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
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Obasih et al. (USPUB 2013/0273829) in view of Kim et al. (USPUB 2019/0016232).
As to Claim 1, Obasih discloses a battery pack charging system, comprising: a charging base being disposed at a charging station; and a cooling structure disposed on the charging base and configured to cool the battery pack (Figure 6). Obasih does not expressly disclose being electrically connected to a battery pack to charge the battery pack when the battery pack is placed on the charging base. Kim discloses electrically connected to a battery pack to charge the battery pack when the battery pack is placed on the charging base (Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of this invention to add a charger, as disclosed by Kim, to the device of Obasih in order to allow for heating and cooling of the battery pack.
As to Claim 2, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, wherein the charging base and the cooling structure are integrally formed (Obasih Figure 6).
As to Claim 3, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, wherein the cooling structure comprises a cold plate, the cold plate being connected to the charging base (Obasih Figure 6).
As to Claim 4, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 3, wherein a size of the cold plate is larger than or equal to a size of the battery pack (Obasih Figure 3).
As to Claim 5, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, wherein the cooling structure comprises a groove, a bottom of the battery pack is a flat plate or comprises a protrusion, and the bottom of the battery pack is coupled with the groove of the cooling structure to form a flow channel (Obasih Figure 5).
As to Claim 6, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, wherein the cooling structure comprises a protrusion, a bottom of the battery pack is a flat plate, and the bottom of the battery pack is coupled with the protrusion of the cooling structure to form a flow channel (Obasih Figure 5).
As to Claim 7, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a heating plate or a protective plate, a size of the heating plate being larger than or equal to a size of the battery pack, and a size of the protective plate being larger than or equal to the size of the battery pack (Obasih Figure 6).
As to Claim 8, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 7, wherein the heating plate is at least one of a heating film or a heating plate (Kim Paragraph 64).
As to Claim 9, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, wherein a size of the charging base is larger than or equal to a size of the battery pack (Obasih Figure 6).
As to Claim 10, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack comprises a housing and a battery cell, the battery cell is disposed in the housing (Obasih Figure 5).
As to Claim 11, Obash and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 10, wherein the battery cell comprises at least one battery core assembly, and each of the at least one battery core assembly comprises at least one electrode core string (Obasih Figure 3).
As to Claim 12, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 10, wherein the housing comprises a housing body, the housing body comprises a top plate and a bottom plate, the top plate and the bottom plate are oppositely disposed in a height direction of the housing, a plurality of structural beams are disposed between the top plate and the bottom plate, each of the structural beams connects the top plate and the bottom plate, the structural beams divide an interior of the housing into a plurality of accommodating cavities, and each of the accommodating cavities is configured to accommodate one battery core assembly (Obasih Figure 5).
As to Claim 13, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 12, wherein the housing body is an integrally formed component, or the housing body and the structural beams are integrally formed (Obasih Figure 5).
As to Claim 14, Obasih and Kim disclose the battery pack charging system according to claim 10, but do not expressly disclose wherein a wall thickness of the housing is greater than or equal to about 2 mm, and the housing is made of a metal material. However, the Examiner takes official notice that choosing a thickness of a housing only requires routine skill in the art, and one would select a housing thickness based upon the structural requirements of the device.
As to Claim 15, Obasih discloses a charging apparatus, comprising a charging base, the charging base being disposed at a charging station, wherein the battery pack comprises a cooling structure disposed on the charging base and configured to cool the battery pack (Figure 6). Obasih does not expressly disclose the charging base comprising a charging interface for charging a battery pack, the charging interface being electrically connected to the battery pack to charge the battery pack when the battery pack is placed on the charging base. Kim discloses the charging base comprising a charging interface for charging a battery pack, the charging interface being electrically connected to the battery pack to charge the battery pack when the battery pack is placed on the charging base (Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of this invention to add a charger, as disclosed by Kim, to the device of Obasih in order to allow for heating and cooling of the battery pack.
As to Claim 16, Obasih and Kim disclose the charging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the charging base and the cooling structure are integrally formed (Obasih Figure 4).
As to Claim 17, Obasih and Kim disclose the charging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the cooling structure comprises a cold plate, the cold plate being connected to the charging base (Obasih Figure 6).
As to Claim 18, Obasih and Kim disclose the charging apparatus according to claim 17, wherein a size of the cold plate is larger than or equal to a size of the battery pack (Obasih Figure 6).
As to Claim 19, Obasih and Kim disclose the charging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the cooling structure comprises a groove, a bottom of the battery pack is a flat plate or comprises a protrusion, and the bottom of the battery pack is coupled with the groove of the cooling structure to form a flow channel (Obasih Figure 5).
As to Claim 20, Obasih and Kim disclose the charging apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the cooling structure comprises a protrusion, a bottom of the battery pack is a flat plate, and the bottom of the battery pack is coupled with the protrusion of the cooling structure to form a flow channel (Obasih Figure 5).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J GRANT whose telephone number is (571)270-5820. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 5:30pm.
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/ROBERT GRANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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