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 .
PIN-TYPE PACK MODULE FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERY
Examiner: Adam Arciero S.N. 17/388,045 Art Unit 1727 October 14, 2025
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 18, 2025 has been entered. Claims 1, 4-6 and 8 are currently pending. Claims 1, 4-6 and 8 have been amended. Claim 7 has been canceled.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The claim rejections under 35 USC 112(b) on claims 1 and 4-8 are withdrawn because Applicant has amended the claims.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 4-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The specification does not provide any support for the claimed pack module adapted to monitor capacity, prevent the battery from being overcharged/discharged, and prevent he battery from operating at normal temperatures. The original disclosure provides support for prior art conventional batteries comprising a power management circuit configured to monitor capacity, prevent the battery from being overcharged/discharged and prevent misuse at abnormal temperatures (paragraph [0004 of the PGPub).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cintra and Shen on claims 1 and 4-6 are maintained.
Claim(s) 1 and 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cintra et al. (US 2008/0238372 A1) in view of Shin et al. (US 2014/0342191 A1).
As to Claim 1, Cintra discloses a battery module, comprising: a housing with an axial center hole 15 and at least one integrated circuit device disposed in said hole (Fig. 1A-1C). Said integrated circuit device comprises at least one access terminal and output terminal; wherein the electrodes of the battery are connected to the access terminal. Said integrated circuit device further comprises a protective part 40,52 and a connection part, wherein the protective part comprises an integrated circuit chip with a MOSFET switch disposed on a protection circuit board 50; a resistor; a capacitor; transistors; and a thermistor (Fig. 1A-1C, Fig. 3-5 and paragraphs [0053-0057, 0062, 0065]). Cintra discloses wherein the pack module comprises a longitudinal part that is disposed in the center hole of the jelly rolled electrode assembly and the housing of the pack module is connected to the battery housing to form a ring-shaped cavity, wherein the electrode assembly is disposed in the ring-shaped cavity and the pack module is integrated with the electrode assembly (Fig. 1A-1C and paragraph [0039]). Cintra discloses a controller comprising a temperature sensor for enabling the controller to take preemptive actions to prevent a battery from overheating and voltage/current sensors which read on a pack module adapted to monitor the capacity of the battery, prevent the battery from being overcharged/discharged and prevent the battery from operating at abnormal temperatues (paragraphs [0062]) In addition, it is the position of the Office that the protective part of Cintra intrinsically performs the claimed functions given that the structure of the claims and the prior art are the same, see MPEP 2112. Cintra does not specifically disclose a negative or positive temperature coefficient thermistor.
However, Shin teaches of a battery pack comprising a protective part having a temperature sensitive element such as a negative temperature coefficient thermistor (NTC) and a positive temperature coefficient thermistor (PTC) (paragraph [0011] and claim 18). At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the thermistor of Cintra to be a NTC and a PCT because Shin teaches that charging and discharging of the battery cells can be controlled (paragraph [0047]).
As to Claim 4, Cintra discloses a printed circuit board 50 as a connection part (paragraph [0052]).
As to Claim 5, Cintra discloses wherein the housing 16 is used in combination with a battery housing that is hermetically connected to the housing to form a ring-shaped cavity to accommodate the electrode assembly (Fig. 1A-1C and paragraph [0050]).
As to Claim 6, Cintra discloses wherein the housing comprises the claimed longitudinal cross section (Fig. 1A-1C).
As to Claim 7, Cintra discloses a spiral wound electrode assembly (paragraphs [0039 and 0045]).
The claim rejections under 35 USC 103(a) as being unpatentable over Cintra, Shen and Jacobs on claim 8 is maintained.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cintra et al. (US 2008/0238372 A1) in view of Shin et al. (US 2014/0342191 A1) as applied to claims 1 and 4-7 above and in further view of Jacobs et al. (US 2009/0068556 A1).
As to Claim 8, modified Cintra does not specifically disclose the claimed insulator.
However, Jacobs teaches of a battery module comprising an integrated circuit protective device and further teaches of using insulation to separate the integrated circuit from the battery to prevent short-circuits (claim 17). At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply an insulator to separate any components as needed because Jacobs teaches that a battery with an integrated circuit device can be provided (claim 15). The courts have further held that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of applying this known technique (providing an insulator as needed) to a known device (battery with integrated circuit device) that was ready for improvement and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art, see KSR, MPEP 2143, I, D.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed January 18, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s principle arguments are:
a) Cintra does not disclose wherein the pack module is adapted to perform the claimed functions (claim 1).
In response to Applicant’s arguments, please consider the following comments:
a) Cintra discloses the necessary structure to perform the claimed functions (temperature sensor, voltage sensor, and current sensor).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM ARCIERO whose telephone number is (571)270-5116. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00-5 ET.
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, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at (571)272-1330. 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.
/ADAM A ARCIERO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727