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 .
Prior arts cited in this office action:
Yi et al. (CN 114136981 A, hereinafter “Yi”)
Enrici et al. (US 20150132621 A1, hereinafter “Enrici”)
Xie et al. (CN 102847650 A, hereinafter “Xie”)
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because some of the drawing only show numbers and text describing what they are or what they do. For example, in claim 1 the number 111 should be 1028475replaced with descriptive text and not just a number. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1-7, 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi et al. (CN 114136981 A, hereinafter “Yi”) in view of Enrici et al. (US 20150132621 A1, hereinafter “Enrici”)
Regarding claims 1, and 9:
Yi teaches a detection method for battery production (Yi Abstract [0001], where Yi teaches the invention relates to lithium battery manufacturing technology field, especially relates to a lithium battery pack Mylar film detecting method and detecting system), wherein the battery comprises a Battery area and an end cover (Yi Abstract [0001], where Yi teaches the image detection module according to the second image, continuously detecting whether the quality of Mylar film covered on the large surface of the lithium battery is qualified); and
the detection method comprises:
obtaining a detection image comprising the cell coated with a film and the end
cover, wherein the cell coated with the film is fixedly connected to the end cover(Yi Abstract [0001], [0003] where Yi teaches Mylar film distance from the top cover is too small, welding point virtual welding, sticking is not firm, the rework proportion is high, the welding seam is easy to be clamped into Mylar film to cause the welding explosion point when welding the sealing periphery of the post process, so that the product is directly discarded);
obtaining a gap value between an edge of the film and the end cover based on
the detection image (Yi [0018]-[0021], where Yi teaches the image detection module according to the first image, detecting whether the Mylar film on the large surface of the lithium battery is staggered, whether the distance from the top cover is too small, whether the welding point is false welding, and detecting whether the Mylar film coated on the side and the bottom surface of the lithium battery is not stuck with glue); and
determining whether the gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover meets a preset standard (Yi [0018]-[0021], where Yi teaches the image detection module according to the first image, detecting whether the Mylar film on the large surface of the lithium battery is staggered, whether the distance from the top cover is too small, whether the welding point is false welding, and detecting whether the Mylar film coated on the side and the bottom surface of the lithium battery is not stuck with glue).
Yi fails to explicitly teach wherein the lithium battery area covered by the film is cell such as lithium ion battery cell.
However, Henrici teaches lithium-ion batteries are developing into the key technology for modern automobile drives. Lithium-ion cells exist in various structural forms or cell types. One particular specific embodiment is formed here by so-called pouch cells or coffee bag cells. As is already obvious from the name, pouch cells are not dimensionally stable; the cell winding thereof is welded into a flexible "film bag" (Henrici [0004]-[0005]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to interpret the lithium-ion battery area disclosed by Yi as a cell or replace it with a battery cell, as taught by Henrici since using Lithium-ion battery in the form of cell of different shape and form is well-known and is preferred for a plurality of used because it is simple and convenient.
Regarding claims 2 and 10:
Yi in view of Enrici teaches further comprising:
in response to the gap value not meeting the preset standard, adjusting a gap
between the edge of the film and the end cover; and
detecting whether the adjusted gap value between the edge of the adjusted film
and the end cover meets the preset standard (Yi [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032], where the combination teaches appropriate or suitable measure can be taken to fix the problem).
Regarding claims 3, and 11:
Yi in view of Enrici teaches wherein the cell comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, a first side surface, and a second side surface, wherein the top surface is close to the end cover and opposite the end cover, and the first side surface and the second side surface are adjacent to each other and are located between the top surface and the bottom surface;
the detection image comprises a first detection image and a second detection
image, the first detection image comprises the first side surface of the cell, and the
second detection image comprises the second side surface of the cell; and the
determining, based on the detection image, whether the gap value between the edge
of the film and the end cover meets a preset standard comprises:
in response to determining, based on the first detection image, that the gap value
between the edge of the film and the end cover meets the preset standard and
determining, based on the second detection image, that the gap value between the
edge of the film and the end cover meets the preset standard, determining that the gap
value between the edge of the film and the end cover meets the preset standard (Yi Abstract, [0003], [0010]-[0018]; Enrici [0054], figs. 1 and 4).
Regarding claims 4 and 12:
Yi in view of Enrici teaches wherein the determining, based on the detection image, whether the gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover meets a preset standard comprises:
identifying, from the detection image, a first edge line of the end cover and a
second edge line of the film close to the first edge line; and
in response to the second edge line having not been detected in the detection
image, determining that the gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover
does not meet the preset standard (Yi [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032]).
Regarding claims 5 and 13:
Yi in view of Enrici teaches wherein the determining, based on the detection image, whether the gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover meets a preset standard further comprises:
in response to the first edge line of the end cover and the second edge line of the
film close to the first edge line having been identified, obtaining a distance from at
least one point on the first edge line to the second edge line in a preset direction, and
taking the distance as the gap value, wherein the preset direction is perpendicular to a
surface of the end cover close to the cell; and
determining, based on at least one gap value corresponding to the at least one
point, whether the gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover meets the
preset standard (Yi [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032]).
Regarding claims 6 and 14:
Yi in view of Enrici teaches wherein the determining, based on at least one gap value corresponding to the at least one point, whether the gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover meets the preset standard comprises:
in response to the at least one gap value corresponding to the at least one point
being within a preset range, determining that the gap value between the edge of the
film and the end cover meets the preset standard (Yi [0018]-[0021, [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032]).
Regarding claim 7:
The combination fails to explicitly teach wherein the at least one point comprises at least one equal diversion point on the first edge line.
However, choosing one of the points such that it is an equal diversion point on the first edge line would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as one of possible points of failure to be monitored and ensure that it is operated as it should, in order to avoid not only failure of the device but also damages that can occur as a result of this failure.
Claims 8, 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yi et al. (CN 114136981 A, hereinafter “Yi”) in view of Enrici et al. (US 20150132621 A1, hereinafter “Enrici”) and in view of Xie et al. (CN 102847650 A, hereinafter “Xie”).
Regarding claims 8 and 17:
Yi in view of Enrici fails to explicitly teaches wherein the adjusting a gap between the edge of the film and the end cover comprises:
adjusting a coating position of the film on the cell based on the gap value and a
standard gap value between the edge of the film and the end cover
however, this particular limitation is well known in the art. For example, Xie teaches gluing device 23 comprises a rubber knife 232, adjusting the rubber knife 232 arranged on one side of the gluing roller 231. mixing-glue 232 is provided with a handle 2321 and scraper 2322, scraper 2322 is inclined and is connected with the gluing roller 231 there is a gap, adjusting the inclined angle of the mixing blade 2321 through mixing handle 2322, hot melt glue can adjust size of gap between scraper 2322 and the glue coating roller 231, so as to adjust the coating roller, the hot melt adhesive 231 is distributed according to the set quantity is uniformly coated on the surface of the edge-sealing bar. conveying the hot melt adhesive through glue melting glue and coating machine, long conveying path, conveying hot melt adhesive needing heat preservation treatment, melting of the hot melt adhesive extruded from the gap of the template coating head, glue, low coating efficiency, inconvenient operation, is not suitable for hot melt adhesive coated edge seal (Xie [0003], [0039]-[0042]).
Therefore, taking the teachings of Yi, Enrici and Xie as a whole it would have been obvious too one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to adjust a coating position of the film on the cell based on the gap value and the desired gap if any in order to ensure the proper functionality of the battery.
Regarding claims 15 and 16:
Yi in view of Enrici and in view of Xie teaches wherein the detection apparatus comprises a plurality of shooting units such as CCD camera (where adding more cameras to capture more images at different location and different angle would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art because of the flexibility it provides).
Regarding claim 18:
Yi in view of Enrici and in view of Xie teaches a production method for battery, wherein the production method comprises:
determining, using the detection method according to claim 1, whether a gap
value between an edge of a film applied on a cell and an end cover meets a preset standard; and
in response to determining that the gap value between the edge of the film and
the end cover meets the preset standard, performing hot melting treatment on the film
and the end cover (Yi [0018]-[0021, [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032]; Xie [0003], [0039]-[0042]).
Regarding claim 19:
Yi in view of Enrici and in view of Xie teaches wherein when adjusting a gap between the edge of the film and the end cover in response to the gap value not meeting the preset standard, the production method further comprises:
in response to the adjusted gap value between the edge of the adjusted film and
the end cover meeting the preset standard, performing hot melting treatment on the
adjusted film and the end cover (Yi [0018]-[0021, [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032 Xie [0003], [0039]-[0042]).
Regarding claim 20:
Yi in view of Enrici and in view of Xie teaches wherein the production method further comprises:
in response to the adjusted gap value not meeting the preset standard, removing
the cell coated with the film and the end cover from a production line (Yi [0018]-[0021, [0068]-[0072]; Enrici [0032]; Xie [0003], [0039]-[0042])
Conclusion
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/WEDNEL CADEAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2632 July 27, 2026
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