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
The Applicant’s amendment and arguments filed 05/21/2026 has been entered. Claims 1 and 12 are amended; claims 3-7, 9-11, 21, and 23-26 stand as originally or previously presented; claims 2, 13-20, and 22 are canceled; claim 8 is withdrawn; and claims 27-30 are new. Support for the amendments is found in the original filing, and there is no new matter.
Upon considered said amendments and arguments, the previous 35 U.S.C.103 rejection set forth in Office Action mailed 03/24/2026 has been withdrawn. Amended and new grounds of rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103 citing to newly cited art and the originally cited art as a second Non-Final Rejection are set forth below as necessitated by the claim amendments.
Drawings
The drawings received on 09/13/2022 were reviewed and are acceptable.
Specification
The specification filed on 09/13/2022 was reviewed and is acceptable.
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, 3-6, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20220231367 A1, hereinafter Lee), in view of Park et al. (US 20220166084 A1, hereinafter Park).
Regarding Claim 1, Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), comprising:
a first cell stack having a first side (Lee, first side of first cell stack, Annotated Figure 7 below) and a second side, the first side transverse to the second side (Lee, second side transverse to first side, Annotated Figure 7 below);
a second cell stack alongside the first cell stack and adjacent to the first side of the first cell stack (Lee, first cell stack is adjacent to the second cell stack, Annotated Figure 7 below); and
a divider having a barrier portion (Lee, partition wall portion, or divider, having barrier portion, [0042], Annotated Figure 7 below) and
an attachment portion (Lee, first partition wall member, or divider having an attachment portion, Annotated Figure 7 below),
the barrier portion disposed between the first side of the first cell stack and the second cell stack (Lee, second partition wall member extending in a vertical direction from the first partition wall member, or barrier portion between the first and second cell stack, Annotated Figure 7 below), wherein
the first cell stack includes a plurality of battery cells disposed along an axis (Lee, battery cells disposed along an axis, Annotated Figure 7 below), wherein
the first side of the first cell stack is a laterally facing side of the first cell stack that faces outward away from the axis (Lee, battery cells facing outwards away from the axis, Annotated Figure 7 below), wherein
the first side of the first cell stack faces the second cell stack (Lee, first side of the first cell stack faces the second cell stack, Annotated Figure 7 below).
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Lee is silent regarding the attachment portion secured directly to the second side of the first cell stack.
Park discloses a battery pack assembly (Park, battery pack, [0010]), the attachment portion secured directly to the second side of the first cell stack (Park, a structural adhesive layer located between the upper plate and the battery cell stack, [0049]; the Examiner notes that the location between the upper plate and the battery cell stack corresponds to the claimed second side of the cell stack, and the upper plate corresponds to the claimed attachment portion).
Park teaches that in order to prevent sliding and maintain a stable laminated structure of the battery cells, the battery cell stack can be formed by attaching an adhesive member, such as a double-sided tape to the surface of the battery case (Park, [0052]).
Lee and Park are analogous to the current invention as they are all directed towards a battery pack.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include an adhesive layer that may be a double sided tape of Park, between the second side of the battery cell stack and the first partition wall member of Lee, in order to order to prevent sliding and maintain a stable laminated structure of the battery cells.
Regarding Claim 3, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein the attachment portion (Lee, first partition wall member, or divider having an attachment portion, Annotated Figure 7 above) is adhesively secured (Park, a structural adhesive layer located between the upper plate and the battery cell stack, [0049]) to a top plate on the second side (Park, an upper plate for covering the upper portion of the battery cell stack, [0007]),
the top plate covering vertically upward facing sides of battery cells in the first cell stack (Park, an upper plate for covering the upper portion of the battery cell stack, [0007]).
Regarding Claim 4, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), further comprising a double sided tape that secures the attachment portion to the second side (Park, the battery cell stack can be formed by attaching an adhesive member, such as a double-sided tape to the surface of the battery case, [0052]).
Regarding Claim 5, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein the second side is a vertically upward facing side of the first cell stack (Lee, second side is a vertically upward facing side, Annotated Figure 7 above).
Regarding Claim 6, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein the first cell stack and the second cell stack each include a plurality of pouch cells (Lee, the battery cell is a pouch-type battery cell, [0044]) disposed along a respective cell stack axis, the cell stack axis of the first cell stack spaced from the cell stack axis of the second cell stack (Lee, battery cells are disposed along an axis, Annotated Figure 7 above).
Regarding Claim 23, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), comprising:
a first cell stack having a plurality of first battery cells disposed along a first cell stack axis, having a first side facing away from the first cell stack axis and a second side facing away from the first cell stack axis (Lee, battery cells facing outwards away from the axis, Annotated Figure 7 above),
the first side transverse to the second side (Lee, first side transverse to second side, Annotated Figure 7 above);
a second cell stack having a plurality of second battery cells disposed along a second cell stack axis (Lee, battery cells facing outwards away from the axis, Annotated Figure 7 above); and
a divider having a barrier portion (Lee, partition wall portion, or divider, having barrier portion, [0042], Annotated Figure 7 above) and
an attachment portion (Lee, first partition wall member, or divider having an attachment portion, Annotated Figure 7 above),
the barrier portion disposed between the first side of the first cell stack and the second cell stack (Lee, second partition wall member extending in a vertical direction from the first partition wall member, or barrier portion between the first and second cell stack, Annotated Figure 7 above),
the attachment portion secured directly to the second side of the first cell stack (Park, a structural adhesive layer located between the upper plate and the battery cell stack, [0049]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20220231367 A1, hereinafter Lee), in view of Park et al. (US 20220166084 A1, hereinafter Park), as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20210074967 A1, hereinafter Kim).
Regarding Claim 7, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), and the partition wall portion may be composed of a functional material having flame retardancy and insulating properties (Lee, [0021]).
Modified Lee is silent regarding the divider comprises a first and a second mica layer sandwiching a ceramic layer.
Kim discloses a battery pack assembly (Kim, energy storage module, [0008]), wherein the divider (Kim, insulation spacers being between the long side surfaces of each adjacent pair of the battery cells, [0008]) comprises a first and a second mica layer sandwiching a ceramic layer (Kim, each of the insulation spacers including a heat-insulating first sheet and a plurality of flame-retardant second sheets respectively adhered to opposite surfaces of the first sheet, wherein the first sheet may include ceramic paper, and the second sheets may include mica paper, [0008-0009]).
Kim teaches that the insulation spacers include the mica sheets prevent heat from fire from spreading to neighboring battery cells, and a ceramic sheet prevents heat from propagating to neighboring battery cells when a fire starts in any of the battery cells (Kim, [0071]).
Modified Lee and Kim are analogous to the current invention as they are all directed towards a divider flame retardancy and insulating properties located between batteries.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention for the partition wall member of modified Lee to have the structure of mica layers adhered to opposite surfaces of a ceramic layer, as taught by Kim, in order to prevent heat from fire from spreading to neighboring battery cells and prevent heat from propagating to neighboring battery cells when a fire starts in any of the battery cells.
Claim(s) 9-10 and 24-26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20220231367 A1, hereinafter Lee), in view of Park et al. (US 20220166084 A1, hereinafter Park), as applied to Claims 1 and 23 above, and further in view of Kellner et al. (US 20230187763 A1, hereinafter Kellner).
Regarding Claim 9, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]).
Modified Lee is silent regarding the divider includes a foam spacer attached to the barrier portion, the foam spacer configured to contact the first side to space the barrier portion from the first side.
Kellner discloses a battery pack assembly (Kellner, battery system, [0008]), wherein the divider (Kellner, separator plate is arranged between two adjacent battery cells, Abstract) includes a foam spacer (Kellner, compression pads formed of foam pads, [0003]) attached to the barrier portion (Kellner, at least two strip-shaped compression pads glued on to the separator plate, [0016]),
the foam spacer configured to contact the first side to space the barrier portion from the first side (Kellner, the two strip-shaped compression pads directly abut the battery cell, [0009]).
Kellner teaches that the two strip-shaped compression pads have a respective flow channel for a temperature control fluid to further cool the battery (Kellner, [0009]).
Modified Lee and Kellner are analogous to the current invention as they are all directed towards a battery.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have at least two strip-shaped foam compression pads glued on to the second partition wall member of modified Lee, as taught by Kellner, in order to have flow channel for a temperature control fluid to further cool the battery.
Regarding Claim 10, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein the foam spacer is a first foam spacer attached to a first side of the barrier portion, and further comprising a second foam spacer attached to an opposite, second side of the barrier portion (Kellner, on at least one separator plate side of the at least one separator plate, at least two strip-shaped compression pads are arranged between a lower and an upper edge of the at least one separator plate, [0009]; the Examiner notes that “at least one separator plate side” allows for the strip-shaped compression pads to be formed on both sides of the separator plate),
the second foam spacer configured to contact the second cell stack to space the barrier portion from the second cell stack (Kellner, the two strip-shaped compression pads directly abut the battery cell, [0009]).
Regarding Claim 24, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), further comprising at least one first spacer spacing the divider (Kellner, at least two strip-shaped compression pads glued on to the separator plate, [0016]) a distance from the first cell stack (Kellner, the two strip-shaped compression pads directly abut the battery cell, [0009]; the Examiner notes that the two strip-shaped compression pads creates a space between the divider and cell stack).
Regarding Claim 25, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), further comprising at least one second spacer (Kellner, on at least one separator plate side of the at least one separator plate, at least two strip-shaped compression pads are arranged between a lower and an upper edge of the at least one separator plate, [0009]; the Examiner notes that “at least one separator plate side” allows for the strip-shaped compression pads to be formed on both sides of the separator plate) spacing the divider (Kellner, at least two strip-shaped compression pads glued on to the separator plate, [0016]) a distance from the second cell stack (Kellner, the two strip-shaped compression pads directly abut the battery cell, [0009]).
Regarding Claim 26, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein the at least one first spacer and the at least one second spacer comprises strips of foam (Kellner, strip-shaped compression pads, [0016]).
Claim(s) 11-12, 21, and 27-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20220231367 A1, hereinafter Lee), in view of Park et al. (US 20220166084 A1, hereinafter Park), as applied to Claim 1 above, and further in view of Burkman et al. (US 20180233724 A1, hereinafter Burkman), filed in “Notice of References Cited” dated 04/29/2025.
Regarding Claim 11, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]).
Modified Lee is silent regarding a living hinge of the divider, the living hinge connecting the barrier portion to the attachment portion.
Burkman discloses a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), further comprising a living hinge of the divider (Burkman, each spacer includes a retainer, and retainer includes a body portion and a head portion, and a flap may be attached to the head portion via a living hinge, [0017]), the living hinge connecting the barrier portion to the attachment portion (Burkman, each flap is configured to engage the retainer of two adjacent spacers, Claim 15).
Burkman teaches that the flaps are pivotable between open and closed position, and the flap is configured to engage a corresponding retainer to secure the flap against a corresponding cell. (Burkman, [0005, 0018]).
Modified Lee and Burkman are analogous to the current invention as they are all directed towards a divider for a battery.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the partition wall portion of modified Lee to have a living hinge, flap, and retainer configuration, as taught by Burkman, in order to easily pivot the battery between open and closed position and to engage a corresponding retainer to secure the flap against a corresponding cell.
Regarding Claim 12, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), further comprising a traction battery pack enclosure (Lee, battery pack may be applied to transportation such as an electric vehicle, and module frame houses the battery cell stacks, [0014, 0063]) that encloses the first cell stack, the second cell stack, and the divider (Lee, battery pack houses the battery cell stack and partition wall portion, [0014]), wherein
the divider is a component separate from the traction battery pack enclosure and disposed within an interior of the traction battery pack enclosure (Lee, partition wall member 500 is separate from the module frame 300, Figure 4).
Regarding Claim 21, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein a cell stack axis of the first cell stack is substantially parallel to a cell stack axis of the second cell stack (Lee, first cell stack axis is parallel to second cell stack axis, Annotated Figure 7 above).
Regarding Claim 27, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein the living hinge is configured to allow the attachment portion to fold from a first position substantially coplanar with the barrier portion to a second position transverse to the barrier portion (Burkman, the flaps are pivotable between open and closed positions, [0017], Figure 2; the Examiner notes that Burkman’s open position corresponds to the claimed first position and the closed position corresponds to the claimed second position),
the second position being an installed position (Burkman, a distal end 64 of the flap 60 engages with the snap 66 of an adjacent retainer 50 when the flap 60 is in the closed position, [0017], Figure 2) in which the attachment portion is secured to the second side of the first cell stack (Park, a structural adhesive layer located between the upper plate and the battery cell stack, [0049]).
Regarding Claim 28, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), wherein before installation the attachment portion is in a first position substantially coplanar with the barrier portion, and after installation the attachment portion is in a second position transverse to the barrier portion (Burkman, the flaps are pivotable between open and closed positions, [0017], Figure 2; the Examiner notes that Burkman’s open position corresponds to the claimed first position and the closed position corresponds to the claimed second position) and secured directly to the second side of the first cell stack (Park, a structural adhesive layer located between the upper plate and the battery cell stack, [0049]).
Claim(s) 29-30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 20220231367 A1, hereinafter Lee), in view of Park et al. (US 20220166084 A1, hereinafter Park) and Burkman et al. (US 20180233724 A1, hereinafter Burkman), as applied to Claim 11 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 20230282931 A1, hereinafter Lee ‘931).
Regarding Claim 29, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]) comprising a barrier portion (Lee, partition wall portion, or divider, having barrier portion, [0042], Annotated Figure 7 above)
Modified Lee is silent regarding the first cell stack includes a side plate disposed on the first side of the first cell stack, the side plate having a plurality of apertures through which gases are vented from the first cell stack, the barrier portion positioned adjacent to the plurality of apertures to redirect gases vented through the plurality of apertures away from the second cell stack.
Lee ‘931 discloses a battery pack assembly (Lee ‘931, battery pack, [0008]), wherein the first cell stack includes a side plate disposed on the first side of the first cell stack (Lee ‘931, side cover, [0026]),
the side plate having a plurality of apertures through which gases are vented from the first cell stack (Lee ‘931, side cover may further include a venting hole through which gas generated from the cell stack is discharged, [0026]),
the barrier portion positioned adjacent to the plurality of apertures to redirect gases vented through the plurality of apertures away from the second cell stack (Lee ‘931, gas or flame discharged from the battery module through the venting hole to the internal space of the pack housing may flow along the venting passage, [0053]).
Lee ‘931 teaches that a battery pack comprising the venting hole and venting passage prevents gas or flames from spreading to other adjacent battery modules in the event of thermal runaway (Lee ‘931, [0008]).
Modified Lee and Lee ‘931 are analogous to the current invention as they are all directed towards a battery pack.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include a side cover comprising a venting hole and venting passage of Lee ‘931 into the battery cell stack of modified Lee, in order to prevent gas or flames from spreading to other adjacent battery modules in the event of thermal runaway.
Regarding Claim 30, modified Lee discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Lee discloses the limitations regarding a battery pack assembly (Lee, battery pack, [0012]), comprising:
a first cell stack having a plurality of first battery cells disposed along a first cell stack axis, having a first side facing away from the first cell stack axis and a second side facing away from the first cell stack axis (Lee, battery cells facing outwards away from the axis, Annotated Figure 7 above),
the first side transverse to the second side (Lee, first side transverse to second side, Annotated Figure 7 above);
a side plate disposed on the first side of the first cell stack (Lee ‘931, side cover, [0026]),
the side plate having a plurality of apertures through which gases are vented from the first cell stack away from the second cell stack (Lee ‘931, side cover may further include a venting hole through which gas generated from the cell stack is discharged, [0026]);
a second cell stack having a plurality of second battery cells disposed along a second cell stack axis, the second cell stack alongside the first cell stack and adjacent to the first side of the first cell stack (Lee, battery cells facing outwards away from the axis, Annotated Figure 7 above); and
a divider having a barrier portion (Lee, partition wall portion, or divider, having barrier portion, [0042], Annotated Figure 7 above) and
an attachment portion (Lee, first partition wall member, or divider having an attachment portion, Annotated Figure 7 above) connected together through a living hinge (Burkman, each spacer includes a retainer, and retainer includes a body portion and a head portion, and a flap may be attached to the head portion via a living hinge, and the flap, each flap is configured to engage the retainer of two adjacent spacers, [0017], Claim 15), wherein
the barrier portion is disposed between the first side of the first cell stack and the second cell stack (Lee, second partition wall member extending in a vertical direction from the first partition wall member, or barrier portion between the first and second cell stack, Annotated Figure 7 above),
the barrier portion spanning over the plurality of apertures to redirect gases vented through the plurality of apertures (Lee ‘931, gas or flame discharged from the battery module through the venting hole to the internal space of the pack housing may flow along the venting passage, [0053]), wherein
the attachment portion is folded about the living hinge relative to the barrier portion (Burkman, a distal end 64 of the flap 60 engages with the snap 66 of an adjacent retainer 50 when the flap 60 is pivoted to the closed position, [0017], Figure 2),
the attachment portion secured directly to the second side of the first cell stack (Park, a structural adhesive layer located between the upper plate and the battery cell stack, [0049]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 7-12, filed 05/21/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 3-6, 12, 21, and 23-25 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Lee et al. (US 20220231367 A1, hereinafter Lee), in view of Park et al. (US 20220166084 A1, hereinafter Park).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN NGUYEN whose telephone number is (703)756-1745. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 9:50 - 7:50 ET.
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/K.N./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/OSEI K AMPONSAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
