DETAILED ACTION
Introductory Notes
Any paragraph citation of the instant is in reference to the U.S. published patent application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JEONG (US 20180287227 A1).
Regarding claim 1, JEONG discloses a battery pack (“battery pack” [0005]) comprising: a plurality of battery stacks (battery cell stacks 115) provided such that the battery stacks are placed at intervals in an arrangement direction (as shown in Fig. 1);
a battery outer case in which the battery stacks are accommodated (as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 wherein the battery cell stack 115 is on cartridge 130);
a cooler placed on a bottom face of the battery outer case (thermal management system 200 as shown in Fig. 1);
and a buffer member (insulation pad 150),
wherein: the cooler includes a plurality of cooling modules provided such that the cooling modules are placed at intervals in the arrangement direction (Fig. 13 shows various regions of the thermal management system 200 reading on modules);
and a connecting portion configured to connect adjacent cooling modules in the arrangement direction to each other (in Fig. 13 the regions are fluidly connected as well as physically connected and therefore have multiple areas and structures reading on connection portions);
in each of the cooling modules, a refrigerant passage through which refrigerant flows is formed (coolant passage 220 as shown in Fig. 4), the connecting portion fluidly separated from the refrigerant passage in each of the cooling modules (as noted above in Fig. 13 the regions are fluidly connected as well as physically connected and therefore have multiple areas and structures reading on connection portions; furthermore there are areas and structures reading on connection portions that are not in fluid communication with the refrigerant, meaning not all areas connecting module areas have fluid);
the buffer member is placed between the connecting portion and a protection plate (outer plate 300) placed below the cooler (insulation pad 150 is between the lower plate 230 and outer plate 300 as shown in Fig. 4, this includes the areas that read on the connection portion);
and a vulnerable portion is formed in a part of the connecting portion (the entirety of the external battery case is vulnerable to “physical impact on the battery pack, such as during an accident or when shock is applied to the vehicle and/or battery pack” [0045]; therefore without further limitations as to what constitutes a vulnerable portion the constructed, or formed, lower plate 230 and outer plate 300 are vulnerable to impact), the part being a part where the buffer member is placed (the insulation pad 150 is between the lower plate 230 and outer plate 300 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, this includes the area that reads on the vulnerable portion).
Regarding claim 3, JEONG discloses the vulnerable portion is placed on a side closer to a contact portion between the connecting portion and the buffer member than a joined portion between the cooling module and the connecting portion (in Fig. 1 the regions are fluidly joined as well as physically joined and therefore have multiple areas and structures reading on joined and connecting portions; the vulnerable portion is closer to the external side while the joined portion is necessarily closer to the internal side due to the layering from external to internal of outer plate 300, insulation pad 150, lower plate 230, and upper plate 210).
Notably the connection portion and joined portion must be given their broadest reasonable interpretation. Currently they lack any specific claimed structure which precludes JEONG from fully reading on each.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Further searching failed to identify any additional prior art that would render the limitations of Claim 2 either anticipated or obvious.
Therefore, the allowable feature of Claim 2 is “the vulnerable portion is a mark-off line”, in combination with the other limitations of the claim.
The closest prior art is represented by JEONG as well as CHEN (WO 2022143064 A1, cited in a previous office action).
As discussed with the applicant’s representative in a series of exchanges beginning 12/29/2025, JEONG and the related art cannot read on claim 2 because claim 2 gives weighted structure as to what constitutes the vulnerable portion, namely the introduction of a mark-off line.
JEONG has notch portions 241 and 242 (see Figs. 11 and 12) which in isolation read on mark-off lines. However, these notches are not fluidly separated from the refrigerant passage and therefore cannot be read as being part of any structure which reads on connection portion following the amendment of 11/21/2025.
Similarly, CHEN teaches components such as buffer member 4, cooling channel 21, and reinforcement cavity 35 (see Fig. 3) reading on various aspects of claim 1. However, CHEN fails to teach a vulnerable section defined by a mark-off line.
Response to Arguments
Regarding art-based rejections, applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any interpretation applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Notably the new ground of rejection does not rely on the same mapping as to what constitutes the vulnerable portion and therefore connection portion. The change in mapping resulted in indication of allowable subject matter for dependent claim 2.
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.
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/T.L.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721