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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. 10-2023-0069459, filed on May 30, 2023.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Golubkov et al. (WO2018105878A1), and in further view of Cho et al. (US20220328906A1).
As to Claim 1 Golubkov et al. discloses a battery pack (see e.g. the battery system 100 in Fig. 7, in Par. 61) fire extinguishing system comprising (see e.g. The cooling circuit comprises the reservoir 77 that is configured for storing an incombustible and flame-retardant coolant. The reservoir 77 is fluidly connected via coolant piping with a condenser 75, a throttle 76 downstream of the condenser 75, the conduit means 72 downstream of the throttle 76, an evaporator 73 downstream of the conduit means 72 and a compressor 74 downstream of the evaporator 73 and upstream of the reservoir 77 in Fig. 7, in Par. 59):
a compressor (see e.g. compressor 74 in Fig. 7, Par. 59) configured to compress a refrigerant (see e.g. wherein the compressor is configured for compressing the coolant in Par. 30);
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a condenser (see e.g. condenser 75 in Fig. 7, in Par. 62) connected to the compressor (see e.g. the reservoir 77 is fluidly connected via coolant piping with a condenser 75 downstream of the condenser in Fig. 7, in Par. 62) and configured to condense the refrigerant (see e.g. a condenser for liquefying the compressed coolant in Par. 30);
an evaporator (see e.g. carrier plates 71, 73 configured as evaporators in Fig. 7, in Par. 62) connected to the condenser through a second conduit (see e.g. the first and second carrier plates 71, 73 in parallel downstream of the conduit means 72 in Fig. 7, in Par. 62) and connected to the compressor (see e.g. a compressor 74 downstream of the carrier plates in Par. 62 and 71, 73 are connected to 74 in Fig. 7), the evaporator being configured to absorb ambient heat (see e.g. carrier plates 71, 73 in Fig. 7 configured as evaporators, i.e. for absorbing heat from the respective battery modules 91, 92 in Par. 62);
a battery cell on the evaporator (see e.g. battery module 91, 92 in Fig. 7 positioned on carrier plates 71, 73 configured as evaporators in par. 62);
vent gas can be discharged from vent hole (see e.g. a gas-vent jet emitted by any of the vent holes 88 in Par. 57).
Although Golubkov et al. does disclose using conduit for connecting parts, however, Golubkov et al. does not disclose a first conduit can be located such as to connect a condenser and compressor, and third conduit can be located such as to connect an evaporator and compressor. It would be obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the connection in between the condenser and compressor, and between an evaporator and compressor to include conduits for connection as the conduit pipe can be configured to tightly enclose the extinguishing agent in a normal operation state of the battery module in Par. 56.
Golubkov et al. does not disclose a refrigerant injector connected to the second conduit, and configured to inject the refrigerant into the battery cell.
Cho et al. discloses a through-hole formed in a heat dissipation plate disposed so as to face the battery cell stack and a sealing member is added to the through-hole in Par. 17. Cho et al. further discloses a heat dissipation member comprising a heat dissipation plate and a refrigerant flow portion in Par. 18. The through-hole may be opened by the melting of the sealing member, and a refrigerant may be injected into the pouch-shaped battery cell through the through-hole in Par. 21.
By comparison, the instant application describes the refrigerant injector may be connected to the second conduit and may be positioned on the battery cell, that is, on the battery module in Par. 105. It further describes the sealing part may block the injection hole and the sealing part may be coated on or adhered to the injection conduit to block the injection hole in Par. 114. When the high-temperature and high-pressure vent gas is discharged from the vent portion of the battery cell, a partial region of the refrigerant injector may be melted to inject the refrigerant into the battery cell in Par. 105. Thus, the through-holes as taught in Cho et al. are analogous to the refrigerant injectors as claimed in the instant application.
Both Golubkov et al. and Cho et al. are analogous in the field of battery fire safety systems, it would have been obvious for a person with ordinary skills in the art to modify the battery system comprising an extinguishing system in Golubkov et al. such as to include the refrigerant injector connected to a conduit means, above the battery cell, and configured to melt when vent gas is discharged from a vent hole in the battery cell to inject the refrigerant into the battery cell as taught by Cho et al in Par. 17, 18, and 20 in order to minimize the spread of flames in the case in which the large-capacity, high output battery module or battery pack catches fire as suggested in Par. 13 of Cho et al..
As to claim 2 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in 1, wherein the refrigerant injector (see discussion of claim 1) comprises:
and a sealing part blocking the injection hole (see discussion of claim 1).
Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does not disclose an injection conduit connected to the second conduit;
an injection hole in a region of the injection conduit corresponding to the vent hole in the battery cell.
and a melting point of the sealing part being lower than a melting point of the injection conduit.
However Golubkov et al. does disclose using conduit for connecting parts, as Golubkov et al. does not disclose an injection conduit connected to the second conduit. It would be obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the battery system of Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. to include an additional conduit for the refrigerant injectors as the conduit pipe can be configured to tightly enclose the extinguishing agent in a normal operation state of the battery module in Par. 56.
Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does not disclose the injection hole, nor and a melting point of the sealing part being lower than a melting point of the injection conduit.
However Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses a refrigerant injector connected to a conduit means, above the battery cell, and configured to melt when vent gas is discharged from a vent hole in the battery cell to inject the refrigerant into the battery cell as discussed in claim 1. In order for the sealing part in the injectors to melt when vent gas is discharged, the vents would need to align with the injection holes.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person with ordinary skills in the art to modify the battery system comprising an extinguishing system in Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. such as to position an injection hole in a region of the injection conduit corresponding to the vent hole in the battery cell in order to minimize false triggering events of the extinguishing system as is taught by Golubkov et al. in Par. 13.
It would be further obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify eh battery system in Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. to further include a sealing member with a melting point of being lower than a melting point of the injection conduit because coolant should be applied in a controlled manner, i.e. the through-hole must be formed at a position at which the coolant can be supplied to the pouch-shaped battery cell catching fire as taught by Cho et al. in Par. 73.
As to claim 3 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sealing part is configured to be melted by the vent gas of the battery cell (see discussion of claim 1, e.g. Cho et al. discloses the sealing member is made of a material that is melted by high-temperature gas or sparks discharged due to the venting of the pouch-shaped battery cell in Par. 63).
As to claim 4 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refrigerant comprises a nonflammable, flame-retardant, or fire-extinguishing refrigerant (see e.g. Golubkov et al. discloses the cooling circuit is operated with an incombustible or flame-retardant coolant as refrigerant in Par. 21).
As to claim 5 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second battery cell (see e.g. Golubkov et al. discloses the second plurality of battery cells belongs to at least one lower battery module in Fig. 7, in Par. 27) below the evaporator (see e.g. Golubkov et al. discloses the evaporator is positioned such that it is hit by a vent-gas jet emitted by any of the vent holes of a second plurality of aligned battery cells in Fig. 7, in Par. 27),
Although Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does disclose the evaporator configured to melt when a vent gas is discharged from a vent hole in the second battery cell to inject refrigerant into the second battery cell, however, Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does not disclose an evaporator comprising a second injection hole.
It would be obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the evaporator in Golubkov et al. to comprise a second injection hole from Cho et al., (see discussion of Claim 1), configured to melt when a vent gas is discharged from a vent hole in the second battery cell to inject the refrigerant into the second battery cell by duplication of parts (see MPEP 2144.04 VI.B. Duplication of Parts), in order to allow the extinguishing system to be suitable for battery systems with multiple stacked battery modules as taught by Golubkov et al. in Par. 27.
As to claim 6 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second refrigerant injector comprises (see discussion of claim 5):
Golubkov et al. does not disclose a second injection hole in a region of the evaporator corresponding to the vent hole in the second battery cell;
and a second sealing part blocking the injection hole, a melting point of the second sealing part being lower than a melting point of the evaporator.
Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses an evaporator comprising a second injection hole configured to melt when a vent gas is discharged from a vent hole in the second battery cell to inject the refrigerant into the second battery cell (see discussion of claim 5) and an injection hole in a region of the injection conduit corresponding to the vent hole in the battery cell (see discussion of claim 2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for a person with ordinary skills in the art to modify the battery system comprising an extinguishing system in Golubkov et al. such as to include a second injection hole in a region of the evaporator corresponding to the vent hole in the second battery cell in order to allow the extinguishing system to be suitable for battery systems with multiple stacked battery modules as taught by Golubkov et al. in Par. 27.
Although Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does disclose using a sealing part blocking the injection hole, however, Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does not disclose a second sealing part blocking the second injection hole. It would be obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art to modify the evaporator to comprise a second sealing part blocking the second injection hole by duplication of parts (see MPEP 2144.04 VI.B. Duplication of Parts).
Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. does not explicitly disclose a melting point of the second sealing part being lower than a melting point of the evaporator. However, it would be obvious for a person with ordinary skill in the art to include sealing part with a melting point being lower than a melting point of the evaporator because in order for the coolant to be reached inside the injection hole, the sealing part will need to be melted beforehand(see discussion of claim 2).
As to claim 7 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second sealing part is configured to be melted by the vent gas of the second battery cell (see discussion of claim 3 and 5).
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Golubkov et al. (WO2018105878A1) and Cho et al. (US20220328906A1), and in further view of Li et al. (US20210370799A1).
As to claim 8 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising (see discussion of claim 1):
a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the battery cell (see e.g. Golubkov et al. discloses additional sensors such as temperature sensors in Par. 15);
a control unit configured to receive temperature information of the battery cell from the temperature sensor (see e.g. Golubkov et al. discloses a thermal management system is required to safely use at least one battery module in Par. 7);
and a valve in the second conduit between the refrigerant injector and the evaporator (see e.g. Golubkov et al. discloses exemplarily sensor actuated valves may be arranged between the pressurized gas container and the conduit means in Par. 15).
Golubkov et al. does not disclose a valve configured to be opened or closed by a control signal from the control unit,
wherein, when it is determined that the temperature of the battery cell is higher than a reference value, the control unit is configured to close the valve.
Li et al. teaches a valve bank system comprising nine valves. Li et al. discloses the control device controls the refrigeration cycle system to be enabled; the valve bank system to cause the battery pack heat dissipation system in Par. 25. Li et al. further discloses if the temperature threshold is greater than the temperature limit, the power assembly thermal management system controls the valve bank to switch to a refrigeration heat dissipation combination.
Both Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. and Li et al. are analogous in the field of battery fire safety systems, it would have been obvious for a person with ordinary skills in the art to modify the battery system comprising an extinguishing system in Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al. such as to have valve configured to be opened or closed by a control signal from the control unit, wherein, when it is determined that the temperature of the battery cell is higher than a reference value, the control unit is configured to close the valve as taught by Li et al. in order to improve the heat dissipation efficiency by providing greater response to the actual situation as taught by Li et al. in Par. 90.
As to claim 9 Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al, and in further view of Li et al. discloses the battery pack fire extinguishing system as claimed in claim 8 (see discussion of claim 8).
Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al, and in further view of Li et al. discloses when it is determined that the temperature of the battery cell is higher than the reference value, the control unit will act to control the temperature (see discussion of claim 8).
Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al does not disclose the control unit is configured to increase a motor rotation speed of the compressor.
Li et al. discloses the rotational speed of the compressor and the opening degree of the expansion valve are controlled collaboratively in the control policy in Par. 91. Li et al. further discloses if the actual temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, a rotational speed of a compressor is increased in Par. 91.
Both Golubkov et al. in view of Cho et al., and Li et al. are analogous in the field of battery cooling systems, it would have been obvious for a person with ordinary skills in the art to modify the battery pack fire extinguishing system comprising a control unit and a compressor in Golubkov et al. in view of Choe et al. to include the control unit configured to increase the motor rotation speed of the compressor as taught by Li et al. because a higher rotational speed of the compressor causes a larger cooling capacity of the refrigeration cycle system as taught by Li et al. in Par. 91.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Flahaut et al. (DE102012214098A1) discloses the rotational speed of a compressor is controlled by the electronic control unit independent of the coolant temperature based on the battery temperature in accordance with the empirically determined, stored characteristic curve such that the thermal inertia of the battery cells and the vaporizer is taken into account, thus enabling reduction of cost of the battery.
Kim (US20230020687A1) discloses the battery management system may transmit an instruction for the cooling of the battery to the controller, and accordingly the controller may control the compressor to operate and control the chiller-side expansion valve to open.
Kinoshita (US20200243924A1) discloses when the temperature of the in-vehicle battery rises as the in-vehicle battery is fast charged by the external power supply, the rotation speed of the electric compressor is increased to the maximum rotation speed.
Carpenter (US20150013367A1) discloses when the battery circuit temperature sensor indicates to the controller that the battery circuit needs to be cooled, the controller can adjust the battery cooling expansion valve to provide a selected flow rate of refrigerant to the battery cooling heat exchanger. The controller may increase the speed of the compressor.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to COLIN M ZORIJ whose telephone number is (571)270-1658. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs: 8:00a-3:00p.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tong Guo can be reached at (571)272-3066. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/COLIN MICHAEL ZORIJ/Examiner, Art Unit 1723A
/TONG GUO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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