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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Republic of Korea on 9/25/2023. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2023-0128596 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Status of Application
Claims 1-10 are currently pending.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim (US20180062120A1, IDS cited 08/14/2024).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses an insulator (i.e., insulator assembly 131; Fig 4; [0058]) for a rechargeable battery, comprising:
a first insulator (i.e., first insulating plate 201 a, b in Fig 4; [0058-0059]) including a plurality of first through holes (opening 201 c [0059]),
a second insulator (i.e., insulating plate 203 a, b, c; [0058-0060]) including a plurality of second through holes (bored apertures 203 d; [0058]),
wherein a connection portion between a first one of the plurality of second through holes and an adjacent second one of the plurality of second through holes overlaps the first through hole (see the annotated Fig 4 below).
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Regarding claim 2, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first insulator or the second insulator has a plate shape (i.e., insulating plates 201 and 203).
Regarding claim 3, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first insulator has a plate shape (i.e., insulating plate 201 a; see Fig 4 above), and the second insulator (insulating plate 203 a) has a net shape (i.e., woven structure of polymer fibers [0031]).
Regarding claim 5, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of the plurality of second through holes has a circular shape (see bored apertures 203d in Fig 4).
Regarding claim 9, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the first insulator may be about 0.2mm to about 0.5mm (i.e., about 200-500 µm [0040]) to provide elasticity to the insulator [0040], wherein the thickness range falls within the claimed range of “3 μm to 1,000 μm.”
Regarding claim 10, Kim discloses a rechargeable battery (secondary battery 100 in Fig 2 [0056]) comprising:
the insulator of any one of claims 1 to 9 (insulator 131 in Fig 2);
an electrode assembly arranged to overlap the insulator (electrode assembly 110 in Fig 2; [0056]);
a case (lower container 124 [0056]) that accommodates the insulator and the electrode assembly together with an electrolyte [0052]; and
a cap plate (top cap 122 [0056]) configured to seal the case.
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 nonobviousness.
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) 4, 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US20180062120A1, IDS cited 08/14/2024).
Regarding claim 4, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of the second through holes are arranged in a single row (Fig 4), wherein the apertures may have different sizes to filter through the foreign matter with various sizes to filter foreign matter while also preserving an injection property of the electrolytic solution and a gas discharge property [0038]. While Kim does not disclose explicitly disclose an embodiment wherein the through holes are “arranged in a matrix format” as claimed (note: “matrix format” broadly interpreted as having an arrangement in rows), it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the insulating plate 203 of Kim, such that it includes multiple rows of the apertures, thereby forming the claimed matrix format, with a reasonable expectation to provide foreign matter filtration while also preserving an injection property of the electrolytic solution and a gas discharge property [0038].
Regarding claim 6, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first insulator or the second insulator is selected from the list comprising polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [0031]. It therefore would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have selected PP or PET from the finite list of possible polymer fibers, with a reasonable expectation to form insulating plates.
Regarding claim 7, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual insulating plates may include fine apertures having different sizes to filter through foreign matter with various sizes to prevent the foreign matter reaching the electrode assembly while also preserving an injection property of the electrolytic solution and a gas discharge property [0038]. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that having through holes that are too large would allow more foreign particles to enter while maintaining high electrolyte/gas flow, and having through holes that are too small would improve the filtration performance while reducing the electrolyte/gas flow. Thus, while Kim does not explicitly disclose that “a diameter of one or more of the plurality of first through holes and the one or more of the plurality of second through holes is 100 μm or more”, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to control the diameter of the first or second through holes, by way of routine optimization, such that they are 100 μm or more, to achieve the desired balance between filtration performance and electrolyte/gas flow rate.
Regarding claim 8, Kim discloses the insulator for the rechargeable battery as claimed in claim 7, wherein the presence of the through holes directly balance functional requirements such as filtering foreign matter and maintaining electrolyte flow and gas discharge. A person having ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that having a low area ratio of the through hole would overly restrict the electrolyte flow and gas discharge, while having a high area ratio of the through hole would weaken the physical structure of the insulating plate. It therefore would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art to control the area of the plurality of the first through holes in the first insulator, such that it is 40% to 90% of an area of the first insulator, to achieve the desired balance of foreign matter filtration, electrolyte permeability, and structural stability of the insulator [0038].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAEYOUNG SON whose telephone number is (703)756-1427. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5pm.
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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.
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/T.S./ Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 10/13/2026
