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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species C in the reply filed on 2/27/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1, 2 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Qiu et al. (CN 114865193, citations from US 2024/0234940).
Regarding claim 1, Qiu et al. discloses in Figs 1-11, a battery assembly ([0055]), comprising: a battery box (Fig 1 depicts totality of box structure, [0058]), comprising a bottom plate (ref 1) provided with a bottom cavity (ref 1A) inside, wherein a plurality of intercommunicating holes (refs 1211) communicating ([0067]) with the bottom cavity (ref 1A) are provided on a top surface (of ref 12, [0067]) of the bottom plate (ref 1), one or more valve installation holes (refs 100) communicating with ([0065]-[0066]) the bottom cavity (ref 1A) are provided on an outer wall (ref 25) of the battery box (Fig 1 depicts totality of box structure, [0058]), and each of the valve installation holes (space at ref 25 where refs 100 are installed therein, Fig 5) is engaged with a pressure relief valve (refs 100); and a cell module ([0056]), disposed inside the battery box (Fig 1 depicts totality of box structure, [0058]), and comprising: a cell assembly (ref 9), comprising a plurality of cells (refs 91), each of the cells (refs 91) comprising an explosion-proof valve ([0066], first sentence discloses this structure) directly opposite ([0067], Fig 5) to one of the intercommunicating holes (refs 1211); and a top bracket (refs 5, 4, 41, 42, 110), disposed at a top portion (Fig 1, depicted at top) of the cell assembly (ref 9) and connected with the battery box to press ([0058], [0083]-[0085], via sealing strip ref 110, refs 41, 411, 412, structure is sealed, contact / pressing of cell assembly 9 with box structure occurs) the cell assembly (ref 9) against the battery box (Fig 1 depicts totality of box structure, [0058]).
Regarding claim 2, Qiu et al. discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above and also discloses the top bracket (refs 5, 4, 41, 42, 110) is provided with a plurality of avoidance holes (center of refs 412, Fig 9) arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the cells (refs 91), and an electrode (ref 912) at a top portion (Fig 9) of each of the cells (refs 91) extends into (Fig 9, [0083]-[0085]) one of the avoidance holes (center of refs 412, Fig 9).
Regarding claim 13, Qiu et al. discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above and also discloses the battery box further comprises a side plate (ref 2) connected with (Figs 1-5) the bottom plate (ref 1); a side cavity (ref 2A) communicating with the bottom cavity (ref 1A) is provided inside (Fig 4) the side plate (ref 2); each of the valve installation holes (space at ref 25 where refs 100 are installed therein, Fig 5) is defined on the side plate (at ref 25 of ref 2, Figs 4, 5) and communicates with (Fig 4) the side cavity (ref 2A); and a grid plate (refs 25, 24, 23) is arranged in the side cavity (ref 2A) and located between each of the valve installation holes (space at ref 25 where refs 100 are installed therein, Fig 5) and the bottom cavity (ref 1A).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 non-obviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Qiu et al. (CN 114865193, citations from US 2024/0234940) as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Page et al. (US 2018/0026245).
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Qiu et al. discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above but does not disclose the grid plate comprises a plate body provided with a plurality of grid holes, the grid holes are defined on a bottom end of the plate body.
Page et al. discloses in Figs 1-16, a battery pack (ref 300) including a housing body (ref 1210, Fig 16) having side vent holes (refs 1218, [0152]) including at a bottom thereof (Fig 16). This configuration provides additional pathways for gases to vent from the battery pack, enhancing overall battery safety and performance ([0152]).
Page et al. and Qiu et al. are analogous since both deal in the same field of endeavor, namely, batteries.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to incorporate the side vent holes disclosed by Page et al. into the side plate structure of Qiu et al. to provide additional pathways for gases to vent from the battery pack, enhancing overall battery safety and performance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 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 following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Instant dependent claim 3 discloses the top bracket comprises: a bracket top plate, disposed on a top surface of the cell assembly, wherein the avoidance holes are defined on the bracket top plate; two opposite bracket side plates, wherein two opposite sides of the bracket top plate are each connected with one of the bracket side plates, and each of the bracket side plates is perpendicularly connected with the bracket top plate; and two bracket flaps, wherein each of the bracket side plates is connected with one of the bracket flaps, each of the bracket flaps is perpendicularly connected with one of the bracket side plates, and the bracket flaps are configured to fix with the battery box.
Qiu et al. is considered to be the prior art reference of record closest to the aforementioned instant dependent claim limitations. However, it does not disclose or render obvious all of the aforementioned instant dependent claim limitations. While the individual battery cells (refs 91) are contained via structures (refs 41, 42) that each have a number of structures on their sides that essentially wrap-around and contain the individual cells (depicted in Figs 7, 9-11), these structures are distinct from those structural limitations of the instant claim listed above. Further, no other prior art references have been located via an extensive prior art search that reveal the aforementioned structural limitations or render them obvious in combination with the applied prior art references of record. As such, instant dependent claim 3 has been identified as containing allowable subject matter. Further, claims 4-6 are objected to since they depend from claim 3.
Conclusion
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/KENNETH J DOUYETTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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