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 .
The amendment filed 8/9/23 has been considered and entered. Claims 1-20 remain in the application for prosecution thereof.
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 5,13 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.
Regarding claim 5, the terms “strong” and “weak” are relative terms which render the claim indefinite. The terms “strong” and “weak” are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
Regarding claim 13, the term “the secondary holes” lacks antecedent basis as the claims recite “secondary ventilation hole” not holes and therefore is also confusing as to the “sum of the areas” when only one area is recited? Clarification is requested.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 210926220 or CN 112086711 either in combination with CN 212209703.
CN 210926220 discloses an energy storage battery PACK (i.e., the battery module of the present application, see description, paragraphs 16-33, and figures 1-4). The energy storage battery PACK module comprises a housing 1 (i.e., the box body), a plurality of battery cells 12 and a plurality of auxiliary cooling mechanisms 4 are uniformly placed inside the housing 1 from left to right, and the battery cells 12 and the auxiliary cooling mechanisms 4 are arranged in a staggered manner. The auxiliary cooling mechanisms 4 each comprises a heat-conducting silica gel plate 5 (equivalent to the middle partition plate of the present application); a plurality of transverse air ducts 6 (the arrangement direction thereof is equivalent to the first direction of the present application, and the heat-conducting silica gel plate is provided with two side edges extending along this direction) arranged from left to right and a plurality of longitudinal air ducts 7 (the arrangement direction thereof is equivalent to the second direction of the present application) arranged from bottom to top are respectively provided on both sides of the heat-conducting silica gel plate 5; the plurality of transverse air ducts 6 and the plurality of longitudinal air ducts 7 are arranged perpendicular to each other (i.e., disclosing that the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction); and cold air can enter the transverse air ducts 6 (equivalent to the secondary air ducts of the present application, which are communicated with the longitudinal air ducts; and it can be determined from figure 1 that the secondary air ducts extend to the two side edges, which are respectively equivalent to the first secondary air duct and the second secondary air duct of the present application) by means of the longitudinal air ducts 7 (equivalent to the main air duct of the present application). Air grooves 19 (respectively equivalent to the first ventilation hole and the second ventilation hole of the present application; and the arrangement direction thereof is equivalent to the first direction of the present application) are respectively arranged on the front surface and the back surface of the housing 1 (respectively equivalent to the air inlet plate and the air outlet panel of the present application; and side plates connected thereto are equivalent to the first side plate and the second side plate of the present application, which are necessarily located on the sides of the two side edges facing away from the longitudinal air ducts). External cold air enters the longitudinal air ducts 7 by means of the air grooves 19 (which are necessarily located on both sides of the heat-conducting silica gel plate) on the front surface or the back surface of the housing 1, and the cold air that has been subjected to cooling operation is exhausted from the air grooves 19 on the front surface or the back surface of the housing 1 (one of the two air grooves from which the air is exhausted is the first ventilation hole of the present application, and the other is the second ventilation hole of the present application).
CN 112086711 (description, paragraphs 0030-0072, and figures 1 to 5) discloses a battery box, the battery box comprising a housing 1, battery modules 2 and fans 3; the side walls of the housing 1 in the front-rear direction (the first direction) are provided with air inlets (the second vent holes) and air outlets 11 (the first vent holes) which are distributed in the front-rear direction, and the battery modules 2 are provided in the housing 1; each battery module 2 comprises a plurality of battery cells 21 which are stacked in sequence in the height direction of the housing 1, wherein a clamping plate 22 is arranged between two adjacent battery cells 21 (the first battery cell layer and the second battery cell layer), the clamping plate 22 being provided with vent holes 221; and the fans 3 are fitted at the air outlets 11. The air inlets comprise two groups of first inlets 121 and two groups of second inlets 122, the former being provided on two side walls which are oppositely arranged in the front-rear direction of the housing 1, and the latter being provided on the side walls on both sides in the left-right direction. During operation, by means of a suction effect of the fans 3, external airflow enters the interior of the housing 1 from the air inlets, passes through the vent holes 221 on the clamping plates 22 and gaps between the inner wall of the housing 1 and the battery modules 2, and finally is discharged from the air outlets 11, achieving cooling of the battery modules 2.
CN 210926220 and CN 112086711 fail to teach that the middle partition plate comprises first and second side edges extending in the first direction; the middle partition plate is also provided with main air ducts penetrating through the middle partition plate in the first direction, and first and second secondary air ducts; and the first secondary air ducts are in communication with the main air ducts and one end of each of the first secondary air ducts extends to the first side edge, and the second secondary air ducts are in communication with the main air ducts and one end of each of the second secondary air ducts extends to the second side edge.
CN 212209703 (description, paragraphs 0029-0039, and figures 1 to 6) discloses a battery module 100, which is provided with a plurality of battery cells, wherein each battery cell 1 is sandwiched between two adjacent air cooling plates 2; each air cooling plate 2 comprises an internal air cooling plate having two side walls each provided with a cooling air duct 3; and each cooling air duct 3 is provided with: an air cooling plate air inlet 31 and an air cooling plate air outlet 32 (i.e. being formed on the first and second side edges; as fans can be used to supply air and suction fans can be used to discharge air, in fact, the air outlets being also the air inlets, and vice versa); and a plurality sub-air ducts 33 (four sub-air ducts 33 running from top to bottom being symmetrically distributed on either side of left and right sides of 24, and two adjacent sub air ducts 33 converging and communicating to form a wider main air duct), which have a plurality of air inlet ends respectively in communication with the air cooling plate air inlet 31, and a plurality of air outlet ends respectively in communication with the air cooling plate air outlet 32. The plurality of sub-air ducts 33 are independent of each other, achieving better cooling and heat exchange effects.
Therefore, it would have been within the skill of one practicing in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention have modified either CN 210926220 or CN 112086711 battery module configuration having the cooling apparatus middle partition plate comprises first and second side edges extending in the first direction; the middle partition plate is also provided with main air ducts penetrating through the middle partition plate in the first direction, and first and second secondary air ducts; and the first secondary air ducts are in communication with the main air ducts and one end of each of the first secondary air ducts extends to the first side edge, and the second secondary air ducts are in communication with the main air ducts and one end of each of the second secondary air ducts extends to the second side edge as detailed in CN 212209703.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) in combination with CN 112086711.
Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) (figures 1-10; paragraph [0016] - paragraph [0077]) discloses a battery module 1 that comprises a plurality of battery cells 3 that are stacked next to each other and, given, that battery cells in a module normally do not move it is also seen at least inherent to Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) that the cells are also somehow fastened in the module (note, that the manner of fastening is not further defined in claim 1 and a simple compression fit between two end plates of a battery module therewith also realizes the claimed fastening in the broadest sense of this term. A spacer 4 is placed between adjacent cells (see also figure 1). The battery module further comprises a housing (see also figures 2 and 5) which comprises first and second inner side walls 9, 12 with a plurality of openings and further first and second outer walls 8 and 10. The spacer 4 arranged between adjacent cells has its length direction from one side wall of the battery module housing to the other side, which thus represents the "first direction" in the sense of claim 1. The spacer as shown in figure 10 comprises several channels 41, 42, which represent air ducts of that spacer in the sense of claim 1. The channels 41 and 42 in the middle of that spacer can thereby be defined as main air ducts and the channels 41 and 42 towards the upper and lower end of the spacer as first and second secondary air ducts in the sense of claim 1. Furthermore, given that the channels 41 and 42 are provided on both sides of the spacer there are multiple such main air ducts and first and second secondary air ducts comprised in the spacer of e.g. figure 10. The spacer in figure 10 further comprises straight portions 27. It is obvious, that air flowing in channels 41 and 42 can flow down in the straight portions 27 and continue to flow in another channel. Hence, the first and second secondary air ducts (channels 41, 42 at the upper and lower side of the spacer) communicate with the main air duct (channels 41, 42 in the middle of the spacer) as required by claim 1. The openings in the side walls 13 and 14 are further also arranged in the first direction as defined in claim 1 and represent first and second ventilation holes in the sense of claim 1. What holes are considered first and second ventilation holes is, again, a pure matter of definition. Finally, the outer walls 8 and 10 are screwed to the inner walls 9 and 12 and form overall left and right walls 6a,b.
Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) fails to teach an air supply unit connected to the case and configured to exhaust air in the middle separator and out the first ventilation hole.
CN 112086711 discloses a battery module (see figures 1 and 2, whereby all side walls comprise ventilation holes (see 121, 122 in these figures). The battery cells are horizontally stacked (and obviously secured to the module housing). A kind of a separator, see splint 21 with ventilation holes 221 is arranged between adjacent cells (see also figure 3). Finally, an air supply unit (see fan 3 associated with each battery module) is provided in the battery module housing and is obviously fastened thereto.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the at before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) by utilizing air supply unit connected to the case and configured to exhaust air in the middle separator and out the first ventilation hole as evidenced by CN 112086711 with the expectation of cooling the battery module.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN 210926220 or CN 112086711 or Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) in combination with Kazuya (2014/205876).
Features detailed above concerning the teachings of CN 210926220 or CN 112086711 or Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) are incorporated here.
CN 210926220 or CN 112086711 or Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) fails to teach a transportation apparatus, a vehicle having a frame, transmission apparatus and power apparatus including the claimed battery module.
Kazuya (2014/205876) teaches a transportation means, which is, in fact a vehicle, and which accommodates the battery module in a vehicle frame and is used in electrical vehicles (see e.g. figures 1-4) and [0003]-[0006].
Therefore, it would have been within the skill of one practicing in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention have modified CN 210926220 or CN 112086711 or Toshiki et al. (2014/120400) battery module configuration by utilizing the battery module in an electric vehicle having the cooling apparatus as detailed above.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN K TALBOT whose telephone number is (571)272-1428. The examiner can normally be reached Monday -Friday 7-4PM.
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/BRIAN K TALBOT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712