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 .
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.
Specification
The specification and drawings have been reviewed and no clear informalities or objections have been noted.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 7/14/2026 is acknowledged. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have cancelled all non-elected inventions. All claims in their current form will be examined.
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.
Claim 2 is 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.
In claim 2, Applicant claims “the pressure sensor is arranged on a plurality of cell measurement boards”. However, in claim 1, Applicant claims “the pressure sensor is on the central secondary board in the switch box”. This renders the claim indefinite as it is not clear where the pressure sensor is located…. Either on a plurality of boards or on the central secondary board. Clarification is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-7 and 10-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grace (EP 3333965 A2) and Gallegos (US 2012/0105001) in view of Chen (CN 207459766 U with references made to the machine translation).
Regarding Claims 1 and 10, Grace discloses a battery, in the form of a high-voltage battery (such as a battery for an electric vehicle, see abstract), comprising at least the following battery elements:
a cell compartment with a plurality of cell modules (see Fig. 3 which illustrates several battery modules 30 which include a plurality of cells 50) and associated cell measurement boards (see paragraph 11 which discloses the BMS of US 2012/0105001 (Gallegos, which is entirely incorporated by reference) can be used and Gallegos teaches a local module unit for each battery that comprises a board which includes a plurality of sensors, see Fig. 12 and paragraph 120 of Gallegos),
a main control unit (BMS 60) with a main board, a main processor and a plurality of electronic elements (as described in paragraph 11),
a pressure sensor is provided for measuring a pressure in the battery interior (34c, see paragraph 20).
Grace, however, does not teach a switch box which comprises two contactors for a HV+ line and a HV- line, wherein a pressure sensor is provided for measuring a pressure in the battery interior, and wherein the pressure sensor is arranged outside the main board and in the switch box,
wherein the pressure sensor is arranged on a central secondary board which is attached in the switch box.
Chen also discloses a battery module (see abstract).
Chen, like Grace, teaches a battery control system (as described in lines 46-53). Chen goes on to teach a control system comprising a switch box where the switch box contains high voltage contactors (HV+ contactor is the positive relay 8 and HV- contactor is negative relay 9). Chen also teaches that this switch box teaches a voltage, current and temperature acquisition and is separate from and communicates with the main control board (see claims 1 and 7-9 of Chen). Chen teaches such a switch box configuration in order to provide a compact, integrated high voltage battery switching and monitoring assembly in which the positive and negative high voltage switching devices and the electronics/sensors used to monitor the battery system are collected on the same board.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to provide the switching box of Chen to the battery of Grace in order to provide a compact, integrated high voltage battery switching and monitoring assembly in which the positive and negative high voltage switching devices and the electronics/sensors used to monitor the battery system are collected and placed on a secondary board. Such a modification would place the switching box of modified Grace on a separate board than the main BMS control system as suggested by Chen.
Regarding claim 2, Grace further discloses the pressure sensor is arranged on a plurality of cell measurement boards (each cell has a pressure sensor 34c on a board, as depicted in Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 3, Grace further discloses a temperature sensor (34a) is provided on at least one of the cell measurement boards, wherein the temperature sensor is arranged at least one of: on the same cell measurement board and on a cell measurement board of an adjacent cell module (combined with Chen above, modified Grace teaches all the measurement sensors displaced on the same board).
Regarding claim 5, Grace, as modified by Chen, further discloses at least one high-voltage element is arranged in the switch box (both high voltage relays 8 and 9 of Chen are within the switch box), wherein the high- voltage element is arranged on at least one of: the secondary board and a separate high-voltage board (the switches are located on a board along with the other sensors, as described in the rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 6, Grace further discloses wherein at least one of:
the secondary board and the high-voltage board has a µ secondary processor (see Gallegos paragraph 119 which teaches a microprocessor/processor located on the board with the sensors called the LMU and this board is the secondary board which comprises a processor).
Regarding claim 7, Grace further discloses the battery has an outer battery housing and the battery elements are arranged inside the outer battery housing (see Fig. 2 which illustrates a housing around the battery pack).
Regarding claim 11, Grace, as modified above, further discloses all high- voltage elements are arranged in the switch box (both the HV+ and HV- switches are located in the switch box of modified Grace, as discussed above).
Regarding claim 12, Grace, as modified above, further discloses the high- voltage elements are at least one of: galvanically isolated analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and voltage measuring elements (Grace, as modified by Chen, teaches that the sensors in the switch box along with the HV lines are voltage sensors, see lines 132-136 of Chen).
Claim(s) 8 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Grace (EP 3333965 A2) and Gallegos (US 2012/0105001) in view of Chen (CN 207459766 U with references made to the machine translation) and further in view of Youngs (US 2014/0017530).
Regarding claims 8 and 13, Grace, as modified above, teaches a switch box, but is silent regarding a switch box that is completely closed.
Youngs also discloses a battery system for a vehicle (see abstract).
Youngs, like modified Grace, teaches a HV junction box (308) where the HV lines are placed and sealed inside a box (with seal 1006 and plate 702, see paragraph 71). Youngs teaches sealing this to prevent moisture and particles from entering the HV junction area.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to add the seal of Youngs to the switch box of modified Grace in order to prevent moisture and particles from entering the HV junction/switch area.
Relevant Prior Art
US 2013/0260192 – Discloses sealed pressure sensors inside a sealed multi-cell pack to determine internal pressure tied to a thermal runaway event, similar to the instant disclosure.
US 2015/0132616 – Discloses an internal battery sensor which detects pressure and communicates to a separate BMS control unit which determines whether or not a critical pressure has been reached, similar to the instant invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW J MERKLING whose telephone number is (571)272-9813. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8am-6pm.
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/MATTHEW J MERKLING/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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