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 .
Drawings
Figures 5A and 5B should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: “1” (see paragraphs [0015], [0016], [0021], [0023], [0024], and [0027] of the specification). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
In this instance, the abstract recites the phrases that can be implied “of the present disclosure” in the 1st and 5th lines.
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 1-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 2022-126267 A (equivalent to US 2022/0263190 of Baba), both references of which were provided/cited in the Information Disclosure Statement dated December 4, 2025.
Regarding independent claim 1, Baba (US ‘190) discloses a battery (see abstract; paragraphs [0018]-[0022]; and Figures 1-3), in which the battery comprises the following structural features (refer to annotated Figure 1 below):
an electrode stack;
a current collector foil extending from a side surface portion of the electrode stack;
a current collector terminal that is electrically connected to the current collector foil; and
a laminate film, wherein the electrode stack and the current collector terminal that are wound together are sealed,
wherein the current collector terminal includes a bonding region bonded to the current collector foil, and
the bonding region further includes a contact portion that is in contact with the current collector foil and a non-contact portion that is not in contact with the current collector foil.
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Regarding claim 2, Baba (US ‘190) discloses that the current collector terminal has an uneven surface in the bonding region, the contact portion is a protruding portion of the current collector terminal and the current collector foil being bonded together, and the non-contact portion is a recessed portion of the current collector terminal and the current collector foil not being bonded together (see annotated Figure 1 above).
Regarding claim 3, Baba (US ‘190) discloses that the current collector terminal includes a roughened portion in the bonding region, and the non-contact portion is provided by the roughened portion and the current collector foil not being bonded together (see annotated Figure 1 above).
Regarding claim 4, Baba (US ‘190) discloses that a ratio of an area of the contact portion to an area of the bonding region is higher than 0.0 but less than 1.0 (see annotated Figure 1 above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN P KERNS whose telephone number is (571)272-1178. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-430pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Keith Walker can be reached at (571)272-3458. 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.
/KEVIN P KERNS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1735 August 15, 2026
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