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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee ( US-20210242528-A1 ) (Application US201917051718A 2019-04-15 ) . Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a sealed battery, comprising: a bottomed tubular exterior can that houses an electrode assembly (see e.g., Lee; fig. 1, regarding case 120) ; and a sealing assembly that closes an opening of the exterior can (see e.g., Lee; fig. 1, 2, regarding assembly that seals the opening of the case) , wherein at the exterior can, a crimped portion is formed by folding an end of the opening inward in a radial direction for crimping and fixing the sealing assembly (see e.g., Lee; annotated fig. 2, [0031], regarding crimping ) , and the sealing assembly has: a rupture disc (see e.g., Lee; annotated fig. 2, [0036], regarding safety vent 150 rupturing) ; a positive electrode cap having a flange (see e.g., Lee; annotated fig. 2, [0034], regarding coupling part 142 corresponding to the electrode cap flange) ; and a metal-made height adjusting portion for adjusting a height of the crimped portion (see e.g., Lee; annotated fig. 2, [0040], regarding insulation washer 180 which is positioned within the crimp such that the insulation washer is structurally the same height adjusting element as claimed; it structurally affects the height of the crimp, wherein the insulation washer 180 is anodized aluminum sheet and therefore metal-made) . Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses t he sealed battery accordi ng to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting portion is a metal-made spacer and is arranged between an upper surface of the flange of the positive electrode cap and the rupture disc (see e.g., Lee; fig. 2, wherein the insulation washer 180 sits on top of an upper surface of the flange 142 and is positioned next to connection part 143 which couples the flange to the safety vent 150, so the insulation washer 180 may be considered as between an upper surface of the flange and the rupture disc) . Regarding claim 3, Lee discloses t he sealed battery according to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting portion is a metal-made spacer and is arranged between an upper surface of the flange of the positive electrode cap and a gasket (see e.g., Lee; fig. 2, [0031], wherein insulation washer 180 is positioned between an upper surface of flange 142 and gasket 190) . Claim(s) 1 - 4, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee B. ( US-20190386270-A1 ) . Regarding claim 1, Lee B. discloses a sealed battery, comprising: a bottomed tubular exterior can that houses an electrode assembly (see e.g., Lee B.; fig. 2, [0032], regarding cylindrical can 20) ; and a sealing assembly that closes an opening of the exterior can (see e.g., Lee B.; figs. 1-3, regarding assembly at opening of can) , wherein at the exterior can, a crimped portion is formed by folding an end of the opening inward in a radial direction for crimping and fixing the sealing assembly (see e.g., Lee B.; figs. 1-3, [0013], [0023], regarding crimping area , annotated fig. 2 ) , and the sealing assembly has: a rupture disc (see e.g., Lee B.; fig. 2, [0038], regarding safety vent 36 that ruptures) ; a positive electrode cap having a flange (see e.g., Lee B.; fig. 2, regarding electrode cap 30 with flange that extends into the crimp portion , annotated fig. 2 ) ; and a metal-made height adjusting portion for adjusting a height of the crimped portion (see e.g., Lee B.; annotated fig. 2, [0037], regarding bent portion of safety vent 36, [0038] regarding metal-made safety vent ) . Regarding claim 2, Lee B. discloses t he sealed battery accordin g to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting portion is a metal-made spacer and is arranged between an upper surface of the flange of the positive electrode cap and the rupture disc (see e.g., Lee B.; annotated fig. 2, wherein the height adjusting portion of the folded portion of the safety vent 36 is arranged such that there is a portion between an upper surface of the flange and the rupture portion of the vent) . Regarding claim 3, Lee B. discloses the sealed battery according to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting portion is a metal-made spacer and is arranged between an upper surface of the flange of the positive electrode cap and a gasket (see e.g., Lee B.; fig. 2, wherein the fold of the rupture disc is between the gasket 40 and an upper surface of the positive electrode cap) . Regarding claim 4, Lee B. discloses t he sealed battery according to claim 1 wherein the height adjusting portion is formed by folding a peripheral edge of the rupture disc inward in the radial direction (see e.g., Lee B.; fig. 2) . Regarding claim 6, Lee B. discloses t he sealed battery according to claim 2 , wherein the metal-made spacer is welded to the flange (see e.g., Lee B.; [0037], fig. 2, regarding wherein the connection part between the safety vent 36 and flange part of cap assembly 30 may be welded). 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness . This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. Claim (s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee ( US-20210242528-A1 ) (Application US201917051718A 2019-04-15 ), and in further view of Imamura ( CN-110073521-A ) (see translation). Regarding claim 5, Lee discloses t he sealed battery according to claim 1 . Lee does not explicitly disclose wherein the height adjusting portion is formed by folding a peripheral edge of the flange of the positive electrode cap inward in the radial direction. However, Imamura discloses a sealing plate corresponding to an electrode cap wherein a peripheral edge of the flange is folded inward in the radial direction to thereby form a height adjusting portion (see e.g., Imamura; annotated fig. 1; the folded portion corresponds to a height adjusting portion because the folded portion is positioned inside the curve of the opening of the container which thereby changes the height of the cell). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the flange of Lee to fold inwards in the radial direction to form the height adjusting portion as disclosed by Imamura in order to form tight attachment between components (see e.g., Imamura; [0071], regarding components pressed tightly) and to suppress capacity decline and maintain high battery characteristics (see e.g., Imamura; [0030]). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT KEVIN SONG whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-7337 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Matthew Martin can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-7871 . 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. /KEVIN SONG/ Examiner, Art Unit 1728 /MATTHEW T MARTIN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728