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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 10/16/2025 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “plurality of coplanar contact regions”, “plurality of hollows”, “junction”, “each contact region being separated from an adjacent contact region by a respective hollow”, and “the contact surface extends discontinuously at a junction between each contact region and the adjacent contact region” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Claims 1-6, 8, 10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu (CN 206952362) in view of Savitski (US 2018/0071990).
Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches a method for laser welding a first component (30) to a second component (41), comprising: placing the first component on the second component (as shown in Fig. 3), applying a welding mask (20) comprising a flat contact surface to the first component to press said first component onto the second component (as shown in Fig. 3; p.0047), said welding mask comprising a through-passage (21) for a laser beam (p.0046), defining a welding area on the first component (p.0046), the contact surface at least partially surrounding said through-passage, emitting a laser beam by a head (10) into said through-passage of the welding mask, in order to form a weld bead joining the first component to the second component in said welding area (p.0046-0047; as shown in Fig. 3), wherein the welding mask is rigid and rigidly joined to the laser head (p.0050) and in that a focal length of the laser is constant (p.0047; p.0050).
Wu fails to disclose wherein the contact surface comprises a plurality of coplanar contact regions and a plurality of hollows, each contact region being separated from an adjacent contact region by a respective hollow such that the contact surface extends discontinuously at a junction between each contact region and the adjacent contact region.
Savitski teaches a method for laser welding wherein the contact surface (contact surface of the welding mask 20; as shown in Fig. 1 below) comprises a plurality of coplanar contact regions (coplanar regions of the contact surface of the welding mask 20 separated by the welding slot 20a; as shown in Fig. 1 below) and a plurality of hollows (sections of welding slot 20a; para. 0015; as shown in Fig. 1 below; note: drawing discloses reference number 19a but specification para. 0015 discloses the welding slot as reference number 20a), each contact region being separated from an adjacent contact region by a respective hollow such that the contact surface extends discontinuously at a junction between each contact region and the adjacent contact region (as shown in Fig. 1 below).
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Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the contact area of the welding mask of Wu, with Savitski, by providing a plurality of coplanar contact regions that are separated by hollows, as an alternative to the shape of the contact area of the welding mask of Wu. POSITA would have known that providing a plurality of coplanar contact regions around the welding area would have a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results so as to assure proper contact between the mask and the first component and at the same time creating the desired shape on the welding area.
Regarding claim 2, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the first and second components and the welding mask remain fixed during the formation of the entire weld bead (Wu; p.0050; as shown in Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the laser head comprises a programmable optical focusing system comprising two mirrors that can be oriented for positioning the laser beam at a determined location of the welding area (Savitski; para. 0014; Wu; galvanometer or rotating mirror; p.0049; p.0069).
Regarding claim 4, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the welding mask has an external frustoconical shape (Wu; as shown in Fig. 1-3).
Regarding claim 5, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the through-passage has a frustoconical wall (Wu; as shown in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the weld bead has a closed shape (Wu; p.0049).
Regarding claim 8, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the contact surface extends over at least three-quarters of a perimeter of the welding area (Wu; as shown in Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 10, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the contact surface is comprised of at least three coplanar contact areas spaced apart from one another (Savitski; as shown in Fig. 1; spaced apart by the welding slot 20a; para. 0015; note: drawing discloses reference number 19a but specification para. 0015 discloses the welding slot as reference number 20a).
Regarding claim 13, Wu and Savitski combined teach the method as set forth above, wherein the first component is a metal current collector (Wu; connecting piece 30; p.0004) and the second component is a metal-ion electrochemical accumulator (Wu; battery pole; p.0004).
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu and Savitski as set forth above, and further in view of Jiang (US 2019/0140220).
Regarding claims 11 and 12, Wu and Savitski combined teach all the elements of the claimed invention as set forth above, except for, wherein the head emits a pulsed laser beam or a continuous laser beam.
Jiang teaches a method of laser welding wherein the head emits a pulsed laser beam or a continuous laser beam (p.0058).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the laser beam of Wu and Savitski, with Jiang, by providing a pulsed laser beam or a continuous laser beam, to comply with welding/user requirements depending on the application. POSITA would have known that providing a pulsed laser beam or a continuous laser beam would have a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results such as processing flexibility and accuracy.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding claim 1, Applicant argues that “Indeed, for any two points of the contact surface (contact surface of the welding mask 20, as interpreted by the Examiner), there exists a continuous path joining the two points (see, adjacent Fig.1), which means that the contact surface is continuous. Indeed, for any two points of the contact surface (contact surface of the welding mask 20, as interpreted by the Examiner), there exists a continuous path joining the two points (see, adjacent Fig.1), which means that the contact surface is continuous…Further, the contact surface of Wu cannot be modified with the teachings of Savitski (presence of a through hole) by a person of ordinary skill in the art with a reasonable expectation of success or to lead to the predictable results mentioned by the examiner. The laser head of Wu is made to press on the first component placed on the second component, to guarantee that no gap is present between the two components during welding. The contact surface is continuous such that, at the same time, the metal particles generated during the welding process are captured by the laser head (see, para. [0042]). Wu explicitly teaches a continuous surface and a light-transmitting hole with variable cross- section to block and capture debris, preventing splashing—introducing Savitski's open slot would allow particle escape, teaching away from such a modification (see, Wu description of pressure nozzle and light-transmitting hole). By modifying the contact surface of Wu by a contact surface comprising a through hole, a short circuit by falling or insulation failure could not be avoided (para. [0042]). Therefore, the person of ordinary skill in the art is encouraged by Wu precisely not to form a discontinuous contact surface between the pressure nozzle 20 of Wu and the first component (connection piece 30)… Indeed, to obtain such predictable results, the person of ordinary skill in the art would have no reason to rigidly join the mask 20 to the laser head of Wu. Moreover, the examiner's motivation to combine is generic and overlooks incompatibilities: Savitski is directed to welding transparent polymers without absorbers, while Wu addresses metal battery components; thus, a person of ordinary skill in the art would lack motivation to combine absent hindsight from Applicant's disclosure.” on remarks page 7, lines 1-7 and 16-18, page 8, lines 1-11, and page 9, lines 3-7. In response to Applicant’s arguments, Wu was combined with Savitski to disclose an alternative shape of the contact region of Wu. Savitski teaches a method for laser welding wherein the contact surface (contact surface of the welding mask 20; as shown in Fig. 1 above) comprises a plurality of coplanar contact regions (coplanar regions of the contact surface of the welding mask 20 separated by the welding slot 20a; as shown in Fig. 1 above) and a plurality of hollows (sections of welding slot 20a; para. 0015; as shown in Fig. 1 above; note: drawing discloses reference number 19a but specification para. 0015 discloses the welding slot as reference number 20a), each contact region being separated from an adjacent contact region by a respective hollow such that the contact surface extends discontinuously at a junction between each contact region and the adjacent contact region (as shown in Fig. 1 above). Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention was made to have modified the contact area of the welding mask of Wu, with Savitski, by providing a plurality of coplanar contact regions that are separated by hollows, as an alternative to the shape of the contact area of the welding mask of Wu. POSITA would have known that providing a plurality of coplanar contact regions around the welding area would have a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results so as to assure proper contact between the mask and the first component and at the same time creating the desired shape on the welding area. Regarding the short circuit argument, Applicant’s specification recites that “According to an advantageous embodiment, the welding mask comprises an electrically insulating coating, in such a way as to minimise the risks of short-circuit between the different parts of the battery during the welding.”, the electrically insulating coating is not being claimed as it pertains to a non-elected Species shown in Fig. 7 (spec. page 4, lines 26-27 and page 8, lines 32-34).
For these reasons, the arguments are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 2-6, 8 and 10-13, Applicant relies on the same arguments, therefore, the same response applies.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE whose telephone number is (571)272-9325. The examiner can normally be reached M to F; 8am-5pm.
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/ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761 10/27/2025
/STEVEN W CRABB/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761