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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 12/05/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-18 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.
Drawings
Figures 1 and 2 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated, as per specification page 5 (“FIGS. 1 and 2 are views illustrating a conventional battery module structure”). See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-6, and 11-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (WO 2017150807 A1, with equivalent US 10647206 B2 used for citation purposes).
Regarding Claim 1, Kim is an analogous art to the instant application, being directed towards the art of battery modules (Abstract, “Disclosed is a battery module”). Kim discloses a battery module comprising a cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells each comprising a pair of electrode leads (Abstract, “which includes a plurality of battery cells stacked on one another and respectively having electrode leads protruding on at least one side thereof,”), as well as a fastening bar frame 210 comprising a pair of adjacent lead slits 250 through which the electrode leads of adjacent battery cells are passed and extended out, shown in their figure 8, where comprises pairs of adjacent lead slits through which electrode leads 135 of adjacent battery cells 110 are passed and extended out.
Additionally, Kim discloses a fastening bar 280 which comprises an insertion slit 285, shown in their figure 2 through which a pair of electrode leads passing through the pair of adjacent lead slits pass, shown in their figure 8 where the fastening bar is further individually coupled to the fastening bar frame, also shown in figures 2 and 8, where the fastening bars 280 are each individually attached directly to the fastening bar frame 210.
Regarding Claim 2, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim fails to disclose structure wherein the fastening bar is coupled to the fastening bar frame in a state where the pair of electrode leads passing through the insertion slit are wound, as shown in Kim’s figure 8, where the electrode leads 150 which pass through the insertion slit are wound, through being extending from behind the fixing bar, to a side of the fixing bar, and then to a front of the fixing bar. Accordingly, the pair of electrode leads passing through the insertion slit wrap around the fixing bare, and are therefore wound.
Regarding Claim 3, modified Kim makes obvious the invention of Claim 2. Additionally, the winding of the electrode leads lead to the electrode leads contacting the fastening par, as shown in figure 8. Accordingly, where the fixing bar is in contact with the fixing bar frame, the electrode leads which contact the fixing bar by winding transitively contact the fixing bar frame, meeting the requirements of the instant claim.
Regarding Claim 4, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure wherein the fastening bar frame comprises a pair of first fixed portions provided on both sides in a width direction of the fastening bar frame, shown in their figure 2, where the first fixed portions are located on respective left and right sides of the fastening bar frame’s lead slots 250.
Additionally, the fastening bars 280 comprise second fixed portions provided on opposing end portions of a longitudinal direction of the fastening bar, shown in Kim’s figure 2, on respective left and right sides of the fastening bar slits 285. Additionally, as shown in Kim’s figure 7, the fastening bar slits 285 are fixed over the fastening bar frame slots 250, and the second portions are respectively coupled to the pair of the fixed first portions.
Regarding Claim 5, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim’s pair of fixed first portions which surround fixing bar frame lead slots 250 are respectively located on opposing sides in a longitudinal direction of the pair of adjacent lead slits 250, as shown in Kim’s figure 5.
Regarding Claim 6, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim’s pair of fixed second portions which surround fixing bar lead slits 285 are respectively located on opposing sides in a longitudinal direction of the pair of adjacent lead slits 285, as shown in Kim’s figure 2.
Regarding Claim 11, Kim discloses a battery pack comprising the battery module according to claim 1 (Column 1 lines 7-9, “The present disclosure relates to a battery module, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack.”).
Regarding Claim 12, Kim discloses a vehicle comprising the battery module according to claim 1 (Column 1 lines 7-9, “The present disclosure relates to a battery module, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack.”).
Regarding Claim 13, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure wherein the fastening bar individually coupled to the fastening bar frame defines the insertion slit through the fastening bar frame, shown in figures 2 and 8, where the slits 285 of the fastening bars 280 align with the insertion slits through the fastening bar frame 210, thereby defining the insertion slits through the fastening bar frame through providing an unobstructed path.
Regarding Claim 14, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure wherein the fastening bar is monolithic, shown in their figure 2, where the left instance of the fastening bar 280 is individual and monolithic.
Regarding Claim 15, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure wherein the insertion slit is defined within the fastening bar, as shown in figure 2 where the fastening bars 280 have an internally defined insertion slit 285.
Regarding Claim 16, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure wherein the fastening bar is uniquely coupled to the fastening bar frame, as shown in their figure 2, where the fastening bars 280 attach directly to the fastening bar frame 210, in a manner which can be considered unique coupling.
Regarding Claim 17, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure where the insertion slit is entirely bound by the fastening bar, as shown in their figure 2, where the insertion slit 285 is entirely surrounded by the fastening bar 280.
Regarding Claim 18, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Kim discloses structure wherein the insertion slit is enclosed by the fastening bar as shown in their figure 2, where the insertion slit 285 is entirely enclosed by the fastening bar 280.
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (WO 2017150807 A1, with equivalent US 10647206 B2 used for citation purposes) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Jeon (US 20190386281 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 4. Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires structure wherein each of the pair of the first fixed portions comprises a first fastening hole and each of the pair of the second fixed portions comprises a second fastening hole to have a shape and a position corresponding to the first fastening hole, Kim fails to disclose said structure, instead disclosing structure where the fastening bar frame as a whole comprises a protrusion 230 (Column 2 lines 57-58, “The bus bar frame 210 may include a bus bar mounting protrusion 230,”) which comprises a hole shown in figure 4, which fits into a hole 282 (Column 6 lines 6-8, “The pair of bus bars 280 may include a frame mounting groove 282 and a bus bar slot 285, respectively.”) in the fastening bar 280, shown in figure 2 (Column 6 lines 9-11, “The bus bar mounting protrusion 230 of the bus bar frame 210 may be inserted into the frame mounting groove 282 when the bus bar frame 210 of the bus bar 280 is mounted.”). Accordingly, Kim fails to disclose structure wherein each of the fixed portions comprises a respective fastening hole.
Therefore, we look to Jeon, which is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing a battery pack coupling structure (Abstract, “An embodiment of the present invention relates to a coupling structure of a battery pack, and the objective of the present invention is to provide a battery pack which can stably and easily fix a bus bar.”). Here, Jeon discloses structure wherein bolt holes are positioned and used to couple a base component 130 with a fixing part, using bolts (Paragraph 0033, “In addition, bolt holes are positioned in the base 130 to be coupled with the module fixing part 140 using bolts.”). Additionally, Jeong further discloses structure where their bus bars fixing part 150 is attached to their module fixing part 140 by respective hook couplings 142 which surround a side of a connection, shown in their figure 6 (Paragraph 0036, “In addition, hook grooves 142 for coupling the first bus bar fixing part 150 by, for example, hook coupling, are positioned in the module fixing part 140.”).
Accordingly, where Jeon discloses a similar structure as Kim, comprising fixing structure, it would therefore be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of bolts and associated holes through which the bolts extend to connect the first fixed portion and second fixed portion, where said structure would therefore comprise first fastening holes on the first fixed portion and second fastening holes on the second fixed portion, where the shape and position correspond so as to allow connection and fastening by means of a bolt, and further make use of said holes surrounding the connection portion between the fastening bar and fastening bar frame, which is the overlap of fastening bar fame slot and fasting bar slit occupied by the leads, thereby reading upon and making obvious the limitations of the instant claim.
Regarding Claim 8, Modified Kim makes obvious the invention of Claim 7. Additionally, as discussed above, Jeon makes obvious structure which comprises a first fastening hole on the fastening bar frame and a second fastening hole on the fastening bar, and a fixing member which passes through them (Paragraph 0033, “In addition, bolt holes are positioned in the base 130 to be coupled with the module fixing part 140 using bolts.”).
Regarding Claim 9, Modified Kim makes obvious the invention of Claim 8. Additionally, as discussed above, Jeon makes obvious structure wherein the fixing member is a bolt (Paragraph 0033, “In addition, bolt holes are positioned in the base 130 to be coupled with the module fixing part 140 using bolts.”).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (WO 2017150807 A1, with equivalent US 10647206 B2 used for citation purposes) as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Jeon (US 20190386281 A1) and Halsey (US 20180366958 A1).
Regarding Claim 10, Kim anticipates the invention of Claim 4. Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires structure wherein each of the pair of the first fixed portions comprises a first fastening hole and each of the pair of the second fixed portions comprises a snap-fit protrusion formed to have a position and shape corresponding to the first fastening hole, Kim fails to disclose said structure.
Therefore, we look to Jeon, which is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing a battery pack coupling structure (Abstract, “An embodiment of the present invention relates to a coupling structure of a battery pack, and the objective of the present invention is to provide a battery pack which can stably and easily fix a bus bar.”). Here, Jeon discloses structure wherein bolt holes are positioned and used to couple a base component 130 with a fixing part, using bolts (Paragraph 0033, “In addition, bolt holes are positioned in the base 130 to be coupled with the module fixing part 140 using bolts.”). Accordingly, where Jeon discloses a similar structure as Kim, comprising fixing structure, it would therefore be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to make use of bolts and associated holes through which the bolts extend to connect the first fixed portion and second fixed portion, where said structure would therefore comprise first fastening holes on the first fixed portion and second fastening holes on the second fixed portion, where the shape and position correspond so as to allow connection and fastening by means of a bolt.
However, even where Kim in view of Jeon makes obvious structure which comprises a bolt, said disclosure of Jeon fails to disclose structure where the bolt is a snap-fit bolt or attachment method. Therefore, we look to Halsey, which is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing a battery pack (Abstract, “A high voltage battery pack includes a set of battery bricks”) which comprises multiple housing components that are attached together (Paragraph 0032, “In an exemplary embodiment, the battery pack upper housing 84 and the battery pack lower housing 70 can be secured together by securing the upper housing flange 90 to the lower housing flange 76.”), where the components can be attached by means of a bolt or a snap-fit attachment method (Paragraph 0032, “The flanges 76, 90 can be secured to one another by any suitable attachment means, including, but not limited to, the use of a physical fastener such as a screw or a bolt, an adhesive, or a snap fit attachment method.”). Here, where Halsey discloses that bolts and snap-fit attachment are alternatives that can be applied to the same situation, where the structure of Halsey is similar to that of modified Kim, the use of snap-fit attachment methods is therefore an obvious variant to that of the use of bolt attachment methods, thereby reading on and making obvious structure wherein the second fixed portions comprise a snap-fit protrusion formed to have a position and shape corresponding to the first fastening hole.
Conclusion
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/J.W.E./ Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725