CTNF 18/552,195 CTNF 75777 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Response to Preliminary Amendment The preliminary amendment filed September 25, 2023 is acknowledged. Action on the merits of claims 1-9 follows. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements filed October 20, 2023 and January 23, 2025 have been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered as to the merits. With respect to foreign language references and foreign language patent office communications with no translation of the document: “If no translation is submitted, the examiner will consider the information in view of the concise explanation and insofar as it is understood on its face, e.g., drawings, chemical formulas, English language abstracts, in the same manner that non-English language information in Office search files is considered by examiner in conducting searches.” See MPEP §609.04(a)(II) (D) and 37 CFR 1.98(a)(3)(ii). Drawings The drawings received September 25, 2023 are acceptable for examination purposes. Specification The specification and amendment to the specification received September 25, 2023 has been reviewed for examination purposes. Claim Objections 07-29-01 AIA Claim s 8 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities: Each of claims 8 and 9 have improper punctuation as the claim recites “.” At both the end of the claim but also at the end of a previous clause in each claim. Claim 8 recites “plan view.” at line 7 but thereafter recites two additional lines of limitations. Claim 9 similarly; recites “plan view.” at line 7 but also, thereafter, recites two additional lines of claim limitations. For examination purposes, the intervening “.” in the body of the claim has not been interpreted to end the claim. It should be deleted or amended to a suitable form of punctuation that does not prematurely terminate either claim . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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 applicant regards as his invention. 07-34-01 Claims 1-9 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 limitation "the holders" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim, as claim 1 only recites “the holder” at lines 3 and 5. The term “the holders” could be amended to “the holder” to potentially overcome this rejection. Claims 2-6 are dependent upon claim 1 and rejected for at least the same reason; Claim 2 recites the limitation "the hole" in lines 2 and 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural holes (claim 1, line 6) and it is not clear which hole(s) the term “the hole” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural holes. The term “the hole” could be amended to “the hole among the holes” (see claim 1, line 7 for example) to potentially overcome this rejection; Claim 3 recites the limitation "the holder" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural holders (claim 1, line 6) and it is not clear which holder(s) the term “the holder” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural holders. This rejection may be overcome by the suggested change in item 7a above; Claim 3 recites the limitation "the container" in lines 2-3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural containers (claim 1, line 5) and it is not clear which container(s) the term “the container” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural containers. Claim 4 recites the limitation "the hole provided at the edge of the holder " in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural holes (claim 1, line 6) and it is not clear which hole(s) the term “the hole” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural holes. The phrase further recites “the edge of the holder” which also does not have sufficient antecedent basis in the claim, much less such in combination with “the hole”. There is no prior basis for “the edge” and it is unclear which holder(s) the claim is referring to when claim 1 recites “holders” as noted above. The phrase could be rewritten as “a hole provided at an edge of the holder”, in conjunction with the proposed language in item 7a above to potentially overcome this rejection; Claim 5 recites the limitation "the hole" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural holes (claim 1, line 6) and it is not clear which hole(s) the term “the hole” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural holes. The term “the hole” could be amended to “the hole among the holes” (see claim 1, line 7 for example) to potentially overcome this rejection; Claim 5 recites the limitation "the container" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural containers (claim 1, line 5) and it is not clear which container(s) the term “the container” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural containers; Claim 6 recites the limitation "the hole" in lines 2 and 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural holes (claim 1, line 6) and it is not clear which hole(s) the term “the hole” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural holes; Claim 6 recites the limitation "the container" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 1 recites plural containers (claim 1, line 5) and it is not clear which container(s) the term “the container” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural containers; Claim 7 recites the limitation "the recesses" and “the first recess” in line 9; “each of the containers” at lines 10 and 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim; Claim 8 recites the limitation "the holders" at line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as the claim is drawn to a holder (preamble) and it is unclear what the term “holders” is meant to encompass. Since the preamble is drawn to “a holder” (singular holder), the additional recitations in the body of the claim to “holders” has been interpreted to be “the holder” (singular form) consistent with the preamble. The term “the holders” could be amended to “the holder” to potentially overcome this rejection; Claim 8 recites the limitation "the hole provided at the edge of the holder " in line 8. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 8 does not previously recite any hole provided in this manner. The phrase could be amended to "a hole provided at the edge of the holder" to potentially overcome this rejection; Claim 9 recites the limitation "the holders" at line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as the claim is drawn to a holder (preamble) and it is unclear what the term “holders” is meant to encompass. Since the preamble is drawn to “a holder” (singular holder), the additional recitations in the body of the claim to “holders” has been interpreted to be “the holder” (singular form) consistent with the preamble. The term “the holders” could be amended to “the holder” to potentially overcome this rejection; Claim 9 also recites the limitation "the hole" in lines 8 and 9. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as claim 9 recites plural holes and it is not clear which hole(s) the term “the hole” (singular) is/are meant to refer to in the presence of plural holes. The terms “the hole” could be amended to “the hole among the holes” (see claim 9, line 5 for example) to potentially overcome this rejection. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 3, 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Honda et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0141850) . As to claim 1, Honda discloses a power storage module 1 comprising: at least one power storage device 2 in a shape of a cylinder; and a holder 3 that holds the at least one power storage device along an axis of the at least one power storage device, wherein the holder includes (i) containers (respective openings within the holder 3 where a corresponding cell 2 resides) that house the at least one power storage device 2 and (ii) holes 7, 8 that penetrate the holders along the axis around the containers, and a distance between a container among the containers and a hole among the holes in plan view is smaller than a distance between adjacent containers among the containers in plan view or a distance between each of the containers and an edge of the holder in plan view (Fig. 4 and annotated Figs. 2 and 5). PNG media_image1.png 700 430 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 532 417 media_image2.png Greyscale PNG media_image3.png 427 570 media_image3.png Greyscale PNG media_image4.png 663 818 media_image4.png Greyscale As to claim 3, holes 8 are provided at equal intervals along a periphery of a container (Fig. 4 and annotated Figs. 2 and 5 above). As to claim 4, the holes 8 provided at an edge of the holder 3 has a smaller opening than an opening area of other holes 7 (Fig. 4 and annotated Figs. 2 and 5 above). As to claim 8, Honda discloses a holder 3 holds at least power storage device 2 in a shape of a cylinder, and along an axis of the holder comprising: Containers (openings in the holder 3 which hold respective cells 2) that house the at least one power storage device 2 and holes 7, 8 that penetrate the holder 3 along the axis around the containers, and a distance between a container among the containers and a hole 7 or 8 among the holes in plan view is smaller than a distance between adjacent containers among the containers in plan view or a distance between each of the containers and an edge of the holder in plan view wherein the hole 8 provided at the edge of the holder among a plurality of the holes 7/8 includes an opening area smaller than an opening area of other holes 7 (Fig. 4 and annotated Figs. 2 and 5 above) . 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-3 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Kawamura (JP 09-007564A) . As to claim 1, Kawamura discloses a power storage module comprising: at least one power storage device 1 in a shape of a cylinder; and a holder 2 that holds the at least one power storage device 1 along an axis of the at least one power storage device 1, wherein the holder includes (i) containers 2a (cylindrical holes in each holder) that house the at least one power storage device 1 and (ii) holes 2h that penetrate the holders along the axis around the containers 2a, and a distance between a container 2a among the containers 2a and a hole 2h among the holes 2h in plan view is connected to an adjacent container and thus smaller than a distance between adjacent containers 2a among the containers in plan view or a distance between each of the containers 2a and an edge of the holder 2 plan view (Figs. 1, 2, 5, 10 and 13). PNG media_image5.png 338 164 media_image5.png Greyscale PNG media_image6.png 146 170 media_image6.png Greyscale PNG media_image7.png 286 146 media_image7.png Greyscale PNG media_image8.png 166 192 media_image8.png Greyscale As to claim 2, the a hole 2h is connected to a respective container 2a and thus communications with the respective container (annotated Fig. 13). PNG media_image9.png 404 766 media_image9.png Greyscale As to claim 3, the holder 2 includes holes 2h provided at equal intervals along a periphery of each container 2a (Fig. 13 for example). As to claim 7, Kawamura discloses a power storage module comprising: at least one power storage device 1 in a shape of a cylinder; and a holder 2 that holds a first side or a second side of the power storage device 1along an axis of the at least one power storage device 1, wherein the holder 2 includes a container 2a that houses a first end or a second end of the power storage device 1, the container 2a includes a wall facing a side peripheral surface of the power storage device, the wall includes recesses 2h along the axis, and a distance between recesses 2h and the recesses adjacent to the first recess in plan view is smaller than a distance between adjacent containers 2a among the containers 2a in plan view or a distance between each of the containers 2a and an edge of the holder 2 in plan view (Figs. 1, 2, 5, 10 and annotated Fig. 13) . PNG media_image9.png 404 766 media_image9.png Greyscale 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 3, 5 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Asaida et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0344376) . As to claim 1, Asaida discloses a power storage module 1 comprising: at least one power storage device 101 in a shape of a cylinder; and a holder 102 that holds the at least one power storage device along 101 an axis of the at least one power storage device 101, wherein the holder includes (i) containers that house respective power storage devices 101 and (ii) holes 103 that penetrate the holder 102 along the axis around the containers, and a distance between a container among the containers and a hole 103 among the holes in plan view is smaller than a distance between adjacent containers among the containers in plan view or a distance between each of the containers and an edge of the holder 102 in plan view (Figs. 1, 14 and 15 and annotated Fig. 2). PNG media_image10.png 289 390 media_image10.png Greyscale PNG media_image11.png 316 323 media_image11.png Greyscale PNG media_image12.png 654 400 media_image12.png Greyscale PNG media_image13.png 812 816 media_image13.png Greyscale PNG media_image14.png 812 1032 media_image14.png Greyscale PNG media_image15.png 342 537 media_image15.png Greyscale As to claim 3, the holder 102 includes holes 103, 118 provided at equal intervals along a given container (Figs. 1-3, 14 and 15). As to claim 5, at least one hole has a substantially triangular shape and a corner of the triangular shaped hole being provide to face the container (Fig. 2). As to claim 9, Asaida discloses a holder 102 holds at least one power storage device 101 in a shape of a cylinder; and along an axis of the holder comprising: Containers defined by the wall openings in the holder that house respective power storage devices 101 and holes 103, 118 that penetrate the holder 102 along the axis around the containers, and a distance between a container among the containers and a hole 103, 118 among the holes 103, 118 in plan view is smaller than a distance between adjacent containers among the containers in plan view or a distance between each of the containers and an edge of the holder 102 in plan view wherein the hole 103, 118 includes a substantially triangular shape in plan view, a corner of the hole being provided to face the container (Figs. 1-3 and 14-15) . 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Loh (WO 2020/154759A) . As to claim 1, Loh discloses a power storage module 1 comprising: at least one power storage device 4 in a shape of a cylinder; and a holder 7, 8 that holds the at least one power storage device 4 along an axis of the at least one power storage device 4, wherein the holder includes (i) containers 9 (cylindrical holes in each holder) that house the at least one power storage device 4 and (ii) holes 10 that penetrate the holders along the axis around the containers 9, and a distance between a container 9 among the containers 9 and a hole 10 among the holes 10 in plan view is smaller than a distance between adjacent containers 9 among the containers in plan view or a distance between each of the containers 9 and an edge of the holder 7 or 8 plan view (Figs. 1-2, 4-5, 10 and annotated Fig. 7). PNG media_image16.png 698 360 media_image16.png Greyscale PNG media_image17.png 455 289 media_image17.png Greyscale PNG media_image18.png 555 524 media_image18.png Greyscale As to claim 3, as shown in at least Fig. 4 above, an array of holes 21 are provided at equal intervals along the periphery of a given container (Figs. 4 and 7 above, for example). As to claim 6, the hole 21 is substantially quadrangular in shape in the plan view above with part of the corner facing an adjacent container (Figs. 4 and 7 above) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent No. 9,627,665 discloses battery holders having an array of holes provided therein but the distance conditions of the instant invention are neither taught by nor suggested by the holder designs of this reference . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGG CANTELMO whose telephone number is (571)272-1283. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 7am to 5pm. 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, Basia Ridley can be reached at (571) 272-1453. 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. /GREGG CANTELMO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/552,195 Page 2 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/552,195 Page 3 Art Unit: 1725