DETAILED ACTION
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 . 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. § 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. § 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the cooling part” in line 7. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of examination, the limitation will be interpreted to recite “the cooling port.”
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 2019/0319318 A1) in view of Albrecht et al. (US 2019/0275911 A1), hereinafter “Albrecht.”
Regarding claim 1, Park discloses a battery pack comprising:
a battery module (¶ [0033]; Fig. 1, reference no. 100) that includes a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, in this case a plurality of battery packs are arranged within the battery module (¶ [0033]), a module frame that houses the battery cell stack, in this case the cover (¶ [0033]; Fig. 1, reference no. 110), and a heat sink located below the module frame, in this case the first cooling plate (¶ [0033]; Fig. 1, reference no. 121), having a through hole formed therein, in this case the lower connection pipe that extends from the front branch (¶ [0047] & [0075]; Figs. 2, 3, 6, 9, & 10, reference nos. 150 & 153A);
a pack pipe assembly configured to receive a flow of coolant, in this case a cooling medium flows within the coolant pipes (¶ [0044] & [0047]; Fig. 6, reference nos. 171-173);
a cooling port that is connected to the through hole and including an inclination part formed on an outer peripheral surface of the cooling port, in this case the upper connection pipe (¶ [0075]; Figs. 9, & 10, reference no. 153B), that includes an inclination part formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cooling part, in this case the first upper connection unit (¶ [0076]; Figs. 9 & 10, reference no. 153B-1);
a cooling connector that connects the pack refrigerant pipe assembly and the cooling port, in this case the first connection member (¶ [0076]; Figs. 9 & 10, reference no. 153C), the inclination part have a width in a horizontal direction that narrows in the direction towards the cooling connector, in this case the first upper connection unit narrows towards the first connecting member (see annotated Fig. 10, reference nos. 153B-1 & 153C-2, below); and
a ring-shaped sealing member located between the inclination part and the cooling connector, in this case the first sealing unit includes a portion positioned between the first upper connection unit and the first core member (¶ [0080]; Fig. 10, reference nos. 153B-1, 153C-2, &153C-3).
Park does not disclose that refrigerant flows within the pipes. However, Albrecht teaches that refrigerant may be used as a cooling medium for batteries (¶ [0010]. One having ordinary skill in the art would have realized that employing refrigerant as the cooling medium would have facilitated battery pack temperature control (see ¶ [0007]), thereby facilitating improved battery pack operation and safety. Therefore, it would have been obvious to have selected refrigerant as the cooling medium in order to have facilitated improved battery pack operation and safety.
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Regarding claim 2, Park further discloses that the inclination part has a truncated cone-shaped inclined surface, in this case the first upper connection unit narrows towards the first connection member (see Figs. 9 & 10, reference no. 153).
Regarding claim 3, Park further discloses that the cooling connector includes a recess in which the cooling port and the sealing member are disposed, in this case the first lower connection unit (¶ [0075]; Fig. 10, reference no. 153A-1) surrounds the sealing member (see Fig. 10, reference no. 153C-3) which in turn surrounds the cooling port (see annotated Fig. 10, above).
Regarding claim 4, Park further discloses that the sealing member is located between an inner surface of the cooling connector defined within the recess, in this case the interior layer of the first sealing unit (see Fig. 10, reference no. 153C-3) is positioned on the interior surface of the first shell member (see Fig. 10, reference no. 153C-2), and an outer peripheral surface of the inclination part (see Fig. 10, reference nos. 153C-3 and 153B-1).
Regarding claim 5, Park further discloses that the inner surface of the cooling connector includes an inclination passage part that the sealing member contacts, in this case the wider portion of the “Y” portion formed by the first sealing unit and the first body unit (see ¶ [0080]; see also Fig. 10, reference nos. 153C-2 & 153C-3).
Regarding claim 6, Park further discloses that the inclination passage part becomes smaller in inner diameter in a direction towards a lower side of the cooling connector and conforms to the shape of the inclination part, in this case the passage narrows in the connection direction and has a conformal shape (see annotated Fig. 10, above).
Regarding claim 7, Park further discloses that the sealing member is located between an inner surface of the inclination passage part and the outer peripheral surface of the inclination part, in this case the first sealing unit is located between the “Y” portion and the first upper connection unit (see Fig. 10, reference nos. 153A-1, 153C-3, & 153B-1).
Regarding claim 8, Park further discloses that the through hole is a first through hole and is an inlet port and the cooling port is a first cooling port and is connected to the inlet port, the battery pack further comprising a second through hole that is an outlet port and a second cooling port connected to the outlet port, in this case there are identical through holes and associated components allowing cooling medium to flow in and out via the external connection pipe ((¶ [0047]; see Fig. 6, reference nos. 153 & 190).
Regarding claim 9, Park further discloses that the pack refrigerant pipe assembly includes supply and discharge pipes, in this case the external connection pipe includes a pipe for cooling medium flowing in and flowing out (¶ [0047]; Fig. 6, reference no. 190 & arrows).
Regarding claim 10, Park further discloses that the cooling connector is a first cooling connector and the cooling port is a first cooling port, the battery pack further comprising a second cooling connector connected to a second cooling port, and the battery pack is configured such that the refrigerant flowing along the pack refrigerant supply pipe flows into the heat sink through the first cooling connector, the first cooling port, and the inlet port, in this case there are identical through holes and associated components allowing cooling medium to flow in and out via the external connection pipe ((¶ [0047]; see Fig. 6, reference nos. 153 & 190).
Regarding claim 11, Park further discloses that the battery pack is configured such that the refrigerant is discharged our of the heat sink to the pack refrigerant discharge pipe through the outlet port, the second cooling port, and the second cooling connector, in this case there are identical through holes and associated components allowing cooling medium to flow in and out via the external connection pipe ((¶ [0047]; see Fig. 6, reference nos. 153 & 190).
Regarding claim 12, Park further discloses that the heat sink includes a lower plate joined to a bottom part of the module frame, in this case the first cooling plate (¶ [0033]; Fig. 1, reference no. 121) includes the fixing block (¶ [0057]; Fig. 7, reference no. 180), and a depressed part recessed downward from the lower plate, in this case the portions where the cooling pipes are positioned in the lower unit (¶ [0061]; Fig. 7, reference no. 182).
Regarding claim 13, Park further discloses that the through hole is formed in the depressed part, in this case the first cooling plate (¶ [0033]; Fig. 1, reference no. 121) includes the front branch unit (¶ [0047]; Fig. 3, reference no. 150) where the through hole is placed.
Regarding claim 14, Park further discloses that the battery pack is configured to receive flow of the refrigerant between the bottom part and the depressed part, in this case the flow paths are formed in the fixing block (¶ [0050]; Fig. 7, reference nos. 171A, 171B, & 180).
Regarding claim 15, Park further discloses a device (¶ [0003]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT J CHMIELECKI whose telephone number is (571)272-7641. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 am to 5 pm.
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/SCOTT J. CHMIELECKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729