Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 01, 2026
Application No. 18/761,705

POWER STORAGE CELL

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Jul 02, 2024
Priority
Sep 27, 2023 — JP 2023-165208
Examiner
CARVALHO JR., ARMINDO
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Toyota Motor Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
50%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
1y 6m
Est. Remaining
79%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 50% of resolved cases
50%
Career Allowance Rate
100 granted / 199 resolved
-9.7% vs TC avg
Strong +29% interview lift
Without
With
+29.0%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 9m
Avg Prosecution
52 currently pending
Career history
248
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
67.3%
+27.3% vs TC avg
§102
14.6%
-25.4% vs TC avg
§112
12.4%
-27.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 199 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . 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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Okazaki et al. (US 2022/0231307). Regarding Claim 1, Okazaki et al. teaches a lithium primary battery (i.e. a power storage cell) comprising a wound electrode body (Fig. 1, #200) (Para. [0043]) including a negative electrode and a positive electrode (Para. [0013]) (i.e. a cathode and an anode), the wound electrode body housed in a battery can (Fig. 1, #100) (i.e. a cell case for accommodating the wound electrode body) and a sealing body (i.e. lid) that blocks an opening of the battery can (i.e. the cell case includes a case body that opens in one direction, and a lid for closing the case body), wherein the sealing body includes an external terminal (Fig. 1, #330)( Para. [0043]) connected to the negative electrode (i.e. #330 is an anode external terminal connected to the anode) and a sealing plate (Fig. 1, #310) (i.e. cathode external terminal) wherein a second current collecting wire is connected to the positive electrode and the inner surface of the battery can (Para. [0045]), wherein the battery can and sealing plate is made from aluminum (Para. [0044]) and the sealing plate (Fig. 1, #310) and battery can (Fig. 1, #100) are directly joined to each other (i.e. the lid includes a cathode external terminal directly joined to the case body, and the cathode external terminal is electrically connected to the cathode via the case body) and an insulating gasket (Fig. 1, #320) disposed between the external terminal and sealing plate (i.e. and an insulating member for electrically insulating the cathode external terminal and the anode external terminal). Regarding Claim 2, Okazaki et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above. Okazaki et al. further teaches the positive electrode contains a positive current collector and a positive electrode composite layer wherein the positive current collector contains aluminum and is a metal foil (Para. [0055]) and further includes a second current collecting wire (Fig 1, #220) that connects the positive electrode to the sealing body (Para. [0015]) (i.e. case body) and the second current collecting wire is a metal foil (Para. [0017]) such as aluminum or aluminum alloy (Para. [0018]) (i.e. the cathode includes a cathode current collector foil and a cathode composite material layer; the cathode current collector foil is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, the case body is directly joined to the cathode current collector foil), the positive electrode composite is laminated so as to be brought into physical contact with the positive current collector (Para. [0059]) (i.e. the cathode composite material layer is laminated on the cathode current collector foil), and the battery can (i.e. case body) and sealing plate (i.e. cathode external terminal) is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy (Para. [0044]). Regarding Claim 3, Okazaki et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above. Okazaki et al. further teaches a second current collecting wire (Fig 1, #220) (i.e. a cathode current collector member) that connects the positive electrode to the sealing body (Para. [0015]) (i.e. case body) (i.e. disposed between the wound electrode body and the case body on a side opposite the lid as viewed form the wound electrode body, see Fig. 1), the positive electrode contains a positive current collector and a positive electrode composite layer wherein the positive current collector contains aluminum or aluminum alloy and is a metal foil (Para. [0055]) (i.e. the cathode includes a cathode current collector foil and a cathode composite material layer, the cathode current collector is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy), the positive electrode composite is laminated so as to be brought into physical contact with the positive current collector (Para. [0059]) (i.e. the cathode composite material layer is laminated on the cathode current collector foil) and the second current collecting wire is a metal foil (Para. [0017]) such as aluminum or aluminum alloy (Para. [0018]) (i.e. the cathode current collector member is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy), the second current collecting wire (Fig, 1, #220) (i.e. the cathode current collector member) is directly joined/welded to the positive electrode where the positive current collector was exposed (see Fig. 1, #201 and Para. [0072]) (i.e. the cathode current collector member is directly joined to the cathode current collector) and also welded to the inner bottom surface of the battery can (Para. [0077]) (i.e. the cathode current collector member is connected to the case body) and the battery can (i.e. case body) and sealing plate (i.e. cathode external terminal) is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy (Para. [0044]). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARMINDO CARVALHO JR. whose telephone number is (571)272-5292. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a.m.-5p.m.. 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, Ula Ruddock can be reached at 571 272-1481. 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. /ARMINDO CARVALHO JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jul 02, 2024
Application Filed
Sep 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12749739
NEGATIVE ELECTRODE FOR AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE CELL AND SHEET-TYPE CELL
5y 1m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12738557
Battery Pack and Device Including the Same
5y 0m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12738514
METHOD FOR OPERATING A FUEL CELL SYSTEM, AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM
3y 7m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12731779
NEGATIVE ELECTRODE AND NONAQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE SECONDARY BATTERY INCLUDING THE SAME
4y 2m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Patent 12731788
POSITIVE ELECTRODE COMPOSITE MATERIAL FOR LITHIUM-ION SECONDARY BATTERY AND LITHIUM-ION SECONDARY BATTERY
3y 8m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
50%
Grant Probability
79%
With Interview (+29.0%)
3y 9m (~1y 6m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 199 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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