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
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 9-13 and 15-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Heim et al (US 20130032219). Regarding claim 9, the reference teaches a degassing unit for a degassing unit assembly for closing a housing opening of a battery housing (102, Fig. 6), the degassing unit comprising a carrier body (114) comprising a gas through-opening (130) extending continuously through the carrier body in an axial direction (Fig. 2). The carrier body comprises a rim (114, 152, Fig. 3 and 4) surrounding the opening, the rim comprising a fastening dome (154, 152; Fig. 4) and a contact region (inside surface of 154, shown in Fig. 2). The fastening dome comprises a fastening flange (154, 152) comprising an outwardly curved collar (154) and extending farther in the axial direction than the rim (114) (best seen in Fig. 2). Regarding claim 10, in the axial direction, the contact region has an extension below an axial extension of the flange (interior of 154, Fig. 2). Regarding claims 11-13, the fastening dome is embodied as a bulge of the rim of the carrier body and the contact region is embodied as a recess of the rim of the carrier body (Fig. 2). Regarding claim 15, the reference teaches a membrane (116) comprising a membrane cover part (as best this term is understood from the instant specification, this is the portion of the membrane that covers the opening) that completely covers the gas through opening at a carrier body inner side (Fig. 2). An outer membrane guard body (124) is arranged at a carrier body outer side of the carrier body and covering the through opening. Regarding claim 16, the membrane is a semipermeable membrane ([0071]). Regarding claim 17, the carrier body further comprises a spike carrier (162) with a spike (168), the spike carrier arranged between the membrane and the outer guard body (124) (Fig. 2). Regarding claim 18, the unit further comprises an inner membrane guard body (131, 135) (Fig. 2, 7) that comprises a membrane support grid (135, 133) arranged at the carrier body inner side of the carrier body and fixedly connected thereto, the membrane support grid engaging the membrane cover part (116) from the bottom, wherein the support grid comprises a plurality of support grid webs (135). Regarding claim 19, the outer membrane guard body (124) has a plurality of gas passages (160) that are spaced apart from each other and are separated from each other by a plurality of approximately axially extending stays (elements between 160, Fig. 6). Thus, the instant claims are anticipated.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 20 are allowed.
Claim 14 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Heim et al. is the closest prior art to independent claim 1. However, the reference does not teach or fairly suggest multiple degassing units which overlap each other in the claimed manner (that is, the fastening flange of one degassing unit comprising an outwardly oriented collar overlapping at least partially the at least one contact region of the carrier body of the second one of the degassing units). Accordingly, claim 1 is allowable.
Claim 14 recites that the carrier body is a middle piece and two fastening domes are arranged diagonally opposite each other, and two contact regions are arranged diagonally opposite each other. Heim et al., while it shows two fastening domes and two contact regions, does not teach or fairly suggest that they are arranged diagonally opposite each other as claimed. The elements in Heim are arranged directly opposite from one another and are not diagonally oriented, giving the term its plain meaning.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jonathan Crepeau whose telephone number is (571) 272-1299. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
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 phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 272-1700. Documents may be faxed to the central fax server at (571) 273-8300.
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/Jonathan Crepeau/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
April 2, 2026
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