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 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 11, "sheet of claim 9" should read "sheet of claim 10" due to .
Regarding claim 12, “a pore of flexible foam” should read “a pore of the flexible foam.”
Regarding claim 21, “portion of surface” should read “portion of a surface.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1, 5-11, & 20-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Apeldorn et al. (US 2023/0272177 A1, with foreign priority to EP 20188993 A, different applicant), further in view of Onuki et al (EP 4117088 A1, with foreign priority to JP 2020038584).
Regarding claim 1, Apeldorn teaches a thermally insulating multilayer sheet for preventing thermal runaway in a battery (Par. 0019; multilayer structure serves as a barrier for runaway), the multilayer sheet comprising: an elastomeric barrier layer (Par. 0162, spacer layer 13 is made of elastomeric materials) having a first and a second opposed surface (spacer layer 13, Fig. 9; spacer layer has a surface facing a cell and one facing a foam layer); a flexible foam layer (foam layer 4; Fig. 5-6) disposed on the first surface of the barrier layer (Fig. 3; foam layer 4 placed in contact with spacer layer 13); and a flame retardant component (Par. 0107, lines 1-4), wherein the flame retardant component is distributed within the flexible foam layer, contacts a surface of the flexible foam layer, or both (Par. 0107; flame retardants are included in the foam layer). Apeldorn fails to teach the elastomeric barrier layer being nonporous.
However, Onuki teaches a thermally insulating multilayer sheet (Fig. 1A-B; insulating material 1 is made up of two layers) for preventing thermal runaway in a battery (Abstract), the multilayer sheet comprising a nonporous elastomeric barrier layer (Par. 0094; buffering portion 20 may be “a nonporous elastomer formed body”).
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 elastomeric barrier layer of Apeldorn by selecting the material of the elastomer to be nonporous. One of ordinary skill in the art could have determined that substitution of the generic elastomeric layer for a specifically nonporous elastomeric barrier layer would have yielded predictable results in reduced flow of liquids between the layers of the sheet.
Regarding claim 3, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein the nonporous elastomeric barrier comprises an elastomer (Par. 0160-1061). Apeldorn fails to teach a permeability coefficient for water or tensile stress of the elastomer.
However, Apeldorn inherently teaches a tensile stress at 100% elongation of 0.5 to 25 megapascals. Apeldorn describes an elastomeric barrier layer having thermal insulation properties (Par. 0001). The barrier must be able to withstand stress under heat to prevent thermal leakage, which inherently requires a tensile stress of 0.5 to 15 mPa. Thus, claim 3 is rejected.
Regarding claim 5, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein the nonporous elastomeric barrier layer comprises a polybutadiene (Par. 0161, line 6), polychloroprene (Par. 0161, line 6), polyisoprene (Par. 0161, line 6), silicone rubber (Par. 0161, line 3; “silicone elastomer”), fluorinated silicone rubber (Par. 0161, line 3; “fluorosilicone rubber”), or a combination thereof (Par. 0140, line 8; “and any combination or mixtures thereof”).
Regarding claim 6, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein the nonporous elastomeric barrier layer comprises polychloroprene (Par. 0161, line 6).
Regarding claim 7, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein each flexible foam layer independently has a density of 5 to 65 pounds per cubic foot (80 to 1,041 kilograms per cubic meter) (Par. 0113; density ranges listed fit in the claimed range).
Regarding claim 8, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein each flexible foam layer independently has a thickness of 0.1 to 5 millimeters (Par. 0126; ranges in lines 4-10, excluding 100-6000 micrometers, fit the claimed range).
Regarding claim 9, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein each flexible foam layer independently comprises a silicone (Par. 0031, line 9; “silicone elastomers”), a polyurethane (Par. 0031, line 13), or a combination thereof (Par. 0031; “and any combinations or mixtures thereof”).
Regarding claim 10, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein each flexible foam layer independently comprises a reinforcing material (Par. 0087, foam layer comprises filler materials; specification defines a reinforcing material as an additive in the foam layer).
Regarding claim 11, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 9, wherein the reinforcing material is a reinforcing fiber material (Par. 0108; filler material is an inorganic fiber), wherein fibers of the reinforcing fiber material comprise carbon (Par. 0108, “carbon fibers”), silica (Par. 0108, “silicate fibers”), fiberglass (Par. 0108, “glass fibers”), ceramic (Par. 0108, “ceramic fibers”), or a combination thereof (Par. 00108; “and any combinations or mixtures”).
Regarding claim 20, modified Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, having a thermal conductivity of 0.01 to 0.09 watts per meter kelvin at 23°C (Par. 0166; line 4; a conductivity of 0.05 W/m*K fits in the claimed range); and a thickness of 0.2 to 30 millimeters (Par. 0169; all multilayer structure thickness ranges from 200-30000 micrometers fit the claimed range).
Regarding claim 21, modified Apeldorn teaches an electrochemical cell (battery cell 19; Fig. 9), comprising the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1 disposed on at least a portion of a surface of the electrochemical cell (Fig. 9; each battery is in contact with a section of the multilayer structures).
Regarding claim 22, modified Apeldorn teaches the electrochemical cell of claim 21, wherein the thermally insulating multilayer sheet is disposed on at least two surfaces of the electrochemical cell (Fig. 9, interior batteries are contacted on each side by a multilayer structure).
Regarding claim 23, modified Apeldorn teaches the electrochemical cell of claim 21, wherein the electrochemical cell comprises a prismatic cell (Par. 0260; “prismatic energy storage cells”) or pouch cell (Par. 0260; “pouch energy storage cells”).
Regarding claim 24, modified Apeldorn teaches an unconnected array (Fig. 9, Par. 0261; batteries are lined up in a module, but are separated and not connected), comprising at least two of the electrochemical cells of claim 21 (Par. 0261; “plurality of battery cells”).
Regarding claim 25, modified Apeldorn teaches a battery (battery module 18; Fig. 9), comprising the electrochemical cell of claim 21 (Par. 0257; “battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells”).
Regarding claim 26, modified Apeldorn teaches the battery as stated above, further comprising a battery case at least partially enclosing the electrochemical cell (Fig. 9; base plate 21 encloses the bottom of the cell).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Apeldorn, further in view of Wang et al. (CN 210679965 U).
Regarding claim 2, Apeldorn fails to teach an additional flexible foam layer in the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1.
However, Wang teaches an additional flexible foam layer (Page 1, Par. 7; “second foam layer”) disposed on a second surface of a nonporous elastomeric barrier layer (Page 1, Par. 7, lines 1-5; both foam layers contact an opposite surface of the base layer).
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 insulating multilayer sheet taught by Apeldorn by incorporating a second flexible foam layer contacting a nonporous elastomeric barrier layer, as taught by Wang. This would be done to strengthen the main body of the structure and improve compression cushioning, as stated in Wang (Page 1, Par. 8, lines 1-3).
Claims 4 & 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Apeldorn, further in view of Yan et al. (CN 111439011 A). Yan is reasonably pertinent to the problem solved because Yan and Apeldorn both are directed to thermal protection in electronic devices or conductors.
Regarding claim 4, Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, wherein the nonporous elastomeric barrier layer has a thickness of 0.25 to 1 millimeter (Par. 0156; all ranges overlap with the claimed range, as any thickness between 250 and 1000 micrometers is claimed).
Regarding claim 13, Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, however, Apeldorn does not teach how the flame retardant is dispersed among the layers.
However, Yan teaches a flame-retardant component (Page 1, Par. 3; “high-strength flame-retardant cover material”) as a flame-retardant layer (Page 1, Par. 7; “includes a flame-retardant layer”), contacting a surface of a flexible foam layer (Page 1, Par. 7; “the first foam layer and the second foam layer are located between the flame retardant layer”).
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 multilayer sheet taught by Apeldorn by incorporating a flame retardant which contacts a surface of a flexible foam layer, as taught by Yan. This would be done to improve the bonding force and balance the stress between the foam layer and flame retardant, as stated in Yan (Page 1, Par. 7, lines 9-11).
Regarding claim 14, Yan teaches the flame-retardant layer as stated above having a thickness of 0.1 to 2 millimeters (Page 3, Par. 12; “The thickness of the flame-retardant layer . . . are 1 mm, respectively”).
Regarding claim 15, Yan teaches the flame-retardant layer comprising aluminum hydroxide (Page 1, Par. 9; “nano aluminum hydroxide”).
Regarding claim 16, Yan teaches the flame-retardant layer further comprising a char-forming agent (Page 1, Par. 9; “ammonium polyphosphate”).
Regarding claim 17, Yan teaches the flame-retardant layer further comprising a polymer binder (Page 2, Par. 5, line 3; “polyvinyl alcohol” is a polymer binder).
Claims 12 & 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Apeldorn, further in view of Rabaud et al. (EP 2403050 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1. However, Apeldorn does not teach the flame-retardant component as a particulate within the flexible foam layer.
However, Rabaud teaches a flame-retardant component (Par. 0043; lines 1-2) as a particulate within a pore of a flexible foam layer (Par. 0066, lines 1-2; flame retardant is incorporated into the foam).
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 multilayer sheet taught by Apeldorn by incorporating a flame-retardant component within the foam layer, as taught by Rabaud. This would be done to reduce potential products of battery combustion and flames that may result from combustion, as stated in Rabaud (Page 8, Par. 2, lines 1-2).
Regarding claim 18, Apeldorn teaches the thermally insulating multilayer sheet of claim 1, further comprising a flame-retardant component. Apeldorn does not teach how the flame-retardant component is distributed or the compounds it is composed of.
However, Rabaud teaches a flame-retardant component distributed through the matrix of the flexible foam layer (Par. 0066, lines 1-2; flame retardant is incorporated into the foam), and wherein the flame retardant comprises aluminum trihydrate (Par. 0066, line 5).
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 flame-retardant component taught by Apeldorn by incorporating aluminum trihydrate, as taught by Rabaud, which is a known choice in the art for a flame-retardant compound.
Regarding claim 19, Rabaud teaches the flame-retardant component distributed within the matrix of the flexible foam layer, as stated above, further comprising an organic flame retardant (Par. 0066, lines 1-5; all compounds listed before aluminum trihydrate are organic).
Conclusion
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/CAMERON M BAIRD/ Examiner, Art Unit 1728
/MATTHEW T MARTIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1728