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 .
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “the plurality of mounting bosses are coupled to the battery protection plate to the pair of side frame members” in the claim limitation. The phrase refers to two elements to which the mounting bosses are coupled to. Since the mounting bosses are attached to the protection plate, it is reasonable to assume the mounting bosses are coupled to the vehicle frame. Therefore, for examination purposes, the phrase “the plurality of mounting bosses are coupled to the battery protection plate to the pair of side frame members” in claim 1 is interpreted as “the plurality of mounting bosses are coupled to the pair of side frame members”.
Claims 2-10 are rejected as containing the unclear language of the parent claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Callahan et al. (US20140242425), and further in view of Smith et al. (GB 2553541).
Claim 1: Callahan teaches a rechargeable battery (210) (Fig. 2) for a passenger vehicle [0020, 0023] comprising a chassis (220) having;
a metal frame (230), and a lower fixation plate (240) (Fig. 2) [0019] wherein the lower fixation plate is located at the bottom of the metal frame (230), collectively forming a battery protection plate (Fig 3) comprising;
a plurality of battery cells (i.e. a battery pack) arranged on the lower fixation plate [0004, 0019],
a plurality of mounting flanges (i.e., mounting bosses) (340) on the side walls (Fig. 3) [0024],
and a plurality of openings extending between the upper surface and the opposite lower surface of the lower fixation plate (430, 440, 450) (Fig. 3, Fig 4A) that allow condensate to drain from the battery protection plate [0028, 0031].
Callahan does not teach the attachment of the battery protection plate to a vehicle. However, Smith teaches a vehicle comprising a vehicle chassis (10) comprising a pair of chassis rails (side frame members) (11) (Fig. 1) and a battery box (25) mounted between the vehicle chassis rails (11) (Page 10, lines 20-24), wherein the battery box comprises a box body (26) (i.e., battery protection plate) housing a battery pack (14) (Fig.7).
Callahan does not teach the exposure of the battery pack to an exterior atmosphere. The battery chassis containing the battery pack is housed in a steel enclosure (710) in which the condensate from the chassis is collected (Fig. 7) [0034]. However, Smith teaches inlet and outlet openings (39 and 40) communicating with the external atmosphere, that enable air circulation in and out of the battery (Page 9 lines 22-31). Smith further teaches the openings have the same area which helps prevent undesirable restrictions of airflow in and out of the battery box. (Page 9 lines 22-31).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the instant invention to have modified Callahan’s battery assembly by eliminating the steel enclosure and mounting the side walls of the battery chases directly to the side frames of a vehicle to allow partial exposure of the battery pack to the atmosphere, thereby allowing fluid to freely drain out of the chassis through the openings of the lower fixation plate without undesirable restriction.
Claim 2-3: Callahan teaches the openings of the battery protection plate have a similar circular shape and are evenly spaced on the substrate (Fig.4A).
Claims 4: Callahan teaches the battery pack comprises a pair of walls (320, 330) (i.e., side frame members) (Fig. 3) of metal frame (230) [0024, 0025], and a plurality of battery cells (110) (Fig. 6) [0019, 0033]. Callahan does not teach a bottom frame member of the battery pack.
However, Smith teaches a battery box (25) comprising a box body (26) (i.e., battery protection plate) wherein the box body includes sidewall panels (35) (i.e., side frame members), a base panel (34) and a floor panel (36) separated by an air passage (37) (Fig. 4) (Page 9 lines 13-31). Smith also teaches the floor panel (36) (i.e., battery lower frame member) supports battery modules comprising of a plurality of cells (Page 13, lines 25-27) such that the battery is spaced from the base panel of the battery box to allow free circulation of air in the battery box (Page 9 lines 22-31).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the instant invention to have modified Callahan’s battery protection plate by adding a horizontal panel spaced apart from the lower fixation plate ( i.e., bottom frame of the battery protection plate); and position the battery pack on top of the horizontal panel, such that the horizontal panel is the lower frame member of the battery pack, so as to allow free air circulation around the battery and unrestricted flow of fluids away from the battery.
Claims 5-6: Callahan teaches the lower fixation plate (i.e., bottom frame of the battery protection plate) comprises a plurality of drainage channels (Fig 4B) [0030, 0035], wherein the drainage channels are directed towards drainage openings and away from the battery cells to avoid water from pooling on the lower fixation plate [0021, 0030, 0031].
Claim 7: Callahan teaches the battery protection plate comprising a metal frame (230) with vent cutouts [0019, 0022, 0024].
Claim 9: Callahan teaches the battery pack (Fig. 3) is disposed on the lower fixation plate (i.e., bottom frame of the battery protection plate) [0027, 0029, 0035]. Callahan does not teach spacing the bottom surface of the battery pack from the upper surface of the battery pack protection plate.
However, Smith teaches a battery box (25) comprising a box body (26) (i.e., battery protection plate) wherein the box body includes a base panel (34) and a floor panel (36) separated by an air passage (37) (Fig. 4) (Page 9 lines 13-31), wherein the floor panel (36) supports battery modules comprising of a plurality of cells (Page 13, lines 25-27) such that the battery is spaced apart from the base panel of the battery box to allow free circulation of air in the battery box (Page 9 lines 22-31).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the instant invention to have modified Callahan’s battery protection plate by adding a horizontal panel between the substrate and the lower fixation plate and a space between the horizontal panel and the lower fixation plate; such that the bottom surface of the battery pack is spaced apart from the upper surface of the bottom frame of the battery protection plate.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the instant invention to have modified Callahan’s battery assembly by adding a horizontal panel spaced apart from the lower fixation plate (i.e., bottom frame of the battery protection plate); and position the battery pack on top of the horizontal panel, such that the bottom surface of the battery pack is spaced apart from the upper surface of the lower fixation plate because such a configuration allows free air circulation around the battery and unrestricted flow of fluids away from the battery.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Callahan et al. (US20140242425), and further in view of Smith et al. (GB 2553541) and Lee (EP 3343669).
Claim 8: Callahan teaches a battery protection plate comprising a metal frame (230) with side walls (330, 320), and a bottom frame (Fig. 3) [0019, 0024]. Callahan does not teach the battery protection plate comprises a plurality of tubular members. However, Lee teaches a plurality of throughholes (i.e., tubular members) arranged between a lower plate and an upper plate of a battery protection plate (Figs. 3, 4 and 5A) that allow cooling water to flow though beneath the lower frame of the battery pack [0007]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the instant invention to have modified Callahan’s battery protection plate by incorporating tubular members below the lower frame of the battery pack that allow cooling water to flow through, thereby preventing overheating of the battery pack.
Claims 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Callahan et al. (US20140242425), and further in view of Smith et al. (GB 2553541) and Shimazaki et al. (US11183728).
Claim 10: Callahan teaches the plurality of openings on the lower fixation plate (240), and grooves on a substrate thereof are sloped to guide collected condensate towards the drainage holes by gravity [0030, 0031]. However, Callahan does not teach the walls of the metal frame (side frame members) having a sloped cross-sectional shape with the apex.
Shimazaki teaches a battery case with a bottom wall (31a) that is inclined downward at a 1.08° angle with respect to the vehicle body center line L (Fig. 3) (Col 4 lines 40-50) to guide water collected in the interior of the battery case smoothly toward the drain hole. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing the instant invention to have modified the angle of the bottom wall of Callahan’s battery protection plate such that the side walls are inclined with respect to the apex because Shimazaki teaches such is a functional configuration that also allows gravitational flow of collected water towards the drain.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sakamoto et al. (US 20250174862) teaches a cell holder (i.e., battery protection plate) comprising a plurality of drainage holes (64) on the bottom plate (50) and the side walls (61), and battery cells exposed in the drainage space (60) (Fig. 4) [0044].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINAH RUSERE whose telephone number is (571)272-9954. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 EST.
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/L.N.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1712
/MICHAEL B CLEVELAND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1712
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