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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on February 26, 2024 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities: There appears to be a typo in claim 2 line 3. “A sealed section is formed at least at one outer circumferential section” should be corrected to something such as “a sealed section forms at least one outer circumferential section”. 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 1 and 2 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.
The term “close to” in claim 1 lines 23-26 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “close to” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. For the purposes of compact prosecution, the examiner will interpret the term “close to” as any distance.
The term “substantially” in claim 2 line 8 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “substantially” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. For the purposes of compact prosecution, the examiner will interpret the term “substantially parallel” as any alignment, one of which being parallel.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2025/0030135, hereinafter Suzuki.
Regarding claim 1, Suzuki teaches a battery module (Fig 6 and 7: 200), comprising:
a battery cell stack (Fig 6 and 7: stacked battery cells 201) in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked (‘a secondary battery is configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells’ [Abstract]),
each of the plurality of battery cells (stacked 201s) including an electrode stack (Fig 7: 11-15) that is packaged by a packaging material (‘battery cell 201 are configured by laminating a plurality of laminated structures’ [0054]), and having a positive electrode tab lead (Fig 6 and 7: 5) and a negative electrode tab lead (Fig 6 and 7: 6) that are protruding from the packaging material (‘the positive electrode tab 5 and the negative electrode tab 6 are provided to protrude in opposite directions’ [0039]),
the negative electrode tab lead (6) protruding in a reverse direction to the positive electrode tab lead (5) (‘the positive electrode tab 5 and the negative electrode tab 6 are provided to protrude in opposite directions’ [0039]),
the electrode stack (Fig 7: 11-15) including a plurality of positive electrodes (11, 13) and a plurality of negative electrodes (12, 15) stacked therein with an electrolyte (14) respectively interposed between the plurality of positive electrodes (11, 13) and the plurality of negative electrodes (12, 15), wherein (‘battery cell 201 is configured by laminating positive electrode current collector 11, positive electrode layer 13, solid electrolyte layer 14, and negative current collector 11’ [0054]).
the positive electrode tab lead (5) is disposed at one end of the battery cell (201) in a stacking direction of the battery cell (201) and is connected to the plurality of positive electrodes (11, 13) (‘the positive electrode tab 5 is connected to the tip portion of the extraction electrode 11a of the positive electrode current collector 11’ [0041]),
the negative electrode tab lead (6) is disposed at the other end of the battery cell (201) in the stacking direction of the battery cell (201) and is connected to the plurality of negative electrodes (12, 15), and (‘the negative electrode tab 6 is connected to the tip portion of the extraction electrode 12a of the negative electrode current collector 12’ [0041])
adjacent battery cells (201) are disposed such that the positive electrode tab leads (5) are close to each other, the negative electrode tab leads (6) are close to each other, or the positive electrode tab lead (5) of one adjacent battery cell (201) is close to the negative electrode tab lead (6) of the other adjacent battery cell (201) (Fig 6: electrode tabs 5 and 6 of adjacent battery cells are close to each other).
Regarding claim 2, Suzuki teaches the battery module (Fig 6 and 7: 200) according to claim 1, wherein
the packaging material is a laminate film (Fig 7: laminate material 10), and a sealed section is formed at least at one outer circumferential section (depicted in annotated figure below) of the packaging material (10) on a side where neither of the positive electrode tab lead (5) and the negative electrode tab lead (6) is protruding, and (Fig 7: laminate material 10 forms sealed section around battery stack and provides opening for electrode tab leads)
a surface of the sealed section has an inclined section (depicted in annotated figure below) that is substantially parallel to a plane (depicted in annotated figure below) formed by a position where the positive electrode tab lead (5) protrudes from the laminate film (10) and a position where the negative electrode tab lead (6) protrudes from the laminate film (10) (Fig 7: opposite corners of 10 are parallel to plane formed between electrode tab leads).
PNG
media_image1.png
504
700
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 3, Suzuki teaches the battery module (Fig 6 and 7: 200) according to claim 2, wherein
a folded section (depicted in annotated figure below) is formed in the laminate film (10) at an outer circumferential section (depicted in annotated figure below) on a side where neither of the positive electrode tab lead (5) and the negative electrode tab lead (6) is protruding,
a distance to the electrode stack (201s) from the outer circumferential section (depicted in annotated figure below) where the folded section (depicted in annotated figure below) in the laminate film (10) is formed is shorter than a distance to the electrode stack (201s) from an outer circumferential section (depicted in annotated figure below) where the sealed section in the laminate film (10) is formed, and (distance from folded section to battery stack is shorter than edge of outer circumferential section to battery stack in annotated figure below)
adjacent battery cells (201s) are disposed such that the sealed section of one adjacent battery cell (201) faces the folded section (depicted in annotated figure below) of the other adjacent battery cell (201) (Fig 6: sides of battery cells where folded section is formed face each other/are in contact with each other).
PNG
media_image1.png
504
700
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 5, Suzuki teaches the battery module (Fig 6 and 7: 200) according to claim 1, comprising:
a plurality of the battery cell stacks (Fig 6: multiple battery stacks consisting of 201s), wherein
the plurality of battery cell stacks (stacks of 201s) are electrically connected (‘adjacent battery cells 201 are disposed to face each other, and are electrically connected via the bus bar 7)’ [0042]).
Regarding claim 6, Suzuki teaches the battery module (Fig 6 and 7: 200) according to claim 5, wherein
in the plurality of battery cell stacks (stacks of 201s), a bridge connection (Fig 6: first terminal 8 and second terminal 9) is made to the negative electrode tab lead (6) or the positive electrode tab lead (5) that is disposed at one end of each battery cell stack (201s) in the stacking direction (‘first terminal 8 provided on the first plate 2 and the second terminal 9 on the second plate 4 are electrically connected via the bus bars 7’ [0042]).
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 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2025/0030135, hereinafter Suzuki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2023/0040116, hereinafter Ushijima.
Regarding claim 4, Suzuki teaches, as mentioned above, laminated battery cells that are stacked in a stacking direction wherein the battery cells comprise of positive and negative electrodes, an electrolyte, and electrode tab leads protruding from the laminate material. Additionally, Suzuki teaches a pair of plate shaped members that are provided at both ends of the battery cell stack in the stacking direction (Fig 6: plates 2 and 4).
However, Suzuki fails to teach a cushion material disposed between at least one of the plate shaped members and the battery cell stack.
Ushijima teaches an energy storage unit (Fig 3 and 4: 200) consisting of laminated energy storage devices (210). These energy storage devices (210) are stacked in a stacking direction and have tab leads (210b) that are close to each other. There are numerous spacers (221, 222, 223) disposed throughout the energy storage unit (200), specifically spacer 222 is located between the end plates (230) and the energy storage devices (210). The spacers are formed of, for example, any electrically insulating resin material or the like that can be used for the outer case 100 [0044]. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that said material can be a cushion material.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to the ordinarily skilled artist before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have used the cushion material of Ushijima in the battery module of Suzuki between the plate shaped members and battery cell stack in order to ‘electrically insulate the energy storage devices 210 from other members’ [0044].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mia K Holbrook whose telephone number is (571)272-9253. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7:30-5.
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, Miriam Stagg can be reached at (571) 270-5256. 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.
/M.K.H./Examiner, Art Unit 1724 /BRIAN R OHARA/Examiner, Art Unit 1724
Prosecution Insights