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 .
Status of Claims
Claim 1 is amended. Claim 9 is canceled. Claim 11 is newly added. Claims 1-8 & 10-11 are currently pending.
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, 7-8 & 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jansen (US 2019/0280265 A1 as cited in the IDS on 09/13/2024) in view Lee (US 2022/0037728 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 7-8 & 10, Jansen teaches a battery pack comprising a battery module (28) comprising a battery cell stack (66) in which a plurality of battery cells (68) are stacked, and a module frame (90+90) housing the battery cell stack therein, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells comprise a pouch case and an electrode assembly housed in the pouch case; and wherein a foam pad layer (130), configured to control swelling of the battery module, is located at an outermost part of the respective pouch case and in contact with a side surface part of the module frame (Figs. 8-9; [0036], [0045] & [0050]-[0056]). Jansen is silent as to each pouch case being composed of a laminate sheet comprising the foam pad layer. Lee teaches a battery module comprising a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells (160) are stacked, wherein the plurality of battery cells comprise a pouch case (160+180) composed of a laminate sheet comprising a foam pad layer (180) comprising polyurethane on an outermost surface (Figs. 1-3; [0040]-[0042], [0045]-[0046], [0049], [0052], [0054] & [0056]-[0057]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to use a pouch case composed of a laminate sheet comprising a foam pad layer on an outermost surface as an integrated structure for Jansen’s battery cells because the foam pad layer of Lee because uniform surface pressure may be applied to provide enhanced charging and discharging property within the pouch cell while achieving a sufficient space for an expansion of the pouch cell and further deformation of the pouch cells occurring in the large area may be more effectively suppressed and damages between the plurality of the pouch cells may be prevented as taught by Lee ([0050]).
Regarding claim 11, Jansen as modified by Lee teaches the battery module of claim 1. Lee further teaches that the foam pad layer of each pouch case can be the outermost part of an entirety of the respective pouch case ([0046]).
Claims 2-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jansen (US 2019/0280265 A1) and Lee (US 2022/0037728 A1), as applied to claims 1, 7-8 & 10-11 above, and further in view of Tsumori (US 2020/0168857 A1).
Regarding claims 2-6, Jansen as modified by Lee teaches the battery module of claim 1 but is silent as to the pouch case having an inner resin layer, a metal layer an outer resin layer and a packaging sheet layer, wherein the inner resin layer and the metal layer is sequentially positioned between the electrode assembly and the foam pad layer in a direction toward the foam pad layer from the electrode assembly. Tsumori teaches a battery cell comprising a pouch case and an electrode assembly housed in the pouch case, wherein the pouch case comprises, from an inside of the battery case to the outside, a heat sealable resin layer such as a polypropylene layer, a barrier layer such as an aluminum layer, and a base material layer comprising a multilayer structure comprising a nylon layer and a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) layer ([0037], [0058]-[0061], [0071]-[0073], [0106]-[0109], [0156] & [0169]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to form a pouch case including a heat-sealable resin layer such as a propylene layer (i.e inner layer of the present invention), a barrier layer such as an aluminum layer (i.e metal layer of the present invention) and a base layer comprising a nylon layer and a PET layer (i.e outer layer + packaging sheet layer of the present invention) in order to respectively 1) improve pinhole resistance or insulation properties while ensuring that the outermost layer is not discolored, 2) improve the strength of the battery packaging material, as well as prevent the ingress of water vapor, oxygen, light, and the like into the battery, and 3) hermetically seal the battery as taught by Tsumori ([0060], [0072] & [0107]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-8 & 10-11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. The amendment to claim 1 has prompted a new ground of rejection in view of the newly cited Lee reference. As presently claimed, the subject matter of claims 1, 7-8 & 10-11 is found to be obvious over the combined teachings of Jansen and Lee with claims 2-6 being found obvious further in view of Tsumori. Thus, in view of the foregoing, claims 1-8 & 10-11 stand rejected.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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 on (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.
/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727