Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/333,111

BATTERY PACK ASSEMBLY

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jun 12, 2023
Examiner
RESTIFO, JEFFREY J
Art Unit
3613
Tech Center
3600 — Transportation & Electronic Commerce
Assignee
Rivian Ip Holdings LLC
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
79%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
90%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 79% — above average
79%
Career Allowance Rate
835 granted / 1054 resolved
+27.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.5%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
1066
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
68.9%
+28.9% vs TC avg
§102
17.4%
-22.6% vs TC avg
§112
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1054 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant's election with traverse of species B in the reply filed on 1/8/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the distinct species do not create a burdensome examination. This is found persuasive because the only variation is the original location of the melting plates. The requirement is withdrawn. 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)(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) 1-4, 6, 7, 10-14, and 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mochizuki et al. (US 11,575,177 B2). With respect to claims 1, 10-12, Mochizuki et al. discloses battery packaging and method of manufacturing, wherein said battery packaging includes a plate 210 with protrusion 220 for melting to a battery housing 110, in order to fix the housing and plate together without the need for mechanical fasteners, as shown in figures 9 and 12. PNG media_image1.png 362 536 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 386 500 media_image2.png Greyscale With respect to claims 2, 3, 13, and 16, the plate has a melting point lower than the housing melting point allowing the plate to bond with the housing, as recited in col. 24, lines 53-67. With respect to claims 4, 14, and 18, bonding agent or adhesive 32 is located on the interface of the plate and housing connection, as shown in figure 5. With respect to claim 6, the length of the protrusion decreases, as shown in figures 10A and 10B. PNG media_image3.png 368 488 media_image3.png Greyscale With respect to claim 7, the width appears to be less than twice the tip length, as shown in figure 12. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 5, 8, 9, 15, 19, and 20 are 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY J RESTIFO whose telephone number is (571)272-6697. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-8pm. 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, J. Allen Shriver can be reached at (303) 297-4337. 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. JEFFREY J. RESTIFO Primary Examiner Art Unit 3613 /JEFFREY J RESTIFO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 12, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 14, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12640430
CELL STACK SUPPORT FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY CELL
2y 11m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12637147
UTILITY VEHICLE
2y 8m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12636963
VEHICLE BODY
2y 4m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12638056
TORQUE TRANSMISSION DEVICE AND DRIVE TRAIN FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE
2y 5m to grant Granted May 26, 2026
Patent 12630005
MULTI-SPEED HYBRID TRANSMISSION AND TRANSMISSION OPERATING METHOD
3y 5m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
79%
Grant Probability
90%
With Interview (+10.5%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1054 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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