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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-2, 4-11 are currently pending.
Claim 1 has been amended
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/01/2025 has been entered.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR 20190031004, and further in view of JP 2016143554 and CN104769741, hereinafter as ‘004 and ‘554, ‘741.
Regarding claim 1, ‘004 teaches a battery module comprising:
a cell assembly including at least one battery cell [fig 1-4];
a cover plate 300 covering a first surface of the cell assembly [fig 1-4]; and
a bus bar frame 200 covering a second surface adjacent to the one first surface of the cell assembly, the bus bar frame being connected to the cover plate so as to be rotatable with respect to the cover plate [fig 1-4],
wherein the cover plate and the bus bar frame are combined connected by at least one connecting part [fig 1-4]
‘004 teaches the connecting part with fixing part protruding from a corner of the bus bar frame 200 and accommodating part protruding from the cover plate as set forth above, but ‘004 does not teach the connecting part having structure as claimed.
‘554 teaches a power storage module an opening/closing lid 46 which freely opens and closes an external connection terminal portion 42a to and from the outside, and a bearing member 44 for freely turnably supporting the opening/closing lid 46. Also, the opening/closing lid 46 is provided with a turning shaft 48 having flat faces 48a, 48b, and the bearing member 44 is provided with a bearing hole portion 56 at which the turning shaft 48 is disposed to be freely turnable and the bearing hole portion 56 comprises a C-shaped inner peripheral face 56a having a shaft detachable slit 58 whose opening width is set to be equal to or more than the distance between the flat faces 48a, 48b (abstract). Also, a fixing part 48 comprising a bar shape extending along an axis parallel to the corner and having two opposing ends, the fixing part including an inclined surface so that a width of the fixing part defined orthogonal to the axis decreases towards both opposing ends where the fixing part protruding from the lid 46. A pair of accommodating part 44 including groove part into which two opposing ends of the fixing part are received [fig3-4] where the pair of accommodating part protruding from the cover plate.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the fixing and accommodating part of ‘004 to have the same structure as taught by ‘554 for excellent protection structure. As for combination, the fixing part protrude from the corner of the bus frame and accommodating part protruding from the cover plate and fixing par and accommodating part having claimed structure.
modified ‘004 teaches the pair of accommodating parts include an accommodating inclined surface formed on at least a part of the-an inner surface of the pair of accommodating parts so that a gap defined between the pair of accommodating part increases in a direction toward an upper surface of the cover plate [fig 3]
PNG
media_image1.png
678
906
media_image1.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image2.png
840
802
media_image2.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image3.png
470
874
media_image3.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image4.png
840
800
media_image4.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image5.png
556
770
media_image5.png
Greyscale
PNG
media_image6.png
556
770
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Modified ‘004 teaches fixing part having the inclined surface toward both opposing ends and the accommodating part having the inclined surface increasing toward the upper surface of the cover plate as set forth above. However, modified ‘004 does not teach gradually decreasing and gradually increasing respectively as claimed.
‘741 teaches a heat protective shell for battery cell where the notches being matches to the plug 51. Also, the notches 52 is gradually decrease toward the end and the plug 51 is increasing gradually (fig 3A 3B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the inclined surface of fixing part and accommodating part of modified ‘004 to be decreased and increased gradually respectively as taught by ‘741 since the claimed subject matter merely combines familiar elements according to known methods and does no more than yield predictable results. See MPEP 2141 (III) Rationale A,KSR v. Teleflex (Supreme Court 2007).
Regarding claim 2, modified ‘004 teaches the inclined surface faces the groove part [fig 3].
Regarding claim 4, modified ‘004 teaches there is a space defined between the fixing part and the bus bar frame so that the fixing part includes a hooking surface formed to the inclined surface across the width of the fixing part [fig 3]
PNG
media_image7.png
840
815
media_image7.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 5, modified ‘004 teaches when the fixing part and the accommodating parts are connected, the inclined surface is inserted into the groove part along the accommodating inclined surface until the hooking surface-comes in contact with the groove part [fig 3].
Regarding claim 6, modified ‘004 teaches “when the fixing part is connected to the accommodating parts defined between the pair of accommodating parts is widened by the-insertion of the inclined surface before recovering to a width of the gap before the insertion hooking” is the presence of process limitation on product claims, which product does not otherwise patentably distinguish over prior art, cannot impart patentability to the product. In re Stephens 145 USPQ 656 (CCPA, 1965).
Regarding claim 7, modified ‘004 teaches the bus bar frame further includes a separation-preventing wall facing the-an exterior side of the accommodating parts opposite to the groove part [fig 3]
Regarding claim 8, modified ‘004 teaches the connecting part further includes a hooking protrusion protruded from the external circumferential surface of the pair of accommodating parts, the bus bar frame further includes a hooking sill formed on the corner, and rotation of the bus bar frame with respect to the cover plate is limited by contact between the hooking protrusion and the hooking sill.
PNG
media_image8.png
840
800
media_image8.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 9, modified ‘004 teaches the fixing part is integrally formed with the bus bar frame, and the a-pair of accommodating parts are integrally formed with the cover plate.
Regarding claim 10, modified ‘004 teaches a battery pack at least one battery module of claim 1; and a pack case packing 600 to receive the at least one battery module.
Regarding claim 11, modified ‘004 teaches a device comprising one battery pack.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 07/01/2025 are deemed moot in view of the following new grounds of rejection, necessitated by Applicant’s amendment to the claims which significantly affected the scope thereof (i.e., by incorporating new limitations into the independent claims, which require further search and consideration).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to UYEN M TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7602. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.
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, Jeffrey Barton can be reached at 5712721307. 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.
/UYEN M TRAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726