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 .
Response to Amendment
The Amendment filed on 6/1/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-18 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendments to the drawings have overcome each and every objection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 3/11/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (CN 101728493, referring to examiner provided translation thereof, hereinafter "Cheng") in view of Viehbeck et al. (DE 102021121017, referring to examiner provided translation thereof, hereinafter "Viehbeck").
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches a battery (“hollow battery cell”) including a housing (“enclosure”) including a hollow outer shell and an electrode/battery assembly and at least one hollow tube located within a central cavity of the electrode assembly (“hollow center tube”) [0009]. The outer shell (1) includes a casing body (13) (“side walls”) with an upper end face (“top surface”) and a lower end face (“bottom surface”) [Chen Figs. 1 and 3, 0041]. Fig. 2 of Chen shows that the hollow tube has side walls (3) passing through both the upper and lower end faces to form openings (14) [0040]. The battery further includes a positive electrode (4) (“positive terminal”) and a negative electrode (5) (“negative terminal”) electrically connected to a cell (“roll”) of the electrode assembly [0050]. Figs. 1-11 of Chen show that the both the positive and negative electrode being disposed on a surface of the outer shell through which the hollow tube passes. The cell is wound and located between an outer surface of the hollow tube and the outer shell [Chen Fig. 10, 0049, “the hollow tube 3 is located inside the central cavity of the electrode assembly”, 0050, “The central cavity of the battery assembly is the inner diameter A formed by winding the cell 2”]. Chen does not specifically teach that the cell includes one or more electrodes and separators.
Viehbeck teaches analogous art of a battery cell (100) comprising a cylindrical cell housing (130) (“enclosure”) with a hollow cylinder and a rod (120) (“hollow center tube”) extending along the longitudinal axis of the hollow cylinder [Viehbeck Fig. 1A, 0034]. Viehbeck teaches that the rod may be designed as a hollow cylinder [0046]. Viehbeck also teaches that the battery cell comprises an electrode winding (110) (“roll”) comprising at least one electrode of a first electrical polarity and at least one electrode of a second electrical polarity opposite to the first polarity, separated from each other by at least one separator [0035]. Viehbeck teaches that the electrode winding is arranged in the hollow cylinder of the cylindrical cell housing around the longitudinal axis of the rod, or between the outer surface of the rod and the cylindrical cell housing [Viehbeck Fig. 1A, 0035]. Viehbeck also teaches that the electrodes are connected to electrical contact elements (“terminals”) [0035].
Both Chen and Viehbeck teach batteries or battery cells which are intended to convert chemical energy into electrical energy [Chen 0004, Viehbeck 0012].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the known electrode winding comprising at least two electrodes and a separator of Viehbeck for the cell of Chen, and the results of this substitution, i.e. providing a battery that can convert chemical energy into electrical energy, would have been predictable [see MPEP 2143(I)(B)].
Further regarding claim 2, Chen teaches that the outer shell may be a hollow cylindrical tube [Chen Figs. 1-3, 0013].
Further regarding claim 3, Chen teaches that the hollow tube may have a cylindrical shape, meaning that it would have a circular cross-section [Chen Figs. 1-3, 0044].
Further regarding claim 4, Chen teaches that the hollow tube passes through the upper end face and the lower end face of the casing body [Chen Figs. 1-3, 0041].
Further regarding claim 5, Chen teaches that the outer shell further comprises an upper cover (11) and a lower cover (12) (“cap”) attached to the casing body and the openings of the hollow tube at the upper and lower end faces of the casing body [Chen Figs. 1-2, 0041].
Further regarding claim 6, Chen teaches that the outer shell may have a square (“prismatic”) shape [Chen Fig. 4, 0013].
Further regarding claim 7, Chen teaches that the hollow tube may have a cylindrical or a rounded square (“rectangular”) shape [Chen Figs. 1-3 and 8, 0014].
Further regarding claim 8, Chen teaches that the hollow tube has openings at both ends [0009], and that an upper cover and lower cover of the outer shell, disposed on the upper and lower end faces of the casing body, respectively, have through holes connected to the openings, therefore the hollow tube passes through the upper and lower end faces of the casing body [Chen Figs. 4-5, 0012].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-8 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.
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 MARIA F OROZCO whose telephone number is (571)272-0172. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-6.
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, Ula Ruddock can be reached at (571)272-1481. 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.
/M.F.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
Prosecution Insights