CTNF 18/546,079 CTNF 89143 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-09 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, 365(c), or 386(c) is acknowledged. Applicant has complied with all of the conditions for receiving the benefit of an earlier filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119(e). 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/10/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner. Drawings The drawings received on 08/10/2023 were reviewed and are acceptable. Specification The specification filed on 08/10/2023 was reviewed and is acceptable. Claim Objections 07-29-02 AIA The claims are objected to because they include reference characters which are not enclosed within parentheses. Reference characters corresponding to elements recited in the detailed description of the drawings and used in conjunction with the recitation of the same element or group of elements in the claims should be enclosed within parentheses so as to avoid confusion with other numbers or characters which may appear in the claims. See MPEP § 608.01(m). 07-29-01 AIA Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: “to the ambient” in line 9 should be replaced with something in order to be grammatically correct, e.g. --to the ambient environment --. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. 07-34-01 Claim(s) 6 is/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. 07-34-05 AIA Claim 6 recites the limitation “ the adjacent cell holders ” in line 2 . There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mehta et al. (US 2023/0207926 A1; hereinafter “Mehta”) . Regarding claim 1 , Mehta discloses a battery pack (Title) comprising: at least one cell holder (scaffolding 501) for holding a plurality of cells (502) ([0295]); an enclosure (housing 310) enclosing the at least one cell holder ([0295]), the enclosure having a central body (as shown in Fig 3); a front endplate (308) attached to a front of the central body (as shown in Fig 3), and a rear endplate (309) attached to a rear of the central body (as shown in Fig 3), wherein the central body includes at least one coolant port (inlet hole 412) for filling a coolant into the enclosure ([0289-0291]), and a heat sink (fins 306) for transferring heat from the coolant to the ambient ([0282]), and the front endplate is mounted with a pump (305) (as shown in Fig 3). Mehta further discloses that fans may be used to provide forced air convection across the surface of the housing ([0283]), but does not explicitly disclose where such fans are mounted, and therefore does not explicitly disclose that the front endplate is mounted with a fan. Mehta is analogous prior art to the current invention because they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely battery packs. Before the effective filing date of the current invention, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art that the fans must necessarily be mounted on the housing in order to provide forced convection across the housing, as suggested by Mehta, and would thus find it a simple matter of routine engineering to mount the fans on the “front endplate” (308) in order to force air across the heat exchanging fins along the sides of the housing (as shown in Fig 3). Regarding claim 2 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the coolant is a dielectric fluid ([0078]). Regarding claim 3 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the at least one cell holder is submerged in the coolant filled inside the enclosure ([0277]). Regarding claim 4 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the central body is adapted to substantially cover the at least one cell holder (as shown in Fig 3). Regarding claim 5 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the enclosure includes a coolant passage (flow paths 505) for the coolant to flow inside the enclosure (as shown in Fig 5A; [0295]). Regarding claim 6 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses an insulation sheet arranged between the adjacent cell holders (portions of scaffolding 501 between individual cells, as shown in Fig 6; see also [0295] which describes the scaffolding as plastic, an insulator) and between the at least one cell holder and an inner surface of the central body (not explicitly shown, but as necessarily included in the scaffolding in order to support the scaffolding within the housing, i.e. scaffolding portions necessarily supporting the scaffolding in the housing so that the scaffolding does not “float” in the housing) Regarding claim 7 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the central body includes a plurality of protrusion on an outer surface, the plurality of protrusions include a hole for fastening the front endplate and the rear endplate to the front and rear, respectively (see [0278, 0342] which describes bolting portions of the housing together and serve to fasten the endplates). Regarding claim 8 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the front endplate and the rear endplate are attached to the front and the rear, respectively, of the central body via at least one gasket sealant (gaskets 522/526/528, [0320]; see also [0082, 0287]) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mehta et al. (US 2023/0207926 A1; hereinafter “Mehta”), as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Grace et al. (US 2018/0118011 A1; hereinafter “Grace”) . Regarding claim 9 , Mehta discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Mehta further discloses that the battery pack is typically used in a vehicle ([0380]), but does not appear to be particularly concerned with the actual use in a vehicle, and therefore does not disclose that the front endplate is adapted to house a high voltage connector. Grace teaches a battery system of an electric vehicle (Title). Grace teaches that the battery casing also includes electrical circuits, e.g. high voltage lines, and related accessories, e.g. fuses, that direct current during recharging and discharging ([0027]). Grace analogous prior art to the current invention because they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely battery packs. Before the effective filing date of the current invention, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to routinely incorporate at least high voltage lines and any fuses into the front endplate of Mehta, with the reasonable expectation that doing so would allow for the battery pack to be used in a vehicle, and to facilitate charging/discharging of the battery pack, as suggested by Grace . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure : Bourke et al. (US 2007/0087266 A1) discloses a modular battery system; Kim et al. (US 2016/0372805 A1) discloses a battery pack; and Rittner et al. (US 2018/0183114 A1) discloses a battery module assembly. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M ERWIN whose telephone number is (571)272-3101. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6am-3pm PDT. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at 571-270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /JAMES M ERWIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725 03/27/2026 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 2 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 3 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 4 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 5 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 6 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 7 Art Unit: 1725 Application/Control Number: 18/546,079 Page 8 Art Unit: 1725