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 .
Claims 1-8 are pending in the application.
Claim Objections
Claims 2, 3, and 5 are objected to because of the following:
Claim 2 recites “among the plurality of battery cells” in line 2, whereas claim 1 recites “a plurality of secondary battery cells”. For consistency and clarity, applicant should use the same terminology for the same element in each claim. It is suggested applicant amend the claims to “among the plurality of secondary battery cells” in claim 2 to be consistent with claim 1.
Claim 3 recites “among the plurality of battery cells” in line 4, whereas claim 1 recites “a plurality of secondary battery cells”. For consistency and clarity, applicant should use the same terminology for the same element in each claim. It is suggested applicant amend the claims to “among the plurality of secondary battery cells” in claim 3 to be consistent with claim 1.
Claim 5 recites the term “the container” in line 1, whereas claim 4 on which claim 5 is depended on recites “an inflatable container”. For consistency and clarity, applicant should use the same terminology for the same element in each claim. It is suggested applicant amend the claims to “the inflatable container” in claim 5 to be consistent with claim 4.
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 applicant regards as his invention.
5. Claims 1-8 are 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 preamble of claim 1 recites “a housing accommodating a plurality of secondary battery cells in an inner space thereof and having a heat dissipation structure on an outside thereof” and the body of the claim recites “the housing comprising… a first pressing structure… [and] a second pressing structure…”. It is unclear if the housing comprises a plurality of secondary battery cells and/or a heat dissipation structure, or it is the intended use of the housing. MPEP 2111.02. Claim 1 further recites that “a thermally conductive sheet” between the plurality of secondary battery cells. Again, it is unclear if the housing comprises “a thermally conductive sheet” or if this is merely further defining the intended use of the housing.
The limitation “a housing accommodating…” in claim 1 is unclear and renders the claim vague and indefinite. The housing only comprises “a first pressing structure” and “a second pressing structure”. Therefore, it is unclear how the housing would accommodate a plurality of secondary battery cells in an inner space.
The limitation “an inner surface of the housing” in claim 1 is unclear and renders the claim vague and indefinite. The housing only comprises “a first pressing structure” and “a second pressing structure”. The claim does not recite any wall, sidewall, inner wall or interior boundary of the housing. As such, the claim does not establish the existence of any physical surface that could constitute an “inner surface of the housing”, therefore, it is unclear where the inner surface of the housing is located.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "the mutually opposing surfaces" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The limitation “mutually opposing surface” in claim 2 is unclear and renders the claim vague and indefinite. It is unclear if “the mutually opposing surfaces” are the surfaces of the housing or surfaces of the secondary battery cell.
Claim 2 recites “wherein the second pressing structure presses at least one secondary battery cell… in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface…” in lines 1-3, is unclear and renders the claim vague and indefinite. It is unclear if “one side surface” and the “other side surface” are the surfaces of the housing or surfaces of the secondary battery cell or a surface of the housing and a surface of the secondary battery cell. Claim 2 further recites in line 5, “the other side surface of at least one secondary battery cell”. It is unclear if this is “the other side surface” from line 2 of claim 2 or not.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "inner side surface" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The limitation “an inner side surface” of the housing in claim 2 is unclear. Neither claim 1 or 2 recite any wall, sidewall, inner wall or interior boundary of the housing. As such, the claim does not establish the existence of any physical surface that could constitute an “inner side surface” of the housing, therefore, it is unclear where the inner side surface of the housing is located.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the inner side surface” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Neither claim 1 or 3 recite any wall, sidewall, inner wall or interior boundary of the housing. As such, the claim does not establish the existence of any physical surface that could constitute an “inner side surface” of the housing, therefore, it is unclear where the “inner side surface” of the housing is located.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the other side surface” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Neither claim 1 or 3 claims that the battery cell comprises “an other side surface.” Additionally, “the other” implies that there is more than one surface to the battery cell. Thus, it is unclear from the claims how many surfaces the battery cell has and if the sides are opposite to each other, adjacent, etc.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the battery cell” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear if this is one of the “plurality of secondary battery cells” or a different battery cell.
Claim 3 recites “the second pressing structure presses at least one secondary battery cell… in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface…” in lines 3-5, which is unclear and renders the claim vague and indefinite. It is unclear if “one side surface” and the “other side surface” are the surfaces of the housing or surfaces of the secondary battery cell or a surface of the housing and a surface of the battery. It is unclear if this is “the other side surface” from line 2 of claim 3 or not.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "side, bottom or a cover" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear what constitutes a “side”, or a “bottom” of the housing. Claim 1 does not recite any "side, bottom or a cover".
It is unclear whether the “side” refers to sidewall, or any peripheral portion of the housing.
It is unclear whether “bottom” is a base or a lower wall.
Additionally, it is unclear if “a cover” is another structure added to the top of the housing.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Claims 1-3, 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0347755 A1) in view of Wayne et al. (US 9,343,784 B2) .
Regarding claim 1 Park et al. discloses a housing (battery module) comprising: a battery cell stack in which a plurality of secondary battery cells (battery cells) and a first pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, front surface, para. 0012 and Para. 0042) that presses the plurality of secondary battery cells that are stacked with a thermally conductive sheet (cooling fin, ref. #300, figure 2, para. 0054) located between the plurality of secondary battery cells, and a second pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, side surface, para. 0012 and para. 0042), see examiner figure-A.
Park et al. fails to disclose a heat dissipation structure on the outside and a portion of thermally conductive sheet that protrudes laterally from the plurality of secondary battery cells.
Wayne et al. discloses a housing for plurality of secondary battery cells (battery pack) that provides thermal management (col. 1, lines 25-31). The battery pack comprises a housing (ref. #12, figure 2) accommodating a plurality of secondary battery cells (ref. #16, figure 3) in an inner space thereof and having a heat dissipation structure (heat sink, ref. #20 figure 2, col. 3 line 16) on an outside thereof. Wayne et al. further discloses a thermally conductive sheet (thermal transfer sheets, ref. # 26, figure 3, col. 2 lines 64-65 - col. 3 lines 1-3) interposed between the plurality of secondary battery cells in a stacking direction and protrudes laterally from the plurality of secondary battery cells (thermal transfer sheet, ref. # 26, figures 3 and 7, col. 5 line 52) against an inner surface of the housing (cover plate ref. # 18, figures 3 and 7). The thermally conductive sheet between the secondary battery cells and the protrusion of the same improves performance and life of the cells by reducing thermal gradients in the plane of the sheet transporting heat directly to the surroundings of the battery pack or to a heat sink (col. 2, line 64- col. 3, lines 1-3).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Park et al. with the above teaching from Wayne et al. to add a heat dissipation structure outside of the housing and make thermally conductive sheet to protrude laterally from the secondary battery cells so that second pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, side surface, para. 0012 and para. 0042) presses portions of it.
One of ordinary skill in the art, would have been motivated to add a heat dissipation structure outside of the housing and for thermally conductive sheet to protrude laterally from the secondary battery cell of Park et al. because it would improve heat transfer away from the stacked secondary battery cells to outside of housing thereby improving the performance and life of the cells by reducing thermal gradients in the plane of the sheet and transporting heat directly to the surroundings of the pack.
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Regarding claim 2, Park et al. discloses a second pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, side surface, para. 0012 and para. 0042) that presses at least one secondary battery cell among the plurality of battery cells in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface of the mutually opposing surfaces having no electrodes since the electrode assembly is housed inside a cell case (ref. #114, figure 3, para. 0005 and 0043). As discussed above in claim 1, the combination of Park et al. and Wayne et al. disclose the protruding portion of the thermally conductive sheet interposed between the other side surface of at least one secondary battery cell and the inner side surface of the housing is pressed against the inner side surface of the housing.
Regarding claim 3, Park et al. further discloses that the second pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, side surface, para. 0012 and para. 0042) presses at least one secondary battery cell among the plurality of battery cells in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface, since Park et al. discloses that the elastic member (ref. #700) suppresses the swelling of the secondary battery cell and thereby preventing the deformation of the battery module in the stacking direction of the secondary battery cells (para. 0023). As discussed above, the combination of Park et al. and Wayne et al. disclose that the protruding portion of the thermally conductive sheet.
Park et al. fails to disclose an intermediate member installed between the battery cell and the inner surface of the housing.
Wayne further discloses the thermally conductive sheet (thermal transfer sheet) may include optional coating (col. 4, line 56-67, col. 5, lines 2-10) and the space between the thermally conductive sheet and an adjacent secondary battery cell may be filled partially or completely with a phase change material (PCM, col. 5, lines 15-23). These PCM and/or coating layers are disposed in between the battery cell and the inner surface of the housing (cover plate), there by constituting an intermediate member positioned between the secondary battery cell and the inner surface of the housing.
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 housing in Park et al. to add an intermediate member as disclosed in Wayne et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include an intermediate member between the battery cell and the thermally conductive sheet for improved thermal conductivity and to reduce mechanical stress on the battery cell and efficient thermal conduction away from the battery cell and to the housing.
The combination of Park et al. and Wayne et al., the protruding portion of the thermally conductive sheet interposed between the intermediate member and the inner side surface of the housing is pressed against the inner side surface of the housing.
Regarding claim 6, Park et al. discloses a first pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, front surface, para. 0012 and Para. 0042) and a second pressing structure (elastic member, ref. #700, figure 2, side surface, para. 0012 and para. 0042) is composed of an elastic biasing member. The elastic member is deemed to be an elastic biasing member since it has elasticity and predetermined elastic force (ref. # 700, figure 2, para. 0046, 0053).
Regarding claim 7, Wayne et al. further discloses the thermally conductive sheet has a thermal conductivity of 100 W/mK or more in a plane direction (col. 4, lines 9-12).
Thermally conductive sheet of Wayne has the property of reducing the thermal contact resistance according to the pressure acting in a thickness direction, since it is capable of thermal conductivity.
9. Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0347755 A1) in view of Wayne et al. (US 9,343,784 B2) as applied to claim1 - 3, 6 and 7 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US 2021/0242515 A1).
Park et al. and Wayne et al. are relied upon as described above.
Regarding claim 4, Park et al. and Wayne et al. fails to teach at least one of the first pressing structure and the second pressing structure is composed of an inflatable container filled with air. Lee et al. discloses a housing (pack case) for secondary battery cell with at least one of the first pressing structure (cooling mat, ref. #300 figure 2) and the second pressing structure (air cushions, ref. #400) is composed of an inflatable container filled with gas inside. The cooling mat is deemed to be an inflatable container since it is made of a rubber material and filled with water and gas (para. 0053 - 0054). The air cushions are deemed to be an inflatable container since they are made of rubber and filled with air (para. 0067).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include an inflatable container filled with gas as pressing structure in the housing of combination of Park et al. and Wayne et al. as taught by Lee et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to incorporate an inflatable container filled with gas as one of the pressing structures of the housing of the combination of park et al. and Wayne et al. as taught by Lee et al., which allows predictable control of contact pressure on battery cells and thermally conductive sheets, thereby improving heat transfer to the housing.
Regarding claim 5, Lee et al. further discloses the cooling mat which is composed of rubber and in contact with the plurality of secondary battery cells conduct heat generated by the secondary battery cells thereby transferring the heat away from the secondary battery cells (para. 0058). Hence the rubber cooling mat of Lee et al. and the thermally conductive portion of the container are used for the same purpose - heat transfer away from the secondary battery cells to the housing, it is considered as a “thermally conductive member”.
10. Claims 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (US PG Pub. No. 2023/0347755 A1) in view of Wayne et al. (US 9,343,784 as applied to claim1-3, 6 and 7 above, and further in view of Wakabayashi et al. (US 2022/0077540 A1).
Park et al. and Wayne et al. are relied upon as described above.
Regarding claim 8, Park et al. and Wayne et al. fails to disclose a hole with a diameter of 3 mm or less on the side, bottom, or a cover of the housing. Wakabayashi et al. discloses a hole (fume ventilation hole, ref. #27 figure 1, para. 0022, and 0048) in the side walls (ref. #23 figure 1) of the housing (case) and has an inner diameter of 0.5 mm or more and 3 mm or less (para. 0025) through which discharged gas jetted from the discharge valve is expelled out of the case.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a hole with a diameter of 3 mm or less on the side, bottom, or a cover of the housing of the combination of park et al. and Wayne et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the housing of the combination of Park et al. and Wayne et al. to add a hole with a diameter of 3 mm or less for precise air flow control and thermal efficiency in the battery pack.
11. Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2021/0242515 A1) in view of Wayne et al (US 9,343,784 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Lee et al. discloses a battery pack with a housing (battery pack, ref. #10, figure 1) accommodating a plurality of secondary battery cells (battery cells, ref. #100, figure 2) in an inner space thereof and having a heat dissipation structure (cooling water discharge tubes, ref. # 350, figure 4, para. 0053, para. 0060) on an outside thereof. The battery pack improves cooling efficiency (para. 0009).
The housing comprises a first pressing structure (air cushion, ref. #400, para. 0067) and a second pressing structure (cooling mat, ref. #300, para. 0053).
Lee et al. implicitly discloses the first pressing structure (air cushion, para. 0067) that presses the plurality of secondary battery cells in a stacking direction, as Lee et al. teaches that, for air cushion to buffer an external impact (para. 0067), it must contact and press the secondary battery cells, thereby functioning as a pressing structure.
The cooling mat is made of rubber and is in direct contact with the upper surface of the plurality of battery cells and is filled with water and air, thus pressing the plurality of secondary battery cells (para. 0053 - 0054).
Lee et al. fails to disclose a thermally conductive sheet interposed between secondary battery cells in a stacking direction and having portions of it that protrude laterally from the battery cells.
Wayne et al. discloses a housing for plurality of secondary battery cells (battery pack) that provides thermal management (col. 1, lines 25-31). The battery pack comprises a housing (ref. #12 figure 2) accommodating a plurality of secondary battery cells (ref. #16, figure 3) in an inner space thereof and having a heat dissipation structure (heat sink, ref. #20 figure 2) on an outside thereof. A thermally conductive sheet (thermal transfer sheets, ref. # 26, figure 3, col. 2 lines 64-65 - col. 3, lines 1-3) interposed between the plurality of secondary battery cells in a stacking direction and protrudes laterally from the plurality of secondary battery cells (thermal conductive sheet, ref. # 26, figures 3 and 7, col. 5 line 52) against an inner surface of the housing (cover plate ref. # 18, figures 3 and 7). Wayne et al. further discloses a heat dissipation structure (heat sink, ref. #20, figure 3) on top of the housing (cover plate, ref. #18, figure 1). The protruding thermally conductive sheet (thermal transfer sheet) between the secondary battery cells improves performance and life of the cells by reducing thermal gradients in the plane of the sheet transporting heat directly to the surroundings of the pack or to a heat sink (col. 2, line 64- col. 3, lines 1-3).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lee et al. with the above teaching from Wayne et al. to include the thermal conductive sheet in between the battery cells and having portions of it protrude laterally from the battery cells. One of ordinary skill in the art, would have been motivated to include thermal conductive sheet between the battery cells of Lee et al. because it would improve heat transfer away from the stacked secondary battery cells to housing thereby improving the performance and life of the cells by reducing thermal gradients in the plane of the sheet and transporting heat directly to the surroundings of the pack.
Regarding claim 2, Lee et al. further discloses the second pressing structure (cooling mat, ref. #300, para. 0053) presses at least one secondary battery cell among the plurality of secondary battery cells in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface of the mutually opposing surfaces having no electrodes. (figure 2 and figure 5). As discussed above in claim 1, the combination of Lee et al. and Wayne et al. disclose the protruding portion of the thermally conductive sheet interposed between the other side surface of the at least one secondary battery cell and the inner side surface of the housing is pressed against the inner side surface of the housing.
Regarding claim 3, Lee et al. further discloses that the second pressing structure (cooling mat, ref. #300, para. 0053) presses at least one secondary battery cell among the plurality of battery cells in a direction from one side surface to the other side surface (figure 2).
Lee et al. fails to disclose an intermediate member is installed between the other side surface of the battery cell and the inner side surface of the housing.
Wayne et al. further discloses the thermally conductive sheet (thermal transfer sheet) may include optional coating (col. 4, line 56-67, col. 5, lines 2-10) and the space between the thermally conductive sheet and an adjacent secondary battery cell may be filled partially or completely with a phase change material (PCM, col. 5, lines 15-23). These PCM and/or coating layers are disposed in between the battery cell and the inner surface of the housing (cover plate), there by constituting an intermediate member positioned between the secondary battery cell and the inner surface of the housing.
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 housing in Lee et al. to add an intermediate member as disclosed in Wayne et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include an intermediate member between the battery cell and the thermally conductive sheet for improved thermal conductivity and to reduce mechanical stress on the battery cell and efficient thermal conduction away from the battery cell and to the housing.
The combination of Lee et al. and Wayne et al., the protruding portion of the thermally conductive sheet interposed between the intermediate member and the inner side surface of the housing is pressed against the inner side surface of the housing.
Regarding claim 4, Lee discloses at least one of the first pressing structure (air cushions, ref. #400 figure 2) and the second pressing structure (cooling mat, ref. #300 figure 2) is composed of an inflatable container filled with gas inside. The cooling mat is deemed to be an inflatable container since it is made of a rubber material and filled with water and gas (para. 0053 - 0054). The air cushions are deemed to be an inflatable container since they are made of rubber and filled with air (para. 0067).
Regarding claim 5, Lee et al. further discloses the cooling mat which is composed of rubber and in contact with the plurality of secondary battery cells conduct heat generated by the secondary battery cells thereby transferring the heat away from the secondary battery cells (para. 0058). Hence the rubber cooling mat of Lee et al. and the thermally conductive portion of the container are used for the same purpose - heat transfer away from the secondary battery cells to the housing, it is considered to be a “thermally conductive member”.
Regarding claim 6, Lee et al. discloses at least one of the first pressing structure (air cushions, ref. #400) and the second pressing structure (cooling mat, ref. #300) is composed of an elastic biasing member. The cooling mat and air cushions are deemed to be an elastic biasing member since they are made of a rubber material (para. 0053-0054 and para. 0067)
Regarding claim 7, Wayne et al. further discloses the thermally conductive sheet has a thermal conductivity of 100 W/mK or more in a plane direction (col. 4, lines 9-12).
Thermally conductive sheet of Wayne has the property of reducing the thermal contact resistance according to the pressure acting in a thickness direction, since it is capable of thermal conductivity.
12. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2021/0242515 A1) in view of Wayne et al (US 9,343,784 B2) as applied to claim1-7 above, and further in view of Wakabayashi et al. (US2022/0077540 A1).
Lee et al. and Wayne et al. are relied upon as described above.
Regarding claim 8, Lee et al. discloses a venting hole unit (ref. # 430, figure 8, para. 0071) in the air cushion that protrudes out of the front plate and rear plate (ref. # 230, figure 2, para. 0071) of the housing to discharge the air out, thereby minimizing a rapid increase of the internal pressure of the battery pack (para. 0072).
Lee et al. and Wayne et al. fails to disclose a hole with a diameter of 3 mm or less on the side, bottom, or a cover of the housing. Wakabayashi et al. discloses a hole (fume ventilation hole, ref. #27 figure 1, para. 0022, and 0048) in the side walls (ref. #23 figure 1) of the housing (case) and has an inner diameter of 0.5 mm or more and 3 mm or less (para. 0025) through which discharged gas jetted from the discharge valve is expelled out of the case.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to add a hole with a diameter of 3 mm or less on the side, bottom, or a cover of the housing of the combination of Lee et al. and Wayne et al. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify the housing of the combination of Lee et al. and Wayne et al. to add a hole with a diameter of 3 mm or less for precise air flow control and thermal efficiency in the battery pack.
Conclusion
15. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ISWARYA MATHEW whose telephone number is (571) 272-9515. The examiner can normally be reached M-T 8:00 AM - 4:00 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, ALICIA CHEVALIER can be reached at (571) 272-1490. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/I.M./
Iswarya MathewExaminer, Art Unit 1788 01/29/2026
/Alicia Chevalier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1788