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. 2. Claims 1- 13 are pending in this office action. Priority 3. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) or (f), which papers have been placed of record in the file. Information Disclosure Statement 4. Information disclosure statement s (IDS), submitted September 14 , 2023 ; January 14, 2025; April 28, 2025; and, March 11, 2026 , ha ve been received and considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. Claims 1 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Son et al. (EP3703155A1). With regard to Claim 1 , Son et al. disclose sin Figures 2, a battery module , called a battery pack (200), comprising: a frame unit (210) having a rectangular structure defining first and second through openings , called battery accommodation portions (212), therein (paragraphs 0041, 0056) ; a first cover , called a packaging member (250), overlying and protecting an upper surface of the frame unit (210) ; a second cover , called a second packaging member (230), overlying and protecting a lower surface of the frame unit (210) (paragraph 0064-0065) ; two battery cells (100) respectively received in the first and second through openings (212) (paragraph 0055) ; and a BMU (270) electrically connected to the two battery cells (100) (paragraph 0070) , wherein the frame unit (210) comprises: a frame body (210), composed of rectangular outermost edges (211), comprising a first frame (210) and a second frame (210) spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, each of the first frame (210) and the second frame (210) having a quadrangular shape extending around the first through opening (212) and the second through opening (212) (paragraphs 0055-0056) , respectively; and a seating portion , called a control accommodation portion (215), located in a middle of the frame body (210) , the BMU (270) disposed on the seating portion (215) and located between the two battery cells (100) , an upper surface of the seating portion (215) being flat, the seating portion (215) having a predetermined height (paragraph 0072) . With regard to Claim 12 , Son et al. further disclose in Figures 2 and 9, a bar-shaped auxiliary plate , called a barrier (213), disposed within the first through opening (212) and/or the second through opening (212) , the auxiliary plate (213) supporting one or more of the two battery cells (100) (paragraphs 0104-0108) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 8. 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. 9. 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. 10. 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. 11. Claims 2-3, 8-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Son et al. EP3703155A1), as applied to Claims 1 and 12 above, and in further view of Ahn (US 2015/0037619 A1). With regard to Claim 2 , Son et al. disclose the battery module in paragraph 7 above , but do not specifically disclose wherein the seating portion comprises a first seating portion and a second seating portion, the first seating portion is located adjacent to the first frame, the first seating portion comprising a 1-1 seating portion, a 1-2 seating portion, and a 1-3 seating portion, the second seating portion is located adjacent to the second frame, the second seating portion comprising a 2-1 seating portion, a 2-2 seating portion, and a 2-3 seating portion, the 1-1 seating portion, the 1-2 seating portion, the 2-1 seating portion, and the 2-2 seating portion have the a same upper surface area and a same height, and the 1-3 seating portion and the 2-3 seating portion have the same height as the 1-1 seating portion but have a smaller upper surface area than the same upper surface area. Ahn discloses in Figures 3-4 and the annotated figure below, a battery pack (100) including a battery unit (10), a frame (20) enclosing the battery cells (10), a protective circuit module (30), and a pair of cases (41, 42) (paragraph 0060). Ahn discloses wherein the frame (20) encloses two unit battery cells (10) and includes a circuit installation part (21) (considered a seating portion) provided between the two unit battery cells (10), and the protective circuit module (30) installed on the circuit installation part (21) (paragraphs 0075-0076). Ahn discloses wherein the circuit installation part (21) includes one or more through holes (211), position limit protrusions (212) (considered the 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2 seating portions), and circuit supporting protrusions (213) (considered 1-3 and 2-3 seating portions) (paragraph 0077). As seen in the annotated figure below, Ahn disclose the first seating portion comprising a 1-1 seating portion, a 1-2 seating portion, and a 1-3 seating portion, the second seating portion is located adjacent to the second frame, the second seating portion comprising a 2-1 seating portion, a 2-2 seating portion, and a 2-3 seating portion, the 1-1 seating portion, the 1-2 seating portion, the 2-1 seating portion, and the 2-2 seating portion have the a same upper surface area and a same height, and the 1-3 seating portion and the 2-3 seating portion have the same height as the 1-1 seating portion but have a smaller upper surface area than the same upper surface area . Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the battery module of Son et al. to include at least the first seating portion comprising a 1-1 seating portion, a 1-2 seating portion, and a 1-3 seating portion, the second seating portion comprising a 2-1 seating portion, a 2-2 seating portion, and a 2-3 seating portion , because Ahn teach that this configuration allows for the protective circuit module to be stably installed to the circuit installation part and supported (paragraph 0080). With regard to Claim 3 , Ahn discloses in Figures 3-4 and the annotated figure above, wherein the 1-1 seating portion and the 2-3 seating portion are located facing face each other, the 1-2 seating portion and the 2-2 seating portion are located facing face each other, and the 1-3 seating portion and the 2 - 1 seating portion are located facing face each other (paragraphs 0077-0080; see annotated figure). With regard to Claim 8 , Ahn discloses in Figures 3-4 and the annotated figure above, wherein the two battery cells (10) comprise a first battery cell (10) received in the first frame (20) , the first battery cell comprising a 1-1 lead (16) and a 1-2 lead (17) , and a second battery cell (10) received in the second frame (20) , the second battery cell (10) comprising a 2-1 lead (16) and a 2-2 lead (17) , and the 1-1 lead (16) is located overlying the 1-1 seating portion (212) , the 1-2 (17) lead is located overlying the 1-2 seating portion (212) , the 2-1 lead (16) is located on overlying the 2-1 seating portion (212) , and the 2-2 lead (17) is located overlying the 2-2 seating portion (212) (paragraph 0077; see annotated figure) . With regard to Claim 9 , Ahn discloses wherein the 1-1 lead and the 2-1 lead are positive electrode leads (16) and each of the 1-2 lead and the 2-2 lead are negative electrode leads (17) (paragraph 0077). Ahn does not specifically disclose wherein each of the 1-1 lead and the 2-1 lead is a negative electrode lead, and each of the 1-2 lead and the 2-2 lead is a positive electrode lead. B efore the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to form each of the 1-1 lead and the 2-1 lead to be negative electrode lead s , and each of the 1-2 lead and the 2-2 lead to be positive electrode lead s , since it has been held in the art that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI). With regard to Claim 10 , Ahn discloses in Figure 3, wherein the electrode leads (16, 17) are disclosed below the protective circuit module (30) (paragraphs 0077-0079) . Ahn does not specifically disclose wherein the 1-1 lead (16) , the 2-1 lead (16) , the 1-2 lead (17) , and the 2-2 lead (17) are located each disposed on an upper surface of the BMU. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to form the 1-1 lead, the 2-1 lead, the 1-2 lead, and the 2-2 lead on an upper surface of the BMU, since it has been held in the art that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI). With regard to Claim 11 , Son et al. further disclose in Figure 4, a protective cover , called an anti-noise member (260), disposed on the upper surface of the BMU (270) , the protective cover overlying and being configured to protect the 1-1 lead (16) , the 2-1 lead (16) , the 1-2 lead (17) , and the 2-2 lead (17) (paragraph 0074) . With regard to Claim 13 , Son et al. further disclose in Figures 2 and 9, a first bar-shaped auxiliary plate , called barrier (213), extending into the first through opening (212) from the first frame (210) by a predetermined length, one side of the first bar-shaped auxiliary plate (213) fixed to the first frame (210) at rectangular edge (211) ; and a second bar-shaped auxiliary plate , called a barrier (213), extending into the second through opening (212) from the second frame (210) by a predetermined length, one side of the second bar shaped auxiliary plate (213) fixed thereto to the second frame (210) at rectangular edge (211) (paragraphs 0104-0108). Allowable Subject Matter 12. Claims 4-7 are 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. 13. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art, Son et al. (EP3703155A1), do not teach or fairly suggest the battery module further comprising a rib assembly adjacent to the first seating portion and the second seating portion, the rib supporting the BMU ; wherein the rib assembly comprises a first rib connecting the 1-1 seating portion and the 2-3 seating portion to each other, a second rib connecting the 1-2 seating portion and the 2-2 seating portion to each other, and a third rib connecting the 1-3 seating portion and the 2-1 seating portion to each other, and the first rib, the second rib, and the third rib have the same height as the 1-1 s e ating portion ; wherein the rib assembly further comprises a pair of fourth ribs located between the first frame and the second frame, the fourth ribs facing each other ; and, wherein each of the fourth ribs has the same height as the first rib . Conclusion 14. With Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT KARIE O APICELLA whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-8614 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 5:00PM EST . Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-270-3879 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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