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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed July 2, 2025 contains a citation that fails to comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609 because the publication number does not match the publication date or name of inventor or applicant of the cited document. This item (which has been lined through) has not been considered as to the merits.
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.
Claims 1-3, 9 and 12 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Asmus et al. (WO 2022/043210A). The U.S. version of Asmus et al. (US 2023/0328847) is used as the English translation and is cited below.
Regarding Claim 1, Asmus et al. teaches a heating element comprising an insulation layer having a thickness of 0.2 to 30 micrometers (Para. [0011]) where the insulation layer comprising an insulation portion 20 a and 20 b (Para. [0160] and Fig. 2) (i.e. a heating film, comprising: a first insulating film; a second insulating film, located on one side of the first insulating film in the thickness direction of the first insulating film) and a heating structure (Fig. 2, #30) disposed between the two insulating portions (i.e. a heating element, disposed between the first insulating film and the second insulating film;) wherein the insulation layer comprises aluminum nitride and/or boron nitride (Para. [0020]) (i.e. at least one of the first insulating film and the second insulating film comprises a ceramic insulating film), and substrate portions (Fig. 2, #15a, #15b) (i.e. and the heating film is further configured with a mounting part for mounting the heating film).
Regarding Claim 2, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. further teaches the insulation layer comprises aluminum nitride and/or boron nitride (Para. [0020]) (i.e. the ceramic insulating film comprises at least one of an aluminum nitride ceramic film and a boron nitride ceramic film).
Regarding Claim 3, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. further teaches the insulating layer portions are formed by folding a single insulation layer (Para. [0064]) (i.e. wherein both the first insulating film and the second insulating film are the same ceramic insulating film).
Regarding Claim 9, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. further teaches the insulation layer comprising an insulation portion 20 a and 20 b (Para. [0160] and Fig. 2) (i.e. wherein the first insulating film and the second insulating film both extend in a preset direction, and the preset direction is perpendicular to the thickness direction, see Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 12, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the heating film in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. further teaches the use of the flexible heating elements in cell packages such as battery packs (Para. [0114]) (i.e. a battery, comprising a battery cell and the heating film according to claim 1, wherein the heating film is used to heat the battery cell).
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.
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asmus et al. (WO 2022/043210A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Abe et al. (US 2012/0107665A).
Regarding Claim 4, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. further teaches the insulation layer comprising an insulation portion 20 a and 20 b, wherein #20b is facing away from the #20a portion in the thickness direction (i.e. one side of the second insulating film facing away from the first insulating film in the thickness direction is a mounting side).
Asmus et al. does not teach the mounting part comprises a back gum layer, the back gum layer is disposed on the mounting side in a covering mode.
However, Abe et al. teaches a battery comprising a heater which heats the battery, including an adhesive layer which is a thin film to bond a heat conductor with the heating element (Para. [0051]) (i.e. a mounting part for mounting a heating film comprises a back gum layer, and the back gum layer is disposed on a mounting side in a covering mode).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mounting side of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of an adhesive layer as taught by Abe et al., as such a layer provides a highly reliable battery (Para. [0052]) with easy attachment providing high work efficiency (Para. [0053]).
Claims 5-6, 10-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asmus et al. (WO 2022/043210A) in view of Wang et al. (CN213342718U), cited in the Information Disclosure Statement received April 17, 2024. The English machine translation of Wang et al. is attached and referenced below.
Regarding Claim 5, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus does not teach the mounting part further includes a mounting hole, and the mounting hole penetrates through the first insulating film and the second insulating film at the same time.
However, Wang et al. teaches a first insulating film and a second insulating film directly bonded together around a heating element to form a direct bonding area, wherein a fixing hole is provided in the direct bonding area of the first insulating film and the second insulating film and close to one end of the heating element (Para. [0045], [0058]) (i.e. wherein a mounting part includes a mounting hole and the mounting hole penetrates through the first insulating film and the second insulating film at the same time).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mounting part and insulating films of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of the mounting hole as taught by Wang et al., as such a hole prevents the heating film from detaching, providing additional protection to a heating film (Para. [0046]).
Regarding Claim 6, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 5 as explained above.
Asmus et al. does not teach the mounting hole is arranged at an edge position of the heating film.
However, Wang et al. teaches a first insulating film and a second insulating film directly bonded together around a heating element to form a direct bonding area, wherein a fixing hole is provided in the direct bonding area of the first insulating film and the second insulating film and close to one end of the heating element (Para. [0045) (i.e. arranged at an edge position of the heating film).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the mounting part and insulating films of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of the mounting hole as taught by Wang et al., as such a hole prevents the heating film from detaching, providing additional protection to a heating film (Para. [0046]).
Regarding Claim 10, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. does not teach the heating film further comprising a wire, and a connection terminal, wherein the wire is electrically connected to the heating element, partially extends beyond a range of the fist insulating film and the second insulating film, and is electrically connected to the connection terminal.
However, Wang et al. teaches the heating film assembly further includes a wiring terminal (i.e. connection terminal) which is connected to the heating element via a wire harness (Para. [0016], [0057]) (i.e. a wire, and a connection terminal, wherein the wire is electrically connected to the heating element and partially extends beyond a range of the first insulating film and the second insulating film and is connected to the connection terminal).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of the wire and connection terminal as taught by Wang et al., as the wiring terminals make the use of the heating assembly more flexible, allowing it to be connected to an external power sources or connected in series or parallel with other heating film assemblies, depending on the actual situation (Para. [0048]).
Regarding Claim 11, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the heating film in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. further teaches the use of the flexible heating elements in cell packages such as battery packs (Para. [0114]) (i.e. a battery module comprising the heating film).
Asmus et al. does not explicitly teach a battery module, comprising a frame, a battery cell disposed in the frame, and wherein the heating film is mounted outside the frame.
However, Wang et al. teaches a battery module (Para. [0026]) and Fig. 3, #2) comprising a frame and the heating film (Fig. 3, #1) mounted outside the frame (see Fig. 3) and the battery module includes a battery unit which includes multiple battery cells (Para. [0058]) (i.e. a battery cell disposed inside the frame).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery module of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of the battery module as taught by Wang et al., as a heating film structure wrapped around both sides of the battery modules can achieve good heating effect and ensure good consistency of heating conditions (Para. [0058]).
Regarding Claim 13, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the battery in claim 12 as explained above.
Asmus et al. does not teach an electrical apparatus comprising the battery wherein the battery is used to provide energy.
However, Wang et al. teaches a battery as a power source for electric vehicles (Para. [0002]). (i.e. an electrical apparatus, comprising a battery wherein the battery is used to provide electric energy).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery pack of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of using the battery as a power source in an electric vehicle as taught by Wang et al., as such a battery would be capable of heating the battery under low temperature conditions and providing power for electric vehicles which reduce dependence on petroleum resources (Para. [0002]).
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Asmus et al. (WO 2022/043210A) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kuchimachi (US 2018/0332669A).
Regarding Claim 7, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 1 as explained above.
Asmus et al. does not teach wherein at least one of the first insulating film and the second insulating film is configured with a stress relief groove, and the stress relief groove is recessed in the thickness direction.
However, Kuchimachi teaches a heater comprising a first ceramic substrate and a second ceramic substrate (i.e. first and second insulating film) (Para. [0014]) wherein a plurality of grooves (Fig. 4, #21) are formed along a transversal direction or a longitudinal direction of the second ceramic substrate (Fig. 4, #2) and are formed on the entire lower face of the second ceramic substrate (Para. [0019]) which reduce thermal stress (Para. [0032]) (i.e. wherein the second insulating film is configured with a stress relief groove, and the stress relief groove is recessed in the thickness direction).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the second insulating film of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of the plurality of grooves as taught by Kuchimachi as such grooves reduce of the risk of crack occurrence in the ceramic layer (Para. [0032]).
Regarding Claim 8, Asmus et al. teaches all of the elements of the current invention in claim 7 as explained above.
Asmus et al. does not teach wherein the plurality of stress relief grooves are arranged on the first insulating film and/or second insulting film and all the stress relief grooves are arranged at intervals.
However, Kuchimachi teaches a heater comprising a first ceramic substrate and a second ceramic substrate (i.e. first and second insulating film) (Para. [0014]) wherein a plurality of grooves (Fig. 4, #21) are formed along a transversal direction or a longitudinal direction of the second ceramic substrate (Fig. 4, #2) and are formed on the entire lower face of the second ceramic substrate (Para. [0019]) which reduce thermal stress (Para. [0032]) (i.e. wherein the plurality of stress relief grooves are arranged on the first insulating film and/or second insulting film and all the stress relief grooves are arranged at intervals).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the second insulating film of Asmus et al. to incorporate the teaching of the plurality of grooves as taught by Kuchimachi as such grooves reduce of the risk of crack occurrence in the ceramic layer (Para. [0032]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARMINDO CARVALHO JR. whose telephone number is (571)272-5292. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30a.m.-5p.m..
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/ARMINDO CARVALHO JR./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729
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