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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 07/20/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Presented here is a re-statement of the response to the applicant’s arguments submitted in the response after final action submitted on 06/22/2026.
Applicant's arguments filed 06/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The applicant asserts that in regards to the amendment “an area of the enclosure cover is greater than a size of an area occupied by the opening, and the second hole has a slot shape extending in the reference direction”, said features are neither disclosed nor suggested by Heo.
The applicant asserts that in regards to the exemplary embodiment depicted in their figures 1 and 4, the second hole H2 has a slot shape extending in reference direction D, which is configured to permit movement of an enclosure cover 30 relative to the terminal block 50, allowing for the position of the cover to be adjusted along the slot-shaped hole, thereby allowing for reliable connection between the terminal block and current collection terminal by a bus bar, even when dimensional variations exist, thereby providing assembly tolerance and a stable connection. These arguments have been fully considered but have not been found to be persuasive. Here, as claimed, the reference direction is a direction of the arrangement of the plurality of cells arranged in the electrochemical stack assembly. The reference direction is aligned with the shape of the hole, as shown in Heo’s figure 5, where the second hole TH1 extends in the reference direction, and further is a hole having a slot shape, with the coupling screw 160 being inserted into the slot.
Here, the applicant’s arguments discuss intention behind the inclusion of the amended features, specifically asserting that Heo does not disclose a slot-shaped hole extending in a reference direction to permit positional adjustment of an enclosure cover, nor does it recognize the problem of compensating for dimensional variations to facilitate electrical connection between a bus bar and current collection terminal. This intention is discussed solely in the specification, without the language of the claim containing any discussion of busbar connectivity or contact between terminal blocks and current collection terminals. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Accordingly, where Heo discloses structure which satisfies the language of the claims as written, it is not required that Heo disclose a slot shaped hole extending in a reference direction to permit positional adjustment of an enclosure cover, only that the second hole has a slot shape extending in the reference direction. Additionally, Heo is not required to address the problem discussed above to read upon the required structure, only to disclose structure that satisfies the requirement of the claims, as per 35 U.S.C 102(a)(1) “(a) NOVELTY; PRIOR ART.—A person shall be entitled to a patent unless— (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;”). As currently presented, the problem of compensating for dimensional variations as discussed in the applicants arguments is not a part of the claimed invention.
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 and 9-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heo (IS 20210126274 A1), in view of Park (US 20140349164 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Heo is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing an electrochemical stack assembly comprising an enclosure in which a plurality of cells arranged in a reference direction are disposed, the enclosure including an opening (Abstract, “A fuel cell is disclosed. The fuel cell includes a cell stack including a plurality of unit cells stacked in a first direction, an enclosure surrounding side portions of the cell stack and including at least one opening to expose at least one of opposite end portions of the cell stack therethrough,”), as well as an enclosure cover seated on the enclosure to cover the opening (Abstract, “first and second end plates respectively disposed at the opposite end portions of the cell stack,”). Additionally, Heo discloses a fastening member (Paragraph 0077, “a coupling screw 160”) passing through a first hole of the enclosure and a second hole of the enclosure, as depicted in Heo’s figure 5, where the fastening member passes through a first through hole TH2 (Paragraph 0131, “In addition, according to the embodiment, the second portion P2 may include a second through-hole TH2. The second through-hole TH2 may be formed so as to allow the coupling screw 160 to pass therethrough,”) and a second through hole TH1 (Paragraph 0107, “Each of the partition walls SWA and SWB may include a first through-hole TH1 through which the coupling screw 160 passes.”), so as to fasten the enclosure and enclosure cover to each other (Paragraph 0107, “The coupling screw 160 may penetrate each of the partition walls SWA and SWB and the clamping member 130 and may be inserted into and fixed to the interior of each of the bodies BA and BB. To this end, each of the bodies BA and BB may include a blind hole BH formed therein.”; Paragraph 0131, “As such, since the coupling screw 160 passes through both the first and second through-holes TH1 and TH2, which are opposite each other, the fixing force of the coupling screw 160 may further increase.”).
Additionally, in regards to the limitation of the instant claim, which further requires a terminal block coupled to the enclosure cover, wherein the enclosure cover includes a cover body and an insertion hole communicating with the opening wherein the terminal block is inserted into the insertion hole, though Heo discloses structure where the enclosure cover includes a cover body, depicted in their figure 4, they fail to disclose structure which comprises a terminal block coupled to said enclosure cover, as well as an insertion hole communicating with the opening which the terminal block is inserted into. Therefore, we look to Park, which is an analogous art to the instant application, disclosing a battery module comprising battery cells having a block structure with power terminal portions and associated connection portions (Abstract, “A battery module includes a first battery cell, the first battery cell having a first electrode terminal and a second electrode terminal, a first end block adjacent to the first battery cell, the first end block having a first power terminal portion, and a connection portion electrically connecting the first electrode terminal to the first power terminal portion.”).
Here, Park discloses structure which comprises a terminal block (Paragraph 0052, “an extending region 145 bent at a bending portion 143 from the first connection region 141 and extended toward the power terminal portion 151;”), which have a connection portion which connects the terminal block to the battery array (Paragraph 0042, “and a connection portion electrically connecting a terminal portion 111a of the battery cell 110a disposed at the outermost side of the battery cells 110 to the power terminal portion 151.”; Paragraph 0052, “The connection portion 140 may include a first connection region 141 electrically connected to the terminal portion 111a of the battery cell 110a disposed at the outermost side of the battery cells 110;”). Additionally, Park’s terminal block comprises a current collection plate including a current collection terminal electrically connected to the plurality of cells to transmit power of the plurality of cells to a contact target (Paragraph 0052, “The connection portion 140 may include a first connection region 141 electrically connected to the terminal portion 111a of the battery cell 110a disposed at the outermost side of the battery cells 110”). Additionally, Park discloses that their cell terminal block further comprises bus bars which electrically connect the terminal block and current collection terminal to each other, disposed within the enclosure (Paragraph 0045, “The positive and negative electrode terminals 112 and 113 of two neighboring battery cells 110 may be electrically connected to each other by a bus-bar 130.”; Paragraph 0046, “According to the present example embodiment, an outermost bus-bar 131 is connected to the terminal portion 111a, to which the bus-bar 130 is not connected, of the terminal portions 111a”)
Here, Park further discloses that their terminal structure allows for the interconnection of battery cells, as well as allowing for interconnectivity between the battery module and other external components such as another battery module, as well as acting to prevent swelling of the battery cells (Paragraph 0071, “As described above, embodiments may provide a battery module including a power terminal for connecting battery modules to each other. In a battery module according to an embodiment, end blocks each having a power terminal portion are respectively disposed at outermost sides of a plurality of battery cells, so that the battery module may be connected to, e.g., another battery module. Further, the end blocks may strongly press the plurality of battery cells, which may help prevent a swelling phenomenon of the battery cell.”). Accordingly, based on this, it would be obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to apply the structure of the terminal blocks of Park to the invention of Heo. Accordingly, this results in a terminal block coupled to the enclosure cover, as well as an insertion hole in the enclosure cover to allow for the entry of Park’s terminal’s connection portion, thereby resulting in structure which comprises an insertion hole communicating with the opening and wherein the terminal block is inserted into the insertion hole, reading upon and making obvious the limitation of the instant claim.
Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein a size of the second hole is different from a size of the first hole, depicted in their figure 5, where the size of the second hole TH1 is larger than the size of the first hole TH2.
Additionally, in regards to the limitation which requires that an area of the enclosure cover is greater than a size of an area occupied by the opening, Heo’s figures 4 and 5 depict said structure, where the enclosure cover, which is first and second end plates 110A/110B overlap and extend beyond the ends of the opening, thereby resulting in the claimed structure. Additionally, it is noted that where the current claim recites “a size of an area occupied by the opening”, this phrasing can be interpreted such that one can select any area occupied by the opening, such as a subsection of the total area occupied by the opening. As the claim is currently presented, a small section of the area could be used for the comparison between an area of the enclosure cover, and a size of an area occupied by the opening, further indicating how Heo’s disclosure satisfies the currently presented claims.
Additionally, in regards to the limitation that requires that the second hole has a slot shape extending in the reference direction, as discussed above the reference direction is the x-axis direction as depicted in Heo’s figure 5. Here, Heo discloses structure wherein the second hole TH1 has a shot shape extending in the reference direction, shown in Heo’s figure 5, where the second hole TH1 extends inwards towards the opening, in the reference direction.
Regarding Claim 3, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein the second hole TH1 is located in an outer region of the enclosure which not overlapping the opening, as shown in Heo’s figure 5, where the second hole TH1 is located in an outer region of the enclosure, which does not overlap the opening along the z-axis direction of said figure 5.
Regarding Claim 5, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 3. Additionally, Heo discloses structure where the enclosure cover is disposed to cover an entire area of the opening when a first end of the second hole in the reference direction, here a left end of the second hole TH1 overlaps the first hole TH2, where said covering of the opening is depicted as the standard state in figures 4 and 5, and where said overlapping is depicted in figure 5.
Regarding Claim 6, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein the enclosure cover is covers an entire area of the opening while being transited from a state in which the first end of the second hole in the reference direction and the first hole overlap each other to a state in which a second end of the second hole in a direction opposite to the reference direction and the first hole overlap each other, as depicted in their figure 5, where the default position of the first end of the second hole TH1 in the reference direction, here the left end of the hole along the x-axis, as well as a second end of the second hole in a direction opposite to the reference direction, here the right end of the second hole TH1, is such that both ends of the second hole TH1 overlap the first hole TH2. Additionally, Heo’s figures 4 and 5 depict structure where the enclosure cover is disposed to cover an entire area of the opening while this condition is met. Accordingly, where a process of transiting the state of the enclosure cover can be a state where no change occurs, the structure of Heo meets the requirements of the instant claim.
Regarding Claim 9, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, the structure of Park made obvious to apply to the structure of Heo as discussed above comprises a pair of end plates connected to the current collection plate, with a plurality of cells arranged in between the pair of end plates, with the end plates being end blocks 150, disposed at the ends of the battery cell stack shown in Park’s figure 2. Additionally, Park’s current collection terminal includes a positive terminal disposed in any one of the pair of end plates and a negative terminal disposed in a remaining one of the pair of end plates, where each current collection terminal includes a power terminal 153 (Paragraph 0049, “The power terminal portion 151 provides the battery module 100 with a power terminal 153 electrically connected to the terminal portion 111a of the battery cell 110a disposed at the outermost side of the battery cell 110, so that the battery module 100 may be connected to, e.g., another battery module through a power cable connected to the power terminal 153.”). Additionally, Park’s terminal structure’s bus bar comprises a first bus bar connected to the positive terminal (Paragraph 0053, “The first connection region 141 may be connected to the outermost bus-bar 131 connected to the terminal portion 111a of the battery cell 110a disposed at the outermost side of the battery cells 110, so as to be electrically connected to the terminal portion 111a through the outermost bus-bar 131.”), where the terminal structure has a respective instance which connects to both the positive and negative terminal respectively.
Regarding Claim 10, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 9. Additionally, Park’s terminal block assembly made obvious to apply to the invention of Heo, as discussed above, comprises a first terminal block connected to the first bus bar and a second terminal block connected to the second bus bar, depicted in Park’s figure 2. Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein their enclosure cover includes a first enclosure cover and a second enclosure cover, shown in Heo’s figure 4, where as discussed above each enclosure coupled to a respective terminal block, and where Heo’s figure 4 further shows a respective first opening covered by the first enclosure cover and a second opening covered by the second enclosure cover.
Regarding Claim 11, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 10. Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein the second opening is spaced apart from the first opening in the reference direction, as shown in figure 4, where the first and second openings are located at respective right and left sides of the battery assembly.
Regarding Claim 12, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 11. Additionally, where the instant claim requires structure wherein the fastening member includes a first fastening member that passes through a (1-1)th hole of the enclosure and a (2-1)th hole of the enclosure cover to fasten the enclosure to and first enclosure cover to each other, where the (1-1)th hole is the hole TH2 of the enclosure and the (2-1)th hole is the hole TH1 of the enclosure cover, as shown in Heo’s figure 5, where the fastening member fastens the enclosure and first enclosure cover to each other (Paragraph 0107, “The coupling screw 160 may penetrate each of the partition walls SWA and SWB and the clamping member 130 and may be inserted into and fixed to the interior of each of the bodies BA and BB. To this end, each of the bodies BA and BB may include a blind hole BH formed therein.”; Paragraph 0131, “As such, since the coupling screw 160 passes through both the first and second through-holes TH1 and TH2, which are opposite each other, the fixing force of the coupling screw 160 may further increase.”).
Additionally, the (2-1)th hole TH1 overlaps the (1-1)th hole TH2 and is larger, again depicted in Heo’s figure 5.
Additionally, the (1-1)th hole TH2 overlaps a left end of the (2-1)th hole TH1 in a direction opposite to the reference direction. Here, where Heo does not disclose movement of their enclosure covers, the enclosure covers are therefore closest to each other in the reference direction in the state of the embodiment depicted in Heo’s figure 5, where said overlapping is depicted.
Regarding Claim 13, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, where Park’s terminal portion which extends from within the enclosure includes a portion which curves upwards, as shown in Park’s figure 3, the terminal block therefore includes a terminal opening which opens upward, additionally, where the bus bar 131 connects to the terminal block which comprises the terminal opening, the bus bar is therefore exposed transitively to an outside of the terminal block through the terminal opening, by means of contact with the terminal components, thereby allowing the results of external exposure, such as thermal and electrical energy exposure.
Regarding Claim 14, modified Heo makes obvious makes obvious the invention of Claim 13. Additionally, Park’ exposure part includes a region protruding outward from the terminal block, as shown in their figure 3, that being the part which arcs upwards from both the terminal part and the busbar.
Regarding Claim 15, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein the opening opens upward, in the x-axis direction as depicted in Heo’s figures 4 and 5, which is here defined as an upward direction, and the enclosure cover is seated on an upper surface of the enclosure, shown in figure 4 where the enclosure cover extends to an upper side of the enclosure and is seated thereupon.
Regarding Claim 16, modified Heo makes obvious the invention of Claim 1. Additionally, Heo discloses structure wherein a size of the second hole TH1 is greater than a size of the first through hole TH2, as depicted in their figure 5, where the spatial bounds of the first through hole TH2 are encompassed by the bounds of the second through hole TH1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN W ESTES whose telephone number is (571)272-4820. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:00 - 5:30.
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/J.W.E./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/BASIA A RIDLEY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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