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 .
SECONDARY BATTERY AND ASSEMBLY METHOD OF SECONDARY BATTERY
Examiner: Adam Arciero S.N. 18/099,197 Art Unit 1727 May 26, 2026
DETAILED ACTION
Applicant’s response filed on March 05, 2026 has been received. Claims 1-12 and 15-25 are currently pending. Claims 1 and 22 have been amended. Claims 13-14 have been canceled. Claim 25 remains withdrawn from consideration.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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 first and second projections and “transfer conductor tab assembly parts” 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 § 112
Claims 1-12 and 15-24 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. The claim requires that a first transfer conductor area comprising a transfer conductor pole is separated from a second transfer conductor area comprising transfer conductor tab assembly parts and also wherein the transfer conductor assembly parts (second area) comprise a first projection that is covered a second projection which is provided with the transfer conductor pole (first area). It is unclear as to how the second projection covers the first projection if they are provided on separate areas divided by a separation line. It is also unclear if the claimed “separation line” that divides the first area from the second area is a structural part of the upper surface of the transfer conductor or not, as Fig. 4a depicts the separation line F as an imaginary line that extends beyond the physical structure of the transfer conductor to just show a first area vs a second area of the upper surface of the transfer conductor.
The term “close” in claim 1 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear what distances or arrangements of the first side of the electric cell in relation to the inner side of the cell assembly and the second side of each cell arranged with an outer side of the cell assembly and what arrangements of the tabs protruding relative to the first side of the top surface of the cells read on the claim and what arrangements/distances do not.
The term “close” in claim 22 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear as to what distances or arrangements of the convex plates in relation to the top opening of the shell read on the claimed invention and which ones do not.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The claim rejections under 35 USC 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yuan on claims 1, 5, 7, 11-13, 15-17 and 10 are withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan and Park on claims 2 and 4 are withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan and Shen on claims 2-4, 6 and 18 are withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan and Li on claim 8 is withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan, Shen and Li on claim 9 is withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan and Park on claims 19 and 22 are withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan, Park and Jiang on claim 20 is withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Yuan and Yoshida on claims 23-24 are withdrawn because Applicant has amended the independent claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the reasons for allowance previously set forth in the Non-Final Rejection mailed on 12/11/2025 stand.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM ARCIERO whose telephone number is (571)270-5116. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5 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, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at (571)272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ADAM A ARCIERO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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