Appeal No. 2003-0423
Application No. 09/377,015
circular groove (2) composed only of the thin metal floor
(figure 2D; col. 4, lines 30-35). Kinuta teaches that
when the pressure in the battery casing rises to the
prescribed level, the safety valve functions by blowing
along the floor of the groove which, being thinner, is
weakened, releasing the gas in the casing preventing
the battery from exploding and thereby also preventing
collateral damage to surrounding equipment from such an
explosion [col. 4, lines 44-49].
Kinuta indicates that the plug within the circular groove (figure
1A) blows out when the battery explodes, but Kinuta does not
teach that the portion of the explosion prevention safety device
outside the groove, which is composed of both the thin metal
floor and the second metal layer, is deformed when the battery
explodes. Kinuta’s discussion of this embodiment does not
indicate that in the embodiment shown in figure 5B relied upon by
the examiner, the portion of the explosion prevention safety
device outside the groove, which likewise is composed of a thin
metal floor and a second metal layer, is deformed when the
battery explodes. If anything, Kinuta indicates that the groove
in figure 5B, which is shown as being comparable in size to the
circular groove and portion therein in the other embodiment
(figure 1A), is sufficiently large to relieve the pressure in the
battery when it explodes, without any deformation of the metal
surrounding the groove.
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