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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 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.
Uh (US-20110318634-A1) is newly applied to modify Motohashi to teach that an inclination may be at an acute angle.
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) 1, 3, 5-6, 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Motohashi (JP2019186037A) (see attached translation), and in further view of Uh (US-20110318634-A1).
Regarding claim 1, Motohashi teaches a battery module 100 comprising: a stack of battery cells 10 (see e.g., [0022], fig. 4); a cover, upper case 400, accommodating the stack of battery cell (see e.g., [0012], figs. 1-2); a bus bar 250 electrically connecting the battery cells (see e.g., [0054], [0056], fig. 6); a relay 220 comprising a connection terminal, coupled to the bus bar (see e.g., [0054], fig. 6); and a joint block, base 210, coupled to the bus bar and the connection terminal of the relay (see e.g., [0054], figs. 6-7),
the joint block 210 comprises: a main body (the overall block 210); a seating groove formed in the main body such that the bus bar 250 and the connection terminal 220 are seated therein (see e.g., figs. 6-7), wherein a guide portion formed in the seating groove (the surrounding walls that extend vertically upward) such that a first fastening hole 251 formed in bus bar 250 and a second fastening hole 221 formed in the connection terminal of the relay 220 are aligned (see e.g., figs. 6-7), and wherein the guide portion is an inclined guide comprising an inclination formed along a circumference of the seating groove (see e.g., figs. 6-7, regarding the walls on either side of the seating groove next to holes 221 and therefore along a circumference of the groove, the walls corresponding to an inclined guide comprising an inclination because the walls have a 90 degree or vertical inclination with respect to the seating groove).
Motohashi does not explicitly disclose wherein the inclination of the inclined guide is at acute angle. However, Uh teaches a battery component which includes a guide groove with an acute angle inclination (see e.g., Uh; [0015], [0026], [0073], [0090]-[0093], figs. 2, 8, 9, regarding the acutely inclined surface 57b) that is used to guide and fix a terminal component 60. Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the guide inclination disclosed by Motohashi by making the inclination at an acute angle as disclosed by the guide component of Uh. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because it is possible to easily insert a component, such as the busbar, into the seat (see e.g., Uh; [0091]).
The structure of Uh is different than the joint block as claimed as it provides a fixing member 54f having a hook shape with an acute angle such that terminal plate 60 is easily inserted into the guide groove 58 (see e.g., Uh; [0091]). However, this structure disclosed by Uh may still be applied to the guide portion of Motohashi. Specifically, an acute angle may be applied to the side walls of the relay 220 corresponding to the guide portion of Motohashi. Just like how the acute angle in Uh helps the terminal plate 60 slide into place, applying an acute angle to the side walls of relay 220 of Motohashi would help the busbar 250 slide into place with ease during assembly. In summary, Uh teaches a guide component with an acute angle that helps assembly or insertion of another battery component, the structural concept of which may be applied to the guide portions of Motohashi so the busbars 250 can also be easily inserted into the relay 220 seat.
Regarding claim 3, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Motohashi also teaches a third fastening hole 212 in which a female screw, seen in fig. 6, is formed in the joint block 210 (see e.g., [0054], fig. 6), and a fastening bolt 252 is inserted into the second fastening hole and the first fastening hole, and is fastened to the female screw of the third fastening hole (see e.g., [0054], fig. 6).
Regarding claim 5, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 3 as described above. Motohashi also teaches the third fastening hole 212 is formed inside the seating groove (see e.g., figs. 6-7).
Regarding claim 6, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 5 as described above. Motohashi also teaches the guide portion is formed in the seating groove such that the first fastening hole 251 of the bus bar 250, the second fastening hole 221 of the connection terminal of the relay 220, and the third fastening hole 212 are aligned (see e.g., figs. 6-7).
Regarding claim 8, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Motohashi also teaches that the inclined guide is formed such that the bus bar 250 and the connection terminal of relay 220 descend toward the third fastening hole 212 along the inclined guide (see e.g., figs. 6-7).
Regarding claim 9, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Motohashi also teaches a battery pack 1 comprising a battery module 100 (see e.g., [0010]-[0012]).
Regarding claim 10, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Motohashi also teaches that the battery pack 1 with battery module 100 may be mounted and used in a vehicle (see e.g., [0011]).
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Motohashi (JP2019186037A) and Uh (US-20110318634-A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Motohashi (2) (US2019006648A1).
Regarding claim 2, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 1 as described above. Motohashi also teaches that a fastening member 252 is integrally formed on the joint block 210, and the fastening member 252 is inserted into the first fastening hole 251 and the second fastening hole 221 (see e.g., [0054], fig. 6).
Motohashi does not specifically teach that fastening member 252 used is a bolt and nut fastener. However, Motohashi (2) teaches an assembled battery wherein the bus bar and components are secured with nuts 290 and bolts 340 (see e.g., [0054], [0096], [0103], [0112], fig. 4). Motohashi (2) is equivalent analogous art to Motohashi because Motohashi (2) similarly teaches a battery module comprising a plurality of stacked battery cells, bus bars, placed in a housing with a cover, and connection terminals.
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery module disclosed by Motohashi by using nut and bolt fastening members disclosed by Motohashi (2) such that a bolt is integrally formed on the joint block wherein the protruding bolt is inserted into the first fastening hole and the second fastening hole and fasted to a nut. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve productivity by shortening the takt time for assembly (see e.g., [0006]), as suggested by Motohashi (2).
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Motohashi (JP2019186037A) and Uh (US-20110318634-A1) as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Aizawa (US 20180151859 A1).
Regarding claim 4, modified Motohashi teaches the elements of claim 3 as described above. Motohashi teaches that the fastening bolt 252 is inserted into the first fastening hole 251 of the bus bar, the second fastening hole 221 of the relay, and the third fastening hole sequentially and fixed (see e.g., fig. 6-7). Motohashi does not specifically teach that the fastening bolt is inserted into the second fastening hole, the first fastening hole, and the third fastening hole sequentially and fixed.
However, Aizawa teaches a cell module wherein the relay 53 sits on top of the bus bar 16 (see e.g., [0052], figs. 9-10). Aizawa is equivalent analogous art to Motohashi because Aizawa similarly teaches a battery cell stack with a plurality of cells, wherein the module has a cover, and wherein bus bars electrically connected the battery cells, and relays are used. It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery module disclosed by Motohashi by changing the arrangement of the relay 220 and the bus bar 250 such that the relay is secured over the bus bar as disclosed by Aizawa, resulting in the fastening bolt being inserted into the second fastening hole of the relay, the first fastening hole of the bus bar, and the third fastening hole sequentially and fixed. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to prevent dimensional errors of assembly components (see e.g., [0007]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN SONG whose telephone number is (571)270-7337. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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/KEVIN SONG/Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/MATTHEW T MARTIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728