Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/373,251

HOUSING, BATTERY, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Sep 26, 2023
Examiner
DOVE, TRACY MAE
Art Unit
1725
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
BYD Company Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
69%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 6m
To Grant
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 69% — above average
69%
Career Allow Rate
480 granted / 695 resolved
+4.1% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 6m
Avg Prosecution
56 currently pending
Career history
751
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
35.6%
-4.4% vs TC avg
§102
26.8%
-13.2% vs TC avg
§112
29.8%
-10.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 695 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
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 9/26/23, 6/13/24, 12/30/24, 7/17/25 and 9/30/25 have been considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b ) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1 recites “the edge portion being configured to melt to form a melted edge around the periphery of the first cover plate, and the first cover plate being configured to be bonded with the peripheral wall through the melted edge to close the first opening” , which does not distinctly claim the invention. The claim should clearly recite if the edge portion is “configured to melt” (capable of melting) or the edge portion is necessarily “a melted edge” that closes the first opening. See also claims 13 and 20 that each recite “the edge portion being configured to melt to form a melted edge around the periphery of the first cover plate, and the first cover plate being configured to be bonded with the peripheral wall through the melted edge to close the first opening” To the extent the claims are understood in view of the 35 USC 112 rejection above, note the prior art rejections. 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. Claim(s) 1 -2, 4, 6- 7 , 12- 13, 15, 17 and 19 -20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by You et al., US 2015/0030917 A1 . You teaches a battery includ ing a case (housing) accommodating an electrode assembly (electrode core) , the case including an opening at one end (first opening) and including at least one sidewall (peripheral wall) , the sidewall having a coupling portion (edge portion) adjacent to the opening, a cap plate (first cover plate) that closes the opening, the cap plate having an upper surface, the coupling portion of the sidewall connecting the cap plate to the case (close the first opening) , the coupling portion including a top surface of the sidewall, the cap plate overlying a first portion of the top surface of the sidewall, such that the upper surface of the cap plate is entirely above top surface of the sidewall, and a welding bead (corresponds to melted edge) contacting the cap plate and a second portion of the top surface of the sidewall, the second portion of the top surface being between the first portion and an outer surface of the sidewall (abstract). See the Figures of You. The case may form an entire exterior of the battery and may be made of a conductive metal such as aluminum, an aluminum alloy, or nickel-plated steel [0042] . The case may be formed in the shape of a prism, and may include a pair of first side surfaces or sidewalls 23 facing each other and a pair of second side surfaces or sidewalls 24 connecting the pair of first sidewalls 24 and facing each other. The first sidewalls 23 and the second sidewalls 24 of the case 20 may respectively include a first coupling portion 23a and a second coupling portion 24a to which the cap plate 31 is coupled. The cap assembly 30 according to the present exemplary embodiment may include a cap plate 31 covering the opening 25 of the case 20, a vent portion 32 where a notch is formed, and an electrolyte injection opening 33 . T he cap plate 31 may include a first plate 31a and a protruding portion 31b [0047-0050]. Thus, the claims are anticipated. * Claim(s) 1 , 4- 8 , 1 2 -14 and 17- 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Shishido et al., US 2013/0270981 A1 . Shishido teaches a secondary battery comprising a case body ( BC ) having a side wall and an opening; a lid plate for closing the opening, an end portion of the lid plate being projected from an outer surface of the side wall; and a welded portion that joins the lid plate with the side wall. The lid plate has a beam receiving area located in a vicinity of an end portion of the lid plate for receiving a beam emitted vertically with respect to the beam receiving area (abstract). See at least Figures 1, 4A and 4B. A portion welded by a focused laser beam LB is described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. FIGS. 4A and 4B are enlarged sectional side views of the contact portion between the stepped portion near the edge of the lid plate 2 and the upper end of the wall plate 1a of the case body 1. FIG. 4A shows the state before welding. FIG. 4B shows the state melted (melting portion MP) by applying the focused laser beam [0045]. A power generating element (electrode core) is accommodated in the case body BC [0025-0030]. A thickness "z" of the wall plate 1a at the portion to be welded where the lid plate 2 and the wall plate 1a of the case body 1 are in contact with each other can be set in the range 0.4 mm to 1.1 mm [0049]. The extending length "x" is set in the range 0 mm to 0.25 mm, in other words, so as not to exceed 0.25 mm. In such a configuration, there is formed, below the tip end of the lid plate 2, a gap extending along the outer surface of the wall plate 1a [0047]. A thickness "y" of the lid plate 2 at the portion to be welded where the lid plate 2 and the wall plate 1a of the case body 1 are in contact with each other is set in the range 0.4 mm to 0.8 mm. The lid plate 2 is made thick to some extent at the portion to be welded so as to increase the volume of the melt portion on the lid plate 2 to some extent, which leads to stabilized welding. On the other hand, the lid plate 2 is made not excessively thick, so as not to excessively increase the strength of the welding focused laser beam LB [0048] . See also Figure 2 that depicts the lid plate structure of the BC. Thus, the claims are anticipated. * Claim(s) 1 , 3- 7 , 9-11, 1 2 -14 and 16 -20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Deng et al., CN 208889725 U . Deng teaches a square shell and a secondary battery thereof wherein the square shell comprises a bottom wall and a peripheral wall; wherein the bottom wall and the peripheral wall are welded and fixed, the peripheral wall comprises two opposite main edges and two opposite side edges adjacent to the main edges, at least one of the main edges and the side edges is provided with a welding seam intersected with the bottom wall, and the thicknesses of the main edges and the side edges are both smaller than or equal to 0.6 mm. The thicknesses of the main edge and the side edge of the peripheral wall of the square shell are both less than or equal to 0.6 mm . The square shell is a thin square shell, the weld joints are arranged on the main edges or the side edges, and the thin square shell can be manufactured through welding so that the thickness of the square shell does not need to be increased, and the energy density increased. In addition, the strength of the square shell can be improved due to the existence of the welding seam, and the strength of the square shell is especially important for improving the strength of the long and thin strip-shaped square shell through the welding seam (abstract). See the Figures of Deng. Figure 7 shows the junction between the peripheral wall and the bottom wall of the housing. Figure 2 shows the peripheral wall 13, a top cover 3, the bottom cover 11 and the case 1 for accommodating the battery cell. The thickness of the peripheral wall is less than or equal to 0.6 mm [0030]. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the bottom wall 11 and the peripheral wall 13 are welded and fixed, and the bottom wall 11 is provided with a first thickness 111 and a second thickness 113 of different sizes in a direction toward the peripheral wall 13, and the first thickness 111 is larger than the second thickness 113 provid ing a step at the intersection of the two . T he first thickness 111 has a size at least twice the size of the second thickness 113 [0033] . Thus, the claims are anticipated. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT TRACY DOVE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1285 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9:00-3:00 . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-3879 . 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. /TRACY M DOVE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 26, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

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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
69%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+10.1%)
3y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 695 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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