Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 04, 2026
Application No. 18/474,258

BATTERY PACKS INCLUDING A CELLS CONTACT SYSTEM ASSEMBLY

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Sep 26, 2023
Priority
Apr 14, 2023 — CN 202320826732.0
Examiner
AKRAM, IMRAN
Art Unit
1725
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Eve Energy Co. Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
64%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
8m
Est. Remaining
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 64% of resolved cases
64%
Career Allowance Rate
624 granted / 970 resolved
-0.7% vs TC avg
Strong +43% interview lift
Without
With
+43.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
39 currently pending
Career history
1009
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
38.1%
-1.9% vs TC avg
§102
33.5%
-6.5% vs TC avg
§112
18.4%
-21.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 970 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. Drawings The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the plurality of heat exchange plates and their wavy shape must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance. 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. Claim s 1 , 2, and 4-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Ahn (US 2022/0140454 A1) . Regarding claim 1, Ahn discloses an apparatus comprising: a plurality of serial-parallel busbars 150 connected to a plurality of cells B (paragraph 55); an insulating support 119 connected to the busbars 150 (paragraph 102); a circuit board C electrically connected to the busbars and vertically attached to the insulating support 119 (paragraph 102); heat exchange plates 130 thermally contacts the cells B (paragraph 95). Regarding claim 2 , Ahn discloses each of the serial-parallel busbars comprises a positive connection portion and a negative connection portion arranged insulative from each other; and the insulating support comprises a first surface and a second surface arranged opposite to the first surface, a mounting position is arranged on the first surface, each of the serial-parallel busbars is arranged at the mounting position, the second surface comprises a positive through hole and a negative through hole, the positive through hole and the negative through hole are arranged insulative and isolated from each other, a positive electrode of each of the cells is electrically connected to a positive connection portion of one of the serial-parallel busbars through the positive through hole, and a negative electrode of each of the cell is electrically connected to a negative connection portion of another one of the serial-parallel busbars through the negative through hole (paragraph 100 and Figure 4) . Regarding claim 4 , Ahn discloses one or more glue-injection through holes is provided on the insulating support, and a thermally conductive glue contacts one of the cells through the glue-injection through holes (paragraph 112) . Regarding claim 5 , Ahn discloses one or more serial busbars 150c , the one or more cell assemblies comprise a plurality of cell assemblies connected in series through the serial busbars (paragraph 77) . Regarding claim 6 , Ahn discloses that the flexible circuit boards are fixedly connected to the s e rial-parallel busbars through one or more nickel sheets (paragraph 83). Regarding claim 7 , Ahn discloses one or more temperature acquisition units 170 electrically connected with one or more of the flexible circuit boards, and each of the temperature acquisition units are configured to detect a temperature of one of the cells (paragraph 90) . Regarding claim 8 , Ahn discloses that one or more protrusions are arranged on the insulating support in a direction toward an axis of the cell, one or more grooves respectively corresponding to the protrusions are arranged on the serial-parallel busbars, each of the temperature acquisition units 170 is sandwiched between one of the protrusions and a groove bottom of one of the grooves corresponding to the one of the protrusions and is fixedly connected to the one of the protrusions (paragraph 94) . Regarding claim 9 , Ahn discloses that a connector is arranged on the first circuit board, and the connector is electrically connected to a battery management system through a sampling line (paragraph 83) . Regarding claim 10 , Ahn discloses one or more reinforcing plates fixed to one or more of the flexible circuit boards (paragraph 110) . Regarding claim 1 1 , Ahn discloses a lower tray, wherein an accommodating groove is provided on the lower tray, and the cell assembly is mounted in the accommodating groove (paragraph 106) . 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. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows: 1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art. 2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue. 3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art. 4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness. 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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tononishi (US 2017/0084884 A1) . Ahn fails to disclose a second circuit board. Tononishi —in an invention for a battery pack with bus bars, insulation, and heat exchange plates—discloses the presence of circuit board in the cover of the battery module so as to separate the circuit board from any condensation that forms in the module (paragraph 127). The circuit board of Tononishi has additional functionality from that of Ahn (paragraph 93). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to add a board to the cover of Ahn so as to enhance the functionality of Ahn while separating the additional board from deleterious materials within the module as suggested by Tononishi. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Huo (US 2023/0216103 A1). Ahn does not disclose a wavy heat exchange plate. Huo—in an invention for a battery module with bus bars—discloses the use of a cooling plate 22 that is wavy so that the cells can be accommodated in the wavy recess while increasing the contact surface area with the cells (paragraph 52). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to shape the cooling plate of Ahn as suggested by Huo to increase thermal transfer and efficiency. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT IMRAN AKRAM whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-3241 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F 9a-5p . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Basia Ridley can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-1453 . 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. /IMRAN AKRAM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 26, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 26, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
64%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+43.1%)
3y 3m (~8m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 970 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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