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
Upon consideration, the previous rejection of record was withdrawn in light of new amendments. However new rejection is applied to the amended claims. All changes made in the rejection are necessitated by the amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 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 § 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent No. 10,003,112 hereinafter Boor in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2009/0274952 hereinafter Wood, JP 2000-067843 A hereinafter Eto (cited in IDS filed 06-23-2025).
Regarding Claims 1, 14, 15, and 19-20, Boor teaches a motor vehicle [10] (see figure 1) comprising: a high-voltage battery pack [18]; and a method for operating the battery pack (column 3, line 54 - column 4, line 52), the battery pack (battery device) comprising: a battery housing defining an interior; at least two battery modules [20] and bus bar assemblies (power bus) [34] formed in the battery housing, and configured to be temperature-controlled by a flowable coolant arranged in the interior (i.e., cooling operation); and a backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] with the bus bar assemblies (power bus) [34] formed in an intermediate space between the battery modules, wherein the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] comprises a plurality of internal conduits (passage opening) [32] for the coolant, and the conduits (passage opening) are arranged such that coolant flowing through the conduits flows along the bus bar assemblies (power bus) [34] (column 4, line 53 - column 5, line 40, see annotated figure 3 below).
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Wood teaches a vehicle comprising a battery module, wherein the battery module comprises a housing and two battery packs (paragraph 28). Wood further teaches a spacer assembly [216, 218] disposed between the battery packs and a battery disconnect unit (BDU) [300] and wherein spacer assembly is formed to provide cooling air that moves along the BDU (see annotated figure 17). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form such coolant passage in the battery pack before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide substantially constant velocity air flow through the battery module.
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Regarding Claims 2-3 and 16, Boor teaches a battery pack wherein the heat transfer fluid (coolant) is configured to flow through a plate [49] disposed adjacent to and below the battery module [20], and flow into the battery modules individually (i.e., a perfusable free region for the flowable coolant arranged both below and above the battery cells) (column 5, lines 24-40).
Boor does not specifically disclose that the deflector element is arranged to define a U-shaped flow path of the coolant in the intermediate space and around the power bus.
However, Eto teaches an assembled battery that comprises battery cases [10] accommodating battery electrodes [24], and having bus bar [26] formed between two battery cases such that the walls [16] form a U-shaped flow path for the coolant passage [18] in the intermediate space and around the bus bar (see figures 1, 3, 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form such U-shaped flow path for the coolant passage in the battery pack before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Eto discloses that such configuration can provide an assembled battery having a simple structure for connecting cells and easy to cool (see Abstract).
Regarding Claims 4-5, the combination teaches that the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] comprises a plurality of internal conduits (passage opening) [32] for the coolant (see annotated figure 3 above), and the internal conduits (passage opening) [32] has a cross-section that is circular, elliptical, polygonal, or quadrilateral. In addition, the change in form or shape, without any new or unexpected results, is an obvious engineering design. See In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 4 7 (CCPA 1976) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination teaches that the coolant is guided above the battery module in a first flow direction, and the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] is arranged perpendicular to the first flow direction (see figure 3 above).
Regarding Claims 7-8, the combination teaches that the bus bar assemblies (power bus) [34] electrically connects the battery modules to one another and the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] is sealed against an inner wall and the battery housing (see figures 2-4 of Boor and figures 3-4 of Eto).
Regarding Claims 9-10, the combination teaches that the battery pack comprises at least one coolant inlet and one coolant outlet that are arranged on opposite sides of the battery pack and further comprises a conveyor device (pump) for conveying the coolant in a flow direction (column 5, lines 24-40 of Boor).
Regarding Claims 11-13, the combination teaches a first battery module [20] arranged on a first side of the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] and a second battery module [20] arranged on a second side of the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] that is opposite the first side; wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells having an intermediate channel therebetween that connects a perfusable free region below the battery cells to a perfusable free region above the battery cells; and wherein the coolant is a heat transfer fluid (i.e., dielectric fluid) (see figure 3 above and column 5, lines 24-40 of Boor).
Regarding Claims 17-18, the combination teaches a first battery module [20] arranged on a first side of the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] and a second battery module [20] arranged on a second side of the backplane assembly (deflector element) [30] that is opposite the first side; and a flowing step that comprises directing the coolant flow from the coolant inlet through the battery module and to the coolant outlet (see figure 3 above and column 5, lines 24-40 of Boor).
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 OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752