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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 18128933, filed on 3-31-2022.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6-2-25; 2-20-24; 10-10-2023 and 3-30-2023 were filed after the mailing date on 3-30-2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in paragraph [0023], multiple typographical errors “venting” should read “preventing”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: typographical error “absorbs” should read “absorb”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 12 is objected to because of the following informalities: multiple typographical errors “venting” should read “preventing”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities: typographical error “difference” should read “different”. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-8 & 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by RHEE US20220069377-A1, hereinafter RHEE.
Regarding Claim 1, RHEE teaches A battery module, comprising a plurality of battery cells stacked in at least one direction [Fig. 2];
a module case having an inner space (housing) and configured to accommodate the plurality of battery cells [0011]; and
a blocking member (thermal barrier) interposed between adjacent battery cells (30, Fig. 5) of the plurality of battery cells (10, Fig. 5), and including a heat transfer preventing unit (heat resistant layer; 32, Fig. 5) configured to prevent heat transfer between the adjacent battery cells, and a flame transfer preventing unit (rigid mechanical layer) provided to an inner side (34, Fig. 5) of the heat transfer preventing unit and configured to block a flame from spreading between the adjacent battery cells [0045].
Regarding Claim 2, RHEE teaches that the heat transfer preventing unit (32) includes a material (mica) having lower thermal conductivity (heat resistant, [0049]) than that of the flame transfer preventing unit (34) [0053].
Regarding Claim 3, RHEE teaches that the flame transfer preventing unit (rigid mechanical layer) (34) includes a material having a higher melting point [0053] than that of the heat transfer preventing unit (heat resistant layer) (32), by disclosing that rigid mechanical layer is made of a material such as stainless steel [0053], which has a higher melting point than that of mica + binder, the material of the heat resistant layer [0028].
Regarding Claim 4 RHEE teaches a blocking member configured to expose the flame transfer preventing unit (rigid mechanical layer) (34, Fig. 5) towards a battery cell (10, Fig. 5) that is adjacent to the blocking member (30, Fig. 5) from among the plurality of battery cells when the heat transfer preventing unit is melted (32, Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 5, RHEE teaches the blocking member (thermal barrier) is configured in a sheet form [0054].
Regarding Claim 6, RHEE teaches the flame transfer preventing unit is configured in a sheet form as a flame transfer preventing sheet (34, Fig. 3), and the heat transfer preventing unit is configured in a sheet form as a heat transfer preventing sheet (32, Fig. 3), and wherein the blocking member (30, Fig. 3) is configured such that the flame transfer preventing sheet is interposed inside (34, Fig. 3) the heat transfer prevention sheet (32).
Regarding Claim 7 RHEE teaches the blocking member (thermal barrier) is configured to deform by an amount corresponding to a swelling of an adjacent battery cell from among the plurality of battery cells, by disclosing a pad layer (35, Fig. 4a) between the rigid mechanical layer (34, Fig. 4a) and the heat resistance layer (32, Fig. 4a), and the pad layer may serve to prevent swelling of the secondary battery cell by providing a specific surface pressure to the secondary battery cell [0065].
Regarding Claim 8 RHEE teaches the blocking member (thermal barrier) deforms in a direction of the swelling of the adjacent battery cell to absorbs the swelling [0066]
Regarding Claim 15, RHEE teaches wherein the plurality of battery cells include two or more cell banks connected in series (physically connected in series 10, Fig. 7), and wherein the blocking member is interposed between adjacent cell banks of the two or more cell banks (30, Fig. 7).
Regarding Claim 16, RHEE teaches a battery pack comprising a battery module (100, Fig. 2)
Regarding Claim 17, RHEE teaches a vehicle comprising the battery module [0004].
Regarding Claim 18, RHEE teaches A battery module, comprising a plurality of battery cells stacked in at least one direction [Fig. 2];
a module case having an inner space (housing) and configured to accommodate the plurality of battery cells [0011]; and
a blocking member (thermal barrier) interposed between adjacent battery cells (30, Fig. 5) of the plurality of battery cells (10, Fig. 5), and including a flame transfer preventing unit (rigid mechanical layer; 34, Fig.5) and a heat transfer preventing unit (heat resistant layer; 32, Fig. 5).
wherein the heat transfer preventing layer (32) is on the flame transfer preventing layer (,34, Fig. 3)
wherein the flame transfer preventing layer (34) has a higher melting point and a higher thermal conductivity than those of the heat transfer preventing layer (32).
wherein the flame transfer preventing layer (rigid mechanical layer) (34) has a higher melting point and a higher thermal conductivity [0053] than those of the heat transfer preventing unit (heat resistant layer) (32), by disclosing that rigid mechanical layer is made of a material such as stainless steel [0053], which has a higher melting point than that of mica + binder, the material of the heat resistant layer [0028].
Regarding Claim 19, RHEE teaches the heat transfer preventing layer is formed to cover the flame transfer preventing layer on all sides thereof (32,34 Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 20, RHEE teaches the flame transfer preventing layer (34, Fig. 6) has a first portion and a second portion that are separated from each other (32, Fig. 6), and wherein the first and second portions have different thicknesses (30, Fig. 6)
Claims 1, 9 - 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by KR-20210098331-A, hereinafter IL (as cited in the IDS dated 3/30/23; see attached translation for citations).
Regarding Claim 1, IL teaches A battery module, comprising a plurality of battery cells stacked in at least one direction [Fig. 1];
a module case having an inner space (housing) and configured to accommodate the plurality of battery cells [0012]; and
a blocking member (multi-layer member) interposed between adjacent battery cells (30, Fig. 2) of the plurality of battery cells (10, Fig. 2), and including a heat transfer preventing unit (32, Fig. 2) configured to prevent heat transfer between the adjacent battery cells, and a flame transfer preventing unit provided to an inner side (31, Fig. 2) of the heat transfer preventing unit and configured to block a flame from spreading between the adjacent battery cells [0035].
Regarding Claim 9, IL teaches a heat transfer preventing unit’s (32) center portion having a greater thickness than that of an end portion of the heat transfer preventing unit (32, Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 10, IL teaches a flame transfer preventing unit (31) has a groove formed in a concave shape in a center portion thereof (Fig. 5).
Regarding Claim 11, IL teaches a flame transfer preventing unit (31) is configured such that at least one side of the groove formed in the center portion is open to outside [0067]. The ends of 31 are open to outside as they are not encapsulated by additional material (fig. 1-5).
Regarding Claim 12, IL teaches a pouch-type secondary battery having an accommodation portion and a sealing portion [0043], and wherein the flame transfer preventing unit (31) is formed so that, when located between the adjacent battery cells (10), a portion of the flame transfer preventing unit facing the sealing portion (top/bottom 31) has a greater thickness than that of a portion of the flame transfer preventing unit facing the accommodation portion (central 31) [fig. 3].
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.
Claim 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over RHEE as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of AN KR102876964B1, hereinafter AN.
Regarding Claim 13, RHEE teaches a plurality of blocking members that include the blocking member, wherein the plurality of blocking members are arranged along a stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells (30, Fig. 2), but does not teach two or more of the plurality of blocking members are configured to have different compression ratios. However, AN teaches a battery pack with a gasket (blocking member) having a high compression rate and an additional gasket having a relatively low compression rate [0047]. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that AN teaches the use of parts with varying compression rates depending on the position and need of the part in the overall stack. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use the concept of AN providing more than one compression ratio to optimize overall device compression in RHEE’s battery pack to adequately move gases and flames, during abnormal ignition of the battery cell, towards a section having weaker airtightness [0047].
Regarding Claim 14, RHEE teaches a plurality of blocking members include an outer blocking member disposed towards an outside a cell stack (32, Fig. 4a) of the plurality of cells and an inner blocking member disposed in an inside of the cell stack of the plurality of cells (30, Fig 4b), but does not teach that the outer blocking member has a lower compression ratio than that of the inner blocking member. However, AN teaches a battery pack with a gasket (blocking member) having a high compression rate and an additional gasket having a relatively low compression rate [0047]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use AN’s configuration in RHEE’s battery pack to move gases and flames, during abnormal ignition of the battery cell, towards a section having weaker airtightness [0047].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TELGE S PEIRIS whose telephone number is (571)272-6591. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Miriam Stagg can be reached on (571)270-5256. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TELGE SHAVINDA PEIRIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1724
/MIRIAM STAGG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1724