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. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/4/24 and 6/10/25 were filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings were received on 9/19/23. These drawings are acceptable. 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 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. Claims 1 and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE 202012102175 U1 (“ DE'175 ”) in view of WO 2016157262 A1 (“ WO'262 ”) . As to Claim 1: DE'175 discloses: a battery cell assembly (an electric storage cell 6 having an electrically conductive connection element 1) ( p. 3); a battery cell with a terminal (storage cell 6 with contact pole 5) ( p. 3); and a bus bar (connecting element 1) electrically connected to the battery cell ( p. 1), the bus bar including: a connector (contact area 2) overlapping and connected to the terminal of the battery cell ( p. 3), the connector and the terminal being connected to each other through an intermetallic compound (a thin layer formed during welding having an intermetallic phase) ( p. 3); and a connection portion (strip-like shape) extending from the connector in a direction oriented away from the terminal ( p. 1). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose a space being defined between the terminal and the connector at opposite sides of the IMC. WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) is electrically connected to electrode terminals (2) of battery cells via laser welding ( p. 1–2). WO'262 explicitly teaches providing an "exposed gap (4)" (a space) defined between the bus bar and the terminal ( p. 3). This space is located at the periphery of the welding area (at opposite sides of the notch 30) to allow for the detection of the welding surface position by a laser beam or sensor to ensure reliable "close contact" and alignment during the welding process ( p. 3–4). DE'175 and WO'262 are analogous arts because both references are directed to the field of battery assembly and specifically to the structural design and welding methods for forming reliable electrical and mechanical connections between battery cells and bus bars. It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the bus bar connector of DE'175 to include the defined spaces or "exposed gaps" taught by WO'262. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate such spaces to facilitate precise laser positioning and align the welding beam as taught by WO'262, thereby ensuring that the structural intermetallic bond described in DE'175 is formed consistently and without defects between the bus bar and the cell terminal. As to Claim 5: DE'175 discloses a space being defined between the terminal and the connector at opposite sides of the IMC (inherently defined by the "hump-shaped" or "hemispherical" protruding formations 4 that create voids flanking the central weld point) ( p. 2–3); and a connection portion (an approximately strip-shaped portion) extending from the connector in a direction oriented away from the terminal ( p. 1). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose that the IMC and the space extend side by side in a first direction. WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) is laser-welded to a terminal (2) ( p. 1–2). WO'262 explicitly teaches that an "exposed gap (4)" (a space) is provided between the inner edge of a notch (30) in the bus bar and a terminal protrusion (2A) ( p. 3). WO'262 further teaches that a laser beam is irradiated to form a "fillet weld (31)" along the inner edge of the notch ( p. 4). This configuration results in the welding zone (the location of the IMC in a dissimilar metal bond) and the adjacent space (the exposed gap) extending side by side along the path of the notch edge ( p. 3–4). It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the connection interface of DE'175 to follow an arrangement where the IMC and the space extend side by side in a first direction as taught by WO'262. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to arrange the space side by side with the IMC bond to provide a continuous path for position detection sensors or laser alignment beams along the length of the weld as taught by WO'262, thereby improving the precision and reliability of the structural intermetallic connection during high-speed manufacturing. As to Claim 6: DE'175 discloses the bus bar (connecting element 1) ( p. 3); the bus bar including a connector (contact area 2) overlapping and connected to the terminal through an intermetallic compound (IMC) layer (thin layer with an intermetallic phase formed during welding) ( p. 3). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose that the bus bar extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) includes a weld plate portion (33) and a connection portion (34) that connects a pair of weld plate portions to connect adjacent battery cells ( p. 5). WO'262 teaches that a weld (fillet weld 31) and an adjacent space (exposed gap 4) extend side-by-side along the inner edge of a notch (30) in a first direction ( p. 3–4). WO'262 further illustrates and describes that the connection portion (34) of the bus bar extends longitudinally between adjacent cell terminals in a second direction that is perpendicular to the localized orientation of the weld and gap at the terminal notch ( p. 5–6). It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the bus bar assembly of DE'175 to include the structural arrangement taught by WO'262 wherein the bus bar extends in a direction perpendicular to the side-by-side extension of the IMC and the space. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to utilize this perpendicular extension as taught by WO'262 to efficiently bridge the distance between adjacent battery cells in a battery pack while maintaining a localized weld and space configuration that facilitates precision alignment and stress relief at the terminal interface. As to Claim 7: DE'175 discloses the terminal (contact pole 5) and a bus bar (connecting element 1) ( p. 3); the bus bar including a connector (contact area 2) overlapping and connected to the terminal ( p. 3), the connector and the terminal being connected to each other through an intermetallic compound (a thin layer with an intermetallic phase formed during welding) ( p. 3). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose that the terminal of the battery cell and the connector of the bus bar are laser-welded, instead mentioning suitable welding methods such as welding and in particular resistance welding ( p. 2–3). WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) is electrically connected to electrode terminals (2) of battery cells ( p. 1–2). WO'262 explicitly teaches that the bus bar (3) is connected by laser welding to the electrode terminals of the battery cells ( p. 1). It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to utilize laser welding to connect the terminal and bus bar of DE'175 as taught by WO'262. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use laser welding as taught by WO'262 because it minimizes the thermal influence upon the base material with a high production speed and a small welding region, which is particularly advantageous for forming the precise intermetallic bond and flanking space structure described in DE'175. As to Claim 8: DE'175 discloses a battery cell assembly comprising a battery cell (6) with a terminal (contact pole 5) and a bus bar (connecting element 1) ( p. 3); the bus bar including a connector (contact area 2) overlapping and connected to the terminal ( p. 3), the connector and the terminal being connected to each other through an intermetallic compound (IMC) (thin layer formed during welding having an intermetallic phase) ( p. 3), and a space being defined between the terminal and the connector at opposite sides of the IMC (inherently taught by hump-shaped or hemispherical protruding formations 4 that create non-contact regions/spaces flanking the central weld point) ( p. 2–3); and a connection portion (strip-like shape) extending from the connector in a direction oriented away from the terminal ( p. 1). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose that the battery cell includes any one of a circular battery cell and a prismatic battery cell. WO'262 discloses a battery system using a plurality of battery cells (1) connected by a bus bar (3) ( p. 2–3). WO'262 explicitly teaches that the battery cell 1 is a square battery and further defines it as a rectangular battery ( p. 3). One of ordinary skill in the art would understand a square or rectangular battery to be a prismatic battery cell. It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to utilize a prismatic battery cell as the cell type for the assembly described in DE'175 as taught by WO'262. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to select a prismatic cell format as taught by WO'262 to increase the energy density and packaging efficiency of the battery assembly within a module housing while maintaining the reliable intermetallic bonding and stress-relief structure disclosed in DE'175. Claim s 2 -4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DE'175 in view of WO'262 , as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of US 20230054644 A1 (“ US'644 ”) . As to Claim 2: DE'175 discloses the bus bar includes a connector (contact area 2) overlapping and connected to the terminal through an intermetallic compound (thin layer with an intermetallic phase formed when welding) ( p. 3); a connection portion (strip-like shape) extending from the connector ( p. 1); and the bus bar further includes contacts (protruding formations 4) that contact the terminal with the IMC therebetween at the weld point ( p. 3). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose a defined space between the terminal and the connector at opposite sides of the IMC, nor does it explicitly disclose a first contact and a second contact at opposite sides of said space where one contact is without an IMC. WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) is laser-welded to a terminal (2) ( p. 1–2). WO'262 explicitly teaches providing an "exposed gap (4)" (a space) defined between the bus bar and the terminal ( p. 3). This space is provided to allow for the detection of the welding surface position by a laser beam or sensor to ensure "close contact" during the welding process ( p. 3–4). US'644 discloses a battery assembly comprising a battery cell (11) with a terminal (negative terminal 50) and a bus bar (70) ( [0031] –[ 0033]). The terminal includes a "joint surface (53)" and a "recessed portion (54)" having a "depressed shape" (a space) with respect to the joint surface ( [0041]). The bus bar is placed on the joint surface of the terminal overlapping the recessed portion (space) ( [0048] –[ 0049]). Because the bus bar is placed on the joint surface surrounding the recessed portion, the bus bar includes a first contact and a second contact at opposite sides of the space. US'644 further teaches that when joining dissimilar metals by laser welding, an "intermetallic compound 85" is formed between the metals at the joint surface ( [0052]). One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the portion of the bus bar sitting on the joint surface that is laser-welded constitutes the second contact with the IMC, while the portion of the bus bar merely contacting or placed on the joint surface on the opposite side of the space without being welded constitutes the first contact without the IMC. DE'175, WO'262, and US'644 are analogous arts because they all relate to the structural design and manufacture of battery cell interconnects and the optimization of dissimilar metal welding interfaces to manage the formation of intermetallic compounds and ensure electrical reliability. It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the bus bar and terminal interface of DE'175 to include a recessed portion (space) as taught by US'644 and an exposed gap (space) as taught by WO'262. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine these teachings to create a specific structural geometry where the bus bar contacts the terminal at a first contact point (mechanical seat) and a second contact point (IMC weld) flanking a defined space. Such an arrangement would allow for the position detection and alignment benefits of WO'262 while utilizing the recessed stress-relief architecture of US'644 to manage the thermal characteristics and potential brittleness of the intermetallic phase connection disclosed in DE'175. As to Claim 3: DE'175 teaches the bus bar includes a connector (contact area 2) overlapping the terminal and connected through an intermetallic compound (a thin layer with an intermetallic phase) ( p. 3). DE'175 further teaches the connector includes protruding formations (4) that are hump-shaped or hemispherical ( p. 2–3). These formations create a contact point (second contact) with an IMC and inherently feature surrounding areas of the bus bar that transition away from the terminal surface due to the hump shape ( p. 3). However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose a defined space flanked by a first contact (without IMC) and a second contact (with IMC), nor does it explicitly describe a non-contact portion between these contacts that is defined as protruding upwardly away from both contacts. WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) is laser-welded to a terminal ( p. 1–2). WO'262 teaches providing a notch portion (30) that defines an exposed gap (4) (a space) between the bus bar and the terminal to allow for position detection and alignment ( p. 3–4). US'644 discloses a battery assembly with a terminal having a joint surface (53) and a recessed portion (54) having a depressed shape (a space) with respect to the joint surface ( [0041]). A bus bar (70) is placed on the joint surface ( [0048] –[ 0049]). Because the bus bar overlaps the recessed portion, it contacts the terminal at the joint surface on opposite sides of the space. As taught by US'644, laser welding at this interface forms an intermetallic compound 85 ( [0052]). A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the welded area constitutes a second contact with the IMC, while the mechanical contact on the opposite side of the space remains a first contact without the IMC. The portion of the bus bar spanning the recessed portion (space) constitutes a non-contact portion located between the first and second contacts. It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the bus bar assembly of DE'175 to incorporate the recessed terminal and contact architecture of US'644 and the alignment gaps of WO'262. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine these teachings to create a defined space between a first mechanical contact and a second welded contact to improve structural reliability and thermal management. Furthermore, adapting the hump-shaped protruding formations of DE'175 to the recessed architecture of US'644 would result in the non-contact portion of the bus bar (the part bridging the space) being positioned away from the recessed region between contacts, thereby providing structural clearance and stress relief for the intermetallic connection. As to Claim 4: DE'175 further discloses the bus bar includes a first contact (the base area of the connector) and a second contact (the welded formation 4) at opposite sides of a space created by the hemispherical shape of the formation ( p. 3), wherein the first contact contacts the terminal without the IMC and the second contact contacts the terminal with the IMC. Additionally, DE'175 discloses that each contact area (2) is made up of "two tongue-like and parallel outwardly extending end portions (3)" and each portion includes "two protruding formations (4)" ( p. 3–4), which teaches that the first and second contacts are arranged at the opposite sides of the space at each of the opposite sides of the IMC due to the symmetric, parallel arrangement of the tongue-like structures. However, DE'175 does not explicitly disclose that a space is "defined" as a structural void between the terminal and connector for the purpose of process detection. WO'262 discloses a battery system where a bus bar (3) includes a notch portion (30) that defines an "exposed gap (4)" (a space) between the bus bar and the terminal protrusion (2A) ( p. 3). WO'262 teaches that this defined space allows for the insertion of a laser beam or position detection sensor to detect the position of the welding surface (2B) and ensure the bus bar is in "close contact" before welding ( p. 3–4). It would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to modify the parallel, tongue-like connector structure of DE'175 to include the defined spaces or "exposed gaps" taught by WO'262. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to define such spaces at each side of the IMC to allow for real-time laser alignment and position sensing as taught by WO'262, thereby ensuring that each of the multiple welding formations in DE'175 achieves a high-quality, defect-free intermetallic bond with the cell terminal. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP 6382441 B2 discloses a battery system in which a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or in parallel with a bus bar, and more particularly to a battery system in which a bus bar is connected by laser welding to electrode terminals of the battery cells. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT JIMMY K VO whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3242 . 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