Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 17/983,345

ALUMINUM BATTERY SEPARATOR

Final Rejection §103§112
Filed
Nov 08, 2022
Priority
Nov 10, 2021 — TW 110141778
Examiner
EOFF, ANCA
Art Unit
1722
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Aph Epower Co. Ltd.
OA Round
4 (Final)
80%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
91%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 80% — above average
80%
Career Allowance Rate
992 granted / 1241 resolved
+14.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
1280
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
84.4%
+44.4% vs TC avg
§102
7.7%
-32.3% vs TC avg
§112
5.1%
-34.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1241 resolved cases

Office Action

§103 §112
DETAILED ACTION The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claims 1-3, 8, and 9 are pending. Claim 4-7, 10, and 11 have been canceled. The foreign priority document No.110141778 filed in Taiwan on November 10, 2021 has been received and it is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 8 depends on claim 5, which has been canceled. Therefore, it is not clear what the joint inventor claims as the invention in claim 8 of the instant application. Claim 9 is rejected because it depends on the rejected claim 8. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-3 are allowed. The prior art does not teach the aluminum battery in claim 1 which comprises a separator including a polymer material layer which is a multi-layer, the polymer material layer comprises a polymer material including a polymer film pore-forming material, the pore size of the polymer film pore-forming material is 0.22-0.8 mm, the polymer material layer does not comprise polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), and the separator does not comprise a glass fiber material. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-3, 8, and 9 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The examiner would like to note that: -the objection to claims 1-3 and 5-11 is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1, and the cancelation of claims 5-7, 10, and 11; -the rejection of claims 1-3, 5, and 10 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Noda et al. (JP H07-272755 A, with machine translation made of record on January 28, 2026) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1 and the cancelation of claims 5 and 10; -the rejection of claims 1, 5, and 10 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takami et al. (US 2003/0059684) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1 and the cancelation of claims 5 and 10; -the rejection of claims 1-3, 5, and 11 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Senda et al. (US 2012/0034531) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1 and the cancelation of claims 5 and 11; -the rejection of claims 1-3, 5, and 8-10 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takami et al. (US 2001/0028979) in view of Schmidt et al. (US Patent 4,137,379) is withdrawn after the applicant’s amendment to claim 1 and the cancelation of claims 5 and 10; -the rejection of claims 6 and 7 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noda et al. (JP H07-272755 A, with machine translation made of record on January 28, 2026) in view of Hirai et al. (JP 2005-071726A, with machine translation made of record on January 28, 2026) is moot after the cancelation of the claims. However, new grounds of rejection for claims 8 and 9 are presented in paragraphs 4-5 above. The examiner would like to note the following: the specification of the instant application teaches that the polymer material includes a polymer film pore-forming material or a polymer fiber material (par.0008 and par.0023). Claim 1 has been amended to recite a polymer film pore-forming material. Therefore, claim 8 reciting a polymer fiber material cannot be amended and made dependent on the independent claim 1. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANCA EOFF whose telephone number is (571)272-9810. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am-6:30pm. 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, Niki Bakhtiari can be reached at (571)272-3433. 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. /ANCA EOFF/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
May 14, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Jul 30, 2025
Response Filed
Aug 13, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Nov 03, 2025
Request for Continued Examination
Nov 05, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 28, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112
Apr 14, 2026
Response Filed
May 07, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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1y 1m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
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
80%
Grant Probability
91%
With Interview (+11.3%)
2y 8m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1241 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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