DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Acknowledgement has been made of applicant’s claim for priority under 35 USC 119 (a-d). The certified copy has been filed on 06/03/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) filed 04/24/2024, 07/01/2025, 02/03/2026 and 08/05/2026 have been placed in the application file and the information referred to therein has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings received 04/24/2024 are acceptable for examination purposes.
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.
Claims 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 5 and 10 recites the limitation "a first recessed portion]" . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by US 8,231,991 to Boucher (Boucher).
Regarding claim 1, Boucher discloses a method for supplementing an electrolyte solution(claim 16) for a battery cell (claim 17), wherein the method comprises: processing a shell of the battery cell from outside the battery cell to form a first recessed portion (238), and causing a thickness of a bottom wall of the first recessed portion to be less than a thickness of the shell around the bottom wall (Fig. 4A) , piercing the bottom wall of the first recessed portion from outside the battery cell toward an interior of the battery cell to form an injection structure hole 222. Fig. 3A) and injecting the electrolyte solution into the battery cell through the injection structure (claim 17). As such instant claim 1 anticipated by Boucher.
Regarding claim 2, Boucher discloses wherein the method further comprises: mounting a sealing cap in the first recessed portion; and hermetically connecting the sealing cap to the first recessed portion (Fig. 4B).
Regarding claim 3, Boucher discloses herein the hermetically connecting the sealing cap to the first recessed portion comprises: welding an edge of the sealing cap to an edge of the first recessed portion to create a hermetic connection between the sealing cap and the first recessed portion (claim 17).
Regarding claim 10, Boucher discloses an end cap (116, Fig. 3B) and (216. Fig. 4) and the end cap fits and covers the housing (Fig. 1) and a first recessed portion therefore a step of processing the end cap from outside the battery cell to form the first recessed portion is necessarily present. MPEP 2112 V states that "once a reference teaching product appearing to be substantially identical is made the basis of a rejection, and the Examiner presents evidence or reasoning tending to show inherency, the burden shifts to the Applicant to show an unobvious difference."
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over US 8,231,991 to Boucher in view of US 20190221376 to Stein (Stein).
Regarding claim 4, Boucher discloses the invention as discussed above as applied to claim 2 and incorporated therein. Boucher does not expressly disclose applying a sealant between the sealing cap and the first recessed portion to create a hermetic connection between the sealing cap and the first recessed portion.
Stein teaches seals for holes in solar cells (Title). Stein also teaches that a fill hole for injection of an electrolyte plugged with plug in full contact of silicon sealant layer (Para 89, Fig. 3a, 4 ). Therefore such structural design is well known in the art. It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the sealing cup of Boucher with the *sealant , as in order to create a hermetic connection between the sealing cap and the first recessed portion.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over US 8,231,991 to Boucher in view CN 110227850 to Shen (Shen, machine translation).
Regarding claim 11, Boucher discloses the invention as discussed above as applied to claim 10 and incorporated therein. Boucher does not expressly disclose the first recessed portion comprises: processing the end cap by means of a drill bit or a milling cutter to form the first recessed portion.
Shen teaches a battery cover board milling using a rotary device(Abstract) such as milling cutter (Fig, 8, 9). Therefore using the milling cutter for modification of cover plate is well know in the art. It would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Boucher with the use of the milling cutter for processing of the end cap , as taught by Shen, because The use of a known technique to improve similar devices (methods or products) in the same way is likely to be obvious. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. __,__, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (see MPEP § 2143, C.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 12 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.
The closest prior art of record- US 8,231,991, CN 110227850, US 20190221376, US 2013115492-fail to teach or suggest each and every limitation of claims 5 and 12.
Claims 6-9 and 13 depend from claims 5 and 12 respectively and fall therewith.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDER USYATINSKY whose telephone number is (571)270-7703. The examiner can normally be reached IFP.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jonathan Leong can be reached at (571) 270-1292. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Alexander Usyatinsky/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1751
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