DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
Claims 12, 14-19, and 21-25 are currently pending. Claims 1-11, 13, and 20 are cancelled. New claim 25 has been added. The amended claims do overcome the previously stated 102 and 103 rejections. However, upon further consideration, claims 12, 14-19, and 21-24 are rejected under the following new 103 rejections. This action is made FINAL as necessitated by the amendment.
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.
Claims 12, 14-19, and 21-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (CN 110400892 A, machine translation) in view of Suzuki et al (US 2008/0179315), and further in view of Kanbe (JP 2002-334682 A, machine translation).
Regarding claims 12, 14-19, and 21, Wu et al discloses a flexible packaging plastic film (cell casing) for a flexible polymer lithium-ion battery (battery cell) having an embedded heating function (integrated cell heater) and a method for preparing a flexible packaging plastic film for a lithium-ion battery having an embedded heating function, the flexible packaging plastic film comprising:
a heating film layer “3” (cell heater) applied to a first side of a metal material layer “5” (first metallic layer), the heating film layer completely covering the battery; and
a laminate (composite stack) comprising at least the metal material layer and the heating film layer,
wherein the flexible polymer lithium-ion battery such a pouch battery (well known in the art) inherently comprises a folded configuration of the composite stack comprising folding along sides of a central bottom area to form a folded composite stack;
wherein the heating film layer inherently has at least one resistance heating conductor;
wherein the heating film layer has an outer polymer material layer “1” (electrically insulating film) arranged on a respective side of the heating film;
wherein the heating film layer rests directly on the metal material layer;
wherein an outer polymer material layer “1” (electrical insulation layer) is arranged on a side of the heating film layer facing away from the metal material layer;
the method comprising: applying a heating film layer to a first side of a metal material layer; and after the applying, inherently folding a composite stack comprising the metal material layer and the heating film layer ([0030],[0038],[0043] and Fig. 1).
However, Wu et al does not expressly teach arranging a second metallic layer on a side of the cell heater facing away from the first metallic layer, wherein a second side of the first metallic layer forms an inside of the metallic cell casing, and a side of the second metallic layer facing away from the cell heater forms an outside of the cell casing (claims 12 and 14); a cell heater that rests on the first metallic layer separated by an electrical insulation layer (claim 18); a cell heater that is electrically insulated in relation to the first metallic layer and is connected using a terminal to the second metallic layer (claim 21).
Suzuki et al discloses a laminated sheet heater “61” (integrated cell heater / composite stack) including a first insulating resin film “61c” (electrical insulation layer), a second insulating resin layer “61e”, a heater element “61d” (cell heater) interposed between the first insulating resin film “61c” and the second insulating resin film “61e”, a first metal sheet “61b” (first metallic layer) laminated on the first insulating resin film “61c”, and a second metal sheet “61f” (second metallic layer) laminated on the second insulating resin film “61e”; wherein a second side of the first metal sheet forms an inside of the laminated sheet heater and a side of the second metal sheet facing away from the heater element (cell heater) forms an outside of the laminated sheet heater; wherein the heater element is electrically insulated in relation to the first metal sheet and is connected to the second metal sheet and a lead terminal portion “64dt” (terminal) ([0075],[0076],[0078], and Fig. 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the Wu flexible packaging plastic film to include a second metallic layer on a side of the cell heater facing away from the first metallic layer, wherein a second side of the first metallic layer forms an inside of the metallic cell casing, and a side of the second metallic layer facing away from the cell heater forms an outside of the cell casing; wherein the cell heater that rests on the first metallic layer is separated by an electrical insulation layer; wherein the cell heater is electrically insulated in relation to the first metallic layer and is connected using a terminal to the second metallic layer in order to appropriately conduct heat to the battery such that the temperature of the laminated sheet heater can be prevented from excessively increasing locally ([0104]).
However, Wu et al as modified by Suzuki et al does not expressly teach welding abutting edges of the folded composite stack together to form the cell casing (claims 12 and 14).
Kanbe discloses a battery case “14” (cell casing) that is formed of laminate sheets “15”, “16” provided with a resin layer “17” on the surface of a metal foil “19” that are overlapped laminate sheets and the overlapped laminate sheets are welded (Abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the Wu/Suzuki flexible packaging plastic film to include welding abutting edges of the folded composite stack together to form the cell casing in order to battery case that is firmly jointed and has jointing strength as required for a battery case without giving thermal effect to the electrode (Abstract).
Regarding claim 22, Wu et al also discloses a battery pack (battery) comprising a plurality of individual cells (battery cells), each of the individual cells having a cell casing ([0006]).
However, Wu et al as modified by Suzuki et al does not expressly teach second metallic layers of the cell casings that are electrically connected to one another (claim 22).
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the Wu/Suzuki battery pack to include second metallic layers of the cell casings that are electrically connected to one another because electrically connecting the second metallic layer of the cell casings is an obvious matter of design choice which one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to make in order to achieve uniform overall temperature of the battery pack by heating the battery cells simultaneously (Concrete Unlimited Inc. v. Cementcraft Inc. 227 USPQ 784 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Kuhle 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975)).
Regarding claims 23 and 24, the Office takes the position that an electrically operated vehicle comprising at least one battery comprising at least one battery cell having the cell casing, the electrically operated vehicle being a plug-in hybrid vehicle is well known in the art at the time of the invention.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the Wu/Suzuki/Kanbe lithium ion battery to include an electrically operated vehicle comprising at least one battery comprising at least one battery cell having the cell casing, the electrically operated vehicle being a plug-in hybrid vehicle because all of the claimed elements were known in the art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 25 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.
Suzuki et al discloses a cell heater “61d” that is electrically insulated from the second metal sheet “61f” (second metallic layer).
However, Suzuki et al does not expressly teach a cell heater that is electricity connected using a terminal to the second metallic layer and therefore would not result in the advantage of multiple cell casings that may be electrically connected together particularly easily, in particular while avoiding a conductor foil (as disclosed in para. [0022] of present application).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 2/9/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues that “Wu's "lithium-ion battery flexible packaging plastic film" (Abstract) includes, in every embodiment, "an outer polymer material layer" and "an inner polymer material layer," as these are part of the "specific technical solution" of the invention. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art would have had no motivation to modify Wu's soft packaging plastic film by replacing the inner and outer polymer layers with metallic layers having abutting edges sealed with welds, as now recited by Applicant's claims”.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Nothing in the Wu reference teaches away from the addition of a second metallic layer to the laminate as long as the composite stack still forms flexible packaging plastic film. As stated above in the 103 rejection, Suzuki discloses a laminate sheet heater that is inherently capable of being used as a cell casing having an integrated cell heater. The Suzuki laminated sheet heater comprises the same composite stack comprising a second side of the first metallic layer forming an inside of the laminated sheet heater and a side of the second metallic layer facing away from the cell heater forming an outside of the laminated sheet heater and therefore reads on the structure of the cell casing recited in claims 12 and 14. In addition, Suzuki teaches the advantage of appropriately conducting heat to the battery such that the temperature of the laminated sheet heater can be prevented from excessively increasing locally.
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.S.C/Examiner, Art Unit 1751
/JONATHAN G LEONG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1751 5/2/2026
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