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 .
Claim Status
Claims 8, 9 and 13 have been canceled.
Claims 1, 5, 6, 10-12 and 14 have been amended; support for the amendment can be found in claim 1, 6, 8 and 9 and [0077] of the original specification.
Claims 1-7, 10-12, 14 and 15 have been examined on the merits.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 11 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 14 and 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 14 is indefinite because it depends on a canceled claim. Claim 14 is interpreted as depending on claim 12. Claim 15 is rejected for dependence on claim 14.
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, 2, 5, 7 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Jin (CN-111730192-A, machine translation used for rejection below), Biskup (US20160315304A1), Wang (US 20210402884 A1) and Chen (US 20220021082 A1).
Regarding claim 1, You discloses a battery pack (Fig. 4; 10) comprising:
a pack case (Fig. 4; 1000) accommodating a first battery module (annotated Fig. 4; 1BM) and a second battery module (annotated Fig. 4; 2BM); and
a busbar (annotated Fig. 4; BB; Fig. 8; 290, 300) including a first body portion (annotated Fig. 5; 1BP, i.e. portion of 500 directly attached to the terminal) fastened to the first battery module (1BM), a second body portion (annotated Fig. 5; 2BP, i.e. portion of 500 directly attached to the terminal) fastened to the second battery module (2BM), at least one breakable portion (Fig. 5; portion of 500 between 1BP and 2BP; “BP”) disposed between the first body portion (1BP) and the second body portion (2BP),
wherein the busbar (BB, 290, 300) includes an insulating cover (Fig. 8; 290) covering the first (1BP) and second (2BP) body portions, and a flameproof cover (Fig. 8; 300) covering (Fig. 8) the insulating cover (290), wherein
the pack case (1000) includes a reinforcing frame (annotated Fig. 5; RF) disposed between the first battery module (1BM) and the second battery module (2BM),
the busbar (BB, 290, 300) is disposed such that at least a portion (annotated Fig. 5; P) of the breakable portion (BP) of the busbar (BB, 290, 300) opposes the reinforcing frame (RF).
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You fails to disclose the at least one breakable portion fused at a temperature lower than respective fusing temperatures of the first body portion and the second body portion, the insulating cover covering the breakable portion, wherein at least a portion of the insulating cover covering the breakable portion is exposed to an outside of the flameproof cover, wherein
an inner space of the reinforcing frame is configured as a gas flow path through which gas moves,
the reinforcing frame includes a vent portion through which the gas moving through the gas flow path is discharged to an outside of the reinforcing frame,
the busbar is disposed such that at least a portion of the breakable portion of the busbar opposes the vent portion, and
the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar.
Jin discloses a bus bar (Fig. 2) comprising at least one breakable portion (Fig. 2; 100) disposed between a first body portion (Fig. 2; one of 200) and a second body portion (Fig. 2; another of 200) and fused at a temperature (melting temperature of “aluminum”; [0053]) lower than those (melting temperature of “copper”; [0053]) of the first body portion (1BP) and the second body portion (2BP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You by substituting the materials of You’s busbar for the materials of Jin’s busbar such that the breakable portion is fused at a temperature lower than those of the first body portion and the second body portion, in order to achieve a bus bar with a substantial weight reduction as taught by Jin ([0028]).
You in view of Jin fails to disclose the insulating cover covering the breakable portion, and wherein at least a portion of the insulating cover covering the breakable portion is exposed to an outside of the flameproof cover, wherein
an inner space of the reinforcing frame is configured as a gas flow path through which gas moves,
the reinforcing frame includes a vent portion through which the gas moving through the gas flow path is discharged to an outside of the reinforcing frame,
the busbar is disposed such that at least a portion of the breakable portion of the busbar opposes the vent portion, and
the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar.
Biskup discloses wherein a busbar (Fig. 7; 305, 307, 309, 401) includes an insulating cover (Fig. 7; 401) covering a breakable portion (Fig. 7; 307).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin by adding the insulative cover of Biskup to the bus bar of You in view of Jin such that the insulating cover covers the breakable portion in order to predictably protect ([0037]) and insulate the breakable portion from surrounding components as taught by Biskup ([0006]). In doing so, one of ordinary skill in the art would have naturally arrived at wherein at least a portion of the insulating cover covering the breakable portion is exposed to an outside of the flameproof cover, because the flameproof cover of You in view of Jin and Biskup does not cover the breakable portion which is covered by the insulating cover. Thus, the portion of the insulating cover directly on the breakable portion would be exposed to an outside of the flameproof cover as claimed.
You in view of Jin and Biskup still fails to disclose wherein
an inner space of the reinforcing frame is configured as a gas flow path through which gas moves,
the reinforcing frame includes a vent portion through which the gas moving through the gas flow path is discharged to an outside of the reinforcing frame,
the busbar is disposed such that at least a portion of the breakable portion of the busbar opposes the vent portion, and
the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar.
Wang discloses wherein
an inner space (Fig. 4; 142) of a reinforcing frame (Fig. 2; 14) is configured as a gas flow path (“exhaust channel”; [0076]) through which gas ([0081]) moves, the reinforcing frame (14) includes a vent portion (vent through which the gas is “discharged to the outside of the battery pack 100”; [0081]) through which the gas ([0081]) moving through the gas flow path (143) is discharged to an outside (“discharged to the outside of the battery pack 100”; [0081]) of the reinforcing frame (142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin and Biskup by substituting the reinforcing frame of You in view of Jin and Biskup for that of Wang such that an inner space of the reinforcing frame is configured as a gas flow path through which gas moves and the reinforcing frame includes a vent portion through which the gas moving through the gas flow path is discharged to an outside of the reinforcing frame, in order to predictably improve the safety of the battery pack as taught by Wang ([0081]).
You in view of Jin, Biskup and Wang still fails to disclose
the busbar is disposed such that at least a portion of the breakable portion of the busbar opposes the vent portion, and
the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar.
Chen discloses a busbar (Fig. 4; 21) disposed such that at least a portion (Fig. 5; 217) of a breakable portion (Fig. 5; 216, 217) opposes a vent portion (Fig. 5; 113),
and gas ([0061]) exiting the vent portion (113) is configured to break ([0063]) the breakable portion (216, 217) and exit (“fracture”; [0063]) outside the busbar (21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin, Biskup and Wang by adding another vent portion to the frame such that the portion of the breakable portion of the busbar directly opposes the vent portion, and the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar in order to reduce the risk of safety incidents in the battery pack as suggested by Chen ([0022]).
Regarding claim 2, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen wherein the flameproof cover (You 300) is formed of a sheet ([0020]) including mica ([0020]).
Regarding claim 5, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen discloses wherein the portion (annotated Fig. 5; P; Biskup’s insulating cover covers this portion in the modification) of the insulating cover (You 290, Biskup 401) exposed to the outside (outside of You’s 300) of the flameproof cover (You 300) is disposed to oppose (Fig. 5) one of the first battery module (1BM) and the second battery module (2BM).
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Regarding claim 7, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen discloses wherein the first body portion (Jin one of 200) and the second body portion (Jin another of 200) are formed of a copper material (Jin [0053]), and the breakable portion (Jin 100) is formed of an aluminum material (Jin [0053]).
Regarding claim 10, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen discloses wherein the vent portion (Chen’s vent on RF) is disposed on (per the modification of claim 1 the vent must be on an upper surface to directly oppose the bus bar) an upper surface (annotated Fig. 5; UP) of the reinforcing frame (RF), and the busbar (BB, 290, 300 modified by Biskup and Jin) is disposed to cross (Fig. 5) an upper portion (annotated Fig. 5; UP) of the reinforcing frame (RF modified by
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Wang).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Jin (CN-111730192-A, machine translation used for rejection below), Biskup (US20160315304A1), Wang (US 20210402884 A1) and Chen (US 20220021082 A1) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Wang’92 (US 20230134692 A1).
Regarding claim 3, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen fails to disclose wherein the insulating cover is formed of a material melting at a temperature of 200°C or lower.
Wang’92 discloses an insulating cover (Fig. 4c; 30) formed of a material (“polyolefin” [0058]) melting at a temperature of 200°C or lower (polyolefins are generally known in the art to melt at temperatures below 200°C as evidenced by table 4, pg. 256 of Goodship, Vannessa. "Plastic recycling." Science progress 90.4 (2007): 245-268).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen by substituting the material of the insulating cover for the material taught by Wang’92 such that the insulating cover is formed of a material melting at a temperature of 200°C or lower in order to predictably insulate the bus bar as taught by Wang ([0058]).
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Jin (CN-111730192-A, machine translation used for rejection below), Biskup (US20160315304A1), Wang (US 20210402884 A1) and Chen (US 20220021082 A1) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Tsuji (US 20150194641 A1).
Regarding claim 4, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen discloses wherein the flameproof cover (You 300) is formed of a material (“mica”; [0049]) but fails to disclose melting at a temperature of 1000°C or higher.
Tsuji discloses a material (“mica”; [0067]) melting at a temperature of 1000°C or higher ([0067] teaches higher).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin and Biskup by substituting the material for the material of Tsuji in order to obtain a material capable of predictable heat insulation as taught by Tsuji ([0067]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Jin (CN-111730192-A, machine translation used for rejection below), Biskup (US20160315304A1), Wang (US 20210402884 A1) and Chen (US 20220021082 A1) as applied to claim 1 above and further in view of Lee (US 20120015218 A1).
Regarding claim 6, You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen fails to disclose wherein at least one of the first battery module and the second battery module includes a module vent portion discharging gas generated therein to an outside of the at least one of the first battery module and the second battery module, and the busbar is disposed such that at least a portion of the breakable portion opposes the module vent portion.
Lee discloses a battery module (Fig. 1; 101) including a module vent portion (Fig. 2; 114a, 130) discharging gas ([0043]) generated therein to the outside ([0043]) of the battery module (101).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang and Chen by adding the module vent portion of Lee to the first and/or second battery module in order to discharge gas from the modules while preventing the infiltration of foreign materials therein as taught by Lee ([0043]).
You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang, Chen and Lee still fails to disclose the busbar is disposed such that at least a portion of the breakable portion opposes the module vent portion.
Chen discloses a busbar (Fig. 4; 21) disposed such that at least a portion (Fig. 5; 217) of a breakable portion (Fig. 5; 216, 217) opposes a vent portion (Fig. 5; 113).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Jin, Biskup, Wang, Chen and Lee by arranging the breakable portion and the vent portion such that the portion opposes the vent portion in order to electrically disconnect the first and/or second battery module during a thermal event thereby reducing a risk of safety incidents such as a fire or an explosion and improving safety performance as taught by Chen ([0022]).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Wang (US 20210402884 A1) and Chen (US 20220021082 A1).
Regarding claim 11, You discloses a battery pack (Fig. 4; 10) comprising: a pack case (Fig. 4; 1000) accommodating a first battery module (annotated Fig. 4; 1BM) and a second battery module (annotated Fig. 4; 2BM); the pack case (1000) includes a reinforcing frame (annotated Fig. 5; RF) disposed between the first battery module (1BM) and the second battery module (2BM), and
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a busbar (annotated Fig. 4; BB; Fig. 8; 290, 300; “BB”) crossing an upper portion (annotated Fig. 5; UP) of the reinforcing frame (RF) and interconnecting (Fig. 5) the first battery module (1BM) and the second battery module (2BM), at least a portion (annotated Fig. 5; P) of a breakable portion (Fig. 5; portion of 500 between 1BP and 2BP; “BP”) of the busbar (BB, 290, 300) opposes the reinforcing frame (RF).
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You fails to disclose wherein an inner space of the reinforcing frame is configured as a gas flow path through which gas moves,
the reinforcing frame includes a vent portion through which the gas is discharged to an outside of the reinforcing frame,
the portion of the busbar including a breakable portion is disposed to oppose the vent portion, and
the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar.
Wang discloses wherein
an inner space (Fig. 4; 142) of a reinforcing frame (Fig. 2; 14) is configured as a gas flow path (“exhaust channel”; [0076]) through which gas ([0081]) moves, the reinforcing frame (14) includes a vent portion (vent through which the gas is “discharged to the outside of the battery pack 100”; [0081]) through which the gas ([0081]) moving through the gas flow path (143) is discharged to an outside (“discharged to the outside of the battery pack 100”; [0081]) of the reinforcing frame (142).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You by substituting the reinforcing frame of You for that of Wang such that an inner space of the reinforcing frame is configured as a gas flow path through which gas moves and the reinforcing frame includes a vent portion through which the gas moving through the gas flow path is discharged to an outside of the reinforcing frame, in order to predictably improve the safety of the battery pack as taught by Wang ([0081]).
You in view of Wang still fails to disclose
the portion of the busbar including a breakable portion is disposed to oppose the vent portion, and
the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar.
Chen discloses a busbar (Fig. 4; 21) disposed such that at least a portion (Fig. 5; 217) of a breakable portion (Fig. 5; 216, 217) opposes a vent portion (Fig. 5; 113),
and gas ([0061]) exiting the vent portion (113) is configured to break ([0063]) the breakable portion (216, 217) and exit (“fracture”; [0063]) outside the busbar (21).
.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Wang by substituting the breakable portion You in view of Wang for that of Chen and adding another vent portion to the frame of You in view of Wang such that the portion of the busbar including a breakable portion is disposed to oppose the vent portion, and the gas from the gas flow path exiting the vent portion is configured to break the breakable portion and exit outside the busbar in order to reduce the risk of safety incidents in the battery pack as suggested by Chen ([0022]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Wang (US 20210402884 A1) and Chen (US 20220021082 A1) as applied to claim 11 above and further in view of Jin (CN-111730192-A, machine translation used for rejection below).
Regarding claim 12, You in view of Wang and Chen discloses wherein the busbar (BB; 290, 300) includes a first body portion (annotated Fig. 5; 1BP, i.e. portion of 500 directly attached to the terminal) fastened to the first battery module (1BM), a second body portion (annotated Fig. 5; 2BP, i.e. portion of 500 directly attached to the terminal) fastened to the second battery module (2BM), wherein the breakable portion (BP) disposed between the first body portion (1BP) and the second body portion (2BP).
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You in view of Wang and Chen fails to disclose the breakable portion fused at a temperature lower than respective fusing temperatures of the first body portion and the second body portion.
Jin discloses a bus bar (Fig. 2) comprising at least one breakable portion (Fig. 2; 100) disposed between a first body portion (Fig. 2; one of 200) and a second body portion (Fig. 2; another of 200) and fused at a temperature (melting temperature of “aluminum”; [0053]) lower than those (melting temperature of “copper”; [0053]) of the first body portion (1BP) and the second body portion (2BP).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You by substituting the materials of You’s busbar for the materials of Jin’s busbar such that the breakable portion is fused at a temperature lower than those of the first body portion and the second body portion, in order to achieve a bus bar with a substantial weight reduction as taught by Jin ([0028]).
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Regarding claim 14, You in view of Wang, Chen and Jin discloses a flameproof cover (Fig. 6; 300A) covering the busbar (BB; 290, 300 modified by Jin), wherein at least the portion (P) of the breakable portion (BP) is exposed to (annotated Fig. 6; BP is representative of P and illustrates the exposure of the middle portion of the busbar) the outside (Fig. 6; outside of 300A) of the flameproof cover (300A).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You (US 20200176739 A1, cited in 12/12/2022 IDS) in view of Wang (US 20210402884 A1), Chen (US 20220021082 A1) and Jin (CN-111730192-A, machine translation used for rejection below) as applied to claim 14 above and further in view of Biskup (US20160315304A1).
Regarding claim 15, You in view of Wang, Chen and Jin fails to disclose wherein the busbar further includes an insulating cover disposed on the portion of the breakable portion exposed to the outside of the flameproof cover.
Biskup discloses wherein a busbar (Fig. 7; 305, 307, 309, 401) includes an insulating cover (Fig. 7; 401) covering a breakable portion (Fig. 7; 307).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified You in view of Wang, Chen and Jin by adding the insulative cover of Biskup to the bus bar of You in view of Wang, Chen and Jin such that the insulating cover covers the breakable portion in order to predictably protect ([0037]) and insulate the breakable portion from surrounding components as taught by Biskup ([0006]). In doing so, one of ordinary skill in the art would have naturally arrived at wherein at least a portion of the insulating cover covering the breakable portion is exposed to an outside of the flameproof cover, because the flameproof cover of You in view of Wang, Chen, Jin and Biskup does not cover the breakable portion which is covered by the insulating cover. Thus, the portion of the insulating cover directly on the breakable portion would be exposed to an outside of the flameproof cover as claimed.
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 GRACE A KENLAW whose telephone number is (571)272-1253. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00 AM-6:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette-Thompson can be reached at (571) 270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/G.A.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1723 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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