Appeal No. 95-5066
Serial No. 07/931,330
illustrates coiling the cell preassembly on itself; compressing the coil slightly radially and axially between
rollers and heated stylus to assure electrolyte contact between adjacent layers; and, sintering both to
remove binder and to form a single disc.
According to the examiner,
[s]tacking foils using thermal bonding means necessarily bonds a third foil on the surface
of said second foil a displacement or distance from the prior weld formed between
previously bonded first and second foils. (Substitute Answer page 6, last sentence)
Initially, we do not agree with the examiner's determination that thermal bonding a coiled
laminate necessarily results in staggered welds. For example, if the four separate cell assemblies 70a-
70d in Figure 5 of Kaun were coiled as shown, compressed slightly, and heated with a stylus applied at
a point corresponding to "80" in the figure such that bonding occurred in a line
between "80" and the center core of the coil, then the "bond" between each of the four cell assemblies
or "layers" would be coincident, albeit at different relative distances from the "end" of each layer as
measured from where that layer attaches to the central core. Thus, it appears that the "foils" are
displaced from the welds in Kaun while the welds themselves are coincident. The examiner has
presented no evidence that it was known in the art to bond superimposed green-
tape foils using staggered welds as claimed. The process disclosed by Kaun for bonding or sealing
layered cell assemblies is different than the claimed method, although it includes steps of superimposing
cell assembly "foils" and sealing or "bonding" the layers.
Page 12
Page: Previous 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007