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.
Election/Restriction
Applicant's election without traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on December 9, 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 14-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on December 9, 2025.
Specification
The specification and drawings have been reviewed and no clear informalities or objections have been noted.
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 1-13 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.
In claim 1, Applicant claims:
“wherein the battery includes:
a first battery; and
a second battery spaced apart from the battery in a vertical direction, and, spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction…”
It is not clear how the first battery, second battery and “battery” are oriented to each other. It is not clear how the battery can include a second battery spaced apart from it in a vertical direction. It is also not clear what Applicant is referring to by “each other”. Is the first battery being referred to here? Or the battery? Clarification is required. For purposes of this examination, these limitations will be read as the battery includes a first and second battery spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US 2012/0183840).
Regarding claim 1, Lee discloses a battery module comprising:
a battery stack having a structure in which is stacked (see stacks in Figs. 7 and 8 which illustrate multiple cells 100 stacked in a vertical direction):
batteries each including an electrode assembly (see paragraph 21 which discloses an electrode assembly comprising an anode, a cathode and a separator),
an outer case accommodating the electrode assembly (see paragraphs 22-23 which disclose a housing around the battery cells), and
an electrode lead (120’b, for example), one side of which is connected to the electrode assembly (the electrode leads/anode cathode terminals are connected to each cell are protrude outwards, as suggested in paragraphs 21 and 22) and an opposite side of which protrudes to an outside of the outer case (see paragraphs 22-23 which disclose that the housings cover the cells except for the anode and cathode terminals/electrode leads) ; and
a sensing assembly including a bus bar (busbar 500) provided on one side of the battery stack and jointed to the electrode lead (see annotated Fig. 8 below which illustrates a busbar being joined to the first electrode lead and see paragraph 71 which discloses that the joining is done via welding),
wherein the electrode lead includes:
a first electrode lead (as depicted in annotated Fig. 8 below); and
a second electrode lead (as depicted in annotated Fig. 8 below) having a polarity different from that of the first electrode lead (as is the case when the cells are oriented in series configuration, as discussed in paragraph 28),
wherein the battery includes:
a first battery (as depicted in annotated Fig. 8 below); and
a second battery (as depicted in annotated Fig. 8 below) spaced apart from the battery in a vertical direction (see annotated Fig. 8 below), and, spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction (the first and second batteries are spaced apart from each other vertically),
an area, in which the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the second electrode lead provided in the second battery face each other (see Fig. 8 in which the first 1st electrode lead and the 2nd electrode lead are bent toward each other such that they are facing each other), and
an area, in which the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the bus bar face each other (see Fig. 8 in which the first 1st electrode lead and the 2nd electrode lead are bent toward each other such that they are facing each other).
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Claim(s) 1-3 and 8-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tadashi (WO 2007063877 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tadashi discloses a battery module comprising:
a battery stack (see Fig. 1) having a structure in which is stacked:
batteries (C1 – C4, see Fig. 1) each including an electrode assembly (see lines 168-171 which discloses an electrode assembly with a positive and negative electrode with a separator in between),
an outer case accommodating the electrode assembly (see lines 176-179 which discloses an exterior film covering the electrode assembly), and
an electrode lead, one side of which is connected to the electrode assembly and an opposite side of which protrudes to an outside (as depicted in Fig. 9 which illustrates the electrode leads 25a,b extending out of the electrode assembly); and
a sensing assembly including a bus bar (41) provided on one side of the battery stack and jointed to the electrode lead (joined via welds 37, 38),
wherein the electrode lead includes:
a first electrode lead (25a, see annotated Fig. 9 below); and
a second electrode (25b, see annotated Fig. 9 below) lead having a polarity different from that of the first electrode lead (see lines 58-63 which discloses the battery cells 20a-d are connected in series will includes connecting the positive electrode lead to the negative electrode lead of the adjacent cell),
wherein the battery includes:
a first battery (top battery in Fig. 9); and
a second battery (bottom battery in Fig. 10 spaced apart from the battery in a vertical direction (as depicted in Fig. 9), and, spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction (they are spaced apart in a vertical direction),
an area, in which the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the second electrode lead provided in the second battery face each other (see Fig. 9 in which the first and second leads overlap each other with a certain area and therefore, face each other), and
an area, in which the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the bus bar face each other (see Fig. 9 in which the first electrode lead 25a overlaps the busbar 41 which results in an area that faces each other).
Regarding claim 2, Tadashi further discloses the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the second electrode lead provided in the second battery are joined to each other to form a first joining part (see Fig. 9 in which the first and second electrode leads are joined at welding portion 38),
wherein the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the bus bar are joined to each other to form a second joining part (see Fig. 9 where busbar 41 and first electrode 25a are joined at welding point 37), and
wherein the first joining part and the second joining part are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction (see Fig. 9 where the first and second welds are spaced apart from each other vertically).
Regarding claim 3, Tadashi further discloses the first electrode lead (25a) provided in the first battery includes:
a first protruding area protruding from the outer case provided in the first battery in a horizontal direction (see annotated Fig. 9 below which illustrates a horizontally oriented protruding portion); and
a first bending area bent from the first protruding area toward the second electrode lead provided in the second battery (see annotated Fig. 9 below), and
wherein the second electrode lead provided in the second battery includes:
a second protruding area protruding from the outer case provided in the second battery in the horizontal direction (see annotated Fig. 9 below); and
a second bending area bent from the second protruding area toward the first electrode lead provided in the first battery (see annotated Fig. 9 below which illustrates the two electrode leads being bent toward each other).
Regarding claim 8, Tadashi further discloses the first bending area is provided on an inner side of the second bending area in the horizontal direction (see Fig. 9 which illustrates that the second bending portion wraps around the first electrode lead which places the first bending area on the inner side of the 2nd bending area in the horizontal direction).
Regarding claim 9, Tadashi further discloses the first bending area is provided on an inner side of the bus bar in the horizontal direction (the inner side of the busbar, which is the part which is inside the bending area, as depicted in Fig. 9, reads on the claimed limitation that states that the first bending area is on an inner side of the busbar).
Regarding claims 10 and 12, Tadashi further discloses the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the bus bar are of the same material (see lines 325-327 which discloses that the orientation of electrode tabs 25a, b can be reversed which would lead to a copper negative electrode lead as the first electrode and a copper bus bar, see lines 172-184).
Regarding claim 11, Tadashi further discloses the first electrode lead provided in the first battery and the second electrode lead provided in the second battery are of different materials (see lines 172-175 which discloses the electrode leads of the two batteries are different… one is copper, one is aluminum).
Regarding claim 13, Tadashi further discloses the first bending area is bent vertically from the first protruding area, and wherein the second bending area is bent vertically from the second protruding area (see Fig. 9 which illustrates both bending areas are bent in the vertical direction.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7 are 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 as well as overcoming the rejections under 35 UCS §112.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art, Tadashi, teaches vertically bent portions of electrode tabs that are bonded with a busbar, as described above in the rejection of claim 3. However, claimed 4 recites that the vertical length of the bending area of the first bending area is greater than the vertical length in the second bending area. Tadashi teaches equal lengths in all the embodiments and the prior art neither teaches nor suggests a change in the length of these bending areas.
Relevant Prior Art
US 2014/0370367 – Discloses bent electrode tabs out of each cell that are bonded to a busbar (see Fig. 18 which illustrates two tabs 800 and a busbar 94b), but is silent regarding the different lengths of the bending portions.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J MERKLING whose telephone number is (571)272-9813. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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/MATTHEW J MERKLING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725