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 .
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed on February 12th, 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-13 remain pending in the application. Claims 14-20 were cancelled by the Applicant. Claims 21-17 were added by the Applicant. Applicant’s arguments to the previous rejections of the claims were fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections of the claims are withdrawn due to the Applicant’s amendments. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Murakami et al. JP 2013098140 A. Additionally, Applicant’s arguments regarding the newly added claims 21-27 are not persuasive. New rejections follow.
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 21-27 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 21 recites “a guide film configured to…maintain contact with the face support”. This claim limitation is indefinite and thus the claim is unclear. It is not clear how long the guide film needs to be configured to maintain contact with the face support, nor is it clear as to what point in the assembly of the battery pack the guide film needs to be configured to maintain contact with the face support. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 22-27, as they depend from Claim 21, are indefinite for the same reasons.
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 21-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 10(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. WO 2019/231078 A1. Citations are mapped to the machine translation.
Regarding Claim 21, as best understood by the Examiner, Kim discloses a battery pack assembly apparatus (battery cell mounting apparatus) [Page 1 Lines 58-59]. Kim discloses that the apparatus comprises a cell gripper (support member Figure 4 Item 100) that supports a battery cell (battery cell stack Figure 4 Item 800) [Page 2 Line 10, Page 3 Lines 16-18], thus “configured to grip a battery cell”. Kim discloses that the cell gripper (support member) can move the battery cell (battery cell stack) toward a frame member [Page 3 Lines 57-59], thus “configured…to move the battery cell in a first direction”. This is further illustrated in Kim Annotated Figure 4 below.
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Kim Annotated Figure 4
Kim further discloses a cell guide (“pressing member” Figure 4 Item 400) comprising a slider movable in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (see Kim Annotated Figures 4 & 5 below).
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Kim discloses that the cell guide comprises rotating rollers (Figure 4 Item 420) [Page 4 Line 42] that rotate and enable movement of the battery cell in the first direction due to lowering the frictional force [Page 4 Lines 48-54], thus Kim discloses that the cell guide is configured to guide movement of the battery cell in the first direction.
Kim discloses that the slider comprises a face support (moving rod Figure 4 Item 410) [Page 4 Lines 42-44] and a guide film (“film” Figure 4 Item 900) [Page 4 Lines 42-44]. Kim discloses that the guide film moves along the surface of the face support (see Kim Annotated Figures 5 & 6 below) [Page 4 Lines 49-53], and is thus “configured to be movable along the face support”.
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Kim Annotated Figures 5 & 6
Kim shows in Figures 5-7, illustrating the series of movements wherein the cell guide enables the movement of the battery cell in the first direction into the frame (Item 700), that the face support (Item 410) maintains contact with the guide film (Item 900), as shown in Figures 5 & 6 above. Examiner notes that the claim limitation “a guide film configured to…maintain contact with the face support” was given its broadest reasonable interpretation so as to mean that the guide film is capable of maintaining contact with the face support. Therefore, as shown in Kim Figures 5-7, Kim discloses a guide film that is configured to maintain contact with the face support.
Regarding Claim 22, Kim discloses that the gripper (support member) comprises a grip portion (first support Figure 3 Item 110) that supports the battery cell [Page 4 Lines 4-5], thus “configured to grip the battery cell”. Kim discloses that the gripper comprises an actuator (power source coupled to support member) that moves the cell supported by the grip portion (first support) towards the frame [Page 3 Lines 57-59], thus “configured to move the grip portion in the first direction”.
Regarding Claim 23, Kim discloses that the slider (as shown in Kim Annotated Figures 4 & 5 above) has a first slider and a second slider (see Kim Annotated Figure 5 below):
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Kim Annotated Figure 5
Kim discloses, as illustrated in Annotated Figure 5 above, that the first slider and second slider move in the second direction so as to approach or move away from each other.
Regarding Claim 24, Kim discloses that the cell guide (pressing member Figure 5 Item 400) comprises a slider transporter (driving force transfer source Figure 5 Item 430) that is configured to provide a moving force (driving force) to the first slider and the second slider [Page 4 Lines 54-58].
Regarding Claim 25, Kim discloses that the face support (moving rod) comprises a plurality of rolling elements (rotating rollers Figure 4 Items 420) [Page 4 Lines 42-43, Page 4 Lines 48-49]. Kim discloses that the rolling elements (rotating rollers) are in contact with the guide film, as shown in Annotated Figure 5:
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Kim Annotated Figure 5
Regarding Claim 26, Kim discloses a pushing arm (film guide member Figure 4 Item 300) on each side with each of the first slider and the second slider, which as shown in Figure 4 is positioned below a portion of the face support.
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Kim Annotated Figure 4
Kim discloses that the pusher arm enables movement of the guide film [Page 2 Lines 11-12].
Regarding Claim 27, Kim illustrates in Figure 4 that the guide film (Item 900) extends from the cell guides (pressing members) such that the pushing arms are inside the guide film. This is also shown in Figure 5.
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 1-8, 11, & 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. WO 2019/231078 A1 in further view of Murakami et al. JP 2013098170 A. Citations are mapped to the machine translations.
Regarding Claim 1, Kim discloses a battery pack assembly apparatus (battery cell mounting apparatus) [Page 1 Lines 58-59]. Kim discloses that the apparatus comprises a cell gripper (support member Figure 4 Item 100) that supports a battery cell (battery cell stack Figure 4 Item 800) [Page 2 Line 10, Page 3 Lines 16-18], thus “configured to grip a battery cell”. Kim discloses that the cell gripper (support member) can move the battery cell (battery cell stack) toward a frame member [Page 3 Lines 57-59], thus “configured…to move the battery cell in a first direction”. This is further illustrated in Kim Annotated Figure 4 below.
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Kim Annotated Figure 4
Kim further discloses a cell guide (“pressing member” Figure 4 Item 400) comprising a slider movable in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (see Kim Annotated Figures 4 & 5 below).
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Kim discloses that the cell guide comprises rotating rollers (Figure 4 Item 420) [Page 4 Line 42] that rotate and enable movement of the battery cell in the first direction due to lowering the frictional force [Page 4 Lines 48-54], thus Kim discloses that the cell guide is configured to guide movement of the battery cell in the first direction.
Kim is silent as to where the assembly apparatus is mounted or arranged, more specifically Kim is silent as to a base wherein the cell gripper and cell guide are each movably arranged on the base.
Murakami discloses a battery pack assembly apparatus (assembly jig) comprising a cell gripper (grip 4 including claws 8 Figure 6 [0029, 0036] and a cell guide (clamp members 6 and toggle clamps 9 Figure 6 [0029, 0032-0033]. Examiner notes that Murakami’s grip and claws are similar to Kim’s cell gripper (support member) and Murakami’s clamp members and toggle clamps are similar to Kim’s cell guide (pressing member and moving rod), as illustrated below in Annotated Kim Figure 4 and Murakami Figure 6:
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Annotated Kim Figure 4 and Murakami Figure 6
Murakami discloses that the apparatus comprises a base (frame 5 with base portion Figure 6) [0031]. Murakami discloses that the cell gripper is movably connected to a base (claws are rotatably connected to frame by pin 5c [0036]), and that the cell guide is movably connected to the base (clamp members 6 are connected to frame by displacement shaft 9a that move clamp members into and out of pressed state) [0034], which is also shown in Figure 6 of Murakami. Thus, Murakami discloses a base wherein a cell gripper, similar to the cell gripper of Kim, and a cell guide, similar to the cell guide of Kim, are both movably arranged on the base.
Murakami discloses that this configuration for an assembly apparatus enables the operator of the assembly apparatus (jig) to perform all operations without moving the assembly apparatus, which leads to efficient assembly of the battery cell [0059-0060].
In the absence of a direct teaching of where or how the assembly apparatus of Kim is mounted or arranged, one of ordinary skill would look to analogous art such as Murakami to find a direct teaching of mounting or arranging a similar assembly apparatus for a battery pack on a base member. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the base of Murakami with the assembly apparatus of Kim to provide an assembly apparatus for a battery cell comprising a base, wherein the cell gripper and the cell guide are both movably arranged on the base, for the benefit of enabling an operator of the assembly apparatus to perform all operations without moving the assembly apparatus and thereby the efficient assembly of the battery cell as suggested by Murakami.
Regarding Claim 2, modified Kim discloses that the gripper (support member) comprises a grip portion (first support Figure 3 Item 110) that supports the battery cell [Page 4 Lines 4-5], thus “configured to grip the battery cell”. Kim discloses that the gripper comprises an actuator (power source coupled to support member) that moves the cell supported by the grip portion (first support) towards the frame [Page 3 Lines 57-59], thus “configured to move the grip portion in the first direction”.
Regarding Claim 3, modified Kim discloses that the slider (as shown in Kim Annotated Figures 4 & 5 above) has a first slider and a second slider (see Kim Annotated Figure 5 below):
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Kim Annotated Figure 5
Kim discloses, as illustrated in Annotated Figure 5 above, that the first slider and second slider move in the second direction so as to approach or move away from each other.
Regarding Claim 4, modified Kim discloses that the cell guide (pressing member Figure 5 Item 400) comprises a slider transporter (driving force transfer source Figure 5 Item 430) that is configured to provide a moving force (driving force) to the first slider and the second slider [Page 4 Lines 54-58].
Regarding Claim 5, modified Kim discloses that each of the first slider and the second slider comprises a face support (moving rod Figure 4 Item 410) [Page 4 Lines 42-44] and a guide film (“film” Figure 4 Item 900) [Page 4 Lines 42-44]. Kim discloses that the guide film moves along the surface of the face support (see Kim Annotated Figures 5 & 6 below) [Page 4 Lines 49-53], and is thus “configured to be movable along the face support”.
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Kim Annotated Figures 5 & 6
Regarding Claim 6, modified Kim discloses that the face support (moving rod) comprises a plurality of rolling elements (rotating rollers Figure 4 Items 420) [Page 4 Lines 42-43, Page 4 Lines 48-49]. Kim discloses that the rolling elements (rotating rollers) are in contact with the guide film, as shown in Annotated Figure 5:
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Kim Annotated Figure 5
Regarding Claim 7, modified Kim discloses a pushing arm (film guide member Figure 4 Item 300) on each side with each of the first slider and the second slider, which as shown in Figure 4 is positioned below a portion of the face support.
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Kim Annotated Figure 4
Kim discloses that the pusher arm enables movement of the guide film [Page 2 Lines 11-12].
Regarding Claim 8, modified Kim illustrates in Figure 4 that the guide film (Item 900) extends from the cell guides (pressing members) such that the pushing arms are inside the guide film. This is also shown in Figure 5.
Regarding Claim 11, modified Kim discloses that a first end of the guide film is configured to be wound and unwound by an upper film roller (Figure 4 Item 200) [Page 4 Lines 17-19] above the face support (see Annotated Figure 4).
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Kim Annotated Figure 4
Kim further discloses that a second end of the guide film is configured to be wound and unwound by a lower film roller below the face support [Page 4 Lines 12-14] (see Kim Annotated Figures 3 & 4).
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Regarding Claim 13, modified Kim discloses that the battery cell comprises a lithium secondary battery in a battery case [Page 1 Lines 25-30], and as shown in the figures, the battery cell stack comprising multiple battery cells (Figure 1 Item 800) is shown to have a rectangular shape. The term “prismatic battery” in this case was given the broadest reasonable interpretation, meaning a lithium battery with a rectangular shape disposed in a casing. Thus, Kim discloses that the battery cell is a prismatic battery.
Claims 9 & 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Murakami as applied to Claim 8 above, and further in view of Yamamoto JP H10193443 A. Citations are mapped to the machine translation provided.
Regarding Claim 9, modified Kim discloses that an air pocket/void space is created by folding of the guide film, as shown in Figures 5-7, illustrated in Annotated Figures 5-7 below, when the battery cell is moved into the frame. However, modified Kim is silent as to how the air pocket is formed or how the shape is maintained in the guide film.
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Kim Annotated Figures 5-7
Yamamoto discloses an apparatus (thin resin film molding apparatus Figure 5) that threads a thin film (similar to the guide film of Kim) through a series of rollers, similarly to the film and rollers in Kim’s apparatus, see Kim Annotated Figure 5 compared with Yamamoto Annotated Figure 5 below.
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Kim Annotated Figure 5 compared with Yamamoto Annotated Figure 5
Yamamoto discloses that the apparatus further comprises an air knife (Figure 5 Item 5 and Figure 2 Item 74) that is configured to inject air from an air line (air pipe Figure 2 Item 35) to provide high-pressure (compressed) air toward the thin film [0020], see Yamamoto Annotated Figure 2 below.
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Yamamoto Annotated Figure 2
Yamamoto discloses that in the absence of an air knife in this type of apparatus, the thin film lacks stiffness and stability [0009]. Yamamoto further discloses that the air knife enables the thin film to be in close contact with the rollers for stability [0014].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to incorporate the air knife of Yamamoto in the apparatus of Kim to provide an apparatus with a guide film that is stiff and stable through a series of rollers wherein the guide film is in close contact with the rollers.
Thus, modified Kim discloses that the apparatus comprises an air knife meeting the limitations of Claim 9.
Regarding Claim 10, modified Kim discloses a guide roller that positions the guide film on the cell guide, as shown in Kim Annotated Figures 4 & 5 below.
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Modified Kim Annotated Figures 4 & 5
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Murakami as applied to Claim 5 above, and further in view of Lashmore et al. WO 2013/158174 A1. Citations are mapped to the original document.
Regarding Claim 12, modified Kim is relied upon for the reasons given above in addressing Claim 11, however is silent as the rollers are configured to be wound or unwound by operations of film motors.
Lashmore discloses a method of making a nanocomposite sheet for a battery wherein the apparatus for making the sheet comprises roller (Figure 7 Item 48) that are configured to be wound or unwound by operations of motors [0050].
Lashmore discloses that the use of motors for controlling the rollers enables optimized tension and velocity [0047].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the present invention to modify the upper and lower film rollers of Kim to include motors as suggested by Lashmore to achieve optimized tension and velocity.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-13 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
With regards to newly added Claims 21-27, Applicant argues that Kim does not teach or suggest the battery pack assembly apparatus of Claim 21, more specifically that Kim fails to disclose that guide film maintains contact with the face support. Examiner respectfully points out that the claim limitation of “a guide film configured to…maintain contact with the face support” is presently rejected under 112(b) as being unclear and indefinite, as it is not clear when in the assembly of the battery cell the guide film must maintain contact with the face support. As noted above, the claim limitation was therefore given its broadest reasonable interpretation. As illustrated above in the rejection, Kim does teach that the face support and the guide film are in contact with each other, and this contact is maintained throughout the disposal of the battery cell stack in the frame of the battery pack as shown in Kim Figures 5-7 above, and therefore to the best understanding of the Examiner, Kim discloses that the guide film is configured to maintain contact with the face support. Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, this argument is unpersuasive.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA E GOULD whose telephone number is (571)270-1088. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm.
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/A.E.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1726
/DANIEL P MALLEY JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726
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