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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 9-16 objected to because of the following informalities: “a substrate” should read as “the substrate” for clarity of antecedent basis with independent claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 9, 14, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (CN211318689 as cited in 09/18/2025 IDS (see attached Machine Translation)).
Considering Claim 1, Zhao discloses a temperature and voltage acquisition integrated module (an integrate voltage and temperature sampling device [Abstract]), configured to acquire a temperature and a voltage of a battery module (temp and voltage of battery [Abstract, 0009]), comprising:
a substrate with thermal and electrical conductivity (substrate 101 is thermally conductive [0037] and electrically conductive for connecting with conductive connector 11 [0036, Figure 4]), connected to a busbar in the battery module (busbar 20 of battery module 1 [0044, Figure 2] electrically connected to substrate 101 [0046, 0047, 0048]);
a temperature acquisition component, provided on the substrate (first and second temperature sampling lines 105,106 are provided on substrate [0051, Figure 4]), insulated and separated from the substrate by an insulating layer (insulating layer 102 insulates and separates temperature sampling lines [0042, Figure 4]) provided with a temperature acquisition pad (flat, rectangular connecting components that are joined to temperature sensor 103 [Figure 4]);
a temperature sensor (temperature sensor 103 [0042, Figure 4]); welded to the temperature acquisition component (temperature sensor terminals may be connected via soldering [0051], however, laser welding can be used instead of soldering when using materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, and cast iron [0049], so substituting laser welding for soldering for the sake of material compatibility would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art); and
a voltage acquisition pad (flat, rectangular conductive connector 11 [0049, Figure 4] which is connected to voltage line terminal 12 [0047] for voltage sampling [0047]), provided on the substrate and electrically connected to the substrate (substrate 11 laser directly welded to conductive connector [0049, Figure 4] for electrical connection [0046, 0049]).
Considering Claims 9, 14, and 16, Zhao discloses a temperature and voltage acquisition integrated module (an integrate voltage and temperature sampling device [Abstract]), configured to acquire a temperature and a voltage of a battery module (temp and voltage of battery [Abstract, 0009]),
wherein the substrate is welded to the busbar (substrate is welded to target test object, which is busbar [0041, 0044]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (CN211318689 as cited in 09/18/2025 IDS (see attached Machine Translation)) and further in view of Jiang et al. (CN212207611 as cited in 09/18/2025 IDS (see attached Machine Translation)).
Considering Claim 6, Zhao discloses a temperature acquisition component, provided on the substrate (first and second temperature sampling lines 105,106 are provided on substrate [0051, Figure 4]). However, Zhao is silent to a protective cover, provided on the substrate, sheathing the temperature sensor; wherein the temperature acquisition pad and the voltage acquisition pad are located outside the protective cover.
Jiang discloses an analogous battery module voltage and temperature acquisition device [0001]. A thermally conductive protective adhesive 221 covers only the surface of the temperature sensor 22 [0039] such that an end is connected to the voltage acquisition element 23 and all the other elements are on the outside of the cover [Figure 2]. This protects the temperature sensor while conducting temperature to the sensor more quickly [0045].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the temperature and voltage acquisition integrated module of Zhao with the protective cover of Jiang in order to protect the temperature sensor while conducting temperature to the sensor more quickly [0045].
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (CN211318689 as cited in 09/18/2025 IDS (see attached Machine Translation)) and further in view of Lee et al. (PGPub 2024/0030506).
Considering Claim 8, Zhao discloses a temperature sensor (temperature sensor 103 [0042, Figure 4]). However, Zhao is silent to the sensor being an NTC thermistor.
Lee discloses an analogous battery pack with a cell monitoring portion that collects information on temperature and voltage [Abstract]. In an embodiment, the temperature sensor may be provided as an NTC thermistor measuring temperature through a resistance change [0116]. This configuration secures a structure advantageous for application to a structure in which a plurality of battery cells and plate members are closely disposed and to sensitively respond to various temperature changes [0116].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the temperature and voltage acquisition integrated module of Zhao with the NTC thermistor of Lee in order to secure a structure advantageous for application to a structure in which a plurality of battery cells and plate members are closely disposed and to sensitively respond to various temperature changes [0116].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 7, 10-13, 15, and 17-20 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:
Regarding claim 2, Zhao discloses a temperature and voltage acquisition integrated module as outlined in claim 1. However, based on the orientation of the battery top surface and the top of the sampling device 10, the temperature sensor, acquisition component, and the voltage acquisition pad are only disposed on the top surface for the reading of the top surface of the battery [Figures 1 and 4], so there is no reasonable interpretation or suggestion of located on a first side wall of the substrate as required by the claim.
Regarding claim 7, secondary reference Jiang discloses a thermally conductive protective adhesive 221 covers only the surface of the temperature sensor 22 [0039] such that an end is connected to the voltage acquisition element 23 and all the other elements are on the outside of the cover [Figure 2]. This protects the temperature sensor while conducting temperature to the sensor more quickly [0045]. As the cover additionally acts as an adhesive, there is no motivation to modify the structure to include both a plastic wrapping and provide a side wall of the protective cover away from the substrate with an opening for glue injection as required by the claim.
Regarding claim 17, Zhao discloses a temperature and voltage acquisition integrated module as outlined in claim 1. However, based on the orientation of the battery top surface and the top of the sampling device 10, the temperature sensor, acquisition component, and the voltage acquisition pad are only disposed on the top surface for the reading of the top surface of the battery [Figures 1 and 4], so there is no reasonable interpretation or suggestion of a second side wall of the substrate abutting and being welded to a wall of a welding groove of the busbar as required by the claim.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTOPHER P DOMONE/ Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 1725