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 § 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.
(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.
Claims 1 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being clearly anticipated by Ishitobi (US 20230327257 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Ishitobi teaches an in-vehicle battery comprising:
a battery module inside which battery cells are disposed (battery case 100 stores battery 30, [0058]); and
a temperature control mechanism located in a vicinity of the battery module and configured to cool the battery module (tray 120 is located in a vicinity of the battery module and contains the grooves 124 through which coolants flow to cool battery 30, [0069] and [0072]),
wherein a flow path through which a cooling fluid passes is provided inside the temperature control mechanism (tray 120, the temperature control mechanism, is located in a vicinity of the battery module and contains the grooves 124 through which coolants flow 30, [0069]),
wherein a recess or a protrusion is provided on a surface on a battery module side among wall surfaces forming the flow path (grooves 124 are provided on a side surface of the battery module, through which coolants flow to cool battery 30, [0069] and [0072], see figure 2), and
wherein a surface of the battery module and a surface of the temperature control mechanism facing each other each have a planar shape (closing plate 123 is planar and separates the battery and the coolant flow; see figure 2).
Regarding Claim 3, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 1, comprising: a battery pack inside which the battery module and the temperature control mechanism are disposed, wherein the surface of the battery module and the surface of the temperature control mechanism facing each other are in contact with each other (see figure 2 from Ishitobi below).
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Regarding Claim 5, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 1, comprising: a battery pack inside which the battery module is disposed, wherein the battery module and the temperature control mechanism are disposed to face each other with a wall surface of the battery pack interposed, wherein a surface of the battery pack in contact with the battery module has a planar shape, and wherein a surface of the battery pack in contact with the temperature control mechanism has a planar shape (see annotated figure 2 of Ishitobi below).
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Regarding Claim 7, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the recess or the protrusion is provided in a flow direction of the fluid. The recess or protrusion is inherently provided in a flow direction of the fluid because the fluid must flow through the protrusion or recess in the direction it is provided. See figure 5 below, which illustrates the flow direction of the fluid being the path provided by the recess or protrusion. The flow direction and is inherent to the shape of the recess or protrusion.
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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.
Claims 2 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishitobi (US 20230327257 A1) in view of Tamura (JP 6994303 B2).
Regarding Claim 2, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 1.
Ishitobi does not teach the battery comprising: a heat transfer sheet having thermal conductivity and elasticity, wherein the battery cells are disposed in the battery module with the heat transfer sheet interposed.
However, Ishitobi teaches both a hydraulic pressure transfer elastic body (50, figure 6, [0080]) and an aluminum closing plate (123, [0072]) that improves cooling performance with its high thermal conductivity, and the elastic body is interposed between the battery cells and the temperature control mechanism (figures 6-8).
Additionally, Tamura teaches an aluminum heat conductive member (14, figure 2, [0017]), having spring elasticity in the thickness direction [0046], together with a heat conductive sheet (21, figure 2) made of synthetic resin [0025] for continuing to effectively cool the batteries even when there is deformation [0025].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the battery of Ishitobi by including a heat transfer sheet having thermal conductivity and elasticity, wherein the battery cells are disposed in the battery module with the heat transfer sheet interposed between the battery module and the heat transfer device (temperature control system).
Additionally, the use of a one-piece, integrated construction instead of the structure disclosed or taught in the prior art would have been within the ambit of a person of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Larson, 340 F.2d 965, 968, 144 USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1965) (see MPEP § 2144.04).
Regarding Claim 4, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 2 in view of Tamura, comprising: a battery pack inside which the battery module and the temperature control mechanism are disposed, wherein the surface of the battery module and the surface of the temperature control mechanism facing each other are in contact with each other (see figure 2 of Ishitobi above and figure 1 of Tamura below).
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Regarding Claim 6, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 2 in view of Tamura, comprising: a battery pack inside which the battery module is disposed, wherein the battery module and the temperature control mechanism are disposed to face each other with a wall surface of the battery pack interposed, wherein a surface of the battery pack in contact with the battery module has a planar shape, and wherein a surface of the battery pack in contact with the temperature control mechanism has a planar shape (see figure 2 of Ishitobi below).
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Regarding Claim 8, Ishitobi teaches the in-vehicle battery according to claim 2, wherein the recess or the protrusion is provided in a flow direction of the fluid. The recess or protrusion is inherently provided in a flow direction of the fluid because the fluid must flow through the protrusion or recess in the direction it is provided. See figure 5, which illustrates the flow direction of the fluid being the path provided by the recess or protrusion. The flow direction and is inherent to the shape of the recess or protrusion.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yoshihito et al. (JP-2014157756-A) discloses a battery unit where a wall of the battery case is interposed between the battery module and the temperature control unit to prevent coolant from damaging battery terminals in case of leakage. The document provides motivation for separating the module and unit with a planar wall, as recited in claims 5 and 6. .
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDREW N KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-9169. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 7:30am-3:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at (571)272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANDREW KIM/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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