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 1-6, 12-16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20240055686-A1 (P) in view of US-20180212222-A1 (B), US-20210399355-A1 (D), and US-20210328249-A1 (S).
Regarding claim 1, P teaches a battery module (204), comprising: a set of battery cells (220) organized in an array such that top surfaces of the battery cells are substantially coplanar and bottom surfaces of the battery cells are substantially coplanar (see Fig. 6, showing the array and wiring scheme from the top, and Fig. 10, which is a perspective view); a first non-conductive layer (1604, TRP) abutting the top surfaces of the battery cells, the first non-conductive layer comprising, for each battery cell, an opening aligned with the top surface of the battery cell (1616); a first set of leads (432) electrically coupling to the top surfaces (308) of the battery cells. While P does not explicitly teach that the leads go through the openings of the first non-conductive layer, because the positive terminals (316) are located inside of the openings (see Fig. 16, top right blown up image), the leads must also be in order to make contact with them. P teaches a second set of leads (436) electrically coupling to the bottom surfaces (312) of the battery cells, as well as a second nonconductive layer (1604, see [0075] for the case where the cells face both ways) which must have openings in it to hold the second set of leads. P teaches a first thermally conductive plate (1704) comprising interior fluid channels (1718) for heat dissipation, the first thermally conductive plate forming an outside top surface of the battery module (1704 is placed on top of the TRP so it forms the top of the battery module).
P does not teach an insulating layer separating the individual battery cells.
B teaches an energy storage system [0022] with an array of battery cells (see Fig. 2) which are separated by an interstitial layer (300) that thermally insulates the battery cells from heat generated by other battery cells [0029]. B teaches another benefit of this is it prevents discharge gas from affecting other battery cells [0029] which is beneficial because such discharge gas can damage cells [0002]. B teaches the interstitial layer is electrically insulating [0029].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the instant invention to put the interstitial layer of B in the battery module of P in order to prevent discharge gas from the cells of P from affecting adjacent cells. It would have been obvious to do so because B teaches a clear benefit of protecting adjacent cells from the discharge gas of other cells, as well as because B and P are in the same field of battery modules and battery module cooling systems.
P does not teach a second thermally conductive plate comprising interior fluid channels for heat dissipation, the second thermally conductive plate forming an outside bottom surface of the battery module.
D teaches a battery module cooling system [0060], comprising: a first cooling plate (100) thermally coupled to a top surface of an array of battery cells and a second cooling plate (110) thermally coupled to a bottom surface of the array of battery cells.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to place a second cooling plate (1704) on the bottom side of the array of battery cells of P because D teaches that there is a need to increase power density of batteries [0014] which can be achieved by adding a second cooling plate [0072].
P does not teach a first set of thermally conductive, compressible beads aligned with the top surfaces of the battery cells which are compressed by the first thermally conductive plate into the top surfaces of the battery cells through the first non-conductive layer. P also does not teach a second set of thermally-conductive, compressible beads.
S teaches a battery module (1) and module support (2) where a bead of thermally-conductive
compound (18) is compressed to fill in the gap between the battery module and module support [0023].
S teaches this is a known practice for creating a thermal interface in the art of battery coolant
systems [0003].
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of
the instant invention to apply the thermal interface layer of S to the top and bottoms surfaces of P and D. It would have been obvious to do because the use of compressible thermal interface compounds was known in the field of battery cooling elements as a method of providing a conductive thermal interface between components (S, [0002]), and P and D teach nothing to suggest that this would not be applicable.
In the implementation of the thermal interface compound of S to the first and second cooling plates of P and D, the thermal interface compound will be compressed because that is what is taught by S [0023]. In this compression, the thermal interface compound fills the openings (1616) in the nonconductive layers to provide a thermal interface between the battery cells and the cooling plates.
Claim 1 is therefore unpatentable over the combination of P, B, D, and S.
Regarding claim 2, P teaches the set of battery cells comprises a plurality of subsets of battery cells (404, 408), each of the plurality of subsets of battery cells including a predetermined number of adjacent battery cells (4 in this case, see Fig. 4), the plurality of subsets of battery cells comprising a first subset of battery cells (404) and a second subset of battery cells (408), positive potential terminals (316 in Fig. 3A, 416 in Fig. 4) of the first subset of battery cells correspond to top surfaces of the first subset of battery cells (surfaces face towards the viewpoint of Fig. 4), negative potential terminals (320 in Fig. 3A, 420 in Fig. 4) of the first subset of battery cells correspond to bottom surfaces (surfaces facing away from viewpoint of Fig. 4) of the first subset of battery cells, positive potential terminals of the second subset of battery cells correspond to bottom surfaces (surfaces facing away from the viewpoint of Fig. 4) of the second subset of battery cells , and negative potential terminals of the second subset of battery cells correspond to top surfaces (surfaces facing towards the viewpoint of Fig. 4) of the second subset of battery cells.
Regarding claim 3, P teaches the first non-conductive layer comprises: a first separation portion abutting top surfaces of the first subset of battery cells; and a second separation portion abutting top surfaces of the second subset of battery cells, and wherein the second non-conductive layer comprises: a third separation portion abutting bottom surfaces of the first subset of battery cells; and a fourth separation portion abutting bottom surfaces of the second subset of battery cells.
P teaches a first and a second non-conductive layer (1604, TRP blanket, [0075]). P teaches the first non-conductive layer covers all of the cells in the battery module on one side (see Fig. 16). This means that the first non-conductive layer includes a portion that covers the cells with the positive terminals facing upward on the top surface and the cells with the negative terminals facing upward on the bottom surface. This means the first conductive layer includes a first separation portion abutting the top surfaces of the first subset of cells and a second separation portion abutting top surfaces of the second subset of battery cells. P teaches the second non-conductive layer must cover the positive terminals of the batteries where the positive terminals face downward [0075]. This, taken with the language “may include two TRP blankets” [0075], means the second blanket must cover all of the cells the same as the first. This means the second non-conductive layer comprises: a third separation portion abutting bottom surfaces of the first subset of battery cells; and a fourth separation portion abutting bottom surfaces of the second subset of battery cells.
Regarding claim 4, P teaches the first set of leads comprise a first subset of leads (424 facing upwards for the first row, 436 for rows labeled 404, [0066]), each of which is electrically coupled to one of the positive terminals of the first subset of battery cells (rows labeled 404 are the first subset) [0066], the second set of leads comprise a second subset of leads (432 in rows labeled 404, see Fig. 4, [0066]), each of which is electrically coupled to one of the negative terminals of the first subset of battery cells [0066], and the first subset of leads are electrically coupled to each other (see Fig. 4, the leads connect to 416 for the first row, and to 428 for the rest of the rows labeled 404 [0066]), and the second subset of leads are electrically coupled to each other (see Fig. 4, the leads connect to 428), causing the first subset of battery cells to be electrically connected to each other in parallel. See annotated versions of Fig. 4 below for added clarity.
Regarding claim 5, the first set of leads comprise a third subset of leads (432 for rows labeled 408), each of which is electrically coupled to one of the negative terminals of the second subset of battery cells (rows labeled 408 are the second subset), the second set of leads comprise a fourth subset of leads (436 for rows labeled 408), each of which is electrically coupled to one of the positive terminals of the second subset of battery cells, the third subset of leads are electrically coupled to each other (436 connect to 428), and the fourth subset of leads are electrically coupled to each other (432 connect to 428), causing the second subset of battery cells to be electrically connected to each other in parallel. See [0066] for written description of this. See also annotated versions of Fig. 4 below for added clarity.
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Regarding claim 6, P teaches each bus bar (428) is connected to one second subset of leads (436 connected to row 404) and one fourth subset of leads (432 connected to row 408), causing the first subset of cells (404) and the second subset of cells (408) to be connected in series [0066].
Regarding claim 12, P teaches a positive potential terminal (416) and a negative potential terminal (420) configured to output a combined voltage of the set of battery cells (416 and 420 are connected via a series chain of subsets of battery cells so they must be configured to output a combined voltage of the set of battery cells).
Regarding claim 13, P teaches the battery module is configured to be connected to one or more additional battery modules via the positive potential terminal and the negative potential terminal (see Fig 12, [0070].
Regarding claim 14, P teaches the battery module is configured to be connected to at least one of the one or more additional battery modules in parallel [0070].
Regarding claim 15, P teaches the battery module is configured to be connected to at least one of the one or more additional battery modules in series [0070].
Regarding claim 16, P teaches the batteries may be arranged in a honeycomb pattern ([0064], “hexagonal”). A hexagonal arrangement of cells meets all of the requirements of claim 16 of the instant.
Regarding claim 20, as explained in the rejection of claim 1, the interstitial layer of B is thermally insulating, so heat would be prevented from moving between individual cells easily and instead move towards the cold plates on the top and bottom of the surfaces more easily. This renders claim 20 of the instant unpatentable.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20240055686-A1 (P) in view of US-20180212222-A1 (B), US-20210399355-A1 (D), US-20210328249-A1 (S), and in further view of US-20200076022-A1 (K).
Regarding claim 7, P teaches a plurality of first bus bars (428 which are connected to the first subset and third subset of leads, see Fig. 4) which are coupled to the first subset of leads and the third subset of leads. P teaches a plurality of second bus bars (428 which are connected to the first and third subset of leads, see Fig. 4) which are coupled to the second subset of leads and fourth subset of leads.
P is silent to the specific structure of the bus bars.
K teaches a battery pack (entirety of Fig. 2) with battery cells (1), each with a positive terminal (1x) on one side of the cell and a negative terminal (1y) on the other side. K teaches groupings of batteries with one group having an orientation where the positive terminals face upwards and another group having an orientation where the positive terminals face downwards (see Fig. 2). K teaches busbars (3) which are on either side of the battery cells (see Fig. 1). K teaches the bus bars have openings (3F) that corresponds to fixed terminals (3A) which are coupled to electrode terminals 1x or 1y on one end of the fixed terminal. K teaches on the other end the fixed terminals are coupled to an edge of a corresponding opening (see annotated Fig. 7 below). K teaches two types of fixed terminals, one connects to the negative terminal (3Ab) and one connects to the positive terminal (3Ab) [0054]. The first set of leads of P corresponds to the fixed terminals of the bus bar on top of the battery cells of K. This meets the requirements for the first set of leads of P because it includes connecting parts (3Aa, 3Ab) that create same connections as the first and third subsets of leads. The second set of leads corresponds to the fixed terminals of the bus bar on the bottom of the battery cells of K. This meets requirements of P because it includes connecting parts (3Aa, 3Ab) that create the same connections as the second and fourth subsets of leads.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the instant invention to use the bus bars of K as the specific structure for the bus bars of P. It would have been obvious because it would amount to no more than using a known design for a bus bar for a battery pack where cells alternate orientation row by row in an invention where no specific design for a bus bar was provided. The bus bar of K provides the required connections specified by P so it is an applicable specific structure for the generic design of bus bar of P.
Claim 7 is unpatentable over the combination of P, B, D, S, and K.
Regarding claim 8, P teaches two particular first busbars that are electrically isolated from each other, the first subset of leads are electrically coupled to one of the two particular first busbars, and the third subset of leads are electrically coupled to another one of the two particular first busbars (see annotated Fig. 4 below).
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Regarding claim 9, P teaches the one or more second busbars comprise a particular second busbar, and the second subset of leads and the fourth subset of leads are both electrically coupled to the particular second busbar (see annotated Fig. 4 below).
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Claim 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20240055686-A1 (P) in view of US-20180212222-A1 (B), US-20210399355-A1 (D), US-20210328249-A1 (S), US-20200076022-A1 (K), and in further view of US-4966672-A (L).
Regarding claims 10-11, K teaches the bus bars and leads are formed from a conductive metal but does not specify a specific metal.
L teaches bus bars may be made of nickel plated copper (C5/L5-10).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the instant invention to use copper as the material for the bus bars and leads of K because K specifies no specific metal and L teaches that copper is a known material for bus bars. It would have been obvious because doing so would amount to no more than selecting a known conductive material for a bus bar and leads in a case where none was specified. K additionally teaches no reason why copper may not be used.
Claims 10 and 11 are therefore unpatentable over the combination of P, B, D, S, K, and L.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-20240055686-A1 (P) in view of US-20180212222-A1 (B), in further view of US-20210399355-A1 (D), in further view of US-20210328249-A1 (S), and in further view of US-20160218401-A1 (H).
Regarding claim 17, P teaches a battery module for use in a vehicle [0002].
P does not teach specifically 18 cells in a row and instead teaches any number may be used [0064].
H teaches a battery module that may be used in a vehicle [0049] with eighteen cells in a row [0079].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the instant invention to create rows of 18 cells in the battery module of P because 18 was a known amount of cells that can be placed in a row as evidenced by H. It would have been obvious to do so because doing so would amount to no more than electing a known number of cells in a row in a case where none were specified and any may be used.
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US-
20240055733-A1 (P) in view of US-20210399355-A1 (D), and in further view of US-20210328249-A1 (S), and in further view of US-20050197436-A1 (CZ).
Regarding claim 18, the teachings P, B, D, and S are explained in the rejection of claim
1.
S does not disclose the material of the thermally conductive beads.
However, CZ teaches a flame-resistant material (Abstract) including a layer of polymer
composite comprising silicone polymer [0007]. CZ teaches there is a benefit to improving flame
resistance of thermal interface materials [0005].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of
the instant invention to form the thermal interface layer of S with the material of CZ to achieve the
benefit of improved flame resistance. This would have been obvious to do because S does not teach a
material for the thermally conductive beads, and therefore using the material of CZ would amount to no
more than selecting a known material in the art in a procedure where no material is specified in order to
achieve a predictable result and known benefits.
Regarding claim 19, the teachings of the combination of P, B, D, S, and CZ are explained in the rejection of claim 18. This combination further teaches the thermal interface layer comprises a fire-resistant layer [0006].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LOUISE JAMES IANNUCCI whose telephone number is (571)272-6917. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M..
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/LOUISE JAMES IANNUCCI/Examiner, Art Unit 1721
/ALLISON BOURKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1721
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