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 .
Response to Amendment
This action is in response to applicant’s amendments and arguments filed on 7/14/2026. Claims 1 and 3-7 are pending for examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 2, and 4-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. (US 2025/0219260 A1 – of Record) in view of Mortara et al. (US 2022/0297412 A1 – of Record).
Regarding claim 1, Song teaches an apparatus for sealing (Para. [0069]) a pouch-type secondary battery (Fig. 1) including a sealing portion (Fig. 1, Ref. Num. 420) comprising a pressing part and a heating part (Para. [0069]); but does not teach a transfer part nor that the pressing part includes an elastic body in a continuous band shape.
In an analogous art, Mortara teaches an apparatus (Fig. 2) for heat pressing a multilayered structure that comprises a transfer part (Fig. 2, Ref. Num. M) to move the material in one direction, a pressing part that includes an elastic body having a continuous band shape (Fig. 2, Ref. Num. 21), and a heating part (Fig. 2, Ref. Num. 22).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Song with Mortara to turn the sealing apparatus into a continuous one including a pressing part made of an elastic band. This modification will allow the sealing to occur at lower pressures (Para. [0084]) and increase the efficiency making it a continuous process. Modified Song teaches that the movement speed of the transfer part is 0.5 m/min to 5 m/min (Para. [0088]), which is outside the claimed range of 8 m/min to 15 m/min. However, the limitation is directed towards an apparatus and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the transport part of the modified Song would be capable of a movement speed of 8 m/min to 15 m/min.
Regarding claim 2, Song teaches that the sealing portion includes an electrode lead section (Fig. 1, Ref. Num. 20; Para. [0039]) through which an electrode extends.
Regarding claim 4, modified Song teaches that the elastic body is made of PTFE (Mortara; Para. [0085]).
Regarding claim 5, Song teaches that the battery sealing occurs at 180 to 215 degrees Celsius (Para. [0042]) and Mortara teaches that the apparatus is configured to heat at 200 to 260 degrees Celsius (Para. [0096]), both ranges which overlap each other and the claimed range of 200 to 250 degrees Celsius which is a prima facie case of obviousness.
Regarding claim 6, Song teaches that the battery sealing occurs at 0.3 to 0.6 Mpa (Para. [0042]) and Mortara teaches that the apparatus is configured to press at less than 5 bar (0.5 Mpa) (Para. [0095]), both ranges which overlap each other and the claimed range of 0.1 to 1.5 MPa which is a prima facie case of obviousness.
Regarding claim 7, Song teaches a method for sealing (Para. [0069]) a pouch-type secondary battery (Fig. 1) including a sealing portion (Fig. 1, Ref. Num. 420) comprising a pressing part and a heating part (Para. [0069]); but does not teach a moving the battery nor that the pressing part includes an elastic body in a continuous band shape.
In an analogous art, Mortara teaches a method for heat pressing a multilayered structure that comprises a transfer part (Fig. 2, Ref. Num. M) moving the material in one direction, a pressing part that includes an elastic body having a continuous band shape (Fig. 2, Ref. Num. 21) while it is moving (Para. [0095]), and a heating part (Fig. 2, Ref. Num. 22) heating it while it is moving (Para. [0096]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Song with Mortara to turn the sealing method into a continuous one including a pressing part made of an elastic band. This modification will allow the sealing to occur at lower pressures (Para. [0084]) and increase the efficiency making it a continuous process.
Regarding claim 8, modified Song teaches moving the batteries at a speed of 0.5 to 5 m/min (Para. [0088]), which overlaps the claimed range of 5 to 20 m/min which is a prima facie case of obviousness.
Regarding claim 9, Song teaches sealing the battery for 1.5 to 3 seconds (Para. [0042]), so it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the length of the elastic body to press on the sealing portion for 1.5 to 3 seconds.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. (US 2025/0219260 A1) and (US 2022/0297412 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Mitsuboshi (physical_properties_ptfeEN).
Regarding claim 2, modified Song teaches that the elastic body is made of PTFE (Mortara; Para. [0085]), but does not teach the Young’s modulus of the elastic body. However, a PTFE data sheet teaches that the Young’s modulus of PTFE is 0.3Gpa (Mitsuboshi). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to make the Young’s modulus of the elastic body 0.3 GPa as the elastic body is made of PTFE and that is a physical property of PTFE.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 7 is allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art of record is Song et al. (US 2025/0219260 A1) and Mortara et al. (US 2022/0297412 A1).
Claims 7 is allowed because of the reasons of allowance in paragraph 10 of the Final Office Action mailed 5/21/2026.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
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/N.J.W./Examiner, Art Unit 1749
/JUSTIN R FISCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749
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