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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 05/12/2026 has been entered.
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.
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.
Claims 1-6 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song (WO 2021/225199 with English Machine Translation) (of record) in view of Sakai et al. (US 2017/0033332) (Sakai) and Ichikawa et al. (US 2018/0309281) (Ichikawa) (of record).
Regarding claim 1, Song discloses an electrical connector (title; abstract; [0029]) to connect terminals (4) of two adjacent battery modules (2) to one another in a power storage system (1) (see Fig. 1; [0028]-[0029]); the electrical connector comprises: a conductor bar (6), which is provided with two first through holes and is configured to be laid on the two terminals (4) of the two battery modules (2) (see Figs. 1 and 2; [0029]; [0031]); and two screws (7), each arranged through a first through hole of the conductor bar (6) and configured to be screwed into a threaded hole of a corresponding terminal (4) (see Figs. 2 and 4; [0051]). Song further discloses that each first through hole of the conductor bar (6) has larger dimensions than a diameter of the corresponding screw (7) so as to allow the corresponding screw (7) to be arranged through the corresponding first through hole with a clearance in at least a longitudinal or transverse direction (see Modified Figure 4 below).
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Modified Figure 4, Song
While Song fails to explicitly disclose a clearance in both the longitudinal and transverse direction, this is a common configuration in the art. For instance, Sakai teaches a similar conductor bar (16) with two through holes (27), wherein two screws (20) are arranged through the through holes (27) and screwed into a threaded hole (21, 22) of a corresponding terminal (18, 19) (see Figs. 2 and 3A; [0027]; [0044]-[0046]). Sakai further teaches that there is a longitudinal and transverse clearance (S) between each through hole (27) and the corresponding screw (20) (see Fig. 6; [0087]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the first through holes disclosed by Song to have a clearance with respect to the screws in both the longitudinal and transverse directions, as taught by Sakai, because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would be an effective way of securing the screws through the conductor bar while allowing for some margin of error in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, examiner notes that the limitation “to move inside the first through hole (8)” is merely an intended use limitation that does not require additional structure to the claimed conductor bar or screws. Nevertheless, the conductor bar disclosed by modified Song would clearly be capable of allowing the screws (Song: 7) to move through the first through holes given the clearance in both the longitudinal and transverse directions.
Modified Song still fails to disclose, however, that the electrical conductor comprises a retaining sheet, which is laid on the conductor bar (Song: 6) on the opposite side relative to the terminals (Song: 4) of the two battery modules (Song: 2) and has two second through holes, each aligned with a corresponding first through hole.
However, it is known in the art to configure conductor bars with multiple layers, including a top layer that suggests the claimed retaining sheet. For instance, Ichikawa teaches a similar electrical connector (title; abstract) to connect terminals (21A-21D) of two adjacent battery modules (2A-2D) to one another in a power storage system (1) (see Fig. 1; [0016]-[0018]); the electrical connector comprising: a conductor bar (3, 4), which is provided with two first through holes (51a) and is configured to be laid on the two terminals (21A-21D) of the two battery modules (2A-2D) (see Figs. 1-2; [0022]-[0024]), wherein the conducting bar (3, 4) comprises a plurality of laminated sheets (5), including a top sheet (5) (corresponding to the claimed retaining sheet), which is laid on the conductor bar (3, 4) on the opposite side relative to the terminals (21A-21D) of the two battery modules (2A-2D) and has two second through holes (51a), each aligned with a corresponding first through hole (51a) (see Fig. 3; [0022]-[0024]). Ichikawa further teaches that configuring the conductor bar (3, 4) to have these laminated sheets (5) helps the conductor bar (3, 4) to have the correct current-carrying capacity in consideration of a maximum current value flowing through the conductor bar (3, 4) ([0027]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the conductor bar disclosed by Song such that it has a plurality of laminated sheets (including a top retaining sheet), as taught by Ichikawa, because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would allow for the conductor bar to have the correct current-carrying capacity relative to a maximum current value flowing through the conductor bar. Furthermore, given that the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5) is merely the top layer of the laminated conductor bar (Ichikawa: 3, 4) and that the second through holes (Ichikawa: 51a) are aligned with the first through holes (Ichikawa: 51a), it would have been obvious for each screw (Song: 7) in modified Song to be screwed into a corresponding second through hole (Ichikawa: 51a) as well as the first through hole. Thus, modified Song satisfies all of the limitations in claim 1.
Regarding claim 2, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Modified Song further discloses that the electrical connector comprises a shell (Song: 12), which is made of an electrically insulating material and is open at the top and at the bottom and contains, on the inside, the conductor bar (Song: 6) (Song: see Figs. 2 and 4; [0031]-[0032]; [0036]; [0014]). Furthermore, since modified Song includes the teachings from Ichikawa regarding the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the shell (Song: 12) to also contain the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5). Thus, modified Song satisfies all of the limitations in claim 2.
Regarding claim 3, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 2. Modified Song further discloses that the electrical connector comprises a lid (Song: 13), which is made of an electrically insulating material and is coupled to the shell (Song: 12) so as to close the shell (Song: 12) at the top (Song: see Figs. 2-3; [0031]-[0032]; [0037]; [0014]).
Regarding claim 4, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 2. Modified Song further discloses that the conductor bar (Song: 6) is fastened to the terminals (Song: 4) via the screws (Song: 7) inside the shell (Song: 12) (Song: see Figs. 2 and 4; [0036]; [0051]). Furthermore, Sakai teaches that slippage of the screws (Sakai: 20) relative to the conductor bar (Sakai: 16) is prevented when the screws (Sakai: 20) are tightened to the terminals (Sakai: 18, 19) ([0085]-[0091]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the electrical connector in modified Song such that the conductor bar (Song: 6) is completely locked in the shell (Song: 12) via the screws (Song: 7), as taught by Sakai, and, hence, unable to make any movement relative to the shell (Song: 12) because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would prevent slippage of the conductor bar (Song: 6) relative to the battery modules (Song: 2).
Regarding claim 5, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 2. As set forth above, Ichikawa teaches that the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5) is the top layer of the laminated conductor bar (Ichikawa: 3, 4) (Ichikawa: see Fig. 3; [0022]-[0024]). Furthermore, since modified Song discloses that the entire conductor bar (Song: 6) is contained in the shell (Song: 12) (Song: see Figs. 2 and 4; [0036]; [0051]), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5) to also be contained within the shell (Song: 12). Examiner notes that the limitation “allowing the retaining sheet (10) to make transverse movements, namely movements in a plane that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the screws (9)” is merely an intended use limitation that does not require additional structure to the retaining sheet. Furthermore, given that modified Song discloses a clearance between the screws (Song: 7) and the conductor bar (Song: 6) (which would include the retaining sheet) (see Modified Figure 4 above), the retaining sheet disclosed by modified Song would clearly be capable of making transverse movements within the shell (Song: 12), especially before the screws (Song: 7) are completely tightened. Thus, modified Song satisfies all of the limitations in claim 5.
Regarding claim 6, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 2. Modified Song further discloses that the conductor bar (Song: 6) is fastened to the terminals (Song: 4) via the screws (Song: 7) inside the shell (Song: 12) (Song: see Figs. 2 and 4; [0036]; [0051]). Furthermore, Sakai teaches that slippage of the screws (Sakai: 20) relative to the conductor bar (Sakai: 16) is prevented when the screws (Sakai: 20) are tightened to the terminals (Sakai: 18, 19) ([0085]-[0091]). Therefore, given that the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5) is merely the top layer of the conductor bar (Ichikawa: 3, 4) (Ichikawa: see Fig. 3; [0022]-[0024]), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have configured the electrical connector in modified Song such that the retaining sheet (Ichikawa: 5) is inserted inside the shell (Song: 12) so that it cannot be extracted from the shell (Song: 12) once it is coupled to the screws (Song: 7) when the screws (Song: 7) are completely fastened to the battery modules (Song: 2).
Regarding claim 11, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 2. Modified Song further discloses that the shell (Song: 12) comprises at least one protuberance (Song: 32), which has an asymmetric position or conformation relative to the shell (Song: 12) and is configured to engage an opening (Song: 4a) of the power storage system (Song: 1) only when the shell (Song: 12) has one single predetermined orientation (Song: see Figs. 3-5; [0046]-[0050]).
Regarding claim 12, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. As set forth above, Ichikawa teaches that the conductor bar (Ichikawa: 3, 4) consists of a plurality of sheets (Ichikawa: 5) identical to one another and overlapping one another (Ichikawa: see Fig. 3; [0022]-[0024]). Therefore, since modified Song includes the teachings from Ichikawa regarding the plurality of sheets (Ichikawa: 5) of the conductor bar (Ichikawa: 3, 4), it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for modified Song to have satisfied all of the limitations in claim 12.
Claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song (WO 2021/225199 with English Machine Translation) (of record) in view of Sakai et al. (US 2017/0033332) (Sakai) and Ichikawa et al. (US 2018/0309281) (Ichikawa) (of record) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Yamanaka (US 2020/0067211) (of record).
Regarding claims 7-10, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 6. Modified Song fails to disclose, however, the claimed through slits as set forth in claims 7-10.
Yamanaka teaches a similar electrical connector (title; abstract) to connect terminals (7, 13) of two adjacent battery modules (5A, 10A) to one another in a power storage system (1) (see Figs. 1-3; [0055]-[0056]), the electrical connector comprising a conductor bar (33), a retaining sheet (22+23) arranged on top of the conductor bar (33), and a shell (31) made of an insulating material and containing the conductor bar (33) and the retaining sheet (22+23) (see Figs. 2-4; [0058]-[0062]; [0074]). Yamanaka further teaches that the shell (31) laterally has two through slits (45, 46) opposite one another through which the retaining sheet (22+23) can be inserted into the shell (31) (see Figs. 4-9; [0065]).Yamanaka further teaches that the retaining sheet (22+23) is longer than an inner space of the shell (31) so that the retaining sheet (22+23) can be arranged inside the shell (31) only be engaging, on both sides, the corresponding slits (45, 46) (see Figs. 4-9; [0065]), wherein, at two ends, the retaining sheet (22+23) has two appendages with a smaller width compared to a central part of the retaining sheet (22+23) (see Modified Figure 4 below), and wherein one of the through slits (45, 46) is misaligned relative to first through holes (55, 56) so that the retaining sheet (22+23), once it is inserted through the through slit (45, 46), has to be translated perpendicularly to the through slit (45, 46) in order to align second through holes (73, 83) in the retaining sheet (22+23) with the corresponding first through holes (55, 56) (see Figs. 7-8; [0091]-[0093]). Yamanaka further teaches that configuring the electrical connector in this way helps to suppress an operator from touching metal portions of fastenings during the insertion and removal of the retaining sheet (22+23) ([0124]-[0128]; [0010]).
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Modified Figure 4, Yamanaka
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the shell and the retaining sheet disclosed by modified Song such that they meet the claimed limitations in claims 7-10, as taught by Yamanaka, because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would help to suppress an operator from touching metal portions of fastenings during the insertion and removal of the retaining sheet.
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song (WO 2021/225199 with English Machine Translation) (of record) in view of Sakai et al. (US 2017/0033332) (Sakai) and Ichikawa et al. (US 2018/0309281) (Ichikawa) (of record) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Zhong (CN 208719102 U with English Machine Translation) (of record).
Regarding claims 13-15, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. Modified Song fails to disclose, however, that the screws (Song: 7) meet the claimed limitations in claims 13-15.
Zhong teaches a screw for use in a high power lithium battery (title; abstract). Zhong further teaches that the screw consists of a head (2) and of a cylindrical body (1), which projects from the head (2) and has an intermediate portion (5) without thread and arranged in contact with the head (2) and a threaded end portion (6) arranged on a side opposite the head (2) (see Figs. 1 and 2; [0036]), wherein the intermediate portion (5) without thread has a smaller diameter than a diameter of the threaded end portion (6) (see Figs. 1 and 2), and wherein the intermediate portion (5) without thread has a length that is about the same as the length of the threaded end portion (6) (see Figs. 1 and 2), suggesting the claimed range of a length that is at least the same as the length of the threaded end portion (6). Zhong further teaches that configuring the screw in this way improves the firmness of the connection between the screw and a power connector and improves the overall service life of the screw ([0039]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the screws disclosed by modified Song to meet all of the claimed limitations in claims 13-15, as taught by Zhong, because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would improve the firmness of the connection between the screws and a power connector and would improve the overall service life of the screw.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song (WO 2021/225199 with English Machine Translation) (of record) in view of Sakai et al. (US 2017/0033332) (Sakai) and Ichikawa et al. (US 2018/0309281) (Ichikawa) (of record) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Buechling et al. (US 2022/0231436) (Buechling) (of record).
Regarding claim 16, modified Song discloses all of the limitations as set forth above for claim 1. As set forth above, modified Song includes the teachings from Sakai that both the longitudinal size and the transverse size of each through hole (Sakai: 27) are greater than the diameter of the corresponding screw (Sakai: 20) (Sakai: see Fig. 6; [0087]). Examiner notes that the limitation “so as to allow the corresponding screw (9) to move inside the first through hole (8) with a given clearance” is merely an intended use limitation that fails to require additional structure to the first through hole or screw. Nevertheless, given the longitudinal and transverse clearance (Sakai: S) taught by Sakai, the screws (Song: 7) in modified Song would clearly be capable of moving inside the first through hole longitudinally and transversely, especially before the screws (Song: 7) are completely tightened. Modified Song fails to disclose, however, that each first through hole of the conductor bar (Song: 6) has an oblong shape having a longitudinal size that is greater than a transverse size.
However, this configuration is known in the art. For instance, Buechling teaches a similar electrical connector (1) to connect adjacent battery modules (title; abstract; [0010]), the electrical connector comprising: a conductor bar (12), which is provided with two through holes (63, 64) and two screws (4) which are arranged through the through holes (63, 64) (see Figs. 1-2; [0012]; [0032]). Buechling further teaches that the through holes (63, 64) have an oblong shape having a longitudinal size that is greater than a transverse size (see Fig. 1; [0032]). Buechling further teaches that configuring the conductor bar (12) in this way makes it possible to compensate for different distances between battery modules in a simple manner ([0033]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the through holes disclosed by modified Song such that each screw is screwed into a corresponding first through hole with a clearance, as taught by Buechling, because they would have had a reasonable expectation that doing so would make it possible to compensate for different distances between battery modules in a simple manner. Thus, modified Song satisfies all of the limitations in claim 16.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17 and 18 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 17 would be allowable for disclosing that an outer diameter of a thread of each screw is larger than a width of the corresponding second through hole. Similarly, claim 18 would be allowable for disclosing that each second through hole of the retaining sheet has a longitudinal size that is greater than an outer diameter of a thread of each screw and a transverse size that is smaller than the outer diameter of the thread of each screw.
Song discloses a conductor bar (6), wherein two screws (7) are each arranged through a first through hole of the conductor bar (6) and configured to be screwed into a threaded hole of a corresponding terminal (4) (see Figs. 2 and 4; [0051]). Song further discloses that each first through hole of the conductor bar (6) has larger dimensions than a diameter of the corresponding screw (7) so as to allow the corresponding screw (7) to be arranged through the corresponding first through hole with a clearance in at least a longitudinal or transverse direction (see Modified Figure 4 above). However, Song fails to teach or suggest a through hole with any dimension that is smaller than an outer diameter of a thread of each screw.
Sakai discloses conductor bar (16) with two through holes (27), wherein two screws (20) are arranged through the through holes (27) and screwed into a threaded hole (21, 22) of a corresponding terminal (18, 19) (see Figs. 2 and 3A; [0027]; [0044]-[0046]). Sakai further teaches that there is a longitudinal and transverse clearance (S) between each through hole (27) and the corresponding screw (20) (see Fig. 6; [0087]). However, Sakai fails to teach or suggest a through hole with any dimension that is smaller than an outer diameter of a thread of each screw.
Ichikawa discloses a conductor bar (3, 4), which is provided with two first through holes (51a) and is configured to be laid on the two terminals (21A-21D) of the two battery modules (2A-2D) (see Figs. 1-2; [0022]-[0024]), wherein the conducting bar (3, 4) comprises a plurality of laminated sheets (5) (see Fig. 3; [0022]-[0024]). However, Ichikawa fails to teach or suggest a through hole with any dimension that is smaller than an outer diameter of a thread of a screw arranged through the through hole.
Yamanaka discloses a conductor bar (33), a retaining sheet (22+23) arranged on top of the conductor bar (33), and a shell (31) made of an insulating material and containing the conductor bar (33) and the retaining sheet (22+23) (see Figs. 2-4; [0058]-[0062]; [0074]). Yamanaka fails to teach or suggest, however, that the second through holes (73, 83) in the retaining sheet (22+23) have any dimension that is smaller than an outer diameter of a thread of a screw arranged through the second through holes (73, 83).
Zhong discloses a screw for use in a high power lithium battery (title; abstract). Zhong fails to teach or suggest, however, relative dimensions between the screw and through holes of a conductor bar.
Buechling teaches a similar electrical connector (1) to connect adjacent battery modules (title; abstract; [0010]), the electrical connector comprising: a conductor bar (12), which is provided with two through holes (63, 64) and two screws (4) which are arranged through the through holes (63, 64) (see Figs. 1-2; [0012]; [0032]). Buechling further teaches that the through holes (63, 64) have an oblong shape having a longitudinal size that is greater than a transverse size (see Fig. 1; [0032]). Buechling fails to teach or suggest, however, that the through holes (63, 64) have any dimension that is smaller than an outer diameter of a thread of the screws (4).
Therefore, because none of the closest prior art of record teach or suggest these limitations, claims 17 and 18 are considered allowable.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 04/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s arguments that amended claim 1 now requires a novel “mixed” scenario, examiner respectfully disagrees. While claim 1 has been amended to require longitudinal and transverse clearances between the first through hole and the screws, applicant has not amended claim 1 to require any structural differences between the second through holes and the first through holes. In applicant’s Remarks filed 04/14/2026 and 01/13/2026, applicant suggests that in order for a screw to be “screwed into the corresponding second though hole,” the thread of the screw must have a larger dimension than that of the second through hole. However, this is not necessarily the case. Indeed, under BRI, it is possible for a screw to be screwed into a hole that is larger than the thread of the screw. What’s more, the claimed limitation that “each screw (9) is screwed into the corresponding second through hole (11)” amounts to an intended use limitation that does not require additional structure to the screw or the second through hole beyond what is already required in claim 1 – namely, that the two screws are arranged through a second through hole of the retaining sheet. Thus, amended claim 1 does not necessarily require a difference in structure between the first through holes and the second through holes. Accordingly, the above rejection in view of Song, Sakai, and Ichikawa which suggests a conductor bar with a plurality of sheets having through holes with longitudinal and transverse clearances with respect to screws arranged through the through holes still makes obvious all of the limitations in claim 1.
As such, claims 1-16 stand rejected.
Conclusion
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/B.C.D./Examiner, Art Unit 1749
/SEDEF E PAQUETTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1749
Prosecution Insights