Appeal No. 2004-0949
Application No. 09/528,986
Wakabe in connection with this embodiment. The examiner states
that the charge-discharge lead 102 is, in effect, appellant’s
claimed thin film. The examiner states that the cutting device
103 acts as a parallel barrier formed between the electrode
assembly and the cover vent. Finally, the examiner states that
packing material located on the bottom of the opening serves as
the barrier formed between the electrode assembly and the cover
vent, and this packing material is porous which allows for gas
to exit through the vent hole and these materials prevent the
electrolyte from directly contacting the thin metal cover.
Beginning on page 5 of the answer, the examiner further
explains that the cutting device 103 acts as a parallel barrier
for shielding thin film 102 from the electrolyte in the
generator element as depicted in Figures 4 and 8-10. On page 6
of the answer, the examiner states that the cutting device 103
is the shielding member located between the thin film 102 and
the electrode assembly. The examiner refers to Figure 14
regarding another embodiment of Wakabe and states that the
packing member depicted therein (item (207)) functions as a
shielding member located between the electrode assembly and the
thin film (209).
On page 4 of the answer, the examiner states that Wakabe
may not clearly show the embodiment wherein the shielding member
is a plate, set in parallel with the thin film (appellants’
claim 3), wherein the thin film is on the exterior of the casing
elements, but concludes it would have been obvious to combine
the embodiments of Wakabe to include the cutting device as a
parallel barrier formed between the electrode assembly and the
cover vent, wherein the cover vent has a thin metal cover on the
3
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