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 .
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 9-15 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.
In claims 9 and 12, the limitation “a part of the first insulator” is indefinite because it is unclear whether this limitation is intended to refer to the “part of the first insulator” recited in claim 5 or a different part of the first insulator.
In claim 12, the limitation “an other part of the first insulator” is indefinite because it is unclear whether this “other part” is intended to be separate/distinct from the “part” recited in claim 12, the “part” recited in claim 9, the “part” recited in claim 5 or all of the previously recited parts.
Claims 10-15 are indefinite by virtue of depending on an indefinite claim.
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 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu (CN 213035769 U, see included machine translation for paragraph citations) in view of Schmitt (US 20230268592 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hu (CN 213035769 U) teaches a lithium battery system (electrochemical apparatus) including an enclosure comprising a base 41 (first housing) provided with a heat insulation layer on the inner wall surfaces including a first wall, second wall, third wall, fourth wall, and fifth wall where the first and third wall are disposed along a first direction and opposite to each other, the second and fourth wall are disposed along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and opposite to each other and connected/coupled to the first and third wall, the fifth wall at the bottom of the housing/base and connected/coupled to the first, second, third, and fourth walls, and the walls form a hollow enclosure (concave portion) (para n0010, n0024-n0026, n0032-n0033; Fig. 1). Hu also teaches an enclosure top cover 42 (second housing) connected to the base 41 (first housing) via connectors connecting the cover to the first, second, third, and fourth wall while being opposite to the fifth wall along a third/vertical direction perpendicular to the first and second directions, where a battery module 1 including multiple lithium ion battery cells (battery cell assembly) is disposed within the housing and thus the concave portion (para n0026, n0033, n0035; Fig. 1-2).
Hu fails to explicitly teach the walls of the first housing are electrically connected to each other and the first wall comprises a first region exposed to the first insulation layer and electrically connected to the second housing. However, Schmitt (US 20230268592 A1), in the analogous art of battery containers, teaches a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells within a housing element and lid element are both made of a metallic material and are electrically connected to each other at a first region of a wall of the (first) housing element while also having a sealing element arranged between the housing element and lid element (first and second housing) (Abstract, para 0005, 0037-0041). Hu teaches a cover and base of an enclosure being joined by a sealing ring (para n0033; Fig. 1) but is silent to the material the cover and base are made of or if they are electrically connected. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the base and top cover (first and second housing) materials and connection of Hu with the metallic housing and lid materials electrically connected to each other and having a sealing element, as described by Schmitt, because this is a substitution of known elements yielding predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(B). Due to the first housing of Hu in view of Schmitt being made of a metallic material, the physically connected walls would necessarily be electrically connected such that the second and fourth walls are electrically connected to the first and third walls and the fifth wall is electrically connected to the other four walls. Additionally, the first region of the first wall of Hu in view of Schmitt is necessarily “exposed” to the first insulation layer either by being coated by the insulation layer or being within the same enclosed space as the insulation layer.
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Hu and Schmitt teaches a system protection board 5 (circuit board) having a circuit 51 disposed in the enclosure 4 (concave portion) and connected to the battery cell assembly B0 and having (second and third) connectors/wiring linking the circuit board to charging/discharging terminals (31, 32, 33) where a part of the second connector connected to terminal 33 is located between the battery cell assembly and the third wall including the terminals and a part of the third connector connected to terminal 32 is located between the battery cell assembly and the third wall (Hu para n0026, n0031, n0035; Fig. 2).
The aforementioned combination fails to explicitly teach the second connector has another part located between the battery cell assembly and the fourth wall and the third connector has another part located between the battery assembly and the fourth wall. However, shifting the position/path of the wiring/connectors relative to the battery cell assembly would not have modified the operation of the device and thus is an obvious matter of design choice. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C).
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Hu and Schmitt teaches a first output terminal 33 disposed on the third wall and a part of the terminal being exposed in the first housing and the second connector being connected to the first output terminal and a second output terminal 32 disposed on the third wall, a part of the terminal being exposed in the first housing, and the third connector being connected to the second output terminal (Hu para n0026, n0031, n0035; Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Hu and Schmitt teaches a lithium battery system (electrochemical apparatus) according to claim 1, as described in the rejection of claim 1 above, where the electrochemical apparatus may be part of an electrical device, such as a vehicle air conditioner (Hu para n0016-n0017).
Claim(s) 2 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu (CN 213035769 U, see included machine translation for paragraph citations) in view of Schmitt (US 20230268592 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Takeshita (US 20020012831 A1).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Hu and Schmitt fails to explicitly teach an electrode disposed on the first wall and electrically connected to the first housing, and a part of the electrode is exposed outside of the first housing. However, Takeshita (US 20020012831 A1), in the analogous art of batteries, teaches a battery cell 11 within a battery pack 10 having a communication terminal 14 on a side wall of the housing, where the communication terminal is a plate-shaped electrode (para 0014; Fig. 2). Hu teaches the (first) side wall of the enclosure 4 has a communication terminal 34 (para n0031; Fig. 1-2). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the communication terminal of Hu with the communication terminal comprising a plate shaped electrode, as described by Takeshita, because this is a substitution of known elements yielding predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(B).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, and Takeshita teaches the apparatus includes a (first) wiring/connector connected to the communication terminal 34 (electrode) and the first housing 4 via a communication interface (Hu para n0031; Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, and Takeshita teaches a system protection board 5 (circuit board) comprising a circuit 51 disposed in the first housing 4 (concave portion), connected to the battery cell assembly (B0) and located between the first wall and battery cell assembly when viewed in the third direction (Hu para n0026, n0031, n0035; Fig. 2).
Claim(s) 3-4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu (CN 213035769 U, see included machine translation for paragraph citations) in view of Schmitt (US 20230268592 A1), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Peng (US 20210384576 A1).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Hu and Schmitt teaches that the lid element 4 (second housing) is electrically connected to the housing element 2 (second housing) and physically connected via a first region of the wall above the rib 9 and a first connection region of the lid 28 (Schmitt Abstract, para 0050-0053; Fig. 1-3). The aforementioned combination fails to explicitly teach the second housing is provided with a second insulation layer, and the second insulation layer coats a part of a surface of the second housing, the first connection region exposed to the second insulation layer. However, Peng (US 20210384576 A1), in the analogous art of batteries, teaches an insulating rubber layer 90 may be attached to an inner wall of the top cover 102 to provide insulation between the battery cell 20 and top cover 102 (second housing) (para 0021, 0041, 0107-110; Fig. 7). Because Peng teaches that such insulation layers were operable, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include an insulation layer on the inner surface of the top cover of Hu in view of Schmitt to insulate the top cover from the battery cell with a reasonable expectation of success. The rationale to support a conclusion that the claim would have been obvious is that all the claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination yielded nothing more than predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art (MPEP 2143(A)). As a result, the first connection region of Hu in view of Schmitt would be exposed to the second layer because they are both on the interior of the battery housings.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, and Peng teaches the top cover 42 (second housing) comprises a first/inner face facing the enclosure base 41 (first housing) (Hu para n0033; Fig. 1), the first connection region 28 of the second housing is located on the inner/first face (Schmitt Fig. 3), and the second insulation layer 90 coats a part of the inner/first face (Peng Fig. 7).
The aforementioned combination also teaches that the first region of the wall and first connection region 28 are directly or indirectly connected to a mechanical contact 26 that forms an electrical connection between the lid and rib of the housing, thus indicating the contact is electrically conductive (first conductive member) (Schmitt para 0039; Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, and Peng teaches the first conductive member is a mechanical contact 26 inserted into the wall and therefore a length of the first region of the first wall and a length of the first connection region of the lid/cover are each greater than a length of the first conductive member in the second direction (first wall width direction) where the length of the first region is defined as a width of the wall including the rib 9 and the length of the first connection region is defined as the length of the lid 4 extending past and around the first wall (Schmitt para 0039; Fig. 3).
Claim(s) 5 and 9-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu (CN 213035769 U, see included machine translation for paragraph citations) in view of Schmitt (US 20230268592 A1) and Peng (US 20210384576 A1), as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Xing (US 20140191763 A1).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, and Peng teaches a sealing element 11 having a part located between the inner/first face of the lid (second housing) and the first wall of the (first housing), where the sealing element is connected to the first face and first wall (Schmitt para 0041; Fig. 3).
The aforementioned combination fails to explicitly teach a first insulator. However, Xing (US 20140191763 A1), in the analogous art of batteries, teaches a housing may be connected to a cover/lid with a seal made of silicone rubber (para 0095). Schmitt is silent to the material used for the sealing element. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the seal material of Schmitt with the silicon rubber seal of Xing because this is a substitution of known elements yielding predictable results. See MPEP 2143(I)(B).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches the (first) insulation layer may be disposed on the entire inner wall of the enclosure (Hu para n0010, n0032) and therefore coats a part of the surface of the third wall. Additionally, the aforementioned combination teaches each of the walls is attached to a corresponding portion of the lid/cover where the sealing element (first insulator) extends around the enclosure to seal each of the walls to the lid (Hu Fig. 1; Schmitt Fig. 1-3) and therefore the third wall comprises a third region exposed to the first insulation layer and connected to the second housing, where a part of the first insulator is located between the first face and the third wall and connected to the first face and third wall.
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches the second housing includes a third connection region 28 connected to the third region of the first housing (Schmitt Fig. 3; Hu Fig. 1) and where the third connection region is exposed to the second insulation layer due to both being on the interior of the battery container.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches each wall region (third region) and lid connection region (third connection region) are directly or indirectly connected to a mechanical contact 26 that forms an electrical connection between the lid and rib of the housing, thus indicating the contact is electrically conductive (third conductive member) (Schmitt para 0039, Fig. 3; Hu para n0033, Fig. 1)
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches the (first) insulation layer may be disposed on the entire inner wall of the enclosure (Hu para n0010, n0032) and therefore coats a part of the surface of the second wall and fourth wall. Additionally, the aforementioned combination teaches each of the walls is attached to a corresponding portion of the lid/cover where the sealing element (first insulator) extends around the enclosure to seal each of the walls to the lid (Hu Fig. 1; Schmitt Fig. 1-3) and therefore the second wall comprises a second region exposed to the first insulation layer and connected to the second housing, where a part of the first insulator is located between the first face and the second wall and connected to the first face and second wall and the fourth wall comprises a fourth region exposed to the first insulation layer and connected to the second housing, where another part of the first insulator is located between the first face and the fourth wall and connected to the first face and fourth wall.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches the second housing includes a second, third, and fourth connection region 28 connected to the second, third, and fourth region of the first housing (Schmitt Fig. 3; Hu Fig. 1) and where the connection regions are exposed to the second insulation layer due to both being on the interior of the battery container.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches each wall region (second, third, and fourth region) and lid connection region (second, third, and fourth connection region) are directly or indirectly connected to a mechanical contact 26 that forms an electrical connection between the lid and rib of the housing, thus indicating the contact is electrically conductive (second, third, and fourth conductive member) (Schmitt para 0039, Fig. 3; Hu para n0033, Fig. 1)
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Hu, Schmitt, Peng, and Xing teaches the first, second, third, and fourth conductive members/connectors are on separate sides/walls of the housing for securing the walls of the housing to the lid (Schmitt Fig. 3; Hu para n0033, Fig. 1) and therefore are separated from each other when viewed in the third direction.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 6, the aforementioned references fail to teach the first conductive member is connected to the first insulator and coats a part of a surface of the first insulator, and in the first direction, a length of a connection region of the first connection region with the first conductive member is a, a length of a connection region of the first region with the first conductive member is b, a length of the first insulator is c, a ≤ c/2, and c/2 ≤ b < c. Additionally, there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify the aforementioned references to meet the claimed limitations. Therefore, claim 6 contains allowable subject matter.
Regarding claim 7, the aforementioned references fail to teach the first conductive member is connected to the first insulator and coats a part of a surface of the first insulator, and in the second direction, a length of a connection region of the first connection region with the first conductive member is a, a length of the first conductive member is d, a length of the first insulator is e, and e/2 < d < e. Additionally, there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to modify the aforementioned references to meet the claimed limitations. Therefore, claim 7 contains allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK S OTT whose telephone number is (571)272-2415. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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/PATRICK S OTT/Examiner, Art Unit 1794
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