DETAILED ACTION
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 amendment received on 01/21/2026:
Claims 1-4 and 6-10 have been amended.
Claim 3 has been canceled.
The previous prior art has been applied. All changes made are necessitated by the amendment. Thus the action is final.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 11/17/2025 and 02/17/2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1-4 and 6-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication 2021/0384566 to Jung et al. in view of US Patent Application Publication 2018/0212214 to Sakai et al.
With respect to claim 1, Jung et al. teach a battery module comprising: a battery cell stack 400 including at least one battery cell; a bus bar frame 500 covering an upper surface of the battery cell stack 400 and a side surface of the battery cell stack 400, wherein a lead of the at least one battery cell protrudes from the side surface; a housing 200 for accommodating a coupled body comprising the battery cell stack 400 and the bus bar frame 500; and a pair of end plates 300 coupled to surfaces at opposite ends of the housing 200, respectively, wherein a lead of the at least one battery cell is disposed at the surfaces at opposite ends of the housing (Jung et al.: Sections [0035]-[0038]; Figs. 1-2).
Jung et al. do not specifically teach a battery module, wherein a plurality of gas inducing holes are formed in an upper part of the bus bar frame, and optionally in an upper surface of the housing, at least one of the pair of end plates, or both.
However, Sakai et al. teach a battery module comprising a plurality of through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) are formed in at least one of an upper part of a holder 20 (the bus bar frame and an upper surface of the housing) and a bottom portion 23 of the holder 20 (at least one of the pair of end plates) (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19). A front member 70 with a plurality of tabs 51 were fastened to the holder 20 by a plurality bolts 71. In other words, the holder 20 with the front member 70 are acted as a bus bar frame. With the teaching from Sakai et al., it would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to form through holes on busbar frame, housing or end plates of a battery module.
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Jung et al. with having the through holes formed on the walls and a bottom of the holder 20 from Sakai et al. with the motivation of having a means such the holes improve the air flow and release the heat generated by the batteries.
With respect to claim 2, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. teach the battery module, wherein: the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. are formed in the upper part of the bus bar frame and the upper surface of the housing 200 (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19).
With respect to claim 3, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. teach the battery module, wherein: the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. formed in the upper surface of the housing are arranged to form a plurality of columns along a length direction of the upper surface of the battery cell stack (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19).
With respect to claim 4, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. the battery module, wherein: at least one of the plurality of columns is disposed adjacent to an edge of the upper surface of the housing 200 (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19).
With respect to claim 6, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. teach the battery module, wherein: the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. formed in the upper part of the bus bar frame are arranged to form a plurality of columns along a length direction of the upper surface of the battery cell stack (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19).
With respect to claim 7, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. teach the battery module, wherein: at least one of the plurality of columns is disposed adjacent to an edge of the upper part of the bus bar frame 200 (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19).
With respect to claim 8, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. teach the battery module, wherein: the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. are formed in the upper part of the bus bar frame and at least one of the pair of end plates 300 (Sakai et al.: Sections [0070]; Figs. 4 and 19).
With respect to claim 9, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. do not specifically teach the battery module, wherein: the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. are formed in the upper part of the bus bar frame and on both of the pair of end plates 300.
However, it would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. are formed on both of a pair of end plates 300, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 (CA7 1977).
With respect to claim 10, Jung et al. in view of Sakai et al. do not specifically teach the battery module, wherein: the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. formed on both of the pair of end plates include at least three holes disposed in a central portion of each of the pair of end plates 300 and arranged in a line along a height direction of each of the pair of end plates 300.
However, it would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have the plurality of the through holes 21a (gas inducing holes) of Sakai et al. includes at least three holes disposed in a central portion of each of the pair of end plates 300 and arranged in a line along a height direction of each of the pair of end plates 300, since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950).
With respect to claim 11, Jung et al. teach a battery pack including at least one battery module (Jung et al.: Sections [0035]-[0038]; Figs. 1-2).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 01/21/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Sakai’s holder 20 is not a bus bar frame that covers an upper surface of a battery stack.
Examiner respectfully disagrees with Applicant's interpretation of the claim language applied to the prior art. Sakai et al. teach a front member 70 with a plurality of tabs 51 were fastened to the holder 20 by a plurality bolts 71. In other words, the holder 20 with the front member 70 are acted as a bus bar frame. Furthermore, including gas inducing holes on the parts of a battery would improve the efficiency of cooling the battery. The locations of the holes are
held to be an obvious matter of design choice. In In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950). The specification and the claim do not show the criticality of having the gas inducing holes at the specific location would have a significant improvement.
Therefore the rejections will be maintained.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINGWEN R ZENG whose telephone number is (571)272-6649. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
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/LINGWEN R ZENG/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 5/14/2026
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