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 1-10 and 13, in the reply filed on 06/01/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 11-12 are withdrawn.
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN111916840 herein after referred to as ‘840.
Regarding claim 1, ‘840 teaches a battery cell fitting device wherein the battery cell fitting device comprises a first transfer plate 12 and a first rotating plate 14, which are considered to be the instantly claimed first support assembly. The first rotating plate 14 is configured to fix a sub battery cell and to rotate around a first rotation axis. A second transfer plate 13 and a second rotating plate 15 are considered to constitute the second support assembly wherein the second rotating plate 15 is configured to fix a sub battery cell and rotate around a second rotation axis. The first rotation axis is parallel to the second rotation axis. A second positioning mechanism and a compression assembly (considered to be constitute the third support assembly) are configured to fix a tab and an end cap. The second positioning mechanism comprises a top cap base 51 (considered to be the instantly claimed support seat) and a compression assembly (considered to be the instantly claimed shaping piece) being movably arranged relative to the top cap base 51. A mounting base 11, the first transfer plate 12, the first rotating plate 14, the second transfer plate 13, and the second rotating plate 15 are movably arranged on the mounting base 11 in a first direction and respectively are arranged on two sides of the second positioning mechanism in the first direction. The second positioning mechanism is movably arranged on the mounting base 11 in a third direction (0044-0127 and figures 1-5).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN111916840 herein after referred to as ‘840.
Regarding claim 13, ‘840 teaches the battery cell fitting device, as discussed above.
‘840 does not explicitly teach the battery cell fitting device being included in a battery production line.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to utilize the battery cell fitting device of ‘840 in a battery production line as the battery cell fitting would be a useful part of the battery production and an ordinarily skilled artisan would have recognized using it as part of the battery production without undue experimentation and with a reasonable expectation of success.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-10 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.
‘840 teaches the battery cell fitting device, as discussed above.
‘840 neither teaches nor renders obvious the fixing bracket wherein the third support assembly being movably disposed on the fixing bracket along a second direction, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SARAH A SLIFKA whose telephone number is (571)270-5838. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm EST.
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/SARAH A. SLIFKA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759 July 16, 2026
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