BATTERY DEVICE INCLUDING BUSBAR ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse Group I, claims 1-12 in the reply filed on 9/4/2026 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 1/18/2024 and 10/10/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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 1-4, 6-8, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (KR 10-2022-0028522 A).
Regarding claim 1, Lee et al. teach a battery device (Abstract), comprising:
a cell assembly (Fig. 1, element 10 discloses a battery stack.) including a plurality of battery cells (Fig. 1, element 12 discloses battery cells.); and
a busbar assembly electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells to each other (Fig. 1, element 40 discloses a busbar panel.),
wherein each of the plurality of battery cells includes:
an electrode assembly (Paragraph 0066 discloses the battery cells include an electrode assembly.);
a pouch including a receiving portion accommodating the electrode assembly and a sealing portion sealing at least a portion of the receiving portion (Paragraph 0066; Figs. 1, 2, 8, and 9 disclose the electrode assembly is surrounded by an outer material, element 16.); and
an electrode lead connected to the electrode assembly (Paragraph 0066; Figs. 1, 2, 8, and 9 disclose an electrode tab, element 14, connected to the electrode assembly.),
wherein the sealing portion includes a first sealing portion surrounding at least a portion of the electrode lead (Fig. 8, element 16a discloses a terrace portion.) and a second sealing portion extending from the first sealing portion (Fig. 8, element 17 discloses an insulating portion.), at least a portion of which is folded (Fig. 8, element 17 discloses a folded shape.),
wherein the busbar assembly includes:
a busbar (Fig. 1, element 30 discloses a busbar.) including a slit for accommodating the electrode lead (Figs. 1, 3 and 4; paragraphs 0045 and 0048 discloses a receiving hole, element 54, in which the electrode tab, element 14, is received.), and
a frame supporting the busbar (Fig. 9, element 50) and including a guide portion of which an upper region is open to guide the electrode lead to the slit (Paragraph 0050; Fig. 6 disclose a pair of receiving guides, elements 53a/53b formed on each side based on the receiving hole, element 54.), and
wherein at least a portion of the second sealing portion is located above the frame (Fig. 8, element 17 is located above the frame depending on the orientation of the battery pack in space.).
Regarding claim 2, Lee et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the guide portion includes a chamfer extending from an upper surface of the frame (Fig. 6, element 53a is chamfered.).
Regarding claim 3, Lee et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the slit includes a first region having a first width (Figs. 3 and 4, element W1) and a second region extending from the first region and having a second width (Figs. 3 and 4, element W2) less than the first width (Fig. 5 shows W2 being less than W1), and wherein the first region is closer to an upper surface of the frame than the second region (Figs. 7-8).
Regarding claim 4, Lee et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the cell assembly includes at least one thermal barrier located between at least a portion of the plurality of battery cells (Paragraph 0068 discloses the cells are surrounded by an outer material which is insulative.).
Regarding claims 6 and 7, Lee et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the cell assembly defines a terrace space located between the plurality of battery cells, and wherein at least a portion of the frame is located in the terrace space; wherein the frame includes a protrusion protruding toward the receiving portion of the plurality of battery cells, and wherein at least a portion of the protrusion is located in the terrace space (See annotated fig. 8 below.).
PNG
media_image1.png
1406
2500
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Figure 8 and Lee
Regarding claim 8, Lee et al. teach the battery device of claim 7, wherein the second sealing portion is located on the protrusion (Fig. 8 discloses element 17 on the protrusion.).
Regarding claim 11, Lee et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the wherein the busbar assembly is configured to be coupled to the cell assembly while moving from a lower portion to an upper portion of the cell assembly (Figs. 3-7; Paragraphs 0073-0074 disclose the electrode tabs can be slidably inserted into the busbar assembly in a W2 (up-down) direction, starting from the insertion opening, element 58, with the help of insertion guides, element 56.).
Claims 1, 2, 6, 7, 11, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US 2022/0181727 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Park et al. teach a battery device (Abstract; Fig. 4, element 100), comprising:
a cell assembly (Fig. 4, element 110 discloses a cell stack.) including a plurality of battery cells (Fig. 4, element 120 discloses battery cells.); and
a busbar assembly electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells to each other (Fig. 4, element 140 discloses a busbar assembly.),
wherein each of the plurality of battery cells includes:
an electrode assembly (Paragraph 0017 discloses the battery cells include an electrode assembly.);
a pouch including a receiving portion accommodating the electrode assembly and a sealing portion sealing at least a portion of the receiving portion (Fig. 5 discloses a pouch, element 121, which holds an electrode assembly. Further, the configuration of the pouch is identical to the present application as it would inherently have a receiving portion for the electrode assembly as implied in paragraph 0059. Further, it has a sealing portion, element 123.); and
an electrode lead connected to the electrode assembly (Fig. 5, element 126 discloses an electrode lead.),
wherein the sealing portion includes a first sealing portion surrounding at least a portion of the electrode lead (Paragraph 0062; Fig. 5, element 124 discloses a first sealing portion in which the electrode lead, element 126, is disposed.) and a second sealing portion extending from the first sealing portion (Paragraphs 0062 and 0067; Fig. 5, element 125 discloses a second sealing portion.), at least a portion of which is folded (Paragraph 0067 discloses the second sealing portion can be folded twice.),
wherein the busbar assembly includes:
a busbar (Fig. 17, element 141 discloses a busbar.) including a slit for accommodating the electrode lead (Paragraph 0123; Fig. 17, element 132 discloses contact portions which form a slit for the electrode lead to pass through.), and
a frame supporting the busbar (Fig. 17, element 145 discloses a support plate.) and including a guide portion of which an upper region is open to guide the electrode lead to the slit (Paragraph 0121; Fig. 17 discloses insertion holes, element 146, through which electrode leads can pass.), and
wherein at least a portion of the second sealing portion is located above the frame (Paragraph 0093 discloses the second sealing portion comprises a bending portion, element 125a, which is formed at an upper portion of the battery cell (see Figs. 12 and 14).).
Regarding claim 2, Park et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the guide portion includes a chamfer extending from an upper surface of the frame (Fig. 15 shows element 146 having a chamfer extending down from the frame.).
Regarding claims 6 and 7, Park et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the cell assembly defines a terrace space located between the plurality of battery cells, and wherein at least a portion of the frame is located in the terrace space; wherein the frame includes a protrusion protruding toward the receiving portion of the plurality of battery cells, and wherein at least a portion of the protrusion is located in the terrace space.
PNG
image3.png
100
100
image3.png
Greyscale
Fig. 17 of Park
Regarding claim 11, Park et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the wherein the busbar assembly is configured to be coupled to the cell assembly while moving from a lower portion to an upper portion of the cell assembly (Paragraphs 0100-0101 and 0107 discloses assembling of the cell in an up-down direction which would be in alignment with the busbar.).
Regarding claim 12, Park et al. teach the battery device of claim 1, wherein the second sealing portion includes a first surface facing an external region of the battery device, and a second surface opposite to the first surface and covering at least a portion of an upper surface of the frame (Fig. 7 discloses the bending portion, element 125a, having the claimed first and second surfaces. See annotated fig. 7 below.).
PNG
image5.png
100
100
image5.png
Greyscale
Fig. 7 of Park
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 9, and 10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the subject matter of claims 5, 9, and 10 are not disclosed in the prior art or in subsequent searches.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL S GATEWOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-7958. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:30.
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, Ula Tavares-Crockett can be reached at 571-272-1481. 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.
Daniel S. Gatewood, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1729
/DANIEL S GATEWOOD, Ph. D/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729 September 25th, 2026
Prosecution Insights