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 .
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 10-18-2023 and 08-29-2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-14 are 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 paragraph [0044] of Applicant’s specification as filed, the definitions 110a and 110b appears to be inverted, compared to how they appear in figures 3, 4, and 5 (i.e., 110a represents the "narrow second side surface" and 110b represents the "wide first side surface"). However, in other parts of the description, the narrow side (110a) is referred to as "first side" and the wide side as "second side". Examiner recommends removing such inconsistencies in the specification.
Claims 4 to 8 teach first and/or second "through-holes". Examiner submits that based on Applicant’s drawings, what are called through-holes [12, 22] are not actual through-holes, but cut out portions and can be called "notch", "indentation", "recess". Examiner submits that "through-hole" appearing in the claims will be interpreted to mean both cut-out portions, as represented in the application drawings, and actual through-holes.
Claims 11-13 teach "a first extension protrudes" and "a second extension protrudes". Examiner submits that such claim language is misleading, insofar as they can also refer to an extension that does not protrude (i.e. does not stands out or stick out), as seems to be implied by Applicant’s fig.3, and paragraphs [0082-0088]. Referring to fig.3, portion 43b clearly protrudes from the second contact portion 20, but it is not correct to say that portion 43a protrudes from the second contact portion 20, or that portion 41 protrudes from the first contact portion 10, because 43a and 20 on the one hand, and 41 and 10 on the other hand, are equivalent/ indistinguishable. If two portions of a same surface are equivalent, it is not correct to say that one portion protrudes from of the other. As such, both a protruding extension of the contact portion (such as portion 43b in fig.3), and a full extension of the contact portion (such as portion 41 in fig.3) will be considered.
With regards to Claim 12, it is unclear what is the "protruding edge", given that to the protruding first extension of claim 11 is not assigned any specific shape. Secondly, the term "inclined" in the context also has no clear technical meaning; inclined relative to what? The claim only gives the direction but the default position (i.e. if it was not inclined) is not known.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2017/0054126 hereinafter Kim.
Regarding Claim 1, Kim teaches a busbar (200, 300, 500) connecting cell terminals (114, 115) of at least two battery cells (110, 120, 130) of a battery module (1000) (see figures 3, 8, 13), the busbar comprising: a first contact portion (200a, 300a, 500a) extending in a first direction and connected to a first cell terminal; a second contact (200a, 300a, 500c) portion extending in the first direction and connected to a second cell terminal; and a convex portion (200b, 300b, 500b) protruding in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and connecting the first contact portion and the second contact portion to each other, wherein in the first contact portion (200a, 300a, 500a), a first edge adjacent to an outer side surface of a width direction of the battery cell is inside an edge of the first cell terminal (see figures 7, 12), and in the second contact portion, a second edge adjacent to an outside of the width direction of the battery cell is inside an edge of the second cell terminal (see figures 7, 12 and annotated figure 1 below).
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Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2015/0243947 hereinafter Seto.
Regarding Claim 1, Seto teaches a busbar (30H) connecting cell terminals of at least two battery cells of a battery module (see figures 20A, 20B), the busbar comprising: a first contact portion (32H left) extending in a first direction and connected to a first cell terminal; a second contact portion (32H right) extending in the first direction and connected to a second cell terminal; and a convex portion (31H) protruding in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and connecting the first contact portion and the second contact portion to each other, wherein in the first contact portion, a first edge adjacent to an outer side surface of a width direction of the battery cell is inside an edge of the first cell terminal, and in the second contact portion, a second edge adjacent to an outside of the width direction of the battery cell is inside an edge of the second cell terminal (see connection details in figures 4 and 15 between busbars 30 and terminals 22, see annotated figure 2 below).
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Claim(s) 2-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2017/0054126 hereinafter Kim (or U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2015/0243947 hereinafter Seto).
Regarding Claims 2-3, Kim teaches that the battery module has a rectangular shape having a wide first side surface extending in a length direction and a narrow second side surface perpendicular to the first side surface, and a first edge of the first contact portion is at an inside of an edge of the first cell terminal at a position of the second side surface, and a second edge of the second contact portion is at an inside of an edge of the second cell terminal at a position of the second side surface (see figures described above).
Regarding Claims 4-8, Kim teaches that the first contact portion has a first through-hole formed in a direction of the convex portion from a third edge perpendicular to the first edge, and the second contact portion has a second through-hole formed in the direction of the convex portion from a fourth edge perpendicular to the second edge (i.e., the first through-hole and the second through-hole are respectively formed in the first contact portion and the second contact portion at positions facing each other) (see figures described above).
Regarding Claims 9-10, Seto teaches that the convex portion is formed with a third through-hole having a long length in the first direction between the first contact portion and the second contact portion (see figure 20A as described above), and wherein the convex portion has a first portion on one side thereof and a second portion on the other side thereof that are formed to have the same length based on the third through-hole (see figures of Seto as described above).
Regarding Claims 11-13, Kim teaches a first extension and a second extension, wherein the extensions protrude from an edge opposite to the first or second edge of the contact portion (see figures describe above).
Regarding Claims 14, Kim (or Seto) teaches a battery module comprising: a plurality of battery cells arranged along a length direction of a battery module; and a plurality of the busbars as described above, wherein each of the plurality of the busbars electrically connects at least two battery cells, at least one first contact portion of the plurality of the busbars is electrically connected to a cell terminal having a first polarity, and at least one second contact portion of the plurality of the busbars is electrically connected to a cell terminal having a second polarity (see annotated figures above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to OSEI K AMPONSAH whose telephone number is (571)270-3446. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, NICHOLAS A SMITH can be reached at (571)272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/OSEI K AMPONSAH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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