Appeal No. 2004-0949
Application No. 09/528,986
exterior of the hole, as shown in Figure 14. The examiner
states that the exterior cover would also prevent leakage of
electrolyte, and the cutting device would prevent the direct
contact of the electrolyte.
On page 6 of the brief, appellant states that the examiner
refers to Wakabe’s charge-discharge lead 102 and cutting device
103, which are located below the gas vent hole V in case cover
108. Appellant states that the charge-discharge lead 102 is
designed to be cut by cutting device 103. Appellant states that
the purpose of the cutting device 103 is to interrupt current
flow, and not to release gas. Appellant concludes, therefore,
that these elements do not represent a gas release valve as
recited in claim 1.
Our comments are set forth below.
Claim 1 requires a sealed battery, comprising:
(1) a generator element that is an electrode group
impregnated with electrolyte; (2) an external casing that
has an opening and encloses the generator element; (3) a
closure cap for sealing the opening, the closure cap having
a gas release valve that is formed by covering a gas
release hole in the closure cap with (4) a thin film; and
(5) a shielding member that is located between the thin
film and the generator element to protect the thin film
from the electrolyte so as to secure a gas channel from an
internal space of the external casing to the gas release
hole.
We also note that a claim is anticipated when each and
every element as set forth in the claim is found, either
expressly or inherently described, in a single prior art
4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007