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 . If status of the application as subject to 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 a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 3/6/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-19 are pending in the application. Claims 17-18 are withdrawn. Claims 1-16 & 19 were rejected in the office action mailed 12/8/2025. Claims 1-16 & 19 are presently examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The reference with a line through it, in the information disclosure statement submitted on 12/8/2025, has not been considered by the examiner because a translation was not provided.
Response to Amendment / Arguments
The amendment filed 1/24/2026, in response to the 12/8/2025 office action, has been entered. Applicant’s claim amendments and arguments, regarding the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejections, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Furthermore, the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection is strengthened with additional prior art.
Applicant noted that Kim fails to teach certain claimed features, such as a mount member extending from a platform to a top cover. As discussed in the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection below, even though Kim fails to teach the mount member connecting a platform to a top cover, and specific locations of electrical conductors and connections, placing these features in the claimed locations is within the skill of a mechanic, electrician, or engineer. Therefore, these claim limitations are obvious, even if not explicitly taught by Kim.
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.
Claims 1-16 & 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor(s) regard as the invention.
Claim 11 states “the mounting member”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in this claim. For present examination, the “mounting member” is presumed to be the same component as the “mount member”.
Claims 2-16 & 19 are rejected due to their dependence on claim 100.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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:
Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
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.
The claims are in bold font, the prior art is in parentheses.
Claims 1-3, 5, & 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim) in view of US20210387583A1 (Ki).
Kim teaches the following claim 1 limitations:
A rechargeable (paragraph 8: battery is for a vehicle, so it must be rechargeable) battery module (paragraph 39; figures 1-2: battery module 100) comprising:
a plurality of cells (paragraph 39; figures 1-2: battery cells 10), each of the plurality of cells having an electrode terminal (paragraph 52; figures 1-2: anode terminal 11 & cathode terminal 12);
a bottom plate (paragraph 43; figures 1-2: bottom base unit 140a) supporting the plurality of cells (10) and having mounting holes (paragraph 57; figures 1-2: second fixing holes 142) at both ends thereof in a length direction;
a pair of side plates (paragraph 44; figures 1-2: bottom flange units 140b) coupled to both sides of the bottom plate (140a) in a width direction;
a pair of end plates (paragraph 49; figures 1-2: end plates 110, 120) coupled to the bottom plate (140a) and the pair of side plates (140b) at both sides in the length direction;
a mounting plate (paragraph 39; figures 1-2: reinforcement member 160) coupled to the bottom plate (140a) and the pair of side plates (140b) between the pair of end plates (110, 120), the mounting plate (160) having a through installation hole (paragraph 41; figures 2-3: insertion hole 162)…
a top cover (paragraph 39; figure 2: top plate 130) coupled to (all of these components are coupled together, so Kim’s top plate 130 is coupled to each of them) the pair of side plates (140b), the pair of end plates (110, 120), and the mounting plate (160)
Claim 1 also recites:
a mount member extending through the through installation hole from an interior of the mounting plate to the outside thereof such that the mounting member is exposed above the mounting plate to fasten the rechargeable battery module to a platform of an electric vehicle or a rack of an energy storage system…
the top cover having a through hole through which the mounting member extends
Kim teaches a mount member extending through the hole for fastening the rechargeable battery module to a platform (paragraph 41; figure 5: first fixation member 146 & tool 170; paragraphs 8-9 & 39; figure 5: housing 50 for the battery cells 10, for use in an electric vehicle). Kim’s mount member doesn’t extend through the top plate / top cover; however, it is within the skill of a mechanic or a mechanical engineer to provide a bolt that is long enough to secure components to prevent relative motion or loss of components. Thus, it would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, for Kim’s mount member to extend from the platform through the top plate / top cover in order to secure these components together, and to secure the battery mounted between them.
Furthermore, long bolts for securing a top cover over a battery to a base have been used for car batteries for decades1.
Ki provides additional guidance. Ki describes a vehicle battery mount structure with a through bolt 400 extending through a through pipe 200 within a battery module 100. The through bolt 400 connects a vehicle body bottom frame 500 on one side of the battery to a lower case 120 on an opposite side of the battery (paragraphs 44-46 & 122; figure 3 & 5E).
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, for Kim’s mount member to connect platform to top cover, as taught by Ki, to secure these components together.
Claim 1 also recites:
a bus bar connecting the electrode terminals of at least some of the plurality of cells; and a final terminal connected to the bus bar…
Kim teaches a bus bar 15 connecting adjacent anode terminals 11 or adjacent cathode terminals 12 (paragraph 52; figures 1-2). Kim doesn’t explicitly refer to a final terminal; however, Kim does teach transferring battery energy to the outside (paragraph 51), which must be done by a final terminal connected to the bus bar. Furthermore, batteries are designed to transfer energy to external devices; therefore, it would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to connect a final terminal to the bus bar in order to provide energy to external devices.
Regarding the bus bar, claim 1 also recites:
extending through the bottom plate such that a portion of the final terminal is exposed by the bottom plate
Kim doesn’t explicitly describe this arrangement. Electrical connections, however, are extended through structures in order to complete the electrical circuit and to provide power to desired locations. For example, electrical wires are passed through holes in studs of a wall to connect power at the breaker box to outlets in the wall. Electrical wires are also passed through the frame of appliances in order to provide electrical power to motors, timers, and other electric components. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to extend the bus bar through the bottom plate in order to provide an electrical connection at a desired location.
With regard to claim 2, Kim teaches the limitations of claim 1 as noted above. Claim 2 recites:
the final terminal extends from a lower side of the bottom plate to above the bottom plate
Kim fails to explicitly teach this extension of the final terminal; however, it is common knowledge extend an electrical terminal to a location where it can be connected to the rest of the circuit. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, the Kim’s final terminal to extend from a lower side to above the bottom base unit 140a.
With regard to claim 3, Kim teaches the limitations of claim 1 as noted above. Kim also teaches the following claim 3 limitation:
the bottom plate (140a) has a plate-shaped support part supporting the plurality of cells (10) and a buffer part forming a buffer space at an outer side of the support part, the buffer part being connected to the support part (see following figure)
Kim Annotated Figure 2
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With regard to claim 5, Kim teaches the limitations of claim 1 as noted above. Claim 5 recites:
the final terminal comprises:
a first connecting member connected to the bus bar and bent toward the bottom plate; and
a second connecting member exposed to the outside of the bottom plate and extending through the bottom plate and electrically connected to the first connecting member
Kim fails to explicitly teach these connecting members and their structure; however, it is common knowledge to bend electrical connectors or wires when the electricity must flow around a corner and to extend electrical connectors or wires through a structure. For example, in house wiring, the wire must bend at a corner and must pass through 2x4 studs for the wire to extend between the fuse box and the outlets, switches, and lights. These wires are also connected, often by wire nuts in a box.
With regard to claim 9, Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 5 as noted above. Kim also teaches the following claim 9 limitation:
the mount member (paragraph 41; figure 5: first fixation member 146 & tool 170) is installed below the platform (paragraph 39; figure 5: housing 50)
or at a side of the rack by extending through the mounting plate and the top cover (not required alternative limitation)
Note that “below” is merely based on rotation of the figure. Kim’s figure 5 can be rotated so that the first fixation member 146 & tool 170 are below the housing 50.
With regard to claim 10, Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 5 as noted above. Kim also teaches the following claim 10 limitation:
the end plates (paragraph 49; figures 1-2: end plates 110, 120)
are on the bottom plate (paragraph 43: bottom base unit 140a) at a lower end thereof (figures 1-2: end plates 110, 120 are on bottom base unit 140a),
are fastened to a fastening member extending through the side plates (paragraph 49; figure 2: fixation members 20 pass through bottom flange units 140b into end plates 110, 120)
Kim fails to explicitly teach the following:
the end plates… are outside the first connecting member and the second connecting member of the final terminal
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to place the connecting members in a convenient location, such as claimed. Wires and electrical connections are located where there is available space. There is no inventive concept involved in shifting wires and electrical connections from one location to another.
Kim fails to explicitly teach the following:
the first and second connecting members are coupled to each other
It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to connect these connecting members together in order to allow current to flow.
With regard to claim 19, Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 & 3 as noted above. Claim 19 recites:
the portion of the final terminal exposed by the bottom plate overlaps the buffer space in the length direction
Kim fails to teach the final terminal in the claimed location.
Electrical wires in home electrical wiring and appliance repair run through any convenient location in order to complete the electrical circuit. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, for the final terminal to be in the claimed location in order to provide an electrical connection at a convenient location.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim), as applied to claims 1 and 3, and further in view of “Joining wood at an angle” https://woodworking.stackexchange.com/ questions/388/joining-wood-at-an-angle (Grace).
Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 3 as described above. Claim 4 recites:
the bottom plate has a protrusion protruding in the width direction,
wherein the side plates each have a coupling groove coupled to the protrusion and a flange part extending around a lower surface of the bottom plate, and
wherein the flange part is fastened to the bottom plate with a fastening member
Kim fails to describe a groove – protrusion coupling between the bottom base unit 140a and the bottom flange units 140b, but rather describes bending to form the bottom flange units 140b (paragraphs 43-44; figure 2).
It is common knowledge that an alternative, to Kim’s method of bending to form a base – side structure, is to fasten plates together at a 90o angle with respect to each other.
Use of a protrusion and a groove to fasten two plates together at a 90o angle is also common. Grace describes how to fasten two pieces of wood together with a protrusion, a groove, and glue (p. 3):
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Grace is analogous because Grace is directed to a problem faced by the present inventors – fastening pieces / plates together (see present specification paragraph 14). It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, for Kim’s bottom base unit 140a and bottom flange units 140b to have been combined as taught by Grace, as an alternative way of fastening these components together.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim), as applied to claims 1 and 5, and further in view of US20070054561A1 (Gutman).
With regard to claim 6, modified Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 5 as described above. Kim, however, fails to teach the following claim 6 limitations:
the second connecting member comprises a female coupling part at an inner end thereof, and wherein the first connecting member comprises a male coupling part coupled to the female coupling part
Gutman teaches connecting batteries together with male and female connectors (paragraph 82; figures 18A-18B: male terminal 5, female terminal 10). Although the claimed connection is at the end of the battery module, and not between battery cells as taught by Gutman, it would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have applied this type of connection in the claimed location for simplicity of connection. It has been well-known for decades to use male – female electrical connectors for their simplicity and security of connection.
With regard to claim 7, modified Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 5-6 as described above. Kim, however, fails to teach the following claim 7 limitations:
the female coupling part and the male coupling part are laser welded to each other (paragraph 82; figures 18A-18B: male terminal 5, female terminal 10)
Gutman teaches a male terminal 5, a female terminal 10, and use of laser welding in a battery electrical circuit. Gutman fails to teach laser welding the male terminal and the female terminal together. Normally, male-female terminals are press fit so that they can be disconnected. If there was no need to disconnect these terminals, or if vehicle vibration caused them to separate, then it would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have laser welded them together for a more secure connection, based on Gutman’s teachings.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim), as applied to claims 1 and 5, and further in view of US20080033248A1 (Akagi).
Modified Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 5 as described above. Kim also teaches the following limitation of claim 8:
the mounting plate is fastened to a fastening member extending through at least one of the side plates (paragraph 47; figure 2: second fixation member 144 inserted through bottom flange units 140b into the reinforcement member 160)
Kim, however, fails to teach the following claim 8 limitations, which are taught by Akagi:
the mounting plate is fixedly coupled by a coupling member coupled to a groove respectively formed on an upper surface of the bottom plate and a lower surface of the mounting plate facing the upper surface
Akagi teaches a base of a battery housing with a rib 72 that slidably engages a guide groove 44 on a battery 20 (paragraph 90; figures 5 & 9-10). Akagi differs from the present claim limitation in that Akagi’s groove is on a battery, whereas the claimed groove is on the housing bottom plate. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, to have used this rib – groove concept on Kim’s bottom base unit 140a and reinforcement member 160 in order (A) to locate the reinforcement member 160 correctly with respect to the bottom base unit 140a and (B) to keep these two components from shifting with respect to each other.
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim), as applied to claims 1 and 5, and further in view of US20140093757A1 (Sakai).
Modified Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1, 5, and 10 as described above. Kim, however, fails to teach the following limitations of claims 11-12, which are taught by Sakai:
Claim 11
…a vent (paragraph 70; figure 1: check valve 50) configured to discharge a gas from an inner space defined by the bottom plate, the pair of side plates, the pair of end plates, and the top cover during a cell event
Claim 12
the vent comprises: a housing… having an outlet at a center thereof; and a cap coupled to the outside of the housing and configured to open according to a gas pressure in the inner space (paragraph 70; annotated figure 1 below)
Sakai Annotated Figure 1
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Sakai, however, fails to teach that vent is in the end plate. It would have been obvious however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, to have placed the vent in a location for desired gas flow.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of US20020012833A1 (Gow).
Kim teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above. Kim, however, fails to teach the following claim 13 limitations, which are taught by Gow (see Gow Annotated Figure 2 below):
a cooling fluid connecting passage at… the side plates to be connected to a cooling channel (paragraph 22; figure 2: coolant channel 232) in the side plates; and
a cooling fluid port connected to the cooling fluid connecting passage and outside the bottom plate to supply and discharge a cooling fluid
Gow Annotated Figure 2
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Gow is directed to a battery with improved thermal management (paragraph 9). It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, for Kim’s battery module to include cooling passages, ports, and cooling channel, as taught by Gow, for improved thermal management.
Gow, however, fails to teach that the cooling fluid connecting passage is located at both ends of the side plates. Gow instead shows the connecting passage located at one end, with inlet and outlet at this end. Gow shows an even number of channels (four), so both the inlet and outlet would be at one end. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have used an odd number of channels, so that the inlet and outlet would be at one ends, based cooling demand and available location for routing piping.
Claims 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130052516A1 (Kim), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of US20200365851A1 (Ozawa).
With regard to claim 14, Kim teaches the limitations of claim 1 as described above. Kim also teaches the following limitations of claim 14:
An electric vehicle (paragraph 8) comprising:
a plurality of the rechargeable battery modules (paragraph 6) of claim 1 raised from a lower portion of a platform (paragraph 57; figure 5: housing 50) of the electric vehicle and mounted (paragraph 57 bolt through second fixing holes 142 mounts the battery module 100 to the housing 50) on the platform by mount members at both ends in a length direction (figure 2: second fixing holes 142 are at both ends in a length direction)
Kim, however, fails to teach the following claim 14 limitations, which are taught by Ozawa:
a plurality of cooling fluid ports (paragraph 33; figure 5: pipe connection portion 632) below the plurality of the rechargeable battery modules (paragraph 33; figure 5: battery module 61); a cooling pipe connecting the plurality of cooling fluid ports to each other (paragraph 33; figure 5: supply pipe 65 or discharge pipe 66)
Ozawa is directed to a battery cooling unit below the battery cells for preventing high-voltage from being exposed to the water. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, for Kim’s battery module to include a cooling pipe below the battery module, as taught by Ozawa, to prevent high-voltage from being exposed to the water.
With regard to claim 15, modified Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 14 as described above. Claim 15 recites:
a protection plate covering the cooling pipe and the plurality of rechargeable battery modules below the cooling pipe, the protection plate being mounted on the platform
Modified Kim fails to explicitly teach this protection plate; however, it is common knowledge that the bottom of cars hit the road. It would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to cover the cooling pipe and battery modules with a protection plate in order to protect them. Furthermore, it would have been obvious to mount the protection plate to the platform in order to avoid damage due to relative motion between these structures as the vehicle moves.
With regard to claim 16, modified Kim teaches the limitations of claims 1 and 14 as described above. Claim 16 recites:
further comprising another mount member extending through a through installation hole in a mounting plate of the rechargeable battery module from below to be fastened to the platform
Modified Kim fails to explicitly teach this mount member from below; however, it would have been obvious, to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to provide sufficient mount members to secure the battery module.
Conclusion
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/R.G.W./Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/DUSTIN Q DAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1721
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOCxum0mWag