DETAILED ACTION
Summary
This is the initial Office Action based on the Battery Pack filed March 19, 2024.
Claims 1-4 are currently pending.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uno (JP 2020125023 A).
With regard to claim 1, Uno discloses a battery pack that houses a battery stack to be mounted on a vehicle, the battery pack comprising:
an upper cover disposed to face a floor panel of the vehicle (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, an upper cover 42 disposed to face a floor panel of the vehicle; see Fig. 8 and [0014] teaching “battery case support structure 1 shown in Figures 1 to 7 is mounted on the lower part (under the floor) of the vehicle 2 shown in Figure 8, and comprises a vehicle frame member 3 and a battery case 4”); and
a lower case combined with the upper cover (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, a lower case 41 combined with the cited upper cover 42), wherein
in a width direction of the vehicle, open edges of the lower case are combined with a left end portion and a right end portion of the upper cover to form a left flange and a right flange, respectively (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, in a width direction of the vehicle, open edges of the cited lower case at 41c are combined with a left end portion 42c and a right end portion 42c of the upper cover 42 to form a left flange 41c/42c and a right flange 41c/42c, respectively),
the left flange is attached to a left frame member of the vehicle provided on a left side of the floor panel (as depicted in Fig. 1-7, the left flange 41c/42c is attached to a left frame member 31 of the vehicle provided on a left side of the floor panel), and
the right flange is attached to a right frame member of the vehicle provided on a right side of the floor panel (as depicted in Fig. 1-7, the right flange 41c/42c is attached to a right frame member 32 of the vehicle provided on a right side of the floor panel),
in the width direction, each of upper surfaces of the left flange and the right flange is positioned below an upper surface of the upper cover facing the floor panel (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, in the width direction, each of upper top surfaces of the left flange 41c/42c and the right flange 41c/42c is positioned below an upper surface 42a of the upper cover 42 facing the floor panel), and
the upper surface of the upper cover facing the floor panel forms a step with each of the upper surfaces of the left flange and the right flange (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, the upper surface 42a of the upper cover 42 facing the floor panel forms a step with each of the upper top surfaces of the left flange 41c/42c and the right flange 41c/42c connected by sections 42b).
With regard to claim 2, Uno discloses wherein
the left flange and the right flange are positioned above the battery stack in the width direction (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, the left flange 41c/42c and the right flange 41c/42c are positioned above the battery stack 5 in the width direction).
With regard to claim 3, Uno discloses wherein
an upper surface of the battery stack is positioned below front surfaces of the open edges facing a lower surface of the left end portion and a lower surface of the right end portion at respective positions of the left flange and the right flange, the front surfaces each being a front surface of one of the open edges (as depicted in Fig. 3-7, an upper surface of the battery stack is positioned below front top surfaces of the cited open edges at 41c facing a lower bottom surface of the left end portion at 42c and a lower bottom surface of the right end portion at 42c at respective positions of the cited left flange 41c/42c and the cited right flange 41c/42c, the cited front surfaces each being a front surface of one of the cited open edges 41c).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Uno (JP 2020125023 A) in view of Jang (KR 20200092440 A).
With regard to claim 4, dependent claim 3 is anticipated by Uno under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as discussed above.
Uno teaches the lower surface of the left/right end portions at 42c and the front surfaces of the open edges at 41c are fixed (see Fig. 3-7 and [0038]) but does not disclose wherein a seal member is provided between the lower surface of the left end portion and the front surface of the open edge facing the lower surface of the left end portion to seal a gap formed between the lower surface of the left end portion and the front surface of the open edge; and a seal member is provided between the lower surface of the right end portion and the front surface of the open edge facing the lower surface of the right end portion to seal a gap formed between the lower surface of the right end portion and the front surface of the open edge.
However, Jang discloses a battery pack (see Title and Abstract) and teaches a seal member 20 is provided between the lower bottom surface of the left/right end portion 12 and the front top surface of the open edge 32 facing the lower bottom surface of the left/right end portion 12 to seal a gap formed between the lower bottom surface of the left/right end portion 12 and the front top surface of the open edge 32 (see Fig. 1 and 3).
Jang teaches the fixing mechanism by the seal member provides for improved water tightness (see Abstract).
Thus, at the time of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have modified the fixing mechanism in the battery pack of Uno to include the seal member suggested by Jang because it would have provided for improved water tightness.
Conclusion
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/DUSTIN Q DAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1721 September 17, 2026
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