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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 27 September 2023 and 30 December 2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 6641764 (Ishiguro et al., hereinafter, Ishiguro) in view of JPH1030856A (Kameda et al., hereinafter, Kameda).
Regarding claim 1, Ishiguro teaches a battery pack including a battery module with a plurality of battery cells (¶ 15). An exterior body (housing) accommodates the battery module (¶ 17) and is in contact with the batteries inside (Fig. 2). A radiator plate (heat dissipation portion) is thermally connected to the housing (¶ 22). The heat dissipation portion is provided with a through hole used to fasten the heat dissipation portion with the housing with a projection (fastening member) (¶ 25) such as a bolt or a nut (¶ 21). The bolt or nut would be provided inside of the through hole.
Ishiguro however does not teach that the tip portion of the projection is higher than or equal to a level of a top surface of the exterior body in a cross-sectional view of the power storage device. In a related field of endeavor, Kameda teaches a cooling device with a radiating plate that has a hole provided with a projection, wherein the tip of the projection is higher than a level of a surface of the exterior body in a cross-sectional view (see Fig. 4 below). The tips of the screws 8 are in radiating plate 4.
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Figure 4 of Kameda
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the radiator plate of Ishiguro with the radiating plate of Kameda. Both the radiator plate and the radiating plate serve the same purpose and would have had the same predictable result of dissipating heat.
Regarding claim 2, Ishiguro in view of Kameda teaches the power storage device of claim 1, wherein the battery cells are a storage battery such as a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery such as a lithium-ion secondary battery (Ishiguro ¶ 16).
Regarding claim 3, Ishiguro in view of Kameda teaches the power storage device of claim 1, wherein the radiator plate is formed of a metal material (Ishiguro ¶ 22, the heat dissipation portion is made of a metal material; Kameda ¶ 2, both the cooling plate and the radiating plate are described to be made of a material having good heat transfer efficiency, and the cooling plate is exemplified as a metal material, therefore the radiating plate is also more than likely a metal material).
Regarding claim 4, Ishiguro in view of Kameda teaches the power storage device of claim 1, wherein the hole portion is provided at a center or a vicinity of the center of the radiator plate in a top view (see Fig. 3 of Kameda below). There is at least one hole in the vicinity of the center.
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Fig. 3 of Kameda
Regarding claims 5-7, Ishiguro in view of Kameda teaches the power storage device of claim 1, and Ishiguro teaches a fastening member provided in the through hole of the heat dissipation portion (¶ 0025). This fastening member is exemplified as a bolt and a nut (Ishiguro ¶ 21), and is not explicitly stated to be a projection of a screw or nail type. In Kameda, a screw is taught but not a nail (Kameda ¶ 2), but it is still not taught to be formed of a metal material, nor are they mentioned to be configured to cause a short circuit between the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery. However, screws and nails can also be used to fasten two or more different parts together, and are well known in the art to be commonly made of conductive metal materials such as steel or aluminum. Further, screwing in or striking these fastening members past their intended depth could cause them to penetrate the positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery, resulting in a short circuit.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 6641764 (Ishiguro) in view of JPH1030856A (Kameda) in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2019/0075724 (Becke et al., hereinafter, Becke).
As set forth above in regards to independent claim 1, Ishiguro in view of Kameda teaches a battery storage module, however Ishiguro in view of Kameda does not mention an electronic device comprising the battery module and a display portion.
In the same field of endeavor of batteries for use in vehicles, Becke is directed to a lawn mower with a user interface with a display screen and a rechargeable battery module (Becke ¶ 153).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have utilized the battery module of Ishiguro in view of Kameda with the lawn mower of Becke. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to improve the heat dissipation of the lawn mower’s battery.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see remarks, filed 9 June 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-8 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ishiguro, Kameda, and Becke.
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.
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/M.F./Examiner, Art Unit 1784
/HUMERA N. SHEIKH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1784
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