Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/282,208

BATTERY MODULE AND BATTERY PACK INCLUDING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §102§103§112
Filed
Sep 14, 2023
Examiner
CONLEY, OI K
Art Unit
1752
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
LG Energy Solution, Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
70%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
77%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 70% — above average
70%
Career Allow Rate
597 granted / 858 resolved
+4.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +8% lift
Without
With
+7.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
896
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
37.2%
-2.8% vs TC avg
§102
34.5%
-5.5% vs TC avg
§112
21.5%
-18.5% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 858 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103 §112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. The claim amendments submitted on 9/14/23 has been received. Claims 1, 2, 5-13 have been amended. Claims 2-3 are cancelled. Claims 14-18 are new. Priority Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/14/23 and 8/26/24 are considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings submitted on 9/14/23 has been considered. 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claim 8 is 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. Specifically, “any one of the one or more,” is unclear since “any one” appears to indicate more than one however the limitation “one or more” in claims 7 and 8 includes only one . Appropriate corrections and/or further clarification are required. Claim 11 is 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. The limitation discloses, “a first mounting parts,” and further discloses “the one or more mount parts” is unclear , since the plurality of “parts” appear to be exclude “one” of “one or more.” Appropriate corrections and/or further clarification are required. As best understood, the limitation will be interpreted as “the first end plate comprise a fist mount part that is formed on one surface of the first end plate, and the one first mount part is fastened to the pack frame.” Claim 16 is 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. The limitation discloses, “ one of the one or more ,” in claims 14 and 16 and further discloses “ another of the one or more ” is unclear, since the limitation appears to be exclude “one” in combination with “ another .” Appropriate corrections and/or further clarification are required. As best understood, the limitation will be interpreted as “the one of the mounting part is located between a central part of the first end plate and the coolant injection part extends between the central part and the coolant discharge port.” 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. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1, 2, 5-7, 9-11, 14 , 16-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Cicero et al. (US Publication 2012/0156543). Regarding claim 1, the Cicero et al. reference discloses a battery module comprising a battery cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells, a housing for a battery cell stack comprising a first end plate covering a first side of the battery cell stack and a second end plate covering a second side of the battery cell stack, a heat sink located under a bottom part of the housing, a coolant injection port that supplies coolant to the heat sink and coolant discharge port that discharges the coolant form the heat sink. The first housing protrusion and a second housing protrusion, each of which protrudes from the bottom part of the housing and passes through the first end plate and the coolant injection port located on the first housing protrusion and the coolant discharge port is located on the second housing protrusion (Fig. 1-4) . Regarding claim 2, the Cicero et al. reference discloses the coolant injection port and the coolant discharge port are located to correspond to opposite ends in a width direction of the first end plate (Fig. 1, 228) . Regarding claim 5, the Cicero et al. reference discloses a first guide (combination 516 and aperture; P55-P56) is formed in the central part of the first end plate (combination of 204 and504) and a guide hole opened along the height direction is formed in the first guide part (aperture; P56). Regarding claim 6, the Cicero et al. reference discloses a second guide part is formed in at least one location between a central part of the second end plate and opposite ends in a width direction of the second end plate (Fig. 2 and 3, 516). Regarding claim 7 , the Cicero et al. reference discloses wherein the a second mounting part is formed between a central part of the second plate and a first end in the width direction of the second end plate and extends between the central part of the second end plate and second end opposite to the first end in the width direction of the second end plate (Fig. 2 and 3, 324). Regarding claim 9, the Cicero et al. reference discloses wherein the bottom part of the housing and the heat sink form a flow path for the coolant and the bottom part of the housing is in contact with the coolant (Fig. 4-6). Regarding claim 10, the Cicero et al. reference discloses the heat sink comprises a lower plate that is joined to the bottom part of the housing and comprises a recessed part that is recessed downward from the lower plate (236). Regarding claim 11, the Cicero et al. reference disclose a battery pack comprising the battery module of claim 1 and a pack frame housing the battery module wherein the first end plate comprise a first mount part that is formed on one surface of the first end plate, and the one first mount part is fastened (joined) to the pack frame (P51). Regarding claim 14, the Cicero et al. reference disclose the first end plate comprises one of the first mounting part (516) that are formed on a surface of the first end plate, wherein the coolant injection port and the coolant discharge port are spaced apart from each other along a width direction of the first end plate, and the one or more first mounting parts are located between the coolant injection port and the coolant discharge port (228) . Regarding claim 16, the Cicero et al. reference discloses the one of the mounting part is located between a central part of the first end plate and the coolant injection part extends between the central part and the coolant discharge port. Regarding claim 17 , the Cicero et al. reference discloses wherein the heat sink includes a first heat sink protrusion that protrudes from one side of the heat sink (Fig. 4, 228) to a portion where the first module frame protrusion is located (Fig. 2 upper of 228) , and a second heat sink protrusion (Fig. 4, 228) that protrudes from one side of the heat sink to a portion where the second module frame protrusion is located (Fig. 2, the upper of 228) . Regarding claim 18 , the Cicero et al. reference discloses wherein a protrusion pattern (304) is formed in the recessed part. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 Alternatively, claim 5 can be rejected below. 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 (s) 5, 12, 13, 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cicero et al. (US Publication 2012/0156543) in view of Bin et al. (KR20120096886). Regarding claims 5, 12 , 13 , the Cicero et al. reference discloses the claimed invention above and further incorporate herein. The Cicero et al. reference discloses a first guide part is formed in a central part of the first end plate and a guide hole open along a height direction is formed in the first guide part. The Cicero et al. reference also discloses the pack frame comprise a pack bottom part, the battery module is disposed on the pack bottom part. However, the Cicero et al. reference discloses a generic mounting part to mount the battery housing to the bottom plate and to a vehicle but does not specifically disclose a guide pin protrudes upward from the pack bottom part and the guide pin passes through the guide hole. However, Bin et al. reference discloses a first guide part is formed in a central part of the first end plate and a guide hole open along a height direction is formed in the first guide part and the pack frame comprise a pack bottom part, the battery module is disposed on the pack bottom part and a guide pin protrudes upward from the pack bottom part and the guide pin passes through the guide hole to mount the battery to the bottom part of the housing and to a vehicle (Fig. 3 and fig. 4). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the battery mounting configuration with guides disclosed by the Bin et al. reference for the generic teach ing of the battery mounting configuration disclosed by the Cicero et al. reference for the same purpose of mounting the battery into a vehicle. A patent for a combination, which only unites old elements with no change in their respective functions, obviously withdraws what is already known into the field of its monopoly and diminishes the resources available to skillful men. Where the combination of old elements performed a useful function, but it added nothing to the nature and quality of the subject matter already patented, the patent failed under §103. When a patent simply arranges old elements with each performing the same function it had been known to perform and yields no more than one would expect from such an arrangement, the combination is obvious. KSR v. Teleflex Regarding claim 15 , the Cicero et al. reference in view of the Bin reference (herein’ referred to as modified Cicero et al. reference discloses a mounting hole open along a height direction is formed in each of the one or more first mounting parts. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT HELEN OI CONLEY whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-5162 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 8:30 am - 5:00 pm . 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 Nicholas Smith can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 5712728760 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Helen Oi K CONLEY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 14, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 11, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103, §112 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12592400
CELL STACK DEVICE, MODULE, AND MODULE HOUSING DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 31, 2026
Patent 12580257
BATTERY, MANUFACTURING METHOD AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEM THEREOF, AND ELECTRIC APPARATUS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12580280
NEGATIVE ELECTRODE SHEET, SECONDARY BATTERY, BATTERY MODULE, BATTERY PACK, AND ELECTRIC DEVICE
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 17, 2026
Patent 12567598
PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANES FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTIONS
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 03, 2026
Patent 12542277
CATHODE ACTIVE MATERIAL, METHOD FOR PREPARING SAME, AND SECONDARY BATTERY INCLUDING CATHODE COMPRISING SAME
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 03, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
70%
Grant Probability
77%
With Interview (+7.8%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 858 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month