Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/303,626

BATTERY, BATTERY MODULE, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING BATTERY

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Apr 20, 2023
Priority
Apr 28, 2022 — JP 2022-074254
Examiner
GODO, OLATUNJI A
Art Unit
1752
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
2 (Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allowance Rate
968 granted / 1128 resolved
+20.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +9% lift
Without
With
+9.4%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
1155
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
75.4%
+35.4% vs TC avg
§102
17.3%
-22.7% vs TC avg
§112
5.4%
-34.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1128 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Response to Arguments The examiner is withdrawing the rejections in the previous Office Action because Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, This Action Is Made Final. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 16 is allowable over the prior art of record. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 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. 1. Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shishihara et al. (JP2021174579). 2. Regarding claims 1-16, Shishihara teaches a battery (see Fig. below) comprising: an electrode body; a side surface member arranged in a side surface part of the electrode body; and a laminate film that covers the electrode body, wherein; as viewed from a side surface of the side surface member, an outer periphery of the side surface member of the battery is positioned in an inner side on the basis of an outer periphery of the electrode body; the laminate film is arranged to cover a surface configuring the outer periphery of the side surface member and a surface configuring the outer periphery of the electrode body; and on the side surface member, a fused part, in which inner surfaces of the laminate film are fused, is arranged (see Fig. below). PNG media_image1.png 630 796 media_image1.png Greyscale Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) 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 OLATUNJI GODO whose telephone number is (571)272-3104. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 5:30 pm. 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, Nicholas Smith can be reached on 571-272-8760. 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. /OLATUNJI A GODO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 20, 2023
Application Filed
Oct 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jan 14, 2026
Response Filed
May 15, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12683176
OXYGEN ELECTRODE CATALYTIC LAYER FOR REVERSIBLE, ALKALINE OR ANION EXCHANGE MEMBRANE ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICES
2y 6m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026
Patent 12676345
Battery Apparatus, Battery Management System and Precharging Method
3y 2m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026
Patent 12671142
BATTERY PACK, ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIR, AND VEHICLE
3y 2m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12671124
BATTERY MODULE INCLUDING STRUCTURE FOR HEAT EXCHANGE AND FIRE PREVENTION
2y 10m to grant Granted Jun 30, 2026
Patent 12665228
BATTERY PACK
2y 8m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

3-4
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+9.4%)
2y 3m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Moderate
PTA Risk
Based on 1128 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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