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 .
Response to Arguments
The 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections set forth in the prior Office are withdrawn.
The prior art rejections of claims 1-4 and 7-10 set forth in the prior Office action are withdrawn in view of the amendments to claim 1.
Applicant's arguments pertaining to amended claim 11 been fully considered but they are not persuasive. In this regard, the examiner notes the language “on the right side of Fig. 11” used in connection with the mapping of the claim elements “a second bus bar unit coupled to the second electrode lead”, “a second sensing connector coupled to the second bus bar unit”, “a second sensing connector coupled to the second bus bar unit” and “a second sensing bridge configured to connect a second end of the sensing body to the second sensing connector, the second sensing bridge being folded and bent” to features of the Oh reference means the corresponding elements on the right side of Fig. 11 of Oh (near the reference number “100”) that correspond to and oppose the left-side elements detailed in annotated Figs. 5 and 7. Accordingly, the right side of Fig. 11 of Oh will have a second sensing connector the faces the first sensing connector on the left side of Fig. 11.
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 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 11-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 2019/0348720 to Oh et al. (Oh).
Regarding claim 11, Oh discloses a battery module comprising:
a battery cell assembly including a plurality of battery cells arranged in a front-rear direction of the battery cell assembly, each of the plurality of battery cells including a first electrode lead and a second electrode lead that protrude in a first direction and are formed opposite to each other (Oh, e.g., Fig. 11 (annotated below), cell assembly 300 of the battery module 1);
a first bus bar unit coupled to the first electrode lead (Oh, e.g., Fig. 11, bus bars 500 on left side of Fig. 11);
a second bus bar unit coupled to the second electrode lead (Oh, e.g., Fig. 11, corresponding bus bars 500 on right side of Fig. 11); and
a battery sensing unit configured to connect the first bus bar unit and the second bus bar unit and operable to sense a status of the battery cell assembly (Oh, e.g., Fig. 11, flexible circuit board 100; also see paragraph 142, flexible circuit board 100 disposed along the upper plate 410 and the side plates 420 to sense voltages of the battery cells),
wherein the battery sensing unit includes:
a first sensing connector coupled to the first bus bar unit (Oh, e.g., Figs. 7 (annotated below) and 11, and paragraph 134, third connection circuit portion 150 as shown in annotated Fig. 7 on left side of Fig. 11);
a second sensing connector coupled to the second bus bar unit (Oh, e.g., Figs. 7 (duplicated below) and 11, corresponding third connection circuit portion 150 on right side of Fig. 11);
a sensing body extending in the first direction (Oh, e.g., Figs. 7 (annotated below) and 11, central portion 110);
a first sensing bridge configured to connect a first end of the sensing body to the first sensing connector, the first sensing bridge being folded and bent (Oh, e.g., Figs. 7, 11, first connection circuit portions 120 in combination with second connection circuit portions 130 on left side of Fig. 11; also see Fig. 5 (annotated below), disclosing a fold and a bend); and
a second sensing bridge configured to connect a second end of the sensing body to the second sensing connector, the second sensing bridge being folded and bent (Oh, e.g., Figs. 7, 11, corresponding first connection circuit portions 120 in combination with corresponding second connection circuit portions 130 on right side of Fig. 11; also see Fig. 5, disclosing a fold and a bend),
wherein the first sensing connector and the second sensing connector face each other (see Oh as applied above, corresponding third connection circuit portion 150 on right side of Fig. 11 will face third connection circuit portion 150 as shown in annotated Fig. 7 on left side of Fig. 11).
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Regarding claim 12, Oh discloses wherein the battery sensing unit includes a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) (Oh, e.g., paragraph 142, flexible circuit board 100).
Regarding claim 13, Oh discloses wherein the sensing body, the first sensing bridge, the second sensing bridge, the first sensing connector, and the second sensing connector are formed as a unibody (Oh, e.g., Fig. 2 and paragraph 117, first connection circuit portions 120, the second connection circuit portions 130 and the overlapped portions 140 may correspond to portions of the flexible circuit board 100 and may be integrally formed with the central portion 110 to constitute one flexible circuit board).
Regarding claim 14, Oh discloses wherein the first sensing bridge is bent between a folded portion of the first sensing bridge and the first sensing connector, and wherein the second sensing bridge is bent between a folded portion of the second sensing bridge and the second sensing connector (Oh, e.g., Fig. 5 as annotated above, noting bend between folded portion and first sensing connector; note that this feature will also be present in the second sensing bridge on the right side of Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 15, Oh discloses wherein the battery sensing unit further includes a first sensing extension extending from the first sensing connector (see annotated Fig. 7 above).
Regarding claim 16, Oh discloses wherein the battery sensing unit further includes a second sensing extension extending from the sensing body (see annotated Fig. 7 above, temperature sensing portion 111).
Regarding claim 17, Oh discloses wherein the battery sensing unit includes at least one of:
a first temperature sensor connected to the first sensing extension and operable to measure a temperature of the battery cell assembly; or
a second temperature sensor connected to the second sensing extension and operable to measure a temperature of the battery cell assembly (see annotated Fig. 7 above, temperature sensing portion 111).
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oh.
Regarding claim 19, Oh discloses that the flexible circuit board 100 is configured to sense a voltage of a battery cell (Oh, e.g., Fig. 2 and paragraph 113). Oh is not relied upon as explicitly disclosing wherein the battery sensing unit includes a battery sensor that generates a signal indicative of a battery charge status or a battery discharge status of the battery cell assembly. The examiner takes Official notice of the fact that the use of voltage sensors and current sensors in battery modules of the type disclosed by Oh for the purpose of generating a signal indicative of a battery charge status or a battery discharge status was well-known and conventional before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. It 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 to modify Oh such that Oh’s flexible circuit board 100 includes a battery sensor that generates a signal indicative of a battery charge status or a battery discharge status of the battery cell assembly for at least the reason that this would enable a battery management system (BMS) to manage the charging and discharging of each battery cell in the manner disclosed by Oh in paragraphs 4 and 158, for example.
Claims 1, 3-4 and 6-10 are allowed.
Claim 18 is 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.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL R MILLER whose telephone number is (571)270-1964. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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, Lee Rodak, can be reached at 571-270-5628. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANIEL R MILLER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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