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 without traverse of Group I, claims 1-15 in the reply filed on June 4, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 16 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on June 4, 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on October 12, 2023 and November 17, 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-2, 7 and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Onuki (US Pub. No. 2008/0057393).
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Onuki teaches a battery and an electric device comprising a battery, comprising a case comprising an upper lid 21 (claimed first portion) and a lower lid 22 (claimed second portion), the second portion and the first portion being capped by each other and forming an accommodation cavity, a plurality of battery cells 1, in a first direction (lower left to upper right direction in figure 2), the battery cells being sequentially arranged with side surfaces facing towards each other, in a second direction (lower right to upper left in figure 2), the battery cells being sequentially arranged with end surface facing toward each other, and a frame 12, block bases 3 and 4, and block reinforcing plates 5 (together taken to be the claimed fixation plate) disposed on at least one of the end surfaces of the plurality of battery cells and for fixing the battery cells, in a third direction, the fixation plate connecting the first portion and connecting the second portion, each two of the first direction, the second direction and the third direction being perpendicular to each other (paragraphs [0002]-[0009] and [0024]-[0034]; figures 2-5).
Regarding claim 2, Onuki teaches that the fixation plate extends in the first direction and the battery cells arranged in the first direction are fixed to the fixation plate (figures 2-4).
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Onuki teaches that the battery cell comprises electrode terminals protruding from the end surface and that the fixation plate is provided with a through hole, an end surface abuts the fixation plate, and at least a part of the electrode terminal is accommodated in the through hole, and the through holes correspond to the electrode terminals of the battery one by one (figure 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Onuki (US Pub. No. 2008/0057393).
Regarding claim 3, Onuki teaches the use of adhesive to connect portions of the battery (paragraph [0053]; claim 3), and while the specific embodiment set forth in Onuki does not use adhesive to connect the fixation plate to the first or second portion, Onuki does teach that these portions are connected (paragraphs [0053]-[0061], and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use continuous adhesive to perform the connection as a well-known and conventional connection method taught by Onuki (see paragraph [0053]) with predictable results.
Claims 4-5, 8-9 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Onuki as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Shimizu (US Pub. No. 2020/0381683).
Regarding claims 4-5 and 11-13, Onuki does not specifically disclose a recess or groove for accommodating adhesive. Shimizu teaches using channels 26 in a battery element wall having a depth of preferably 0.1 to 0.3 mm in order to accommodate adhesive (paragraphs [0060]-[0061]; figure 8). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a recess/groove on a surface of the fixation plate facing towards the first and/or second portion (as required by claim 4), and/or on the first surface outside the first recess in the third direction (as required by claim 11), having a depth as taught by Shimizu in the battery of Onuki in order to properly align the battery components in the battery (see Shimizu at paragraph [0061]). Such a depth of 0.1 to 0.3 mm overlaps the claimed ranges of 0.2 to 5 mm (as required by claims 5 and 12). “In the case where the claimed ranges ‘overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art’ a prima facie case of obviousness exists.” MPEP at 2144.05 citing In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976).
Regarding claim 8, Onuki teaches that the end surface is adhered to the fixation plate, that the fixation plate fixedly connected to the end surface of the battery cell is provided with a first recess on a first surface facing away from the end surface, and the through hole penetrates a bottom wall of the first recess (figure 3). Onuki does not specifically disclose that the end surface is adhered to the fixation plate. Shimizu teaches using adhesive to connect battery components (paragraphs [0060]-[0061]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use adhesive as taught by Shimizu in the battery of Onuki in order to properly align the battery components in the battery (see Shimizu at paragraph [0061]).
Regarding claim 9, Onuki teaches that the electrode terminal fixedly connected to the fixation plate at least partially protrudes from the bottom wall of the first recess and is accommodated in the first recess, and does not go beyond the first surface (figure 3).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Onuki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Oh (US Pub. No. 2017/0025654).
Regarding claim 6, Onuki teaches that the battery cells are fixedly connected to the fixation plates (figures 2-4), but does not specifically disclose that the adjacent fixation plates are fixedly connected to each other. In a similarly configured battery, Oh teaches connecting adjacent members (fixation plates) 200 and 300 (paragraph [0082]; figures 6-7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to connect adjacent fixation plates as taught by Oh in the battery of Onuki as a combination of prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Onuki in view of Shimizu as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Kasai (US Pub. No. 2023/0092773).
Regarding claim 10, Onuki does not specifically disclose a recess having a depth of 5 to 10 mm. Kasai teaches a rupture valve 22 having a recess 31 on the outside of a cell, the recess having a depth of 5 mm (paragraphs [0047] and [0186]; figure 1A). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a rupture valve a recess with a depth as taught by Kasai in the battery of Onuki in order to increase the safety of the battery (see Kasai at paragraph [0047]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP N SCHWARTZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1612. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Katelyn Smith can be reached at 571-270-5545. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/P.N.S/ Examiner, Art Unit 1749 July 14, 2026
/KATELYN W SMITH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1749
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