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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa).
Regarding claim 1, Miyakawa teaches a secondary battery unit; a cell heating assembly [#45; heat source unit], comprising: a substrate [#11; i.e. heat insulation layer; 0090] provided with Q first supporting parts and P second supporting parts, each first supporting part being used for supporting one cell [#11a; depressions]; an electric heating circuit [#15; heating device] comprising P electric heaters; and a conducting circuit [#16; i.e. conducting wire], wherein the conducting circuit is electrically connected with the P electric heaters; the P electric heaters and the conducting circuit are arranged on the substrate; each second supporting part is used for supporting one electric heater; and at least one electric heater and at least one second supporting part are arranged around each first supporting part [0090-0094; fig. 9]; wherein P and Q are integers greater than 1 [fig 9 and illustrated below].
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Regarding claim 2, Miyakawa teaches wherein the conducting circuit is embedded in the substrate, and the conducting circuit passes through the second supporting parts and is electrically connected with the electric heaters [0092-0094].
Regarding claim 4, Miyakawa teaches wherein: the second supporting parts are arc-shaped openings; the first supporting parts are circular openings; and the second supporting parts arranged around the first supporting parts are arranged concentrically with the first supporting parts [0033; fig. 12].
Regarding claim 5, Miyakawa teaches wherein: the conducting circuit comprises a first main circuit, a second main circuit [the circuit is interpreted to have two sides; top/bottom; i.e. first/second main circuits ]and N heating branches [noted to be the wiring part of the two sides of the circuit], where N is an integer greater than 1; and the P electric heaters [#25] are distributed in the N heating branches, and the N heating branches are connected in parallel between the first main circuit and the second main circuit [ illustrated below; fig. 13]. Examiner notes; the claimed conducting circuit is the structural configuration of an electrical circuit with the claimed details. The annotated figure below depicts each of the structural elements as interpreted in view of the provided description in the specification [0090-0095].
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Regarding claim 6, Miyakawa teaches wherein the Q first supporting parts are arranged in an array in the substrate with a first gap [0090-0092-the depression is the gap in which the heater is placed] between any two adjacent first supporting parts, and at least one or more of the P electric heaters are arranged at the first gap [noted below; fig. 9].
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Regarding claim 7, Miyakawa teaches wherein at least one heating branch extends in a wavy line [fig. 13 and illustrated above in claim 5].
Regarding claim 9, Miyakawa teaches a battery module, comprising: a cell assembly [abs]; and the cell heating assembly according to claim 1; wherein the cell assembly comprises Q cells [#3; secondary battery; 0092], and the Q cells are arranged on the Q first supporting parts of the cell heating assembly [0090-0092].
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 nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3, 8, 10, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa) further in view of WO2020044275A1 (Rajmohan)
Regarding claim 3, Miyakawa does not teach wherein the conducting circuit is a printed circuit board circuit. In a similar field of endeavor, Rajmohan teaches a system to interconnect a plurality of battery cells [abs] and further teaches the conducting circuit is a printed circuit board [#30; MCPCB; p. 8 lines 24-26]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the circuit taught by Miyakawa in view of Rajmohan, as using a printed circuit board is a known component in this field of endeavor and provides the same function as a conducting circuit, which is an electrical connection.
Regarding claim 8, Miyakawa does not teach wherein the substrate is further provided with at least one air guide hole. Rajmohan teaches the air guide hole [#80; through holes; p. 11]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated air holes taught by Rajmohan as this provides a vent for gases to escape and enhance the function of the system [p. 11 lines 30-31].
Regarding claim 10, Miyakawa does not teach wherein the cell assembly further comprises a bus member for electrically connecting electrodes of the Q cells. Rajmohan teaches the claimed bus bars [i.e. #85; p 13 lines 25-30 ; p14 line 1-2]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the bus bars as claimed as this allows for an electrical connection and is a known component in this field of endeavor.
Regarding claim 13, Miyakawa does not explicitly teach the positive/negative terminals, but the battery cells and the heating assembly [claim 1] . Rajmohan teaches the positive/negative terminals [p. 13 lines 9-10] and the connection of the terminals to the circuit layer. Miyakawa teaches the battery cells [the examiners notes, a skilled artisan knows the battery cells must have a positive and negative terminal to function]; therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teachings of Rajmohan and arrive at the claimed “wherein the electric heating circuit of the cell heating assembly is electrically connected at a position between a positive electrode of the cell assembly and a negative electrode of the cell assembly” as this would have a reasonable expectation of success and this is a known configuration in this field of endeavor.
Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa) further in view of WO2020044275A1 (Rajmohan) and English translation of JP2012243535A (Fukukawa)
Regarding claim 11, Miyakawa does not teach wherein: the battery module further comprises an end cap fixedly connected with the substrate; and the end cap is provided with Q first through holes penetrating through a first end face and a second end face of the end cap, the electrodes of the Q cells penetrate into the Q first through holes from the first end face. In a similar field of endeavor, Fukukawa teaches a battery pack [abs] and further teaches the end cap [i.e. #5 Lead plate ; para 0027] and the said through holes [#24] that connect to the electrodes [as noted in Fukukawa: the lead plate 5 is guided by the fitting recess 24 of the battery holder 2 and is connected to the end electrode of the battery cell 1 by spot welding or laser welding to connect the adjacent battery cell 1. Connect in series and parallel. The lead plate 5 connects the battery cells 1 in the same row in parallel and connects the battery cells 1 in adjacent rows in series. The lead plates 5 are arranged at both ends of the battery cells 1 connected in multiple rows, and each row has a first lead plate 5A having a width of 1 row for connecting 7 rows of battery cells 1 in parallel. In order to connect seven battery cells 1 in parallel and to connect seven battery cells 1 in adjacent rows in series, a second two-row second connecting the end electrodes of 14 battery cells 1 And a lead plate 5B; 0027-0031]. With regards to the claimed, Rajmohan teaches the bus bar as noted in claim 10; therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teachings of Fukukawa in view of Rajmohan to be electrically connected with the bus member fixedly connected to the second end face, as this would result in having the batteries to be electrically connected to facilitate the function of the battery module and one would have a reasonable expectation of success as this is a known configuration in this field of endeavor. The prior art can be modified or combined to reject claims as prima facie obvious as long as there is a reasonable expectation of success. See In re Merck & Co., Inc., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986) (see MPEP § 2143.02).
Regarding claim 12, Fukukawa teaches wherein the end cap is provided with P second through holes penetrating the first end face and the second end face, and the P electric heaters of the cell heating assembly penetrate the P second through holes [0027-0032 please refer to claim 11 as it explains the connection of the end cap].
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa) further in view of English translation of JP2012243535A (Fukukawa)
Regarding claim 14, Miyakawa does not teach the case as claimed. Fukukawa teaches a case provided with an accommodating cavity [#4 a/b; exterior case]; and a cover covering the case [i.e. 4a]; wherein the cell heating assembly and the cell assembly are arranged in the accommodating cavity [fig. 2; 0057-0058]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the teaching of Fukukawa as this provides a protective casing to the battery unit and is a known configuration in this field of endeavor with a reasonable expectation of success. The prior art can be modified or combined to reject claims as prima facie obvious as long as there is a reasonable expectation of success. See In re Merck & Co., Inc., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986) (see MPEP § 2143.02).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa) further in view of US20200358072A1 [Zhang]
Regarding claim 15, Miyakawa does not teach a vehicle, comprising: a generator; a starter; and the battery module according to claim 9; It is noted, the claimed: generator, starter are not components of a battery unit, they are used in a vehicle in order for the vehicle to function. Zhang teaches a lithium ion battery unit [abs]; further teaches the generator [#15; i.e. alternator] and starter [i.e. #18; IC engine; fig. 2; 0032-0033]; #20/22 are the battery modules.
With regards to the claimed: wherein the generator, the starter, and the electric heating circuit are connected in parallel between a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the cell assembly of the battery module; as seen in fig. 3; the IC engine, alternator and battery modules are connected in parallel, however the positive/negative electrodes are not depicted. Fig. 3 illustrates the positive/negative terminals. Although, Zhang does not explicitly illustrate the exact configuration as claimed, i.e. how the positive/negative are connected in parallel, it is the Examiner’s position; a skilled artisan would easily understand to arrange the electrodes in parallel to the other components; i.e. generator, starter, battery module, as this is considered to be a rearrangements of parts with no change on how the vehicle would function. The mere rearrangement of parts, without any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa) further in view of US20200358072A1 [Zhang] and English translation of JP2012195187A [Yoshio]
Regarding claim 16, Miyakawa does not teach a first switch assembly; and a second switch assembly. Yoshio teaches a power supply device [abs] and the claimed switches [i.e. fig. 9; #303; switching unit p. 8 lines 24-60 and o 9 6-9]. As noted in the figure, there are two switches. Although, Yoshio does not explicitly teach where they are placed as required by the claim: a first terminal of the first switch assembly are connected to a first node, the second switch assembly and the electric heating circuit are connected in series at a position between the first node and the negative electrode of the cell assembly; it is the examiners position the locations of these components are considered to be how they are arranged in the unit and thus can be rearranged as required by the claim with a reasonable expectation of success. The mere rearrangement of parts, without any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) (see MPEP § 2144.04). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified
Miyakawa in view of Yoshio and incorporate the switch assembly as this would enable the battery unit in the vehicle to work efficiently and one would have a reasonable expectation of success.
With regards to the claimed: wherein the positive electrode of the cell assembly and a first terminal of the first switch assembly are connected to a first node, the second switch assembly and the electric heating circuit are connected in series at a position between the first node and the negative electrode of the cell assembly, and the generator and the starter are connected in parallel at a position between a second terminal of the first switch assembly and the negative electrode of the cell assembly; the positions of these components are considered to be how they are arranged in the unit and thus can be rearranged as required by the claim with a reasonable expectation of success. The mere rearrangement of parts, without any new or unexpected results, is within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20130344369A1 (Miyakawa) further in view of US20200358072A1 (Zhang), English translation of JP2012195187A (Yoshio) and WO2020044275A1 (Rajmohan)
Regarding claim 17, Miyakawa, Zhang and Yoshio do not teach a battery management system electrically connected to the first switch assembly and the second switch assembly. Rajmohan teaches the battery management system [#120; fig 5; p. 13 lines 22-30]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated the battery management system as this allows to control and monitor the charging and discharging of the battery pack.
Conclusion
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/S.G./Examiner, Art Unit 1729
/ULA C RUDDOCK/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1729
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