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 § 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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20150179995-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Nakamura’ , in view of (US-11764424-B2) hereinafter referred to ‘Naruke’
Regarding Claim 1,
Nakamura teaches a battery pack (Nakamura, “A battery pack comprises: a battery holding member provided to have battery holding holes and configured to bind a plurality of batteries”, see Abstract) comprising: a tray including a bottom wall (Nakamura, bar holding member, 50, Fig. 2); a cell module that is disposed on the tray and includes at least one battery cell (Nakamura, Btn and Btp, Fig. 2) ; a high voltage connection portion that is provided on a bottom surface of the cell module and that is electrically connected to the at least one battery cell (Nakamura, wiring, 82, Fig. 13) ; a high voltage busbar connected to the high voltage connection portion (Nakamura, linkage bus bar, 52, Fig. 2); and a sheet disposed between the bottom wall of the tray and the bottom surface of the cell module (Nakamura, sponge sheet, 60, Fig. 2) , wherein a first opening portion is defined in the water absorbing sheet at a position facing the high voltage connection portion (Nakamura, holes, 60h, Fig. 4).
Nakamura does not teach that the sheet is specifically a water absorbing sheet.
Naruke teaches a water absorbing sheet (Naruke, water absorber, 25, Fig. 3).
Naruke teaches that this prevents the battery from getting wet (Naruke, “The water absorber 25, which is disposed in the vicinity of the cooling medium passage 21, absorbs water that is condensed on the cooling medium passage 21, thereby preventing the water from wetting the battery module 17”, see par. 45).
Nakamura and Naruke are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery modules.
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 battery sheet as taught in Nakamura to make it the absorbent sheet, as taught in Naruke, in order to reduce the moisture build up around the cell and prevent short circuit.
Regarding Claim 2,
Modified Nakamura teaches the battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the first opening portion surrounds the high voltage connection portion via a gap (see annotated figure below).
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Regarding Claim 3,
Modified Nakamura teaches the battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: the tray includes an engaging member that projects upward from the bottom wall; and a second opening portion that engages with the engaging member is defined on the water absorbing sheet (see annotated figure below).
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Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20150179995-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Nakamura’ , in view of (US-11764424-B2) hereinafter referred to ‘Naruke’, in further view of (US-20150287963-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Chiba’
Regarding Claim 4,
Modified Nakamura teaches the bottom wall and that is disposed in a portion around the high voltage connection portion (Second opening, see annotated figure above).
Nakamura does not teach the battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: the tray includes a positioning rib that protrudes upward from the bottom wall and that is; and the positioning rib is inserted into the first opening portion of the water absorbing sheet.
Chiba teaches the battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: the tray includes a positioning rib that protrudes upward from the bottom wall (Chiba, supporting portion, 36, Fig. 7) and that is disposed in a portion around the high voltage connection portion (The examiner notes ; and the positioning rib is inserted into the first opening portion of the water absorbing sheet (Chiba, groove bottom surface, 241, Fig. 7)(see annotated figure below).
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Chiba teaches that this portion allows for the support of the battery cells around the cavity (Chiba, “Each supporting portion 36 supports a substantially central portion of the bottom surface 34 of the electrical cell 10 in the arrangement direction from below.”, see [0057]).
Modified Nakamura and Chiba are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery packs.
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 bottom of the case as taught in Nakamura to have the supporting portions or ribs as taught in Chiba, in order to support the cells in the presence of the opening or cavity.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20150179995-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Nakamura’ , in view of (US-11764424-B2) hereinafter referred to ‘Naruke’, in further view of (US-20150287963-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Chiba’, as evidenced by (US-6548432-B1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Hisada’
Regarding Claim 5,
Modified Nakamura teaches the battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the water absorbing sheet is a non-woven fabric (Nakamura, “The sponge 60 a may be made of, for example, soft polyurethane foam. The sponge 60 may alternatively be made of another material such as polyethylene or rubber sponge, instead of soft polyurethane foam.”, see [0043]) (the examiner notes that polyethylene can be used for non-woven fabrics as evidenced by Hisada, [Hisada,“A polyethylene nonwoven fabric is produced by the meltblowing process using a resin composition comprising a polyethylene (A)”, see Abstract])
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAMUS PATRICK MCNULTY whose telephone number is (703)756-1909. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 8:00am to 5pm.
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/S.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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