DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
2. 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
3. Claims 1, 3, 4, and 6-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 1, 3, 4 and 6-10 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
As to claim 1, claim 1 recites the limitation "the metal plate" in lines 10-11 and 14 and the limitation “the heat conductor” in lines 11 and 13-14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. These appear to be typographical errors as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within line 7 and “at least one heat conductor” were previously disclosed within line 10.
As to claim 3, claim 3 recites the limitation "the metal plate" in lines 1 and 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This appears to be a typographical error as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within claim 1. For purposes of examination, claim 3 is dependent upon claim 2.
As to claim 4, claim 4 recites the limitation “the metal plate" in lines 1 and 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This appears to be a typographical error as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within claim 1. For purposes of examination, claim 4 is dependent upon claim 3.
As to claim 6, claim 6 recites the limitation “the heat conductor" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This appears to be a typographical error as “at least one heat conductor” was previously disclosed within claim 1. For purposes of examination, claim 6 is dependent upon claim 1.
As to claim 7, claim 7 recites the limitations “the metal plate" in lines 4-6, the limitation “the first positioning slot” in line 5, and the limitation “the second positioning slot” in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. These appear to be typographical errors as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within claim 1, while “at least one first positioning slot” and “at least one second positioning slot” were previously disclosed in lines 2-4 of the present claim. For purposes of examination, claim 7 is dependent upon claim 1.
As to claim 8, claim 8 recites the limitations “the metal plate" in lines 2 and 8-9, the limitation “the first holder” in line 3, and the limitation “the second holder” in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. These appear to be typographical errors as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within claim 1, while “at least one first holder” and “at least one second holder” were previously disclosed within claim 7. For purposes of examination, claim 8 is dependent upon claim 1.
As to claim 9, claim 9 recites the limitation “the metal plate" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. This appears to be a typographical error as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within claim 1. For purposes of examination, claim 9 is dependent upon claim 1.
As to claim 10, claim 10 recites the limitation “the metal plate" in lines 5 and 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim. This appears to be a typographical error as “at least one metal plate” was previously disclosed within claim 1. For purposes of examination, claim 10 is dependent upon claim 9.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 1 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani (WO-2012101954-A1, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Yu et al. (CN-206758568-U, machine translation is used for the rejection below).
As to claim 1, Nakatani discloses a battery module (figure 1, battery pack 1) having a heat-sink structure (figure 1, separator 4), comprising:
a metal housing (figure 1, battery casing 2, page 2 lines 51-53);
a plurality of battery cells (figure 1, battery cells 3); and
the heat-sink structure (figure 1, separator 4), comprising:
at least one metal plate (figure 2, skeleton member 13, page 3 lines 3-6), configured in a gap between the battery cells and inner wall of the metal housing (figure 2, skeleton member 13); and
at least one heat conductor (figure 2, pad member 14), configured on left or right sides of the metal plate (figure 2, pad member 14, page 3 lines 11-12), wherein the head conductor is an elastic member (page 3, lines 47-49), and when the metal plate is configured in the gap between the battery cells or configured in the gap between the battery cells and the inner wall of the metal housing, part of the heat conductor being compressed by the metal plate and the battery cells and closely adhering onto the battery cells (page 3, lines 47-49).
However, Nakatani does not disclose wherein the battery module further comprises a battery holder, configured to accommodate and fix the battery cells, the battery holder being configured in the metal housing.
Yu discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure, wherein the battery module further comprises a battery holder (figure 2, first receiving tubes 2011) configured to accommodate and fix the battery cells (page 3 lines 29-31), the battery holder being configured in the metal housing (figure 2, first receiving tubes 2011) to secure the battery cells within the battery module (page 3 lines 29-31).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to further include a battery holder to secure the battery cells within the module as disclosed within Yu.
As to claim 6, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 1, and further discloses wherein the heat conductor is a heat-conducting pad (figure 2, pad member 14, page 3 lines 8-19).
As to claim 7, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 1, however, Nakatani does not disclose wherein the battery holder comprises a first holder and a second holder, a lower surface of the first holder comprises at least one first positioning slot, an upper surface of the second holder comprises at least one second positioning slot, an upper side of the metal plate is embedded and fixed in the first positioning slot of the first holder, and a lower side of the metal plate is embedded and fixed in the second positioning slot of the second holder.
Yu discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure, wherein the battery holder comprises a first holder (figure 1, lower cover 20) and a second holder (figure 1, upper cover 20), a lower surface of the first holder comprises at least one first positioning slot (figure 2, first fixing groove 2021, page 3 lines 49-52), an upper surface of the second holder comprises at least one second positioning slot (figure 3, second fixing groove 3021, page 4 lines 32-36), an upper side of the metal plate is embedded and fixed in the first positioning slot of the first holder (page 4 lines 32-36), and a lower side of the metal plate is embedded and fixed in the second positioning slot of the second holder (page 4 lines 32-36) to assist in securing the heat-sink structure within the battery module.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that the battery holder be split into two pieces and have positioning slots to secure the heat-sink structure as disclosed within Yu.
As to claim 8, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 1, however, Nakatani does not disclose wherein the battery module further comprises a plurality of fixing elements, wherein the metal plate is provided at an upper side and a lower side thereof with at least one fixing hole, a plate body of the first holder is configured with at least one first penetrating hole, a plate body of the second holder is configured with at least one second penetrating hole, and each of the fixing elements penetrated through the corresponding first penetrating hole on the first holder or the corresponding second penetrating hole on the second holder so that each of the fixing elements is fixed in the corresponding fixing hole on the metal plate, respectively.
Yu discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure, wherein the battery module further comprises a plurality of fixing elements (figure 1, screws 50), wherein the metal plate is provided at an upper side and a lower side thereof with at least one fixing hole (figures 2 and 4, screw holes 2022 and fixing holes 3022, page 4 lines 32-36), a plate body of the first holder is configured with at least one first penetrating hole (figure 6, positioning hole 4012, page 4 lines 45-46), a plate body of the second holder is configured with at least one second penetrating hole (figure 6, positioning hole 4012, page 4 lines 45-46), and each of the fixing elements penetrated through the corresponding first penetrating hole on the first holder or the corresponding second penetrating hole on the second holder so that each of the fixing elements is fixed in the corresponding fixing hole on the metal plate, respectively (page 4 lines 32-36) to secure the heat-sink structure within the battery module.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that the battery holder and heat-sink structure have a series of through-holes for receiving fasteners when assembling the battery module to secure the heat-sink structure within as disclosed within Yu.
6. Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani (WO-2012101954-A1, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Yu et al. (CN-206758568-U, machine translation is used for the rejection below) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ma et al. (US-20240088480-A1).
As to claim 2, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 1, however, Nakatani does not disclose wherein an interior of the metal housing is provided at one side thereof with an inlet, and provided at other end thereof with an air outlet, and the battery holder is configured between the air inlet and the air outlet.
Ma discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure within the module, wherein an interior of the metal housing is provided at one side thereof with an air inlet (figure 6, air inlet panel 451), and provided at other end thereof with an air outlet (figure 6, air outlet panel 452), and the battery holder is configured between the air inlet and the air outlet (figure 6, first cells 431 and second cells 432) so that air will enter the battery module to lower the temperature of the batteries before flowing out of the module [0007].
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that the battery module have an air inlet and an air outlet on either side of the plurality of batteries to facilitate air flowing into and out of the battery module to assist in cooling down the batteries as disclosed within Ma.
As to claim 3, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 2, and further discloses wherein the metal plate is a long-strip shaped plate body (figure 1, separator 4). However, Nakatani does not disclose wherein the two ends of the metal plate are configured towards the air inlet and air outlet, respectively.
Ma discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure within the module, wherein the two ends of the metal plate (figure 6, second air channel mechanical part 4334) are configured towards the air inlet (figure 6, air inlet panel 451) and air outlet, respectively (figure 6, air outlet panel 452) so that cold air from the inlet will flow against the metal plate to dissipate heat [0007].
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that the metal plate within the battery module be disposed between the air inlet and the air outlet to ensure heat dissipates from the metal plate as disclosed within Ma.
7. Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani (WO-2012101954-A1, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Yu et al. (CN-206758568-U, machine translation is used for the rejection below) and Ma et al. (US-20240088480-A1) as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US-20110070474-A1).
As to claim 4, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 3, however, Nakatani does not disclose wherein one of the two ends of the metal plate penetrates out from the battery holder and is connected with a heat-sink fin.
Lee discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries with a heat sink mounted between the battery cells, wherein one of the two ends of the heat sink structure (figure 6, heat dissipation member 420) penetrates out from the battery holder (figure 6, frames 460) to improve the heat dissipation of the battery cells [0105]. However, Lee does not disclose wherein one of the two ends of the metal plate is connected with a heat-sink fin.
Ma discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure within the module, wherein one of the two ends of the metal plate (figure 6, second air channel mechanical part 4334) is connected with a heat-sink fin (figure 11A, heat dissipation parts 434, [0072]) to increase the rate of heat dissipation from the metal plate.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that at least one end of the heat-sink structure within the battery module extend outwardly from the battery holder to assist in dissipating heat from the batteries as disclosed within Lee and to additionally include a heat-sink fin connected to an end of the heat-sink structure to assist in dissipating heat from the metal plate as disclosed within Ma.
As to claim 5, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 4, however, Nakatani does not disclose wherein the heat-sink fin is configured beside the air inlet or beside the air outlet.
Ma discloses a battery module housing a plurality of batteries and having a heat-sink structure within the module, wherein the heat-sink fin (figure 11A, heat dissipation parts 434) is configured besides the air outlet [0072] to ensure that the battery cells further from the air inlet dissipate heat at a similar rate to the batteries closer to the air inlet [0072].
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that the heat-sink fin be configured by the air inlet or the air outlet to ensure that the batteries are cooled down to similar temperatures as disclosed within Ma.
7. Claims 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani (WO-2012101954-A1, machine translation is used for the rejection below) in view of Yu et al. (CN-206758568-U, machine translation is used for the rejection below) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Pinon (US-20180248238-A1).
As to claim 9, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 1, however, Nakatani does not disclose wherein the metal plate comprises a first metal plate unit and two second metal plate units, the first metal plate unit is sandwiched between the two second metal plate units; the first metal plate unit comprises a connecting base, the battery cells are joined with the connecting base of the first metal plate unit through a connector of a conductive connecting element, and therefore are electrically connected together, the first metal plate unit and the second metal late units are members of different metal materials, and the first metal plate unit and the conductive connecting element are members of the same metal material.
Pinon discloses an apparatus for cooling a multi-cell energy storage device having a cooling fin, wherein the metal plate (figure 28, cooling fin 1600) comprises a first metal plate unit (figure 28, graphene material layer 1610, [0044], [0083]) and two second metal plate units (figure 28, rigid material layers 1620, [0083]), the first metal plate unit is sandwiched between the two second metal plate units (figure 28, graphene material layer 1610, rigid material layers 1620); the first metal plate unit comprises a connecting base [0054], the battery cells are joined with the connecting base of the first metal plate unit through a connector of a conductive connecting element, and therefore are electrically connected together [0054], the first metal plate unit and the second metal late units are members of different metal materials [0083], and the first metal plate unit and the conductive connecting element are members of the same metal material [0054] with the multi-layer structure of the metal plate being designed to improve heat transfer between the parts of the battery module [0083].
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require that the metal plate be a multi-layered structure to improve the rate of heat transfer from the batteries as disclosed within Pinon.
As to claim 10, modified Nakatani discloses the battery module having a heat-sink structure as disclosed within claim 9, and further discloses wherein each of the battery cells is connected with each other battery in series through a metallic conductive frame (figure 1, conductive connecting member 5). However, Nakatani does not disclose wherein a negative electrode of one of the battery cells is connected with a system device through a first conducting wire, a positive electrode of one of the battery cells is connected with the connecting base of the metal plate through the connector of the conductive connecting element, the metal plate is connected with the system device through a second conducting wire, and a discharge current flows from the system device to the battery cells connected in series and flows back to the system device through the metal plate.
Pinon discloses an apparatus for cooling a multi-cell energy storage device having a cooling fin, wherein a negative electrode of one of the battery cells is connected with a system device through a first conducting wire [0054], a positive electrode of one of the battery cells is connected with the connecting base of the metal plate through the connector of the conductive connecting element [0054], the metal plate is connected with the system device through a second conducting wire [0054], and a discharge current flows from the system device to the battery cells connected in series and flows back to the system device through the metal plate [0054] to ensure that the batteries are properly connected to an external device.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the battery module as disclosed within Nakatani to additionally require various electrical connections to connect the battery module to a system device as disclosed within Pinon.
Conclusion
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/J.J.S./
Examiner, Art Unit 1727 /Maria Laios/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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