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 .
2. Claims 1-20 are pending in this office action.
Priority
3. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. Information disclosure statement (IDS), submitted March 27, 2023, has been received and considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
5. All "wherein" clauses are given patentable weight unless otherwise noted. Please see 4. MPEP 2111.04 regarding optional claim language.
6. The claims recite intended use language, for example: Claim 1 recites "...a controller that controls..."
The Courts have held that the manner of operating an apparatus does not differentiate an apparatus claim from the prior art, if the prior art apparatus teaches all of the structural limitations of the claim. See Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (BPAI 1987). Furthermore, "Expressions relating the apparatus to contents thereof during an intended operation are of no significance in determining patentability of the apparatus claim." Ex parte Thibault, 164 USPQ 666, 667 (Bd. App. 1969). It is also noted that the courts have held that functional "wherein" statements do not define any structure, and accordingly cannot serve to distinguish over the prior art. See In re Mason, 114 USPQ 127, 44 CCPA 937 (1957); MPEP 2016, Section II-C. Lastly, "[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does." Hewlett-Packard Co. V. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464.
Thus, as the claims are directed to an apparatus, the quoted claim language above which is directed to the manner of operating the apparatus and which does not provide structural limitations will not differentiate the apparatus claim from the prior art and will be of no significance in determining patentability of the apparatus claim.
Therefore, any intended use language will not be read into the claims as a positive limitation. If Applicant wishes to have statements of intended use regarded as positive limitations, the limitations(s) need to be preceded by "programmed to" or
"means-plus-function" language (and sometimes "configured to", depending on the details provided in the disclosure).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Claims 1-7, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (CN107689469A).
With regard to Claim 1, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, a battery unit temperature management device, called a power system (10), comprising: a battery unit, called a battery module (200) including a plurality of battery sub-modules (210), that can be charged and discharged (paragraph 0029); a heater, called a heat conducting device (100) including a heat-conducting component (120), that operates due to electricity supply from the battery unit (200) and heats a heat exchange medium that exchanges heat with the battery unit (200) (paragraphs 0049-0050); a changing structure, called a liquid-cooling component (110), that changes a heat transfer capacity between the battery unit (200) and the heat exchange medium (paragraphs 0049-0050); and a controller, including a sliding control device (130) and a control device (140), that controls heating of the heat exchange medium by the heater (120) and a change of the heat transfer capacity by the changing structure (110) (paragraphs 0060-0070), wherein the controller (130) makes the heat transfer capacity when a temperature, measured by temperature sensors (230), of the heat exchange medium does not reach a first temperature that is equivalent to a temperature of the battery unit (200) while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120) smaller than the heat transfer capacity when the temperature of the heat exchange medium has reached the first temperature while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120) (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 2, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein the changing structure (110) switches, with the use of the sliding control device (130), between a heat insulation mode that suppresses the exchanging heat with the battery unit (200) and a heat transfer mode that promotes the exchanging heat with the battery unit (200) (paragraphs 0060-0070), and the controller (130, 140) places the heat exchange mode in the heat insulation mode when the temperature of the heat exchange medium does not reach the first temperature while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120), and the controller (130, 140) places the heat exchange mode in the heat transfer mode when the temperature of the heat exchange medium has reached the first temperature while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120) (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 3, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein the controller (130, 140) controls the heating of the heat exchange medium by the heater (120) and the change of the heat transfer capacity by the changing structure (110) based on whether the heat exchange medium has reached the first temperature and whether the battery unit (200) has reached a second temperature at which a decrease in an internal resistance of the battery unit (200) is saturated (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 4, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein if the temperature of the battery unit (200) has reached the second temperature when the temperature of the heat exchange medium has reached the first temperature while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120), the controller (130, 140) stops the electricity supply from the battery unit (200) to the heater (120) and switches the heat exchange mode from the heat insulation mode to the heat transfer mode (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 5, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein if the temperature of the battery unit (200) does not reach the second temperature when the temperature of the heat exchange medium has reached the first temperature while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120), the controller (130, 140) does not stop the electricity supply from the battery unit (200) to the heater (120) and switches the heat exchange mode from the heat insulation mode to the heat transfer mode while making the electricity supply smaller than the electricity supply before the heat exchange medium has reached the first temperature (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 6, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein if the temperature of the heat exchange medium does not reach the first temperature when the temperature of the battery unit (200) has reached the second temperature while the heat exchange medium is heated by the heater (120), the controller (130, 140) starts electricity supply from an external power supply to the heater (120) while keeping the heat exchange mode at the heat insulation mode (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 7, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein the battery unit (200) includes a plurality of battery sub-modules (210) which include a plurality of battery cells (220) disposed side by side, the changing structure (110) includes a heat transfer material, including a second heat conduction component (124), disposed between adjacent battery cells of the plurality of battery cells, the heat transfer material (124) exchanging heat with the heat exchange medium, and an area changing structure, for example the sliding control device (130), that changes the heat transfer capacity between each of the battery cells and the heat exchange medium by changing the contact areas between the heat transfer material and the adjacent battery cells (paragraphs 0069-0070).
With regard to Claim 17, Wang et al. disclose wherein the changing structure (110) further comprises an inherent intermediate mode between the heat insulation mode and the heat transfer mode when the sliding control device (130) is in transition when sliding from one location to another (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 18, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein the battery unit temperature management device (10) includes a plurality of battery units (200) including a plurality of battery sub-modules (210) which include a plurality of battery cells (220), the battery unit (200) being one of the plurality of battery units (200) (See Figure 3), a plurality of changing structures (110) provided to correspond to the battery units (200), the changing structure (110) being one of the plurality of changing structures (110), and a flow channel, made up of corrugated plates, through which the heat exchange medium circulates so as to pass through the battery units (200), the heat exchange medium is disposed in the corrugated flow path and is heated by the heater (120) common to the plurality of battery units (200), and the controller (130, 140) makes the heat transfer capacity between the battery unit (200) farther from the heater (120) common to the battery units (200) and the heat exchange medium larger than the heat transfer capacity between the battery unit (200) closer to the heater (120) common to the battery units (200) and the heat exchange medium (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 19, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein the battery unit temperature management device (10) includes a plurality of battery units (200) including a plurality of battery sub-modules (210) which include a plurality of battery cells (220), the battery unit (200) being one of the plurality of battery units (200) (See Figure 3), a plurality of changing structures (110) provided to correspond to the battery units (200), the changing structure (110) being one of the plurality of changing structures (110), and a flow channel, made up of corrugated plates, through which the heat exchange medium circulates so as to pass through the battery units (200), the heat exchange medium is disposed in the corrugated flow path and is heated by the heater (120) common to the plurality of battery units (200), and the controller (130, 140) causes at least a part of the plurality of battery units (200) to alternately perform electricity supply to the heater (120) common to the plurality of battery units (200) (paragraphs 0060-0070).
With regard to Claim 20, Wang et al. disclose in Figures 1 and 3, wherein the battery unit temperature management device (10) includes a plurality of battery units (200) including a plurality of battery sub-modules (210) which include a plurality of battery cells (220), the battery unit (200) being one of the plurality of battery units (200) (See Figure 3), a plurality of changing structures (110) provided to correspond to the battery units (200), the changing structure (110) being one of the plurality of changing structures (110), and a flow channel, made up of corrugated plates, through which the heat exchange medium circulates so as to pass through the battery units (200), the heat exchange medium is heated by a plurality of the heaters (120) corresponding to the plurality of battery units (200), the heater (120) being one of a plurality of heaters (120), the controller (130, 140) controls how the heat exchange medium circulates through the flow path (paragraphs 0060-0070).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Claims 8-10 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN107689469A) , as applied to Claims 1-7 and 17-20 above.
With regard to Claim 8, Wang et al. disclose the battery unit temperature management device in paragraph 9 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein the plurality of battery cells each have a flat shape and are disposed such that surfaces of the battery cells with a larger area are stacked together. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to manufacture the plurality of battery cells to each have a flat shape and be disposed such that surfaces of the battery cells with a larger area are stacked together, since such a modification would only involve a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(IV).
With regard to Claim 9, Wang et al. disclose the battery unit temperature management device in paragraph 9 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein the plurality of battery cells is electrically connected to each other by a busbar spring. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to design the battery cells of Wang such that the plurality of battery cells is electrically connected to each other by a busbar spring, since this would enable a more compact design by allowing connection of the stacks of cells and the mere rearrangement of parts, without any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
With regard to Claim 10, Wang et al. disclose the battery unit temperature management device in paragraph 9 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein a positive terminal and a negative terminal are provided on one side surface of each of the plurality of battery cells. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to design the battery cells of Wang such that a positive terminal and a negative terminal are provided on one side surface of each of the plurality of battery cells since this would enable a more compact design by allowing connection along one side of the stacks of cells and the mere rearrangement of parts, without any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
Allowable Subject Matter
14. Claims 11-16 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.
15. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 11 recites wherein the heat transfer material is in a corrugated plate shape, and changes in shape from the corrugated plate shape to a flat plate shape when receiving an external force in a direction in which the battery cells are arranged. Claim 14 recites wherein the area changing structure is an electromagnetic solenoid and applies an external force to the plurality of battery cells in the direction in which the battery cells are arranged. Schreiner (DE102009035482) teaches the application of an external force to a stack of battery cells via an actuator in correlation with measured temperature of the battery cells (see e.g. Fig 5; paras 0022-0023) but Schreiner does not teach the use of corrugated plate, either as a heat transfer material or otherwise. Araki (JP2003-133188) teaches the use of corrugated thermal conductors (13) between electrochemical cells (capacitors) in a stack and fluid is passed through to remove heat from the cells (see Fig 8 and corresponding text) but the skilled artisan would not find it obvious to flatten these corrugations because this would destroy the spaces through which the fluid flows for cooling. Mitsuta (JP2007-165698) discloses a stack of battery cells that are separated by corrugated members for buffering of surface pressure by applying pressure which can compress the corrugated members to a lesser thickness (see e.g. Figs. 4 and 18 and paras 0027, 0083) but there is no apparent reason to change the structure (flatten corrugations to form a flat plate shape). Finally, Biswas (US 2018/0123189) teaches that electromagnetic solenoids are pressing mechanisms that are functionally equivalent to the devices of previously cited art (see para 0031) and so this aspect of the claims is obvious but does not render the whole claims obvious because the reference does not discuss the temperature management aspects of the claims.
Claims 12-13 and 15-16 are objected to for the same reason, since they depend on Claims 11 and 14.
Conclusion
16. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARIE O APICELLA whose telephone number is (571)272-8614. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 5:00PM EST.
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/KARIE O'NEILL APICELLA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725