the pouch case 10”, see [0007]);
Cho does not teach forming at least one discharge hole on a side of the gas room; cutting the exterior material including the support sealing part and the gas room above the main room after internal gas is discharged through the discharge hole of the gas room; and sealing the second end of the cut exterior material above the main room.
Yu teaches forming at least one discharge hole on a side of the gas room; cutting the exterior material including the support sealing part and the gas room above the main room after internal gas is discharged through the discharge hole of the gas room; and sealing the second end of the cut exterior material above the main room (Yu, “forming at least one discharge hole on a side of the gas room; cutting the exterior material including the support sealing part and the gas room above the main room after internal gas is discharged through the discharge hole of the gas room; and sealing the second end of the cut exterior material above the main room.”, see [0024]).
Yu teaches that method improves performance (Yu, “The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and it is directed to provide a method for activating a lithium secondary battery capable of improving the electrical performance and safety of the lithium secondary battery.”, see [0009])
Cho and Yu are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery manufacture.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a hole in the gas pocket as taught in Yu in order to improve the activation and electrical performance of the cell.
Regarding Claim 2,
Modified Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the exterior material is formed by molding the main room and the gas room to form separate spaces inside the electrode assembly holding device (Cho, “b, a gas absorbent 50 interposed inside the surplus part 30 a which is formed by folding the pouch case 30, and a gas pocket part 30 b for interposing the gas absorbent 50 is formed in the surplus part 30 a.”, see [0054]).
Regarding Claim 3,
Modified Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the support sealing part extends in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main room, wherein the forming of the support sealing part includes dividing the space into the at least two spaces in the longitudinal direction of the main room (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 4) (The examiner notes that it is the area between the main room and gas room).
Regarding Claim 4,
Modified Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the support sealing part extends by a predetermined length in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the main room, wherein the forming of the support sealing part includes dividing the space into the at least two spaces in the longitudinal direction of the main room (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 4) (Cho, “(d) forming a side sealing part 12 by heat sealing a surplus part 10 a formed on the side of the pouch case 10; ”, see [0007])..
Regarding Claim 6,
Modified Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the support sealing part includes: forming at least one support sealing part extending by a predetermined length in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the main room; or forming at least one support sealing part extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main room (Cho, “(d) forming a side sealing part 12 by heat sealing a surplus part 10 a formed on the side of the pouch case 10; ”, see [0007]).
Claims 5, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20240322278-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Cho’ in view of (US-20240186644-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Yu’ in view of (US-20240332763-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Goossens’
Regarding Claim 5,
Modified Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the support sealing part includes dividing the space into the at least two spaces in the longitudinal direction of the main room (Cho, side sealing part, 12, Fig. 1).
Cho does not teach herein the support sealing part has a circular shape with a predetermined diameter in the space,
Goossens teaches the support sealing part has a circular shape with a predetermined diameter in the space (Goossens, “the support sealing part has a circular shape with a predetermined diameter in the space,”, see [0027]).
Goossens teaches that the seal prevents leaking of the electrolyte (Goossens, “Preferably, the seal is chemically inert in contact with the liquid electrolyte. Alternatively, the seal may be chemically resistant in contact with the liquid electrolyte”, see [0033]).
Modified Cho and Goossens are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery manufacture.
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 seal in Cho to be that in Goossens in order to improve the prevention of leaking electrolyte.
Regarding Claim 7,
Modified Cho teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the injecting of the electrolyte into each of the at least two spaces includes: injecting the electrolyte into the main room using an electrolyte injection device that includes a plurality of individual nozzles by injecting the electrolyte into the at least two spaces in the longitudinal direction of the main room (Goossens, “The purpose of the second seal is to separate the atmosphere inside the battery cell and the fluid channels from the volume between the filling head, casing and battery cell during electrolyte injection into the battery.”, see [0049]).
Goossens teaches that this injection process prevents electrolyte spill-over (Goossens, “It is an additional advantage of the filling head assembly that electrolyte spill-over, during and after filling can be prevented.”, see [0020]).
Cho and Gossens are analogous as they are both of the same field of batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the system as taught in Gossen in order to prevent electrolyte spill over.
Regarding Claim 8,
Modified Cho teaches injecting of the electrolyte into each of the at least two spaces (Goossens, “The purpose of the second seal is to separate the atmosphere inside the battery cell and the fluid channels from the volume between the filling head, casing and battery cell during electrolyte injection into the battery.”, see [0049]) includes: measuring weight of each location of the exterior material where the electrolyte is injected using weight sensors attached to a bottom of the electrode assembly holding device (Goossens, “Preferably, the weight sensor is mounted to the fixing means in such a way that it supports the entire weight of the battery cell once the cell is fixated by the apparatus.”, see [0069])(The examiner notes that there is only one but multiple but be an obvious duplication of parts MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B)); and adjusting, based on the measured weight of each location of the electrode assembly holding device, an amount of electrolyte injected through the individual nozzles (Goossens, “The means for controlling the pump may be for instance a PID controller, a state feedback controller or any other suitable type of control algorithm known to the skilled person.”, see [0067]).
Claims 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20240332763-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Goossens’
Regarding Claim 9,
Goossens teaches an electrolyte injection device comprising: a plurality of individual nozzles configured to inject an electrolyte into each of injection ports (Goossens, “The purpose of the second seal is to separate the atmosphere inside the battery cell and the fluid channels from the volume between the filling head, casing and battery cell during electrolyte injection into the battery.”, see [0049]) and including control valves for controlling an amount of the electrolyte injected into each of the injection ports (Goossens, “The valve ensures that the first fluid channel can be blocked, thereby blocking electrolyte flow, when the vacuum pump is operated.”, see [0018]); a supply hopper including a supply control valve to supply the electrolyte to the individual nozzles (Goossens, “The valve ensures that the first fluid channel can be blocked, thereby blocking electrolyte flow, when the vacuum pump is operated.”, see [0018]); a plurality of weight sensors spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction and disposed at a second end of an exterior material opposite the electrolyte injection ports (The examiner notes that there is only one but multiple but be an obvious duplication of parts MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B)) (Goossens, “Preferably, the weight sensor is mounted to the fixing means in such a way that it supports the entire weight of the battery cell once the cell is fixated by the apparatus.”, see [0069]); a weight measurement part configured to measure weight values for each location of the weight sensors; and a supply control part configured to, based on the measure weight values for each location of the weight sensors, individually control an electrolyte supply amount for each location of the individual nozzles, and control a total injection amount of the electrolyte supplied from the supply hopper (Goossens, “By measuring the quantity of liquid with which the battery has already been filled, feedback can be provided to a pump controller. This enables more precise control of the filling, leading to faster fill times and a lower chance of electrolyte spilling.”, see [0066])
Regarding Claim 10,
Goossens teaches the device of claim 9, wherein the weight measurement part comprises: a first weight sensor and a second weight sensor disposed on opposite sides of a bottom of the exterior material (The examiner notes that there is only one but multiple but be an obvious duplication of parts MPEP 2144.04 (VI)(B)); and a third weight sensor disposed in a center of the bottom of the exterior material (Goossens, “Preferably, the weight sensor is mounted to the fixing means in such a way that it supports the entire weight of the battery cell once the cell is fixated by the apparatus.”, see [0069]).
Regarding Claim 11,
Goossens teaches the device of claim 9, further comprising: a distribution pipe provided to distribute the electrolyte supplied from the supply hopper to the individual nozzles (Goossens, fluid channel, 230, Fig 1 a).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAMUS PATRICK MCNULTY whose telephone number is (703)756-1909. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 8:00am to 5pm.
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/S.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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