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 § 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1 or 2) as being anticipated by Tada et al. (WO 2020/196267 newly cited and attached, using US Pub 2022/0158297 as an English equivalent).
In regard to claim 1, Tada et al. teach an electronic device (battery pack 100) comprising: a battery (battery 1); a housing (case 2 including resin case 3 and metal plate 4) that houses the battery and includes a plurality of through holes (smoke discharge holes 7) in an area where the battery is disposed; and a film member (label 8) that is disposed in the housing (see figure 6, label is in case 3), closes the plurality of through holes, and melts from heat (paragraphs [0054-0065]).
The Examiner notes that the label of the prior art is reasonably considered to be a material which “melts from heat” as the prior art specifies in paragraph [0065] “A blown-off gas having a high temperature and a high pressure flowing into non-attachment region 8B deforms label 8 so as to expand gap 14 between label 8 and metal plate 4X thus allowing a larger amount of blown-off gas to flow.” The high temperature gas from the battery cell deforming the label is taken to be a result of at least peripheral melting to effect deformation and detachment. In any event, such is a material property of the film member - see MPEP 2112.01 – and the prior art discloses a substantially identical film.
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In regard to claim 2, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of through holes 7 has a slit shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction in plan view (annotated figure 2 above).
In regard to claim 3, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 2, wherein the plurality of through holes are provided at a first interval in the longitudinal direction and provided at a second interval smaller than the first interval in the lateral direction in plan view (annotated figure 7 below).
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In regard to claim 4, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein the battery includes a plurality of battery cells 1, 1, and the plurality of through holes 7 are provided at positions overlapping the plurality of battery cells in plan view (annotated figure 2 above, figure 6 below).
In regard to claim 5, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein the housing includes a partition outer wall 3 that partitions the plurality of through holes, and the partition outer wall has an area larger than an opening area of the plurality of through holes in plan view. (annotated figure 2 above).
In regard to claim 6, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 5, wherein the battery includes a partition wall (fitting groove 3a) disposed between two adjacent battery cells 1 among the plurality of battery cells, and the partition wall is disposed at a position overlapping the partition outer wall in plan view (figure 3, paragraph [0057]).
In regard to claim 7, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein the film member 8 is disposed inside the housing 3 (figure 6 below).
In regard to claim 8, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein a channel extending (smoke discharge gap 12) along the plurality of through holes is provided between the battery and the housing (annotated figure 6 below).
In regard to claim 9, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 8, wherein the channel includes a first channel 12 closer to the plurality of through holes than the battery and a second channel farther from the plurality of through holes than the battery, and the first channel has a width smaller than a width of the second channel (annotated figure 6 below).
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In regard to claim 10, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein the battery includes a battery case defining an outer contour of the battery (including metal plate 4), and the film member 8 has a melting point lower than a melting point of the battery case 4 (paragraph [0065] – label 8 deforms from heat, metal does not, label necessarily has lower melting temperature to function as described by the prior art).
In regard to claim 11, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to Claim 1, wherein the film member 8 includes at least either a film or an adhesive tape (label 8 – paragraph [0065]).
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tada et al. as applied to claim 1 above.
In regard to claim 12, Tada et al. teach the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene (PP) can be used for the resin material constituting the case 3 (paragraph [0056]) but does not specify that the film member is made of polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, or polypropylene. However, as resin materials such as PP are taught by the prior art as acceptable insulating materials for the battery case, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at or before the effective filing date of the claimed invention filed to use a PP film as the label in the device of Tada et al. as such is an inexpensive resin material typically used to form labels for battery packs.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure – Yonemochi et al. (US Pub 2008/0220321 newly cited) teaches a similar venting battery pack with a material 29 which melts to expose through holes 35a in a battery case (figure below).
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS P D'ANIELLO whose telephone number is (571)270-3635. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tong Guo can be reached at 571-272-3066. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NICHOLAS P D'ANIELLO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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