CTNF 18/356,765 CTNF 84466 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. Summary This is the response to the Response to Election/Restriction filed on 04/16/2026. Claims 1-20 are currently pending with claims 1-11 are withdrawn from consideration in light of the Applicants’ election of claims 12-20 for examination. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 12-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hermann (US 2010/0104938) . Addressing claims 12 and 18, Hermann discloses in figs. 2 and 7-8 a battery pack 701, comprising: a housing (implicitly disclosed); a plurality of battery cells 201 (fig. 2) in the housing; a ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductor 101 (figs. 1 and 3-6, coolant channel containing portion 101 is made of copper [0026]) disposed between at least one adjacent group of the plurality of battery cells (fig. 2, as required by claim 12) or a plurality of ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors (figs. 1 and 3-6) wrapped around at least a portion of respective ones of the plurality of batter cells (fig. 2); and a coolant source (radiator 703 in fig. 7, or thermal management system 803 in fig. 8) connected to the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors (figs. 7-8). Addressing claims 13 and 19, figs. 3-6 show the ribbon shaped hollow copper conductor includes a plurality of spaced passages 301 therethrough. Addressing claims 14 and 20, figs. 7-8 show the coolant source includes a liquid coolant that is pumped (via pump 705) through the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductor. Addressing claim 15, paragraph [0022] discloses the optimal height of the assembly is at least 75% of the overall height of the cell, which falls within the claimed range. Addressing claim 16-17, paragraph [0009] disclose thicknesses of the layers of the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductor that fall within the claimed range . 07-15-aia AIA Claim(s) 12-13 and 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2019/0148681) . Addressing claims 12 and 18, Park discloses a battery pack (fig. 1), comprising: a housing 210; a plurality of battery cells 100 in the housing (fig. 2); a ribbon shaped hollow copper conductor (pipe 262 formed of copper, [0072]) disposed between at least one adjacent group of the plurality of battery cells (figs. 5-6) as required by claim 12 or a plurality of ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors (pipe 262 formed of copper, [0072]) wrapped around at least a portion of respective ones of the plurality of battery cells (fig. 5-6) as required by claim 18; and a coolant source (the coolant reservoir formed within the wick 265 as the claimed coolant source) connected to the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors (the coolant reservoir is contained within the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors that constitute being connected to the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors as claimed). Addressing claims 13 and 19, the pores within the wick 265 correspond to the claimed plurality of spaced passages therethrough . 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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 nonobviousness. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 12-13 and 15-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (US 2023/0113884) in view of Park et al. (US 2019/0148681) . Addressing claims 12 and 18, Yang discloses a battery pack 1 (fig. 1), comprising: a housing (fig. 1); a plurality of battery cells 100 in the housing; a ribbon-shaped hollow thermal conductor 310 disposed between at least one adjacent group of the plurality of battery cells (fig. 17) as required by claim 12 or a plurality of ribbon-shaped hollow thermal conductor 310 wrapped around at least a portion of respective ones of the plurality of battery cells (fig. 17); and a coolant source connected to the ribbon-shaped hollow conductors (the cooling liquid disclosed in paragraph [0136] as the structural equivalence to the claimed coolant; paragraphs [0136-0137] disclose that the cooling liquid is circulated through the cooling tube 310 of the cooling unit, which implies the existence of a coolant source in order to supply cooling liquid to the cooling tube 310). Yang is silent regarding the hollow copper conductors are made of copper. Park discloses ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductors 262 for cooling battery cells [0072]. At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the ribbon-shaped hollow conductor of Yang with the known copper material disclosed by Park because copper has high thermal conductivity (Park, [0072]) and to obtain the predictable result of cooling the battery cells (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143). Addressing claims 13 and 19, fig. 14 of Yang shows the ribbon-shaped conductor includes a plurality of spaced passages therethrough. Addressing claim 15 , paragraph [0216] of Yang discloses that the height of the cooling tube 310 is 70 mm and the height of the battery cell is 80 mm, which result in the claimed percentage range. Addressing claims 16-17, paragraph [0197] of Yang discloses the thickness of the cooling tube 310 is 2.5 mm that falls within the claimed range . 07-22-aia AIA Claim (s) 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (US 2023/0113884) in view of Park et al. (US 2019/0148681) as applied to claim s 12-13 and 15-19 above, and further in view of Hermann (US 2010/0104938) . Addressing claims 14 and 20 , Yang discloses that the liquid coolant is circulated through the cooling tube 310 via the associated inlet and outlet, which implies the existence of a mechanism for facilitating the circulation of the cooling fluid; however, Yang is silent regarding the liquid coolant is pumped through the ribbon-shaped hollow copper conductor. Hermann discloses a pump 705 for circulating cooling fluid through the cooling tubes 101 (figs. 7-8). At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the battery pack of Yang with the known pump disclosed by Hermann in order to obtain the predictable result of circulating cooling fluid through the ribbon-shaped copper conductors for cooling battery cells (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BACH T DINH whose telephone number is (571)270-5118. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Friday 8:00 - 4:30 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, Jeffrey Barton can be reached at (571)-272-1307. 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. /BACH T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726 05/28/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/356,765 Page 2 Art Unit: 1726 Application/Control Number: 18/356,765 Page 3 Art Unit: 1726 Application/Control Number: 18/356,765 Page 5 Art Unit: 1726 Application/Control Number: 18/356,765 Page 6 Art Unit: 1726 Application/Control Number: 18/356,765 Page 7 Art Unit: 1726
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