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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/04/2024 and 07/14/2025 was filed after the mailing date of the application. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ushiyama et al. US5997341.
Regarding claim 13, Ushiyama discloses a round terminal securing structure comprising: a round terminal (fig. 2; 21) including a flat part (fig. 2; 23) including an end portion (fig. 2; area of 4) having a terminal screw hole (4) passing through the flat part (23) in up and down directions, and a crimp part (fig. 2; 3) crimped together with an end (fig. 2; end of 5) of a harness (5) so as to be connected to the end of the harness (5); and a pair of guide pieces (fig. 4; 28) respectively holding edges (fig. 2; 23a) of the flat part (23) of the round terminal (21) in right and left directions perpendicular to the up and down directions while the round terminal (21) is fixed to a connection object (fig. 5; 11) with a screw (fig. 5; 12) inserted into the terminal screw hole (4) and fastening the round terminal (21) and the connection object (11) together.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 are allowed.
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: regarding claim 1, the prior art of record fails to disclose, teach, provide or suggest a battery cell; a harness connected to the battery cell; a circuit board electrically connected to the round terminal; a housing accommodating the battery cell, the circuit board, the harness, and the round terminal therein combined with the remaining limitations of the base claim.
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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 form.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARCUS E HARCUM whose telephone number is (571)272-9986. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 8am-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, Abdullah Riyami can be reached at 571-270-3119. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARCUS E HARCUM/ Examiner, Art Unit 2831
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