Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 17/958,130

PACKAGING STRUCTURE AND ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE APPLYING PACKAGING STRUCTURE

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Sep 30, 2022
Priority
Mar 31, 2020 — continuation of PCTCN2020082590
Examiner
APPLEGATE, SARAH ARIMINTIA
Art Unit
1725
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Ningde Amperex Technology Limited
OA Round
5 (Non-Final)
44%
Grant Probability
Moderate
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
51%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 44% of resolved cases
44%
Career Allowance Rate
10 granted / 23 resolved
-21.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
46 currently pending
Career history
72
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.3%
-39.7% vs TC avg
§103
70.9%
+30.9% vs TC avg
§102
14.3%
-25.7% vs TC avg
§112
10.6%
-29.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 23 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION 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 . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shioda et al. (JP 2000200585 A, “Shioda”). The machine translation is used herein for citation purposes. Regarding claim 1, Shioda discloses a packing structure, comprising an accommodating part and a sealing part extending from the accommodating part (see FIG. 3 describes “package 7” & see [0016] describes “battery unit 2 housed in the box-shaped portion of the laminate sheet 6” which reads on accommodating part & “sealing portion 14 is formed to be wide enough to seal the battery unit 2” which reads on sealing part & see FIG. 3A describes “22a sealing portion” which describes extending from the accommodating part & see [0032] “10 battery housing portion”), wherein, the accommodating part comprises a first edge, a second edge, a third edge and a fourth edge; wherein the first edge, the second edge, the third edge, and the fourth edge are connected in sequence; the first edge and the third edge are disposed oppositely; the second edge is connected to the first edge and the third edge; and the fourth edge is connected to the first edge and the third edge; wherein an entire length of the first edge is less than an entire length of the second edge, and the entire length of the first edge is less than an entire length of the fourth edge (see annotated FIG. 3C describes the 4 edges); PNG media_image1.png 401 235 media_image1.png Greyscale Shioda discloses and wherein the sealing part is disposed at the second edge, the third edge, and the fourth edge (see FIG. 3A describes “22a sealing portion” & “22b sealing portion” & “22a sealing portion” & see annotated FIG. 3C “2”, “3”, “4”); the sealing part comprises a first sealing edge disposed along the second edge and a second sealing edge disposed along the fourth edge (see FIG. 3B “1se” annotated which describes a first sealing edge along the 2nd edge & annotated “2se” which describes a second sealing edge along the 4th edge); wherein a part of the first sealing edge extending beyond the first edge and a part of the second sealing edge extending beyond the first edge are folded towards the first edge (see FIG. 3B describes & annotated “1se” & “2se” & “22c portion” & see [0032] “fold the portion 22c mentioned above back towards the short side of the package and align it with the seal portion 22b” & see FIG. 3C describes “22c” are folded towards the first edge) so that the sealing part forms a protruding part along at least a part of the first edge (see FIG. 3C describes “22c” protrudes out from “22b”); wherein the packaging structure is formed by turning over and sealing of a packaging film, and the first edge corresponds to a turning-over region of the packaging film (see FIG. 3B & FIG. 3C describes “22c portion” & see [0032]); and wherein the sealing part is a part of the packaging film directly connecting with and extending away from edges of the accommodating part (see FIG. 3 & FIG. 3A & “package 7” & [0032] “10 battery housing portion” & “22a sealing portion” & “22b sealing portion”) and the sealing part is not disposed along at least a part of the first edge (see FIG. 3C describes “22c” is folded over and does not cover the whole 1st edge). Regarding claim 2, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 1 and further discloses wherein the entire length of the first edge is equal to an entire length of the third edge (see annotated FIG. 3C). Regarding claim 3, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 1 and further discloses wherein an entire length of the part of the first sealing edge extending beyond the first edge is less than the entire length of the first edge (see annotated FIG. 3B “1se” describes first sealing edge & FIG. 3C annotated “1” describes the first edge). Regarding claim 4, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 3 and further discloses wherein an entire length of the part of the second sealing edge extending beyond the first edge is less than the entire length of the first edge (see annotated FIG. 3B “2se” describes second sealing edge & FIG. 3C annotated “1” describes the first edge). Regarding claim 5, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 4 and further discloses wherein a sum of the entire length of the part of the first sealing edge extending beyond the first edge and the entire length of the part of the second sealing edge extending beyond the first edge is less than the entire length of the first edge (see annotated FIG. 3 B “1se” & “2se” & annotated FIG. 3C “1” reads on first edge). Regarding claim 6, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 1 and further discloses wherein the first edge is an uneven edge (see [0030] “the seal portion 16 can be processed by passing it through a curling shape as shown in B” & see FIG. 2A describes the edge is an uneven edge). PNG media_image2.png 219 222 media_image2.png Greyscale Regarding claim 7, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 1 and further discloses wherein the accommodating part is a cuboid (see [0011] “battery package of the present invention has a battery housing portion that houses a battery body” & see FIG. 3 describes “2 battery body” which reads on cuboid). Regarding claim 8, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 1 and further discloses an electrochemical device (see [0002] “batteries are used as the main power source or backup power source for various devices”) wherein the cell is accommodated in the accommodating part (see [0016] & FIG. 3). Regarding claim 9, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 8 and further discloses wherein the entire length of the first edge is equal to the entire length of the third edge (see annotated FIG. 3C). Regarding claim 10, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 8 and further discloses wherein an entire length of the part of the first sealing edge extending beyond the first edge is less than the entire length of the first edge (see annotated FIG. 3C “22c” & annotated “1” reads on 1st edge & FIG. 3B “1se”). Regarding claim 11, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 10 and further discloses wherein an entire length of the part of the second sealing edge extending beyond the first edge is less than the entire length of the first edge (see annotated FIG. 3C “22c” & annotated “1” reads on 1st edge & see FIG. 3B “2se”). Regarding claim 12, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 11 and further discloses wherein a sum of the entire length of the part of the first sealing edge extending beyond the first edge and the entire length of the part of the second sealing edge extending beyond the first edge is less than the entire length of the first edge (see annotated FIG. 3 B “1se” & “2se” & annotated FIG. 3C “1” reads on first edge). Regarding claim 13, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 8 and further discloses wherein the first edge is an uneven edge (see [0030] “the seal portion 16 can be processed by passing it through a curling shape as shown in B” & see FIG. 2A describes the edge is an uneven edge). Regarding claim 14, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 8 and further discloses wherein the accommodating part is a cuboid (see [0011] “battery package of the present invention has a battery housing portion that houses a battery body” & see FIG. 3 describes “2 battery body” which reads on cuboid). Regarding claim 15, Shioda discloses the electrochemical device of claim 8 and further discloses wherein the electrochemical device further comprises a tab (see FIG. 3A-3C describes “12 lead terminals” which reads on tab), one end of the tab is located in the accommodating part and connected to the cell, and the other end of the tab extends from the packaging structure along the sealing part (see [0007] “lead terminals 12 for electrically connecting the battery body 1 to the outside of the package are brought out to the outside through the seal portion 8”). Regarding claim 16, Shioda discloses the packaging structure of claim 1 and further discloses wherein along a direction perpendicular to the first edge, a length of the sealing part extending beyond the first edge is shorter than a length of a third sealing edge disposed along the third edge (see annotated FIG. 3B describes annotated “l1” is less than annotated “l3”). PNG media_image3.png 138 232 media_image3.png Greyscale Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments, see P6 par 1, filed 07/21/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-16 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jiang (US 20190296271 A1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shioda et al. (JP 2000200585 A, “Shioda”). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH APPLEGATE whose telephone number is (571)270-0370. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm ET. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at (571) 270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /S.A.A./Examiner, Art Unit 1725 /JAMES M ERWIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725 09/15/2026
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 13 earlier events
Jan 15, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jan 15, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Feb 12, 2026
Response Filed
Apr 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 04, 2026
Examiner Interview Summary
Jun 04, 2026
Applicant Interview (Telephonic)
Jul 21, 2026
Response Filed
Sep 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
44%
Grant Probability
51%
With Interview (+7.9%)
3y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 23 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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