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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 10/22/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Amendments have been entered. Amendments do overcome the 102 rejection, as previously set forth in Final Office Action mailed 06/25/2025. Amendments have necessitated new grounds of rejection see rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claims 1, and 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by (US-20170033343-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Miyawaki’ in view of (US-20160099451-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Murai’, in view of (US-20100112433-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Kosugi’
Regarding Claim 1,
Miyawaki teaches a power storage module (Miyawaki, energy storage apparatus, 1) arrange side by side (Miyawaki, Fig. 2) and a holder (Miyawaki, body, 12, Fig. 1) including a container (Miyawaki, partition plates, 40a-40d, Fig. 3)(the examiner notes that the partition plates form container sections through dividing the body 12 into section for the battery cells, see Fig.4) that contains the plurality of power storage devices (Miyawaki, energy storage device, 100, Fig. 4), wherein the holder includes a first holder (Miyawaki, body, 12, Fig. 1) and second holder (Miyawaki, lid body, 11, Fig. 1) each of the plurality of power storage devices includes a first end in a height perpendicular to the direction of the arrangement the first end is contained in first holder (Miyawaki, body, 12, Fig. 1) and the second end is included in the second holder (Miyawaki, lid body, 11, Fig. 1) (See annotated Figure below), , a resin is disposed inside the holder in at least one space selected from a group including a space between the plurality of power storage cells (Miyawaki, "The plurality of partition plates 40 a to 40 d may be formed integrally with the lower wall 15 using a resin", see[0053])(), and the first holder is provided with a gap (Miyawaki, openings, 51).
Miyawaki does not teach the gap defined by at least the resin and the holder and communicating with an outside of the holder.
However, Murai teaches a gap (Murai, outlet, 19, Fig. 2) defined by at least the resin (Murai, holder, 12, Fig. 2) (Murai, “The holder 12 is formed, for example, by a metal material with excellent heat conductivity such as aluminum and so on and/or a resin material with excellent heat conductivity”, see [0037]) and the holder (Murai, cover member, 17, Fig. 2) and communicating with an outside of the holder (Murai, “and the outlet 19 is opened in the X-Z plane at the X direction end of the battery module 10, and is communicated with the discharge path S3”,see [0057]) (see Fig below)
Murai teaches a first holder (Murai, holder, 12, Fig. 5) includes a first surface disposed at opposite side to the gap an faces the gap, in the height direction, and the resin (Murai, module case, 13, Fig.5 ) is in contact with the inner surface of the first holder (see annotated figure below). Murai teaches holder, and the gap is located at a height between the first end and the second end along a direction from the second end to the first end of one of the plurality of power storage devices (see annotated figure below).
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Murai also teaches that this path can allow the temperature of discharged gas to decrease before it reaches the outside of the module (Murai, “At this time, with the cover member 17 made from metal material, during a period till the gas reaches the outlet 19, the gas at a high temperature state is cooled down by contacting with the cover member 17, and it is possible to decrease the temperature of the gas discharged from the outlet 19.”, see [0056]).
Miyawaki and Murai are analogous as they are both from the same field of battery modules and battery safety systems.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art to modify the gap as taught Miyawaki with the resin and holder gas passage as taught in Murai in order to allow for the gas to cool down through heat exchange with the surrounding materials.
Modified Miyawaki does not teach and a part of a side surface connecting the first end the second end of the one of the plurality of power storage devices is exposed to the gap. Wherein the gap is being defined by at least the resin and second holder
Kosugi teaches part of a side surface connecting the first end the second end of the one of the plurality of power storage devices is exposed to the gap, . Wherein the gap is being defined by at least the resin (Kosugi, “insulating members 32 in the form of resin beads could be performed connected by resilient bodies made of synthetic resin or the like.”, see [0051])(The examiner notes that Kosugi teaches a resin, but the resin as taught in Murai is relied upon for the combination of invention ) and second holder. (See annotated figure below)
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Kosugi teaches that the holders allow the cells to remain in place and not touch due to vibration, and that the gap allows for effective cooling (Kosugi, “Thus, in such a battery module having a plurality of single cells, it is necessary to fix the cells in order to prevent adjacent cells from coming into contact due to vibration etc”, see [0008]) (Kosugi, “so it is possible for the surface of the external containers 11 to come directly into contact with the coolant, so there is no possibility that cooling of the battery cells 10 by the coolant will be impeded by the insulating means 30.” see [0049]).
Kosugi and Modified Miyawaki are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery modules.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention as taught in Modified Miyawaki to have the gap exposing the side of the cell and the second holder as taught in Kosugi order to increase the effective cooling of the cell and to hold the cell in order to prevent them from coming into contact.
Regarding Claim 3,
Modified Miyawaki teaches a power storage module (Miyawaki, energy storage apparatus, 1) according to Claim 1 wherein the resin is disposed not to be in contact with the second holder (Miyawaki, “the plurality of partition plates 40 a to 40 d may be formed integrally with the lower wall 15 using a resin", see[0053]) Miyawaki teaches power storage module according to Claim 1[[ or 2]], wherein the resin is disposed not to be in contact with the second holder (see annotated figure below)(The examiner notes that resin formed with the lower wall 15 in Miyawaki is not in direct contact with the lid as seen in Fig. 4)
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Regarding Claim 4,
Modified Miyawaki teaches the power storage module according to Claim 1, wherein the holder (Miyawaki, body, 12, Fig. 1) includes a through-hole (Miyawaki, intake part, 60, Fig.9A) and the gap communicates with an outside of the holder through the through-hole. (Fig. 9A)(Miyawaki, “since the outer case 10 includes the intake part 60, atmospheric air outside the outer case 10 flows into the inside of the outer case 10”, see [0121])
Regarding Claim 5,
Modified Miyawaki teaches the power storage module according to Claim 4, wherein the first holder (Miyawaki, body, 12, Fig. 1) includes an outer wall (Miyawaki, side walls, 18) disposed to surround the plurality of power storage devices, and the through-hole is in at least one part selected from a group including between the first holder and the second holder and the outer wall (See Fig. 9A, 9B)
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by (US-20170033343-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Miyawaki’ in view of (US-20160099451-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Murai’ in view of (US-20100112433-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Kosugi’, in further view of (US-20180205048-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Enomoto’ .
Regarding Claim 6,
Modified Miyawaki teaches a resin (Miyawaki, “The plurality of partition plates 40 a to 40 d may be formed integrally with the lower wall 15 using a resin.”, see [0053])
However, Miyawaki does not teach a resin which contains particles containing an inorganic substance that decomposes by an endothermic reaction
Enomoto teaches a resin which contains particles containing an inorganic substance (Enomoto, “ and a resin containing a filler of high thermal conductivity. Examples of the filler of high thermal conductivity include metal oxide (for example, aluminum oxide or zinc oxide..””, see [0023])that decomposes by an endothermic reaction (Enomoto, “rein [sic] matrix, a filler that causes an endothermic reaction against an abnormal heat generation of a cell.”, see [0039])
Enomoto also teaches that this resin can prevent the thermal runaway from affecting other cells in a battery stack (Enomoto, “When an abnormal heat generation of cylindrical cell 11 due to thermal runaway has deformed the thermosetting resin constituting battery holder 20 and hence has expanded the clearance between the accommodation portion of battery holder 20 and cylindrical cell 11, the clearance suppresses the conduction of the heat generated from cylindrical cells 11 to battery holder 20. Therefore, the heat generation hardly affects its adjacent cylindrical cell 11”, see [0053])
Miyawaki and Enomoto are analogous as they both relate to battery modules and heat control in battery modules.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the resin taught in Miyawaki with the resin taught in Enomoto in order to prevent the expansion of thermal runaway to other battery modules in a battery pack system.
Claims 12 and 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20160099451-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Murai’ in view of (US-20100112433-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Kosugi’ further view of (US-20180205048-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Enomoto’ .
Regarding Claim 12,
Murai teaches a resin (Murai, “The module case 13 can be made of insulation material such as resin and so on,”, see [0038])
However, Murai does not teach a resin which contains particles containing an inorganic substance that decomposes by an endothermic reaction
Enomoto teaches a resin which contains particles containing an inorganic substance (Enomoto, “ and a resin containing a filler of high thermal conductivity. Examples of the filler of high thermal conductivity include metal oxide (for example, aluminum oxide or zinc oxide..””, see [0023])that decomposes by an endothermic reaction (Enomoto, “rein [sic] matrix, a filler that causes an endothermic reaction against an abnormal heat generation of a cell.”, see [0039])
Enomoto also teaches that this resin can prevent the thermal runaway from affecting other cells in a battery stack (Enomoto, “When an abnormal heat generation of cylindrical cell 11 due to thermal runaway has deformed the thermosetting resin constituting battery holder 20 and hence has expanded the clearance between the accommodation portion of battery holder 20 and cylindrical cell 11, the clearance suppresses the conduction of the heat generated from cylindrical cells 11 to battery holder 20. Therefore, the heat generation hardly affects its adjacent cylindrical cell 11”, see [0053])
Murai and Enomoto are analogous as they both relate to battery modules and heat control in battery modules.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the resin taught in Murai with the resin taught in Enomoto in order to prevent the expansion of thermal runaway to other battery modules in a battery pack system.
Regarding Claim 14,
Murai does not teach that the resin is a polyurethane resin.
Enomoto teaches a polyurethan resin (Enomoto, “As a candidate for the thermosetting resin, for example, unsaturated polyester, urethane, or silicone is considered”, see [0040])
Enomoto also teaches that this resin can prevent the thermal runaway from affecting other cells in a battery stack (Enomoto, “When an abnormal heat generation of cylindrical cell 11 due to thermal runaway has deformed the thermosetting resin constituting battery holder 20 and hence has expanded the clearance between the accommodation portion of battery holder 20 and cylindrical cell 11, the clearance suppresses the conduction of the heat generated from cylindrical cells 11 to battery holder 20. Therefore, the heat generation hardly affects its adjacent cylindrical cell 11”, see [0053])
Murai and Enomoto are analogous as they both relate to battery modules and heat control in battery modules.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the resin taught in Murai with the resin taught in Enomoto in order to prevent the expansion of thermal runaway to other battery modules in a battery pack system.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20160099451-A1) hereinafter referred to ‘Murai’ in view of (US-20100112433-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Kosugi’ in view of (US 20040253512 A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Watanabe’
Regarding Claim 13,
Murai does not teach wherein the resin includes a cured resin by mixing two liquid components.
Watanabe teaches wherein the resin includes a cured resin by mixing two liquid components (Watanabe, “provide a resin group with a potting thickness of 500 μm, and material (urethane family resin material of the type to be hardened in two liquids) of resin number 1,”, see [0231]).
Watanabe teaches that this resin can create gas-tightness and prevent electrolyte leakage (Watanabe, “Thus, by potting the exterior of the battery element with the resin group, gas-tightness of the battery can be maintained, enabling an outer sheath of the battery to be formed of resin.”, see [0050])
Murai and Watanabe are analogous as they are both of the same field of covers and cases for battery modules.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the resin as taught in Murai with the resin as taught in Watanabe in order to improve the gas tightness of the cell stack.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20160099451-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Murai’ in view of (US-20100112433-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Kosugi’, in view of (US 20180269438 A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Nishikawa’
Regarding Claim 15,
Murai does not teach, wherein the holder is made of polycarbonate.
Nishikawa teaches where wherein the holder is made of polycarbonate (Nishikawa, “Forr example, the outer case 11 is made of an electrically-insulating resin material such as polycarbonate” , see [0060])
Nishikawa teaches that the polycarbonate is sufficiently rigid and insulating and can protect the battery modules from coming into contact and shorting (Nishikawa, “Accordingly, the outer case 11 prevents the energy storage devices 300 and the like from coming into contact with a metal member or the like disposed outside the outer case 11.”, see [0060])
Murai and Nishikawa are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery modules and cases.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the holder as taught in Murai to be made of the polycarbonate as taught in Nishikawa to allow for a rigid material that will maintain the strength of the case while preventing a short circuit.
Claims 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by US-20160099451-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Murai’ in view of (US-20100112433-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Kosugi’
Regarding Claim 7,
Murai teaches A power storage module comprising :a plurality of power storage devices arranged side by side (Murai, “An on-board power source device comprises power storage modules”, see Abstract); and a holder including a container that contains the plurality of power storage devices, wherein the holder includes a first holder (Murai, holder, 12, Fig. 5) and a second holder (Murai, bus bar , 15, Fig. 5) , each of the plurality of power storage devices includes a first end in a height perpendicular to a direction of the arrangement of the plurality of power storage device and a second end opposite to the first end, the first end is contained in the first holder, and the second end is contained in the second holder (See Fig. 5), a resin is disposed inside the holder (Murai, module case, 13, Fig. 5) is disposed in at least one space selected from a group including a space between the plurality of power storage devices and a space between the power storage devices and the holder, the resin being made of a different material than the first holder and the second holder (Murai, “The module case 13 can be made of insulation material such as resin and so on,”, see [0038]) (Murai, “The holder 12 is formed, for example, by a metal material with excellent heat conductivity such as aluminum and so on”, see [0037]), and the holder is provided with a gap inside defined by at least the resin and the holder and communicating with an outside of the holder ( see annotated figure below).
Murai does not teach the gap being defined by at least the resin and the second holder and communicating with an outside of the holder, and the gap is located at a height between the first end and the second end along a direction from the second end to the first end of one of the plurality of power storage devices, and a part of a side surface connecting the first end the second end of the one of the plurality of power storage devices is exposed to the gap.
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Kosugi teaches part of a side surface connecting the first end the second end of the one of the plurality of power storage devices is exposed to the gap, and the gap is located at a height between the first end and the second end along a direction from the second end to the first end of one of the plurality of power storage devices, wherein the gap is being defined by at least the resin (Kosugi, “insulating members 32 in the form of resin beads could be performed connected by resilient bodies made of synthetic resin or the like.”, see [0051])(The examiner notes that Kosugi teaches a resin, but the resin as taught in Murai is relied upon for the combination of invention ) and second holder. (See annotated figure below)
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Kosugi teaches that the holders allow the cells to remain in place and not touch due to vibration, and that the gap allows for effective cooling (Kosugi, “Thus, in such a battery module having a plurality of single cells, it is necessary to fix the cells in order to prevent adjacent cells from coming into contact due to vibration etc”, see [0008]) (Kosugi, “so it is possible for the surface of the external containers 11 to come directly into contact with the coolant, so there is no possibility that cooling of the battery cells 10 by the coolant will be impeded by the insulating means 30.” see [0049]).
Kosugi and Murai are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery modules.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the invention as taught in Murai to have the gap exposing the side of the cell and the holders defining the gap in order to increase the effective cooling of the cell and to hold the cell in order to prevent them from coming into contact.
Regarding Claim 8,
Modified Murai teaches the power storage module according to Claim 7, wherein the resin is in contact with an inner surface of the first holder (see annotated figure above).
Regarding Claim 9,
Modified Murai teaches the power storage module according to Claim 7, wherein the resin is disposed not to be in contact with the second holder (see annotated figure above)
Regarding Claim 10,
Modified Murai teaches the power storage module according to Claim 7, wherein the holder includes a through-hole, and the gap communicates with an outside of the holder through the through-hole (Murai, outlet, 19, Fig. 7)
Regarding Claim 11,
Modified Murai teaches the power storage module according to Claim 10, wherein: the first holder includes an outer wall disposed to surround the plurality of power storage devices, and the through-hole is in at least one part selected from a group including between the first holder and the second holder and the outer wall (see annotated figure)
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Regarding Claim 16,
Modified Murai teaches the power storage module according to Claim 7, wherein a positive electrode is provided at the first end and a negative electrode is provided at the second end (Murai, positive and negative terminals, 11a and 11b, Fig. 2).
Response to Arguments
Arguments filed on have been entered. Arguments are fully considered.
On pg. 6 The applicant argues:
“However, items 12 and 15 do not satisfy ‘the fist end is contained in the first holder, and the second end is contained in the second holder’… Based on this Murai does not identically disclose or even suggest the features of amended independent claim 7”
The examiner finds this argument persuasive. An additional reference known as Kosugi more clearly teaches a first and second holder with a gap defined by said holders, as seen in the annotated figure below.
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On pg. 7, the applicant argues:
“Applicant submits that, at a minimum, none of the cited references disclose that the gap is located at a height between the first end and the second end along a direction from the second end to the first end of one of the plurality of power storage devices, and a part of a side surface connecting the first end the second end of the one of the plurality of power storage devices is exposed to the gap, as recited by claim 1. Regarding the claimed gap, the Examiner relied on Murai. However, as set forth above, Murai fails to disclose the aforementioned features of claim
1”
The examiner finds this argument persuasive. An additional reference known as Kosugi more clearly teaches a first and second holder with a gap defined by said holders, as seen in the annotated figure below).
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Conclusion
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAMUS PATRICK MCNULTY whose telephone number is (703)756-1909. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 8:00am to 5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas A. Smith can be reached on (571) 272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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