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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 2 in the reply filed on April 13, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claim 6 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/13/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
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.
Claims 1-5 and 7-10 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "metal layers" in the last line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Since claims 2-5 and 7-10 are dependent upon claim 1, they are rejected for the same reason.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuboki, et al., (US 2019/0165436A1), hereinafter Kuboki.
Regarding claim 1, Kuboki teaches:
A battery pack comprising ([0074], FIG.1 and 3 - power storage module 10 that includes power storage elements 12):
a secondary battery; and ([0081] - the power storage element 12 may be a secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion rechargeable battery and a nickel-metal hydride rechargeable battery)
a heat-absorbing member that includes a heat-absorbing agent and an exterior member accommodating the heat-absorbing agent and is in contact with the secondary battery at least in part ([0082], FIG. 3 - the cooling member 13 includes a liquid-tightly closed sealing member 26 enclosing a refrigerant 27. [0086] FIGS. 3 and 4 show the outer surface of the sealing member 26 has a contact portion 30 in contact with the power storage element 12.)
the exterior member including a metal layer, a resin layer overlapping the metal layer, and a sealing portion sealing the heat-absorbing agent (second embodiment described in [0112-0115] and FIG. 10 shows a cooling member 50 that includes a first sheet member 52 and a second sheet member (not illustrated) each having a synthetic resin layer on only one surface thereof. The first sheet member 52 and the second sheet member 53 are thermally welded to each other in the sealing member 51 with the synthetic resin layers being overlapped and in contact with each other.)
the metal layer being located inside the exterior member with respect to the resin layer, and (Using the second embodiment [0112-0115] and FIG. 8, the metal layers are joined inside the resin layer at the expansion portion 39)
the metal layers being joined to each other at the sealing portion. (Using the second embodiment [0112-0115] and FIG. 8, the metal layers are joined directly to each other in the expansion portion 39)
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Regarding claim 3, Kuboki teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer includes a thin-walled portion overlapping a joint portion of the exterior member where the metal layers are joined to each other (Using the second embodiment and FIG. 8, the thin-walled portion is comprised of the folded single resin layer)
and a thick-walled portion thicker than the thin-walled portion. (Using the second embodiment and FIG. 8, the thick-walled portion encompasses folded portion that includes both sheets)
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Regarding claim 8, Kuboki teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein a material of the metal layer contains at least one metal element selected from the group consisting of aluminum, zinc, chromium, and nickel. ([0084] - any metal may be used to form the metal sheet, including aluminum, an aluminum alloy, copper, and a copper alloy. )
Regarding claim 9, Kuboki teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein a material of the metal layer is any one of an aluminum alloy and a nickel alloy. ([0084] - any metal may be suitably employed to form the metal sheet, including aluminum, an aluminum alloy, copper, and a copper alloy.)
Regarding claim 10, Kuboki teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the exterior member includes an exterior sheet including the metal layer and the resin layer. ([0112] – cooling member is comprised of first and second sheet members 52 and 53, that include a metal sheet and resin layer laminated on one surface of the metal sheet.)
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.
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuboki et al., (US 2019/0165436A1), hereinafter Kuboki, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ninomiya et al., (US 2022/0006158A1), hereinafter Ninomiya.
Regarding claim 4, all the teachings of Kuboki in claim 1 above are incorporated herein.
Kuboki does not teach:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the metal layer is thinner than the resin layer.
Ninomiya teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the metal layer is thinner than the resin layer. ([0050-0052] – metal layer is preferably < 20 µm and resin layer is < 30 µm for flexibility.)
Although Kuboki is silent on the relative thicknesses between the metal and resin layers, Kuboki and Ninomiya are considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of batteries. The motivation for using the metal and resin thicknesses of Ninomiya is to impart desired permeability suppression, mechanical strength, and flexibility [0050, 0052]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to incorporate a metal layer that is thinner than the resin layer from Ninomiya into the exterior structure of the cooling member in Kuboki in order to impart desired permeability suppression, mechanical strength, and flexibility.
Claims 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kuboki et al., (US 2019/0165436A1), hereinafter Kuboki, as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yasui et al., (US 2011/0274951A1), hereinafter Yasui.
Regarding claim 5, all the teachings of Kuboki in claim 1 above are incorporated herein.
Kuboki does not teach:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the secondary battery has a cylindrical shape, and
the heat-absorbing member has elasticity and is in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery.
Yasui teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the secondary battery has a cylindrical shape, and ([0042] discloses a secondary battery and [0043] FIG. 1 discloses a cylindrical battery cell 45)
the heat-absorbing member has elasticity and is in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery.( [0050 - 0052] discloses a heat-absorbing member 50 with an outer film 58 that includes resin and metal layers. The resin layers are made of polyethylene and/or polyethylene terephthalate, both of which exhibit elastic properties. FIG. 2B shows the heat-absorbing member 50 in contact with the battery cell 45.)
Substituting one battery shape in relation to a heat-absorbing structure, as well as materials for the heat-absorbing material (cylindrical shape batteries with a heat-absorbing member that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery and also has elasticity, as taught by Yasui) for another (i.e. that of Kuboki) would yield the predictable result of providing a battery/heat-absorbing member combination, as the substituted components and their functions were known in the art. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to substitute a cylindrical shape batteries with a heat-absorbing member that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery and also has elasticity for another structure without the specified cell shape and relationship to the head-absorbing material, as well as the elastic property of the heat-absorbing material, as the substitution would yield the predictable result of providing a functional battery/heat-absorbing combined structure, wherein the substituted components and their functions were known in the art.
Regarding claim 7, all the teachings of Kuboki as modified by Yasui in claim 5 above are incorporated herein.
Kuboki teaches:
The battery pack according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality of the secondary batteries, wherein ([0080], FIGS. 3 and 4 – six power storage elements are depicted.)
Kuboki does not teach:
the exterior member includes a first exterior member having a recess and a second exterior member covering the recess, and
the first exterior member has a bottom surface on which a plurality of second curved surfaces in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery are arranged in parallel.
Yasui discloses:
the exterior member includes a first exterior member having a recess and a second exterior member covering the recess, and (Figure 6A, [0069] - heat-absorbing member 150 can be formed, by thermally fusing a portion constituting cylindrical surfaces 151 and upper and lower surfaces to a portion constituting a back part )
the first exterior member has a bottom surface on which a plurality of second curved surfaces in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery are arranged in parallel. (FIGS. 6A and 6B, [0068] - Heat-absorbing member 150 has a plurality of cylindrical surfaces 151 corresponding to the side surfaces of battery cells 45 constituting a battery unit )
Substituting the exterior member shape in relation to a heat-absorbing structure, (a heat-absorbing member with a plurality of cylindrical surfaces that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery, as taught by Yasui) for another (i.e. that of Kuboki) would yield the predictable result of providing a battery/heat-absorbing member combination, as the substituted components and their functions were known in the art. Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to substitute the shape of the heat-absorbing member to have a plurality of cylindrical surfaces that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the secondary battery for another structure without the specified cell shape and relationship to the heat-absorbing material, as the substitution would yield the predictable result of providing a functional battery/heat-absorbing combined structure, wherein the substituted components and their functions were known in the art.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: none of the prior art of record, alone or in combination, appears to teach, suggest, or render obvious the invention of claim 2.
Claim 2 teaches a resin layer disposed outside the exterior member with respect to the metal layer over the entire metal layer. Claim 2 is dependent on claim 1 and incorporates the limitations where the metal layer is located inside exterior member with respect to the resin layer, and the metal layer of each exterior member is joined to each other at the sealing portion. Kuboki et al, (US 2019/0165346A1), relied upon herein, [0084- 0085] teaches a cooling member comprised of sheet members that include a metal sheet and synthetic resin films laminated on an exterior of the metal sheet, and bonding the sheet members together where the synthetic resin film overlaps with each other to form the sealing member. Kuboki discloses an embodiment [0112-0013] where the sheet members have a metal sheet, each having a resin layer on one surface, are thermally welded to each other. The metal sheets are joined together with the metal sheet exposed on the outer surface of the sealing member with respect to the resin layer. No motivation exists to modify the prior art to arrive at the claimed invention (as the embodiment relied upon in the rejection does not have the resin disposed outside the exterior member with respect to the metal layer over the entire layer, and the other embodiment of Kuboki has resin layers joined to each other at the sealing portion rather than metal as required by claim 1). Thus, none of the prior art alone or in combination teaches, suggests, or renders obvious the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mario Gamboa whose telephone number is (571)272-9213. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thur 8:00 -5:00, Fri 8:00- 12:00 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ula Ruddock can be reached at (571) 272-1481. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARIO R GAMBOA/Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
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