DETAILED ACTION
This is the first office action on the merits for 18/031/131, filed 4/10/2023, which is a national stage entry of PCT/KR2021/015360, filed 10/28/2021, which claims priority to Korean application KR10-2020-0141255, filed 10/28/2020.
Claims 1-11 are pending; Claims 1-9 are considered herein, and Claims 10-11 are withdrawn.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 10-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/17/2025.
Additional Prior Art
The Examiner wishes to apprise the Applicant of the following references, which are not currently applied in a rejection.
U.S. Patent 6,106,972: This reference teaches a hexagonal arrangement of battery cells in a hexagonal housing.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0119929 A1: This reference teaches a hexagonal arrangement of battery cells with dividing plates disposed between them.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2017/0005382 A1: This reference teaches a hexagonal arrangement of battery cells with dividing cooling pins disposed between them.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0251701 A1: This reference teaches a hexagonal arrangement of battery cells with dividing plates 34 disposed between them.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Johnson, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0133030 A1).
In reference to Claim 1, Johnson teaches a battery module (Figs. 3-5 and 7, paragraphs [0017]-[0023]) comprising first, second and third cell stacks, indicated in the inset below.
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Fig. 4 teaches that each of the first, second and third cell stacks comprises comprising a plurality of battery cells 102 (paragraph [0017]).
Figs. 3 and 5 teach that the module comprises a cell tray comprising a base plate (indicated in the inset below) on which the three first, second and third cell stacks are seated in a first, second and third seating areas respectively.
Fig. 5 teaches that the module comprises three split plates (indicated in the inset below) disposed upright on the base plate that partition a space so that the three first, second and third cell stacks are disposed to be separated from each other by each of the three split plates, respectively.
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Fig. 6 teaches that the module comprises a housing (indicated in the inset below) having a hexagonal pillar shape that accommodates the three first, second and third cell stacks and the cell tray.
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Figs. 3-4 teach that the module comprises a bus bar frame assembly 130 that covers an opening formed in an upper portion of the module housing, wherein the busbar frame electrically connects the plurality of battery cells of the first, second and third cell stacks (paragraph [0018]).
In reference to Claim 2, the insets of Figs. 5-6 above teach that the base plate has a planar hexagonal shape, i.e. that the base plate comprises a planar, hexagonal shape.
In reference to Claim 3, the insets of Figs. 5-6 above teach that each of the first, second, and third split plates extends from a central portion of the base plate to an edge portion of the base plate so that the first, second, and third seating areas have the same area.
In reference to Claim 7, the inset below teaches that the housing comprises a tray holder that supports an edge region of the base plate.
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In reference to Claim 8, the inset below teaches that the base plate is exposed through an opening formed in a lower portion of the housing, i.e. because the housing is hollow.
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In reference to Claim 9, Fig. 10 teaches that each of the first, second, and third split plates penetrates the base plate (via tabs 305/309 that insert into slots 307) such that each of the first, second, and third split plates is exposed through the opening formed in the lower portion of the housing (paragraph [0025]).
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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.
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnson, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0133030 A1), in view of Bender, et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2009/0263708 A1).
In reference to Claim 4, Johnson does not teach that the cell tray further comprises a pin holder extending upward from a central portion of the base plate.
To solve the same problem of providing arrangements of batteries in a triangular configuration, Bender teaches a cooling system for triangular battery arrangements (Figs. 7-8, paragraphs [0031]-[0038]).
The cooling system of Bender comprises a fluid channel 22 disposed within a thermally conductive battery cell separator/ductor 220 between adjacent batteries 10 through which cooling fluid 230 flows (Figs. 7-8, paragraph [0031]).
Bender teaches that the battery cell separator/ductor structures 220 and the associated cooling system provide the benefit of regulating the temperature of the battery system (paragraphs [0031]-[0032]).
Therefore, absent a showing of persuasive secondary considerations, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the instant invention was filed to have modified the battery arrangement of Johnson to include the battery separator/ductor structures 220, disposed between the adjacent battery cells of the device of Johnson, and the associated cooling mechanism of the device of Bender, because of the benefits Bender teaches are provided by these structures.
This modification teaches the limitations of Claim 4, wherein the cell tray further comprises a pin holder extending upward from a central portion of the base plate. This “pin holder” corresponds to the indicated portion of the ductor structure of Bender in the inset below. This structure is taught to be disposed on a cell tray in Fig. 12 of Bender (paragraph [0043]).
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This modification teaches the limitations of Claim 5, wherein the system further comprises a mounting pin that sequentially penetrates, in a direction from a top to a bottom of the mounting pin, a central portion of each of the bus bar frame assembly and the pin holder. This “pin” corresponds to the hollow tube 22 (paragraphs [0034]-[0035]).
This modification teaches the limitations of Claim 6, wherein the mounting pin has a flow path in a central portion of the mounting pin to allow a cooling fluid 230 to pass through the mounting pin (paragraphs [0034]-[0035]).
Conclusion
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/SADIE WHITE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1721