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 .
Response to Amendment
Upon consideration, the previous rejection of record was withdrawn in light of new amendments. However new rejection has been applied to the amended claims. All changes made in the rejection are necessitated by the amendment.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 11-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KR102037202B1 hereinafter Woo in view of CN 213816293 U hereinafter Gao.
Regarding Claim 11, Woo teaches a battery pack (see figure 15), the battery pack comprising: a plurality of battery cells, each battery cell comprises a battery cell body and an electrode lead protruding forward from the battery cell body, the plurality of battery cells being disposed in a transverse direction; and a bus bar [100] coupled to the electrode leads, wherein the bus bar [100] comprises a bus bar body (plate), a plurality of bus bar coupling parts [111] having slits (openings) respectively coupled to the electrode leads of the plurality of battery cells, a bus bar connection part [110] disposed between the bus bar coupling parts, and an elongated hole (rib) [113] disposed between the slits and formed on the bus bar connection part (see annotated figure 16 shown below).
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Woo further teaches that the elongated hole (rib) [113] is formed on the bus bar connection part and protrudes from a surface the bus bar connection part (see figure 16 above and paragraphs 78, 110).
Woo does not specifically teach a reinforcement hole formed on the bus bar and being distinct form the rib.
However, Gao teaches a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells [1] having leads coupled to a bus bar assembly [4] (see figure 1), wherein the bus bar assembly [4] comprises slits [5] configured to receive the leads and reinforcement holes coupled to the end plate [10] to secure the assembly together (see annotated figure 3 below).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form such bus bar assembly having reinforcement holes before the effective filing date of the claimed invention because Gao discloses that such configuration can secure bus bar and end plate assembly together (paragraph 2).
Regarding Claims 12-14, Woo teaches that the elongated hole (rib) [113] comprises a convex rib protruding from the front surface of the bus bar plate and transverse rib wing extending in the transverse direction (see figure 16 above and as evidence by the figure shown below for an elongated hole).
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Regarding Claim 15, Woo teaches that the electrode lead is coupled to the bus bar by welding (paragraphs 32-33).
Regarding Claim 16, Woo teaches that the electrode lead passes through a bus bar slit [112] formed in the bus bar coupling part [11] and protrudes from the bus bar slit, and wherein the electrode lead is coupled to the bus bar along the bus bar slit by welding (paragraph 86 teaches that any welding method can be employed and such includes wobble type welding).
Regarding Claims 17-18, the combination teaches that the reinforcement hole passes through the bus bar plate in a thickness direction of the bus bar plate, and wherein the length of the hole is equal to a thickness of the bus bar plate (see figure 3 above).
Regarding Claims 19-20, Woo teaches that the elongated hole (rib) [113] comprises a wing (protrusion or projection) that surrounds a body of the rib (see figure 16 above).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm 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, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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