DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendment, filed 06/26/2025, has been entered. Claim 1 has been amended. Claims 7 and 8 are cancelled. Claims 1-6 and 9-10 are now pending in the application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites “a positive electrode lead and a negative electrode lead” is introduced separately; however, it is unclear how this differs from the electrode leads introduced in claim 1, as evidenced by pg. 8 lines 1-2 of the specification these appear to be mapped to the same elements Fig. 4, 111 and 112. Correction is required.
Claims 4-6 are rejected due to their dependency on claim 3.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 as being anticipated by Toshiyuki (JP2019186042 A, refer to enclosed translations for citations).
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Regarding claim 1,
Toshiyuki teaches a battery module (Fig. 4, illustrative to 100; [0006]) comprising:
a battery cell stack (Fig. 5D, stack of 10; [0006]) in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked (Fig. 5D, 10; [0006]);
a bus bar (Fig. 12, bus bar 40; [0045]) wherein in the plurality of battery cells include electrode leads (Fig. 12, electrode leads 12) coupled to the bus bar (Fig. 12, busbar 40; [0045]);
and a cover disposed on the battery cell stack (Fig. 2, 300/400; [0052] disposed on cell stack of cells 10),
wherein at least a part of the bus bar is in contact with first surfaces of the electrode leads (wherein bus bar 40 is in contact with a first inner surface of electrode leads 12 as depicted in Fig. 11; see [0075]),
wherein the cover 300/400 includes a support frame (Fig. 1, 300; [0012])
defining an insertion opening (Fig. 9, peripheral edge of 300 in contact with 400)
configured to receive the electrode leads ([0012],[0014]),
and wherein the bus bar 40 is disposed such that a buffer space (annotated Fig. 11, “buffer space”) is formed between the bus bar 40 and the support frame 300 (see Fig. 9 and 11),
and wherein the buffer space is formed in a lower side of the bus bar (Fig. 11, left side of 40)
to buffer a tensile force generated in one of the plurality of battery cells (Fig. 11, 40; see [0074]-[0075] which at least teaches the cell expansion of 10 in a vertical direction is still possible, and wherein 40 is directly connected between leads 12n and 12 p in vertical direction thus buffering expansion) .
Regarding claim 9,
Toshiyuki in view of Kim teaches a battery pack ([0001], “battery module” wherein a battery module describes a battery pack), comprising the battery module according to claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 10,
Toshiyuki in view of Kim teaches a vehicle ([0011], “vehicle”), comprising the battery module according to claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above).
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toshiyuki (JP2019186042 A).
Regarding claim 2,
Toshiyuki teaches the battery module of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), wherein the bus bar comprises: a first member (Fig. 17A, top portion of hat-shaped member 40) and a second member in contact with the first surfaces of the electrode leads (Fig. 17A, sidewall and brim portions of hat-shaped member 40 near 40b in contact with first surface of 12 at W1, and wherein all components of 100 are in direct or indirect contact). While 17A is respective to a different embodiment, all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP 2143.A.). Additionally, the second embodiment incorporates all the claimed subject matter of claim 1 such that it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to use the second embodiment of Toshiyuki
Regarding claim 3,
Toshiyuki teaches the battery module of claim 2 (see rejection of claim 2 above), wherein the first member (Fig. 17A, top portion of hat-shaped member 40) is disposed between a positive electrode lead and a negative electrode lead (Fig. 17A, 12n and 12p), and wherein the second member (Fig. 17A, sidewall and brim portions of hat-shaped member 40 near 40b) extends from the first member (top of 40, see above) toward each of the positive electrode lead and the negative electrode lead(12n and 12p, wherein the second member extends from top of 40 towards W1 and thus towards the positive electrode lead and negative electrode lead).
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toshiyuki (JP2019186042 A, refer to enclosed translations for citations) in view of Kim (US-20140205889-A1).
Regarding claim 4,
Toshiyuki teaches the battery module of claim 3 (see rejection of claim 3 above), but fails to teach wherein the bus bar is formed in a "T" shape. Kim teaches a busbar formed in a T-like shape (Fig. 6, 250). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to modify the shape of the bus bar is formed in a “T” shape in order to realize a high-strength yet flexible electrical connection to the terminals [0046].
Regarding claim 5,
Toshiyuki in view of Kim teaches the battery module of claim 4 (see rejection of claim 4 above), wherein the second member of the bus bar (see rejection of claim 2 above; Fig. 17A, sidewall and brim portions) is bonded by laser welding [0079] while being placed on first portions (Fig. 17A, W1, [0079]) of the electrode leads (Fig. 17A, 12; see rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 6,
Toshiyuki in view of Kim teaches the battery module of claim 5 (see rejection of claim 5 above), but is silent to wherein the positive electrode lead is formed of an aluminum material and the negative electrode lead is formed of a copper material and wherein the bus bar is formed of an aluminum material melted during the laser welding, and bonded to an electrode lead formed of a copper material. Kim teaches wherein the positive electrode lead is formed of an aluminum material (Kim, [0053]), and the negative electrode lead is formed of a copper material (Kim, [0053]), and wherein the bus bar is formed of an aluminum material melted during the laser welding, and bonded to an electrode lead formed of a copper material (Kim, [0053]). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to use a aluminum positive electrode lead and bus bar and copper negative electrode, as taught by Kim as known materials for these members in the art [0053]. Furthermore, Toshiyuki teaches that modification may be made to the device [0109].
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that that the cells would expand upward such that a tensile force could not be buffered in the buffer space. However, this is not persuasive, because Kim is no longer relied in the rejection of claim 1.
In the interest of expedition prosecution, the examiner notes that the primary reference has a similar issue argued above, wherein the primary expansion direction is not vertical [0074]. The examiner notes that upon a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
In the instant case, the primary reference describes [0090] “restraint plate is less likely to expand in the direction in which battery cells are stacked” such that the prior art discloses that there is at least some degree of expansion possible in the stacking direction, despite restraint, such that 252 is capable of performing the claimed aspect of the invention across the buffer space (see annotated Fig. 6, 252 expanding across the buffer space; see rejection of claim 1 above).
Applicant argues that all claims should be allowable based off an allowable independent claim. However, the rejections on all claims have been sustained.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL WYROUGH whose telephone number is (571)272-4806. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.
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, TIFFANY LEGETTE can be reached on (571) 270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PAUL CHRISTIAN ST WYROUGH/Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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