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 .
INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 09 September 2024, 18 February 2025, and 18 February 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDSs have been considered by the Examiner herein.
CLAIM STATUS
Claims 1-20 were originally filed.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
INITIAL REMARKS
Applicant is reminded that in order to be entitled to reconsideration or further examination, the Applicant or patent owner must reply to the Office action. The reply by the Applicant or patent owner must be reduced to a writing which distinctly and specifically points out the supposed errors in the examiner' s action and must reply to every ground of objection and rejection in the prior Office action. The reply must present arguments pointing out the specific distinctions believed to render the claims, including any newly presented claims, patentable over any applied references. If the reply is with respect to an application, a request may be made that objections or requirements as to form not necessary to further consideration of the claims, be held in abeyance until allowable subject matter is indicated. The Applicant's or patent owner's reply must appear throughout to be a bona fide attempt to advance the application or the reexamination proceeding to final action. A general allegation that the claims define a patentable invention without specifically pointing out how the language of the claims patentably distinguishes them from the references does not comply with the requirements of this section.
Should the Applicant believe that a telephone conference would expedite the prosecution of the instant application, Applicant is invited to call the Examiner.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Asakawa et al., US20210328278 (“ASAKAWA”).
Re claim 1, ASAKAWA discloses a strain sensor comprising:
a backing part attached to an exterior of a case of a secondary battery [Fig.1 and associated text];
a strain gauge installed on the backing part [Fig.1 and associated text) and formed of single-crystal silicon [0061];
a wiring part stacked on the backing part, along with the strain gauge, and electrically connected to the strain gauge [0050]; and
an encapsulation part fixed to the backing part and configured to surround the strain gauge and the wiring part excluding a portion of the wiring part [Fig.4 and associated text]
Re claim 2, ASAKAWA discloses the sensor of claim 1, as shown above. ASAKAWA further discloses wherein a thickness of the backing part is 10 or more times a thickness of the encapsulation part [Fig.4 and associated text], [0053], [0040]
Re claim 3, ASAKAWA discloses the sensor of claim 1, as shown above. ASAKAWA further discloses wherein the backing part comprises polyimide [0041]
Re claim 4, ASAKAWA discloses the sensor of claim 1, as shown above. ASAKAWA further discloses wherein:
a thickness of the strain gauge is 100 to 300 nm [0040-0041], [0053], [0058]; and
a thickness of the backing part is 10 to 50 pm [0040-0041], [0053], [0058]
Re claim 5, ASAKAWA discloses the sensor of claim 1, as shown above. ASAKAWA further discloses wherein the backing part comprises:
a first deformation layer disposed so as to be in contact with an exterior of the secondary battery [0054];
a second deformation layer located above the first deformation layer [0054]; and
a boundary layer located between the first deformation layer and the second deformation layer [0055]
Re claim 6, ASAKAWA discloses the sensor of claim 5, as shown above. ASAKAWA further discloses wherein the first deformation layer is configured to undergo compressive strain and the second deformation layer is configured to undergo tensile strain in response to a swelling phenomenon of the secondary battery [0160-0161], [0164]
Re claim 7, ASAKAWA discloses the sensor of claim 5, as shown above. ASAKAWA further discloses wherein the strain gauge is located above the boundary layer [Fig.1 and associated text]
Re claims 8-20, Applicant recites claim limitations of the same or substantially the same scope as that of claims 1-7. The additional limitations directed toward the manufacturing process are discussed by ASAKAWA and further disclosed in the other prior art cited herein. Accordingly, claims 8-20 are rejected in the same or substantially the same manner as claims 1-7. Should Applicant disagree, a restriction requirement may be appropriate.
RELEVANT PRIOR ART
The Examiner would like to make Applicant aware of prior art references, not relied upon in this action, but pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure. They are as follows:
WO2019048985A1, Mikami et al. – battery system with strain gauge
US20230045364, Lee et al. – film type pressure sensor for measuring swelling of battery
US20240396357, Osada et al. – secondary battery management system
CONCLUSION
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THOMAS M HAMMOND III whose telephone number is 571-272-2215. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 0800-1700.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Peter Macchiarolo can be reached on 571-272-2375. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. For more information about the PAIR system, see: https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair.
Respectfully,
/Thomas M Hammond III/Primary Examiner, GAU 2855
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