DETAILED ACTION
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
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Kopra (US 2023/0134618 A1).
Regarding claims 1-4 and 11, Kopra discloses a battery pack comprising: a housing comprising an interior space; a cell stack disposed within the interior space of the housing (abstract). The cell stack, comprising: a plurality of battery cells arranged in the cell stack and forming a cell set; and at least one elastic pad between the plurality of battery cells (abstract). The cell stack further comprising a first end spacer and a second end spacer, wherein the first end spacer and the second end spacer are configured to be compressed towards each other to allow compression of the cell set when the cell stack is configured to be inserted into the housing and a spacer system, wherein the spacer system comprising one or more guide members configured to support and stiffen the cell stack when compressed (abstract). The housing is configured to limit expansion of the cell stack and withstand swelling forces of the plurality of battery cells (abstract).
Kopra teaches the elastic pads may be used between each battery cell of the cell stack and between the cell set and end spacers to separate the battery cells from each other and/or the end spacers ([0041]). The elastic pads are for example, a soft foam pad made of polyurethane (PU) or polyethylene (PE) ([0041]). The elastic pads may provide cell swelling space between the battery cells during lifetime, which may be required by most of the li-ion batteries because they tend to swell with age ([0041]).
Kopra teaches the cell stack may further comprise a first end spacer and a second end spacer, wherein the first end spacer may be disposed to the first cell set end and the second end spacer may be disposed to the second cell set end ([0042]).
Claims 5-10, 12-15 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kopra as applied above, and further in view of Aoki (US 2015/0340669 A1).
Regarding claims 5-10, 12-15, and 18-20, Kopra does not teach the end plates comprises a central plate and an outer plate bent and extending from the central plate, the claimed groove, the metal end plates, and disk springs.
However, Aoki depicts in Fig. 9 a plate spring 71, and teaches the plate spring 71includes a flat plate part 710 made of a metallic material and having a rectangular flat plate shape, a pair of inclined parts 711 extending from both cell-width-direction ends of the flat plate 710 and bending ends 712 formed respectively at the ends of the inclined parts 711 constituting a pair ([0057]).
The plate spring 71 is placed in an elastically deformed state, that is, in a compressed state so as to reduce a stacked-direction distance between the flat plate part 710 and the bending ends 71, thereby generating an elastic force in a direction to separate the end plate 21 from the end cell holder 81f ([0061]). Aoki also contemplates different postures in [0066] and [0067]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to use plate springs in the place of the elastic pads of Kopra as it was a known alternative way to suppress pressing loads in secondary batteries ([0006]), as taught by Aoki.
In Figs. 11-15, Aoki teaches many variations of supplying an elastic force to absorb swelling forces or volume expansion in secondary batteries.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-17 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:
In reviewing the prior art, it appears that swelling or volume expansion of unit cells in secondary batteries is well understood. The concept of spacers in the form of elastic/compression pads is known through Kopra and alternative forms of spacer, including springs, is known through Aoki.
However, the prior art, taken alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest the elastic member further comprises a variable cylinder passing through a center of each of the plurality of unit disk springs, as claimed in claim 16, together in combination with the other limitations of the claims.
If incorporating claim 16 into the independent claims, Applicant is reminded to include the limitations of all the claims above claim 16 in a claim tree.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL H. LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-2548. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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, Michael Orlando can be reached at 5712705038. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DANIEL H. LEE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1746
/DANIEL H LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746
