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 .
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendments filed 10/27/2026:
Claims 1-7 and 9-10 are pending in the current application. Claims 1, 6-7, and 9 have been amended. Claim 8 is canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-7 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zacher et al. (DE 102017119467 B4) in view of Hirano et al. (JP 2013062023 A).
Regarding claim 1, Zacher teaches a battery pack 4 comprising a battery pack frame, or floor structure 22 including a plurality of accommodating portions (Fig. 1);
a plurality of battery cell laminates, or cells laminated together such as rectangular or pouch cells 13/23 accommodated in a respective one of the plurality of accommodating portions (P36.44-46; Fig. 1-2), and an upper plate, or cover, wherein the base has a U-profile and is paired with a lid that covers the plurality of accommodating portions (P28-29; Fig. 2-3), wherein the plurality of accommodating portions are separated by at least one partitioning wall, or pre-tensioning device 4, and a separation space exists between the at least one partitioning wall and the upper plate, wherein a space exists between the plurality of accommodating portions and the upper plate is not partitioned by the partitioning wall, and disposed to form one space, wherein the partition only need support from the base, saving weight and installation space (P29.40-44; Fig. 1).
Zacher is silent in teaching a coolant filled in the plurality of accommodating portions; and a heat exchanger liquified the coolant that is vaporized by communicating with the plurality of accommodating portions, wherein the one space is not filled with the coolant; however, Hirano, in a similar field of endeavor teaches a battery pack comprising plurality of battery cells (P29).
Hirano teaches a coolant 4 filled in accommodating portion of a plurality of cells 3 and an upper plate, or top plate of condenser 6 and heat exchanger, or heat sink plate with fins 5/5a (or capacitor/cooler/evaporator 6/14/15) that liquifies the coolant that is vaporized by communicating with the accommodating portion of the cells to improve health, lifetime, and safety of a battery (P20-30; Fig. 2-5). A space between the accommodating portion and the upper plate 6a is disposed to form one space, and the one space is not filled with the liquid coolant, i.e., leaving 30% to 20% of the area unfilled to account for pressure change and thermal exchange (P15-16.25; Fig. 1-3.6-8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to use the upper plate and heat exchanger of Hirano to cover the plurality of accommodating portions of Zacher, and have a coolant filled in the plurality of accommodating portions, while having the top at least 20-30% of the space below the exchanger not filled with coolant, to improve health, lifetime, and safety of a battery. The rationale to support a conclusion that the claim would have been obvious is that a method of enhancing a particular class of devices (methods, or products) has been made part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art based upon the teaching of such improvement in other situations. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been capable of applying this known method of enhancement to a "base" device (method, or product) in the prior art and the results would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. MPEP 2143 C
Regarding claim 2, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the coolant is a liquid with insulating characteristics (P24).
Regarding claim 3, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the plurality of battery cell laminates directly contacts the coolant (P9.24-25.28; Fig. 1-8)
Regarding claim 4, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the coolant that is vaporized directly contacts the heat exchanger 5 (P20-30.39; Fig. 1-8)
Regarding claim 5, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the coolant that is liquified is returned to the plurality of accommodating portions (P20-30; Fig. 1-8).
Regarding claim 6, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the heat exchanger communicates with the plurality of accommodating portions through a passage formed by the upper plate covering the plurality of accommodating portions (P28-30.39; Fig. 1-8).
Regarding claim 7, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the heat exchanger is a cooling plate, or a heat sink 5 (Hirano; P19-21; Fig. 1-3) between an upper plate covering the plurality of accommodating portions and the plurality of accommodating portions in light of modified Zacher (P29.40-44; Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 9, modified Zacher in view of Hirano teaches the heat exchanger communicates with the separation space (P20-30).
Regarding claim 10, modified Zacher teaches a device comprising the battery pack of claim 1 (P9).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/27/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues:
According to Hirano, a plurality of cells 3 are arranged in a single space. In contrast, claim 1 now recites the plurality of accommodating portions are separated by at least one partitioning wall and a cell stack is arranged in each of the accommodating portions. This enables efficient cooling of a larger number of cell stacks with a simple structure. Therefore, the combination of Zacher and Hirano does not result in the subject matter of claim 1.
This argument is not persuasive. Zacher, not Hirano, is relied on for teaching the plurality of accommodating portions are separated by at least one partitioning wall and a cell stack is arranged in each of the accommodating portions. Disclosed examples and preferred embodiments do not constitute a teaching away from a broader disclosure or nonpreferred embodiments.
Hirano teaches using the cooling system within a vehicle battery pack with a goal of minimizing space used (P8-10.25). Hirano teaches any configuration can be used to house any number/groups of cells (P10.25-27). Zacher teaches to further minimize the size of a battery pack comprising a plurality of groups of batteries within a battery pack of a vehicle to include at least one partitioning wall (P1-4.11.25.29.51).
Similarly, Zacher, teaching the accommodating portions separated by partitioning walls, would be motivated to use the cooling structure of Hirano as a space saving method of cooling the battery pack in a vehicle. Thus, reasonable expectation for success of the combination exists. Accordingly, the argument is piecemeal analysis that does not take the combination into account. In response to the applicants argument again the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references.
The examiner notes that a person of ordinary skill in the art is also a person of ordinary creativity, not an automaton, and that a person of ordinary skill in the art will be able to fit the teachings of multiple patents together taking into account the inferences and creative steps that a person of skill in the art would employ. MPEP 2141.03 I
"The test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference.... Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of those references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art." Combining the teachings of references does not involve an ability to combine their specific structures.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gao et al. (US 20210066768) teaches a coolant 3 filled in accommodating portion of a plurality of cells 2 and a heat exchanger, or condenser 5 liquified the coolant that is vaporized by communicating with the plurality of accommodating portions to improve health, lifetime, and safety of a battery (P23-31; Fig. 1-4).
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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/Amanda Rosenbaum/ Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/Helen Oi K CONLEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752