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 .
2. Claims 1-15 are pending in this office action.
Priority
3. Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. Information disclosure statements (IDS), submitted November 27, 2023, and September 25, 2024, have been received and considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Claims 1, 4, 5 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yu et al. (CN113314794A).
With regard to Claim 1, Yu et al. disclose in Figures 1-2, a battery box assembly, comprising: a thermal management component, called a water-cooling plate (3), configured to regulate temperature of a battery module; a frame, called a lower casing (2), fixed to an edge region of the thermal management component (3); a top cover, called an upper casing (1), covering the frame (2) and forming, together with the frame (2) and the thermal management component (3), a box, called a first airtight cavity (100), for accommodating the battery module; a bottom protective plate, called a bottom shield (4), fixed to the thermal management component (3) in a direction away from the battery module and spaced from the thermal management component (3) to form a sealed space, called a second airtight cavity (200); and an airflow pipeline, called a first connecting pipe (62), arranged inside the box, wherein the airflow pipeline (62) communicates with the sealed space (200) on one end and communicates with the outside of the box, via vent valve (61), on the other end (paragraphs 0026-0028, 0034-0035).
With regard to Claim 4, Yu et al. disclose in Figure 2, wherein the frame (2) is provided with a balancing valve assembly, called a vent valve (61), allowing communication between the inside of the box (200) and the outside of the box (200), the airflow pipeline (62) communicates with the outside of the box (200) on the other end via the balancing valve assembly (61) (paragraphs 0034-0035).
With regard to Claim 5, Yu et al. disclose in Figure 2, wherein the balancing valve assembly (61) comprises a balancing valve body (61) and a connector portion, called a second connecting pipe (63), communicating with the balancing valve body (61), the connector portion (63) is embedded inside the frame (2), the balancing valve body (61) extends out of the box (200), and the airflow pipeline (62) communicates with the balancing valve body (61) via the connector portion (63) (paragraphs 0034-0035).
With regard to Claim 13, Yu et al. disclose in Figures 1-3, a battery, comprising the battery box assembly noted above (paragraph 0026).
With regard to Claim 14, Yu et al. disclose in Figures 1-2, a method for manufacturing a battery box assembly, comprising: providing a thermal management component, called a water-cooling plate (3), configured to regulate temperature of a battery module; providing a frame, called a lower casing (2), fixed to an edge region of the thermal management component (3); providing a top cover, called an upper casing (1), covering the frame (2) and forming, together with the frame (2) and the thermal management component (3), a box, called a first airtight cavity (100), for accommodating the battery module; providing a bottom protective plate, called a bottom shield (4), fixed to the thermal management component (3) in a direction away from the battery module and spaced from the thermal management component (3) to form a sealed space, called a second airtight cavity (200); and providing an airflow pipeline, called a first connecting pipe (62), wherein the airflow pipeline (62) is arranged inside the box, and the airflow pipeline (62) communicates with the sealed space (200) on one end and communicates with the outside of the box on the other end, via vent valve (61) (paragraphs 0026-0028, 0034-0035).
With regard to Claim 15, Yu et al. disclose in Figure 2, providing, on the frame (2), a balancing valve assembly, called a vent valve (61), communicating with the outside of the box; and connecting the other end of the airflow pipeline (62) communicatively to the balancing valve assembly (61) (paragraphs 0034-0035).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Claims 2, 3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu et a. (CN113314794A), as applied to Claims 1, 4, 5 and 13-15 above, and in further view of Yu et al. (CN214505684U).
With regard to Claim 2, Yu et al. ‘794 disclose the battery box assembly in paragraph 7 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein the thermal management component is provided with a connector running through the thermal management component and communicating with the sealed space, wherein the airflow pipeline communicates with the sealed space on one end via the connector.
Yu et al. ‘684 disclose in Figures 1-2, a thermal management component, including a hydrocooling plate (7), configured to regulate temperature of a battery module; a frame, called a lower shell (10), fixed to an edge region of the thermal management component (7); a box, or cavity (4), for accommodating the battery module; an airflow pipe, called an adapter (51), and a ventilation structure (5) that is connected to the cavity (4) (paragraph 0032). Yu et al. ‘684 disclose wherein the thermal management component (7) is provided with a connector, including a connecting pipe (52), running through the thermal management component (7) and communicating with the sealed space, or cavity (4), wherein the airflow pipeline (51) communicates with the sealed space (4) on one end via the connector (52) (paragraphs 0032-0033, 0035-0037). Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the battery box assembly of Yu et al. ‘794 to include a connector running through the thermal management component and communicating with the sealed space, wherein the airflow pipeline communicates with the sealed space on one end via the connector, because Yu et al. ‘684 teach that this configuration prevent the battery pack from being damaged by contact with external water, effectively improve safety performance, and improve the sealing reliability of the battery pack (paragraph 0014).
With regard to Claim 3, Yu et al. ‘794 disclose the battery box assembly in paragraph 7 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein the connector is a male connector, wherein the male connector comprises a tubular portion with one end running through the thermal management component and communicating with the scaled space and the other end embedded inside the airflow pipeline, and/or the male connector comprises a limiting flange protruding from an outer wall of the tubular portion, the limiting flange abuts against and is fixed to a side surface of the thermal management component facing away from the bottom protective plate.
Yu et al. ‘684 disclose in Figures 1-2, a thermal management component, including a hydrocooling plate (7), configured to regulate temperature of a battery module; a frame, called a lower shell (10), fixed to an edge region of the thermal management component (7); a box, or cavity (4), for accommodating the battery module; an airflow pipe, called a connector (211), and a ventilation structure (5) that is connected to the cavity (4) (paragraphs 0032, 0037). Yu et al. ‘684 disclose wherein the connector (52) is a male connector, wherein the male connector comprises a tubular portion, called a connecting pipe (521, 522), with one end running through the thermal management component (7) and communicating with the scaled space (4) at connector (211), and the other end embedded inside the airflow pipeline (51) at the rotating joint (512) (paragraphs 0037-0038). Before the effective fling date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the battery box assembly of Yu et al. ‘794 to include the connector being a male connector, wherein the male connector comprises a tubular portion with one end running through the thermal management component and communicating with the scaled space and the other end embedded inside the airflow pipeline, and/or the male connector comprises a limiting flange protruding from an outer wall of the tubular portion, the limiting flange abuts against and is fixed to a side surface of the thermal management component facing away from the bottom protective plate, because Yu et al. ‘684 teach that this configuration prevent the battery pack from being damaged by contact with external water, effectively improve safety performance, and improve the sealing reliability of the battery pack (paragraph 0014).
With regard to Claim 6, Yu et al. ‘794 disclose the battery box assembly in paragraph 7 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein the connector portion is a male connector, and an end of the airflow pipeline connected to the connector portion is a female connector, wherein the female connector extends into the frame and is in snap-fit with an inner side wall of the frame.
Yu et al. ‘684 disclose in Figures 1-2, a thermal management component, including a hydrocooling plate (7), configured to regulate temperature of a battery module; a frame, called a lower shell (10), fixed to an edge region of the thermal management component (7); a box, or cavity (4), for accommodating the battery module; an airflow pipe, called a connector (211), and a ventilation structure (5) that is connected to the cavity (4) (paragraphs 0032, 0037). Yu et al. ‘684 disclose wherein the connector portion (52) is a male connector, and an end of the airflow pipeline (51) connected to the connector portion (52) is a female connector, wherein the female connector extends into the frame (10) and is in snap-fit with an inner side wall of the frame (10) at connecting hole (21) (paragraphs 0037-0038). Before the effective fling date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the battery box assembly of Yu et al. ‘794 to include the connector portion being a male connector, and an end of the airflow pipeline connected to the connector portion is a female connector, wherein the female connector extends into the frame and is in snap-fit with an inner side wall of the frame, because Yu et al. ‘684 teach that this configuration prevent the battery pack from being damaged by contact with external water, effectively improve safety performance, and improve the sealing reliability of the battery pack (paragraph 0014).
Allowable Subject Matter
12. Claims 7-12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
13. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art, Yu et al. (CN113314794A), do not teach or fairly suggest the battery box assembly wherein the balancing valve body comprises: a body portion, wherein the body portion comprises a bottom wall attached to an outer surface of the frame, an annular side wall bendingly extending from the bottom wall toward a direction leaving the frame and enclosing a chamber, a first opening made into the bottom wall and allowing the chamber to communicate with the connector portion, and a second opening enclosed by the annular side wall and opposite the first opening; a first sealing ring sandwiched between the outer surface of the frame and the bottom wall; a waterproof breathable film disposed inside the chamber and separating the first opening and the second opening on two opposite sides; a protective cover covering the second opening; and an air vent made into the annular side wall, wherein the air vent and the second opening are located on the same side of the waterproof breathable film; wherein a fixing portion having a threaded hole protrudes from the body portion, and the balancing valve assembly further comprises a bolt, wherein the fixing portion is fixed to the frame via the threaded hole by the bolt; wherein an air hole communicating with the airflow pipeline and the chamber runs through the connector portion, and a snap-fit slot is provided on an outer surface of the connector portion, wherein the airflow pipeline sleeves the periphery of the connector portion and is snap fitted into the snap-fit slot; wherein a second sealing ring is sandwiched between the connector portion and the airflow pipeline sleeving the periphery of the connector portion; wherein the bottom wall is provided with a runway-shaped groove for accommodating the first sealing ring, wherein the first sealing ring is runway-shaped; and wherein the airflow pipeline further comprises an elbow connector, a straight connector, and a corrugated pipe, wherein the corrugated pipe is located between the elbow connector and the straight connector and allows the elbow connector to communicate with the straight connector, wherein the elbow connector communicates with the sealed space, and the straight connector communicates with the outside of the box.
Conclusion
14. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARIE O APICELLA whose telephone number is (571)272-8614. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 5:00PM EST.
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/KARIE O'NEILL APICELLA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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