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 statements (IDSs) submitted on 04/18/2024, 02/18/2025, and 08/20/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings received on 04/18/2024 were reviewed and are acceptable.
Specification
The specification filed on 04/18/2024 was reviewed and is acceptable.
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.
Claim(s) 7, 13, and 20 is/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.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the battery cell is connected to the second surface” in line 2. It is unclear whether this is the same “battery cell” previously recited, and in which case it is unclear how the same battery cell may be connected to an opposing “second” surface while also being connected to the opposing “first surface” (see e.g. Instant Fig 7 showing first surface 20a and second surface 20b being disposed on opposite sides), or if this was intended to be another separate and distinct “battery cell”, consistent with the Instant Fig 5. For purposes of this Office Action, it will be assumed that this was intended to be a separate and distinct “battery cell” in order to be connected with an opposing “second” surface and consistent with e.g. Instant Figs 5 and 7).
Claim 13 recites the limitation “the heat exchange medium” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 20 recites the limitation “the first direction” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7, 13, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US 2021/0104789 A1; hereinafter “Wu”).
Regarding claim 1, Wu discloses a battery (battery pack, Title) comprising:
a battery cell (1); and
a thermal management component (temperature control assembly 2) configured to exchange heat with the battery cell ([0083]), wherein the thermal management component is provided with an avoidance structure (elastic thermal pad 23), and the avoidance structure is configured to provide a space for expansion of the battery cell ([0088]).
Regarding claim 2, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses that the battery cell is one of a plurality of battery cells of the battery (as shown in Fig 2), and at least part of the avoidance structure is located between two adjacent battery cells (as shown in Fig 2) and is configured to provide a space for expansion of at least one of the battery cells ([0088]).
Regarding claim 3, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses that the avoidance structure is configured to provide a space for expansion of the battery cells located on two sides of the thermal management component and adjacent to the thermal management component (as shown in Fig 2; see also [0088]).
Regarding claim 4, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses that the thermal management component further comprises a first surface (surface corresponding with first side plate 21) and a second surface (surface corresponding with second side plate 22) that are arranged facing away from each other in a first direction (as shown in Fig 3, first direction is Y direction), the battery cell being connected to the first surface (as shown in Fig 2).
Regarding claim 5, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses that the avoidance structure comprises a first recess (e.g. as shown in Fig 3, recess corresponding with top most label “F”), the first recess being recessed from the first surface in a direction close to the second surface (as shown in Fig 3), and the first recess being configured to provide a space for expansion of the battery cell connected to the first surface (as shown in Fig 2; see also [0088]).
Regarding claim 7, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses that the battery cell is connected to the second surface (as shown in Fig 2); and
the avoidance structure further comprises a third recess (e.g. as shown in Fig 3, recess corresponding with left most label “F”), the third recess being recessed from the second surface in a direction close to the first surface (as shown in Fig 3), and the third recess being configured to provide a space for expansion of the battery cell connected to the second surface (as shown in Fig 2; see also [0088]).
Regarding claim 13, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses that the thermal management component is internally provided with a flow channel for [a] heat exchange medium to flow (as shown in Fig 3, flow channels are labeled “F”), and the flow channel surrounds the avoidance structure (as shown in Fig 3).
Regarding claim 20, Wu discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above.
Wu further discloses a plurality of battery units arranged in the first direction (as shown in Fig 2, each “battery unit” is labeled 1 and the “first direction is the Y direction);
wherein:
the battery cell is one of a plurality of battery cells (as shown in Fig 2);
each of the battery units comprises two or more of the plurality of battery cells arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (not explicitly shown, but as described in [0103] there are a plurality of rows in the Y direction, and thus the implied battery cells behind the battery cells shown in Fig 2, i.e. battery cells arranged in another row in the X direction, together with a corresponding battery cell shown in Fig 2, constitute the recited “battery unit” with the second direction being the X direction);
the thermal management component is arranged between at least two adjacent battery units (as shown in Fig 2); and
the avoidance structure is located between adjacent battery units (as shown in Fig 2) and is configured to provide a space for expansion of the plurality of battery cells of the battery unit ([0088]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 6, 8-12, and 14-19 is/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:
The present invention is related to, inter alia, a battery comprising:
(claim 6) the first surface comprises an end surface of the first protrusion away from the first main body, and the first protrusion and the first main body form the first recess;
(claim 8) a projection of the bottom surface of the first recess in the first direction at least partially overlaps a projection of a bottom surface of the third recess in the first direction;
(claims 11 and/or 12) the avoidance structure further comprises a first or second through hole; and
(claim 14) further comprising a thermal insulator.
Wu et al. (US 2021/0104789 A1; hereinafter “Wu”) is considered to be the closest relevant prior art to dependent claim(s) 6, 8, 11, 12, and/or 14. Wu discloses most of the claim limitations as set forth above.
However, Wu does not disclose, teach, fairly suggest, nor render obvious the above noted limitations. To the contrary, while Wu does disclose the first plate (21) comprising a first protrusion (212) which forms a “second recess” (as shown in Fig 5), there does not appear to be any reasonable basis for the skilled artisan to expect such to form the recited first recess because the first recess is explicitly formed in the avoidance structure (as noted above). Furthermore, Wu explicitly discloses that the avoidance structure is formed in a corrugated shape (as shown in Fig 3; see also [0089]), and thus any projections of bottom surfaces of any recesses cannot reasonably overlap in the first direction. Furthermore, Wu does not disclose any through holes in the avoidance structure, and explicitly discloses that the avoidance structure is made of an aluminum material ([0077]), and thus there does not appear to be any reasonable basis for the skilled artisan to abandon the structure of Wu and be directed towards the recited limitations because doing so would reasonably appear to interfere with the explicit structure and purpose of Wu.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Lehmann et al. (US 2021/0288369 A1) discloses a distance compensating element;
Kasai et al. (US 2021/0367290 A1) discloses a battery pack; and
Person et al. (US 2021/0175557 A1) discloses a battery cell assembly.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES M ERWIN whose telephone number is (571)272-3101. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 6am-3pm PDT.
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/JAMES M ERWIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725 10/01/2026
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