DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/23/2024, 1/14/2025, and 6/22/2026 were considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP 201288177 (Hayashi, See translation provided with the IDS filed 6/22/2026).
Regarding claim 1, Hayashi teaches an inspection device (battery inspection device of Fig. 1), comprising:
an acquisitor configured to acquire data obtained from an inspection target (extraction circuits 33-1 – 33-N receives magnetic signals obtained from a battery FC under test; see [0014], [0024]); and
a processor configured to perform a first operation of processing the data acquired by the acquisitor (controller 40 comprises a CPU, ROM, and Ram for controlling operation of the inspection device by executing the data acquisition program; see [0028]),
the data including magnetic field data being two-dimensional regarding a plane including a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction (magnetic field data Hxy is collected using x-direction magnetic sensors 22a and y-direction magnetic sensors 22-b to generate a two-dimensional image; see [0023], [0068]; Fig. 11 and 13),
the plane including a first region, a second region, a first position, a second position, and a third position (xa corresponds to a first position, xb corresponds to a second position, xce corresponds to a central position, and the region between xa and xce corresponds to a first region and the region between xce and xb corresponds to a second region; see Figs. 9A, 9B),
a direction from the first region to the second region being along the first direction (the direction from xa to xb is along the x-direction; see Fig. 9A, 9B),
the third position being a midpoint between the first position and the second position in the first direction (xce is the midpoint between xa and xb; see Figs. 9A, 9B; see [0056]-[0057]),
the first region being between the first position and the third position in the first direction, the second region being between the third position and the second position in the first direction (the region between xa and xce corresponds to a first region and the region between xce and xb corresponds to a second region; see Figs. 9A, 9B),
the magnetic field data including a first region data regarding the first region and a second region data regarding the second region (the magnetic field data Hxy is determined for points in each regions; see Figs. 9-13), and
in the first operation, the processor being configured to inspect the inspection target based on difference data between the first region data and a second region inversion data obtained by inverting a magnetic field value included in the second region data in the first direction (a difference value D(m,s) is determined based on a difference between a pair of current magnitude data Ixy(n) centered at the central position XCE between the positive and negative electrodes corresponding to symmetric positions, wherein determining the difference between positions symmetric about the centerline xce is equivalent to obtaining a different between the first region data and inverted second region data, wherein the calculation is performed using Ixy(n) which is proportional to the magnetic field value Hxy(n) with Ixy(n) equal to Hxy(n) multiplied by a constant; see [0056]-[0069]).
Regarding claim 10, Hayashi teaches an inspection method (a method for using the battery inspection device of Fig. 1), comprising;
acquiring data obtained from an inspection target (extraction circuits 33-1 – 33-N receives magnetic signals obtained from a battery FC under test; see [0014], [0024]); and
processing the data for inspecting the inspection target (controller 40 comprises a CPU, ROM, and Ram for controlling operation of the inspection device by executing the data acquisition program and processing data; see [0028]),
the data including magnetic field data being two-dimensional regarding a plane including a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction (magnetic field data Hxy is collected using x-direction magnetic sensors 22a and y-direction magnetic sensors 22-b to generate a two-dimensional image; see [0023], [0068]; Fig. 11 and 13),
the plane including a first region, a second region, a first position, a second position, and a third position (xa corresponds to a first position, xb corresponds to a second position, xce corresponds to a central position, and the region between xa and xce corresponds to a first region and the region between xce and xb corresponds to a second region; see Figs. 9A, 9B),
a direction from the first region to the second region being along the first direction (the direction from xa to xb is along the x-direction; see Fig. 9A, 9B),
the third position being a midpoint between the first position and the second position in the first direction (xce is the midpoint between xa and xb; see Figs. 9A, 9B; see [0056]-[0057]),
the first region being between the first position and the third position in the first direction, the second region being between the third position and the second position in the first direction (the region between xa and xce corresponds to a first region and the region between xce and xb corresponds to a second region; see Figs. 9A, 9B),
the magnetic field data including a first region data regarding the first region and a second region data regarding the second region (the magnetic field data Hxy is determined for points in each regions; see Figs. 9-13),
in the inspection, the inspection target being inspected based on difference data between the first region data and a second region inversion data obtained by inverting a magnetic field value included in the second region data in the first direction (a difference value D(m,s) is determined based on a difference between a pair of current magnitude data Ixy(n) centered at the central position XCE between the positive and negative electrodes corresponding to symmetric positions of the fuel cell, wherein the calculation is performed using Ixy(n) which is proportional to the magnetic field value Hxy(n) with Ixy(n) equal to Hxy(n) multiplied by a constant; see [0056]-[0069]).
Regarding claims 2 and 11, Hayashi teaches wherein the magnetic field data relates to a component in the second direction (the magnetic field data Hxy corresponds to magnetic field data having a component Hx in the x-direction and a component Hy in the y-direction; see Fig. 13; see [0044]-[0046]).
Regarding claims 3 and 12, Hayashi teaches wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction (the Y-direction is perpendicular to the X-direction; see Figs. 8-11).
Regarding claims 4 and 13, Hayashi teaches wherein the inspection target is a battery (the inspected object is a battery FC; see abstract).
Regarding claims 5 and 14, Hayashi teaches wherein the battery includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a battery section between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a direction from the first electrode to the second electrode is along the first direction of the magnetic field data being two-dimensional (the battery includes electrodes Fe1 and Fe2 with a 2-dimensional battery section between the electrodes in the along the x-directions; see Figs. 3, 9A, 9B, 13).
Regarding claims 6 and 15, Hayashi teaches wherein the magnetic field data being two-dimensional includes a distribution of a magnetic field generated from the battery when an AC voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode (a AC voltage is applied to terminals Fe1 and Fe2 and the distribution of the magnetic field is determined as a plurality of positions xm, ym as illustrated in Figs. 8-13, wherein each position (xn, yn) comprises an x-component and a y-component; see Figs 8-13; see [0031], [0036], [0071]).
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Hayashi teaches wherein the processor is configured to determine a position of a defect based on the difference data and an estimation result that the position of the defect of the inspection target exists in either the first region or the second region, the first region corresponds to the first region data, and the second region corresponds to the second region data (a position of the defect is determined based on the difference value Dif(m,s) with the coordinate (m,s) corresponding to a symmetry coordinate of the defect and indicates the location of the defect as illustrated by the solid circle in Fig. 13F; see Fig. 13; see [0083]).
Regarding claim 8; Hayashi wherein the processor is configured to derive the estimation result from the magnetic field data being two-dimensional (the determination of the position of the defect being in the first region or second region is derived from the two-dimensional magnetic field data as illustrated in Fig. 13 and outlined in [0083]).
Regarding claim 9, Hayashi teaches further comprising: a magnetic field sensor configured to acquire the magnetic field data being two-dimensional from the inspection target (the magnetic field sensors 22 collect magnetic field data Hxy collected using x-direction magnetic sensors 22a and y-direction magnetic sensors 22-b to generate a two-dimensional image; see [0023], [0068]; Figs. 4, 11 and 13).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 201288177 (Hayashi, See translation provided with the IDS filed 6/22/2026) in view of US 2019/0310211 (Jerschow).
Regarding claim 17, Hayashi fails to teach a method for manufacturing a battery, comprising: producing a battery to be the inspection target; and inspecting the battery by the inspection method according to claim 10, however, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to perform the inspection of a battery as taught in Hayashi during a manufacturing process to allow test of a battery that is not fully finished to determine whether the battery passes inspection, or identify a defect in a battery that is not fully finished to allow a manufacturer to potentially avoid a costly finishing and formation cycle of cells that are shown to be defective at this stage. See MPEP [0070], [0103].
Regarding claim 18, Hayashi teaches wherein the battery includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a battery section between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a direction from the first electrode to the second electrode is along the first direction of the magnetic field data being two-dimensional (see rejection of claim 5).
Regarding claim 19, Hayashi teaches wherein the magnetic field data being two-dimensional includes a distribution of a magnetic field generated from the battery when an AC voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode (see rejection of claim 6).
Regarding claim 20, Hayashi teaches further comprising: determining a position of a defect based on the difference data and an estimation result that the position of the defect of the inspection target exists in either the first region or the second region, the first region corresponding to the first region data, and the second region corresponding to the second region data (see rejection of claim 7; also see [0110] of Jerschow, “The current distribution within cells is affected by the design and resistance profile of each part of the cell, the heterogeneity of the electrodes, and the type and location of any physical defects such as dendrites or pre-existing cracks…”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN LEE YENINAS whose telephone number is (571)270-0372. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 10 - 6.
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/STEVEN L YENINAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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