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 .
Response to Arguments
The examiner is maintaining the rejections in the previous Office Action because
the Applicant's arguments are not persuasive. Accordingly, This Action Is Made Final.
The Applicant has argued that “First, Mori, Kim, Bauer and Natsui fail to disclose, teach or suggest the feature "a heating member, comprising a heating body and a connection lead molded on the heating body, the connection lead being used for electrically connecting a positive electrode tab of a core pack or a negative electrode tab of the core pack, so that a self-heating circuit is formed by the heating member and the core pack and configured for achieving self-heating inside the core pack" of amended claim 1”.
The Applicant has argued that “However, according to the above paragraphs and drawings of Mori, in Mori, the heater 2 is just used to heat the bimetal switch SW1 to turn off the bimetal switch SW1 when the temperature of the heater 2 reaches the finally attained temperature Th (when the heater R2 generates heat, the bimetal switch SW1 is heated;...... and the finally attained temperature Th of the heater R2 is set at such a temperature that is above the operating temperature Tswl of the bimetal switch SW1 and damages neither the secondary battery 6 nor the protection circuit 5)…In addition, according to the above paragraphs and drawings of Mori, it is clear that, in Mori, between the IC1 (considered as the control unit of present Application by the Office) and the connection terminal T1 (considered as the terminal mounted on the connection lead of present Application by the Office), there are temperature fuse F1, the bimetal switch (heat-sensitive switch) SW1, the heater 2, etc, the ICl (considered as the control unit of present Application by the Office) clearly is not provided on the connection terminal T1 and the conductor lead the connection terminal T1 is mounted.
That is, in amended claim 1, the self-heating circuit formed by the heating member and the core pack is configured for achieving self-heating inside the core pack. In other words, in amended claim 1, the heating member is used to heat the core pack when the self-heating circuit is formed by the heating member and the core pack, which is distinct from the heater 2 is used for heating the bimetal switch SW1 as recited in Mori…As agreed by the Office, Mori never disclose, teach or suggest the connection lead is molded on the heating body, it is unreasonable to assert the connection lead is molded on the heating body in amended claim 1 is obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art based on the common art that one object is molded with another object…Second, Mori, Kim, Bauer and Natsui fail to disclose, teach or suggest the feature "a control unit, provided on the connection lead, the control unit controlling an on/off switching of the self-heating circuit according to temperature of the core pack" of amended claim 1…That is, in amended claim 1, the control unit is provided on the connection lead. As discussed above, in Mori, the ICl (considered as the control unit of present Application by the Office) clearly is not provided on the connection terminal T1 and the conductor lead the connection terminal T1 is mounted, Mori never disclose, teach or suggest the control unit is provided on the connection lead, as recited in amended claim 1…Besides, as discussed above, Mori further fails to disclose, teach or suggest the self- heating circuit formed by the heating member and the core pack is configured for achieving self- heating inside the core pack. Mori obviously fails to disclose, teach or suggest controlling the on/off switching of the self-heating circuit configured for achieving self-heating inside the core pack”.
The arguments above are not persuasive because Mori’s heater reads on the broadly claimed “heating member, comprising a heating body”, since the Applicant has not claimed the specific composition or specific component that clearly distinguishes over Mori’s heater. The arguments above are also not persuasive because the broadly claimed limitation “so that a self-heating circuit is formed by the heating member and the core pack and configured for achieving self-heating inside the core pack” is obviously taught by Mori since the Applicant does not appear to recite details about how and why self-heating occurs. Mori’s heater reads on the claimed limitations.
Furthermore, Mori teaches integrally molded [0118] and integrally molded into one part [0132], and as a result, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have integrally molded Mori’s conductor lead with other components such as heater 2 so that cost of components can be more easily reduced [0161]. Mori obviously teaches a control unit, provided on the connection lead the control unit controlling an on/off switching of the self-heating circuit (see Fig. below).
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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 of this title, 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.
1. Claims 1, 5, 9-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori (US20080116851).
2. Regarding claims 1, 5, 9, 10, Mori teaches a battery pack (see Fig. below), comprising a core pack and a self-heating structure, the self-heating structure comprising: a heating member, comprising a heating body and a connection lead molded on the heating body (by resin molding [0084]), the connection lead being used for electrically connecting a positive electrode tab of a core pack or a negative electrode tab of the core pack, so that a self-heating circuit is formed by the heating member and the core pack and configured for achieving self-heating inside the core pack; and a control unit, provided on the connection lead, the control unit controlling an on/off switching of the self-heating circuit according to temperature of the core pack (see Fig. below).
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3. Although Mori does not specifically recite a connection lead molded on the heating body.
4. Mori teaches integrally molded [0118] and integrally molded into one part [0132], and as a result, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Mori with integrally molded component so that cost of components can be more easily reduced [0161].
5. Regarding claim 11, Mori teaches wherein the heating member extends along a large surface of the core pack and is provided in contact with the large surface of the core pack (Further, the third and second electrodes 74, 73 are used as connection terminals at the opposite ends of the heater R4 [0192]; positive electrode of the secondary battery 6 and the connection terminal T4 is connected to a negative electrode of the secondary battery 6 [0239]).
6. Regarding claim 12, Mori teaches wherein a projection of the heating member on the core pack does not extend beyond the large surface of the core pack (Further, the third and second electrodes 74, 73 are used as connection terminals at the opposite ends of the heater R4 [0192]).
7. Regarding claims 13-16, Mori teaches wherein the battery pack also comprises a housing (A battery pack 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a container 2 in the form of a bottomed tube [0083]); one or more of the core packs constitutes a battery module (The battery pack 1141 is provided with…secondary batteries [0012]), the battery module being provided in the housing; and the heating member is clamped (heater R2 generates heat, the bimetal switch SW1 is heated [0101]) between the housing (container 2 [0083]) and the battery module (battery 6, Figure 33B).
8. Claims 2, 6, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori (US20080116851) in view of Kim (US 20140087215).
9. Regarding claims 2, 6, 17-20, the complete discussion of Mori as applied to claims 1 and 5 is incorporated herein. However, they are silent about the limitations of claims 2, 6, 17-20.
10. Regarding claims 2 and 6, Kim teaches wherein the control unit comprises a first inductive member, the first inductive member (switch 37 that couples the inductors 35 and 36 in series to each other, so as to generate charging/discharging current transmitted to the battery 60 using the inductors 35 and 36 [0068]) being used for detecting a first temperature signal inside the core pack (when the low-temperature state of the battery is sensed [0019]), the control unit controlling an on/off switching of the self-heating circuit according to the first temperature signal (the controller 80 senses a low-temperature state of the battery 60 through the BMS coupled to the battery 60 [0086]).
11. Regarding claims 17-20, Kim teaches wherein the battery pack also comprises a second inductive member, the second inductive member being provided on a surface of the core pack (switch 37 that couples the inductors 35 and 36 in series to each other, so as to generate charging/discharging current transmitted to the battery 60 using the inductors 35 and 36 [0068]); and the second inductive member is used for detecting a second temperature signal of the surface of the core pack (The temperature controlling system performs an operation of preventing a battery provided in the energy storage system from being left in a low-temperature state and increasing the temperature of the battery in the low-temperature state [0031]), so that an on/off switching of the self-heating circuit is controlled according to the second temperature signal (controller 80 performs an operation of increasing the temperature of the battery 60 [0050]) for the benefit of controlling the temperature of the battery [0007].
12. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Mori with Kim’s teachings for the benefit of controlling the temperature of the battery.
13. Claims 3 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori (US20080116851) in view of Bauer et al. (US 20200403284).
14. Regarding claims 3 and 7, the complete discussion of Mori as applied to claims 1 and 5 is incorporated herein. However, they are silent about the limitations of claims 3 and 7.
15. Bauer teaches wherein a surface of the heating member is provided with a passivation layer (the heating foil can have an adhesive layer on the inner side facing the lateral outer side [0015]) for the benefit of heating elements can be integrated into a battery module of a high-voltage battery for an electrically drivable vehicle in a particularly simple way and without high cost [0004].
16. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Mori with Bauer’s teachings for the benefit of heating elements can be integrated into a battery module of a high-voltage battery for an electrically drivable vehicle in a particularly simple way and without high cost.
17. Claims 4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mori (US20080116851) in view of Bauer et al. (US 2020040328) and further in view of Natsui et al. (US 20150064577)
18. Regarding claims 4 and 8, the complete discussion of Mori as applied to claims 1 and 5 is incorporated herein. Bauer teaches wherein the heating member is a foil (The sheet-shaped heating elements preferably each have a heating foil with an integrated heating resistor which can be energized [0010]), and the passivation layer is formed on a surface of the foil (the heating foil can have an adhesive layer on the inner side facing the lateral outer side [0015])
19. However, they are silent about a metal foil.
20. Natsui teaches a metal foil into contact with the negative electrode active material layer 17 and heating these foil and layer [0051] for the benefit of providing a battery 10 having a high capacity [0050]
21. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Mori with Natsui’s teachings for the benefit of providing a battery 10 having a high capacity [0050].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OLATUNJI GODO whose telephone number is (571)272-3104. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 am - 5:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicholas Smith can be reached on 571-272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OLATUNJI A GODO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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