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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: In Paragraph [0046], the phrasing of “as will be incused in more detail below” is improper. Based on the context of the paragraph, “incused” should be changed to “described” or “discussed”.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 4-8 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.
Claim 4 recites the limitation "at least one metal plate" in the third line. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim as previous limitation describes “at least one thin metal plate”. Further claims consistently refer to “thin metal plate(s)”, so this is the phrasing which has been used for examination. Claims 5-8 are also rejected by virtue of their dependency on Claim 4. Replacing “at least one metal plate” with “at least one thin metal plate” will overcome the rejection for Claim 4 and its dependent claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 8, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Choi et al (EP 2698847 A1).
Regarding Claim 1,
Choi teaches a battery pack, comprising a first battery module (10a; Paragraph [0072]; Figure 6), including first battery cells (100; Paragraph [0072]; Figure 6), and a first bus bar (200a; Paragraph [0072]; Figure 6); a second battery module (10b; Paragraph [0072]; Figure 6), including battery cells (100; Paragraph [0072]; Figure 6), and a second bus bar (200b; Paragraph [0072]; Figure 6). Choi also teaches a conductive connector (connecting bar 20; Paragraph [0073]; Figure 6), connected to the first bus bar and the second bus bar, the conductive conductor including a first connection portion (first metal plate 21; Paragraph [0073]; Figure 6) connected to the first bus bar, a second connection portion (second metal plate 22; Paragraph [0073]; Figure 6) connected to the second bus bar, and a displacement portion (metal bridge 23; Paragraph [0073]; Figure 6) between the first connection portion and the second portion. The metal bridge 23 can be repositioned in relation to X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions as seen in Figures 8a-14b.
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Regarding Claim 2,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the displacement portion includes a flexible structure having a concave portion and a convex portion that are alternately positioned. The metal bridge 23 can be made up of various metal alloys which allow for some level of flexibility (Paragraph [0077]) and an embodiment (Figure 9b) shows the connecting bar 20 with alternating convex and concave portions.
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Regarding Claim 3,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 2, wherein the conductive connector has a bar shape, and each of the concave portion and the convex portion protrudes in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the conductive connector. The connecting bar 20 can be constructed in various shapes and the embodiment in Figure 9b shows the convex and concave portions protruding perpendicularly from the longitudinal direction of the connecting bar 20 (Paragraph [0089]; Figure 9b).
Regarding Claim 4,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 3, wherein the conductive connector includes at least one thin metal plate, the concave portion and the convex portion protrude to opposite directions relative to the at least one metal plate. The connecting bar 20 is constructed of metal plates 21-23 (Paragraph [0073]) and the embodiment in Figure 9b shows concave and convex portions protruding in opposite directions.
Regarding Claim 5,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 4, wherein the conductive connector includes a plurality of thin metal plates. The connecting bar 20 consists of a first metal plate 21, a second metal plate 22, and a metal bridge 23 (Paragraph [0073]).
Regarding Claim 8,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 4, wherein the at least one thin metal plate includes aluminum. The bus bar 200 attached to the cathode lead 111 is preferably made of aluminum and the metal plates 21/22 are preferably made of the same material as the respective bus bars 200a/b to which they are attached (Paragraphs [0063] and [0073]).
Regarding Claim 14,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a frame having a space accommodating the first battery module and the second battery module, the conductive connector being positioned outside the frame. Figure 2 shows the connecting bar 20 located outside the frame of the battery modules 10.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Dawson et al (US 20250300323 A1).
Regarding Claim 6,
Choi teaches Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 5 and Figures 11a-c depict embodiments of the connecting bar 20 arranged with stacked metal plates. However, Choi does not teach a specific number of 8-10 stacked plates. However, Dawson teaches a stack of 10 copper conductors to form a busbar 200 connecting two battery modules (Paragraph [0110]). As stacking metal plates to form conductive connectors is a known technique it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the connecting bar 20 taught by Choi to be made up of 10 thin metal plates as taught by Dawson.
Regarding Claim 13,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 1, but does not specifically teach the conductive connector 20 as accommodating displacement between the first battery module 10a and second battery module 10a. However, Dawson teaches an elastically deformable battery module connector system 100 comprising a busbar 200 with an elastically deformable intermediate portion 410. This elastically deformable intermediate portion 410 allows for compression, expansion, and adjustment to minor displacements in the X, Y, and Z-axis directions (Paragraph [0094]; Figure 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the connecting bar of Choi to include the elastically deformable intermediate portion of Dawson in order to accommodate displacement of battery modules and improve the system’s reliability and performance.
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Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Sasaki et al (US 20230125103 A1).
Regarding Claim 7,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 5, but does not teach that the thickness of the plates is 0.2 mm. However, Sasaki teaches a bus bar 130 made of one plate with a thickness between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm. As the instant case plate thickness of 0.2 mm lies inside the range of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm taught by Sasaki, a prima facie case of obviousness exists, therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used this plate thickness.
Claims 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in view of Nobuhira et al (US 20210036296 A1).
Regarding Claims 9-12,
Choi teaches the battery pack as claimed in claim 1, but does not teach conductive dampers. Nobuhira teaches a bus bar 3 assembly comprising a first bus bar 310 connected to electrode terminals 2 and a second bus bar 320 connected to multiple first bus bars 310. The first bus bar 310 includes an intermediate piece 312/315 connecting the terminal connection to the first flat portion 313 which is connected to the second flat portion 323 on the second bus bar 320 (Paragraphs [0064-0068]; Figure 5). Further, Nobuhira teaches the intermediate piece 312/315 connected to the first bus bar 310 and the first flat portion 313 having a free edge away from the first busbar 310 (Paragraph [0055]; Figure 5). Nobuhira further teaches the intermediate piece 312/315 and the first flat portion 313 as being bent from the same plate as the first bus bar 310 (Paragraph [0055]) and the first flat portion 313 being fixed to the second flat portion 323 of the second bus bar 320 via welding or mechanical connection (Paragraph [0066]). Nobuhira describes tolerance to displacement in the X, Y, and Z directions as advantages of this structure (Paragraphs [0057-59]), therefore it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the structure of Nobuhira to connect bus bars of separate battery modules.
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Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN M KNOWLAN whose telephone number is (571)270-0913. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00am - 4:30pm.
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/K.M.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1783
/MARIA V EWALD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1783
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