CTNF 18/284,843 CTNF 74156 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 07-29-01 AIA Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: the word “The” is improperly capitalized in line 2 of the claim . Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claim 9 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. Claim 9 is indefinite because is not clear from the specification or the related prior art what falls within the scope of “an insulated cooling water.” Clarification is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-3 and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EITHER KR10-2021-0127318 OR KR10-2021-0063201, in view of JP 2014-011086 (English translations of record for each of these references) . KR10-2021-0127318 discloses a battery module containing a battery cell stack, having a module frame surrounding the cell stack (20), a busbar frame (30) covering an end portion of the cell stack exposed from the module frame wherein the busbar is mounted on the busbar frame and connects to an electrode lead protruding from the cell stack (see abstract, Figure 1 and p. 4 of the English translation. KR10-2021-0063201 discloses a battery module (100) containing a battery cell stack (120), having a module frame surrounding the cell stack (400), a busbar frame (130) covering an end portion of the cell stack exposed from the module frame wherein the busbar is mounted on the busbar frame and connects to an electrode lead protruding from the cell stack (see abstract, Figure 1 and p. 3 of the English translation. Neither KR10-2021-0127318 nor KR10-2021-0063201 discloses a cooling flow path formed in the busbar as required by claim 1. JP 2014-011086 discloses a busbar having cooling flow paths formed therein in order to suppress battery deterioration (see Figures 1-4, abstract provided by Applicant, and English machine translation included with this action). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the invention to add cooling channels to the busbar structures taught by KR10-2021-0127318 or KR10-2021-0063201 in order to provide busbar cooling in order to suppress battery deterioration as suggested by JP 2014-011086. With regard to claim 2, JP 2014-011086 also suggests the use of water as a cooling fluid in the cooling channels of a busbar (see para [0003] and [0009]). With regard to claim 3, JP 2014-011086 teaches a busbar wherein at least first and third flow paths (10) that are formed perpendicular to the slot (28 in the z-axis direction) through which the electrode lead passes. Additionally, the flow of fluid in the z-axis plane through inflow and outflow ports (26 and 27) are considered to be parallel to the direction in which the electrode leads pass. With regard to claim 6 and 8, JP2014-011086 teaches the use of a coolant inlet port at an upper end of the busbar and a coolant outlet port at the opposite lower end of the busbar (see 26 and 27 in Figure 3 and description thereof in para [0032]). It would have been obvious to incorporate a coolant inlet and outlet port at opposite ends of the busbar taught by KR10-2021-0127318 or KR10-2021-0063201 in order to allow for flow across the length of the busbar. With regard to claim 7, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form non-conductive coolant inlet and outlet ports for circulating water through the busbar taught by KR10-2021-0127318 or KR10-2021-0063201 in order to prevent short-circuiting. Claim 9 is met for the above-noted reasons. With regard to claim 10, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the battery modules taught by KR10-2021-0127318 or KR10-2021-0063201 would be capable of being used in battery pack applications . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 4-5 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. The closest prior art to JP 2014/011086 teaches a busbar having multiple slots for electrode leads (see 28 in Fig. 3). Neither of the leads divides the busbar into two regions nor do first and third flow paths (10) connect the two regions of the busbar. The prior art fails to teach or suggest a motivation to modify the busbars of JP 2014/011086, KR10-2021-0127318 OR KR10-2021-0063201 to meet the limitations of claim 4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOLLY RICKMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-1514. The examiner can normally be reached Tues, Thurs, Fri 10-5:30. 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, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at 571-272-1291. 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. /Holly Rickman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785 Application/Control Number: 18/284,843 Page 2 Art Unit: 1785 Application/Control Number: 18/284,843 Page 3 Art Unit: 1785 Application/Control Number: 18/284,843 Page 4 Art Unit: 1785 Application/Control Number: 18/284,843 Page 5 Art Unit: 1785 Application/Control Number: 18/284,843 Page 6 Art Unit: 1785
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