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 .
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.
Specification
The specification and drawings have been reviewed and no clear informalities or objections have been noted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 6, Applicant claims “the battery cell is provided in at least two in the first direction”. This renders the claim indefinite as it is not clear what “at least two in the first direction” is referring to (at least two what?). Clarification is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (US 2023/0361406).
Regarding claims 1 and 14, Liu discloses a battery, comprising:
a plurality of battery cells (see cylindrical cells 101 in Fig. 1); and
a box configured to accommodate the plurality of battery cells (see box depicted in Fig. 6 which surrounds the cells);
wherein the box comprises two first plates opposite each other in a first direction (as depicted in annotated Fig. 1 below), and the first direction is parallel to an extension direction of the battery cells (see annotated Fig. 1 below where the first direction is parallel to the direction in which the cylindrical cells extend);
wherein the plurality of battery cells are disposed between the two first plates (as depicted in Fig. 1), at least one side of the first plate facing the battery cells is provided with an accommodating portion (see 31 in Fig. 3 which illustrates an accommodating portion/fixing hole), and at least part of an end portion of the battery cell extends into the accommodating portion and is connected to the first plate (the cylindrical cells extend into the fixing holes 31 of Fig. 3, see also paragraph 61).
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Annotated Fig. 1
Regarding claim 2, Liu further discloses the two first plates each comprise the accommodating portion (the accommodating portion/fixing hole 31 is present in both plates), and at least part of two ends of the battery cell in the first direction are accommodated in the accommodating portions of the two first plates respectively (the cylindrical cells extend into the fixing holes 31 of both plates in Fig. 3, see also paragraph 61).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, Liu further discloses the accommodating portion (fixing hole 31) comprises a plurality of accommodating recesses (see Fig. 3 which illustrates a plurality of fixing holes that correspond to the cylindrical battery cells), and the plurality of accommodating recesses are disposed corresponding to the plurality of battery cells.
Regarding claim 5, Liu further discloses the accommodating recess (fixing hole 31) fits with the cylindrical battery cell (they are both circular shaped such that the cylindrical battery fits inside the fixing hole), and a cross section of the accommodating recess is arc-shaped (see Fig. 3 where fixing hole/accommodating recess is circular shape/arc shape).
Regarding claim 6, Liu further discloses the battery cell is provided in at least two in the first direction (battery cell is provided in at least two accommodating recesses/fixing holes in the first direction), and an end, close to the first plate, of the battery cell adjacent to the first plate extends into and is connected to the accommodating portion (the end of the cells is connected to the accommodating portion through a glue, for example, see paragraph 54).
Regarding claim 7, Liu further discloses the battery cell is provided in at least two layers in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction (see annotated Fig. 1 above which illustrates a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and illustrates multiple rows of battery cells in this second direction).
Regarding claim 8, Liu further discloses a heat exchange member (cooling plate 2), wherein the plurality of battery cells are mounted on a surface of the heat exchange member (see paragraph 37 which disclose that the cooling plate surrounds the battery cells), and the heat exchange member is configured to regulate temperature of the battery cells.
Regarding claim 9, Liu further discloses a reinforcing member (keel, 3, see Figs. 12 and 13), wherein at least part of the reinforcing member is disposed between adjacent battery cells and attached to the battery cells (see paragraph 53 which discloses how the keel is shaped to be between the rows of cells to provide stability).
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Liu further discloses the reinforcing member extends along the first direction (along the length direction of the battery cells, as indicated by the shape of groove 13 in Fig. 13), and two ends of the reinforcing member are connected to the two first plates respectively (the ends of the keel/reinforcing member 1 comprise clips 12 that attach to first places/brackets 3, see paragraph 55).
Regarding claim 12, Liu further discloses the first plate is further provided with a cavity (such as the back side of the first plate, as depicted in Fig. 5 which comprises cavities 31) communicating with the accommodating portion (the cavity 31 is the opposite side of the accommodation portion/fixing hole) and a frame transfer member (busbar 6, as depicted in Fig. 1 and described in paragraphs 64-65) disposed in the cavity, an electrode structure of the battery cell extends into the cavity (electrodes of each end of the batteries extends into the cavity and connects to busbar/frame transfer member 6) and is connected to the frame transfer member, and the frame transfer member is configured to collect current of the battery cells disposed in the first plate (such is the function of a busbar).
Regarding claim 13, Liu further discloses the box further comprises a cover plate (see cover plates 5 in Fig. 1), the cover plate covers a surface of the first plate (as depicted in Fig. 1), the first plate is further provided with a sinking platform (such as a bolt hole where plate/insulators 5 are connected to the first plate/bracket, see paragraph 63), and the sinking platform is configured to accommodate the cover plate (the cover plate is accommodated by the sinking platform via bolts).
Relevant Prior Art
JP 2016189266 A – Discloses a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells which are held in place by two opposing plates each with accommodating portions there in to hold the cylindrical shaped cells, similar to the instant disclosure.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J MERKLING whose telephone number is (571)272-9813. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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/MATTHEW J MERKLING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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