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 .
2. Claims 1-16 are pending in this office action.
Priority
3. Applicant’s claim for the benefit of a prior-filed application under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) or under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c) is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
4. Information disclosure statements (IDS), submitted May 10, 2024, and April 22, 2025, have been received and considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
5. Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: it is suggested for purposes of clarity that the claim language be amended to recite “A manufacturing device of a battery”. Appropriate correction is required.
6. Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: it is suggested for purposes of clarity that the claim language be amended to recite “A manufacturing method of a battery”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Claims 1-3 and 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (KR 20210095398A), using Park et al. (US 2022/0367955 A1) as an equivalent translation.
With regard to Claim 1, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 1-3, a battery, comprising: a box body, called a housing (300), provided with a first positioning portion, called recessed portions (310); a battery module comprising a plurality of cell cartridges (100), at least partially accommodated in the box body (300), wherein the battery module (100) is provided with a second positioning portion, called protrusions (110), and the second positioning portion (110) is configured to be plug-fitted to the first positioning portion (310) to position the battery module (100) in the box body (300) (paragraphs 0057-0060).
With regard to Claim 2, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 1-3, wherein the first positioning portion (310) is a positioning groove and the second positioning portion (110) is a positioning protrusion; and a groove side wall of the positioning groove (310) comprises a first guide inclined surface (recessed portion), and the first guide inclined surface is configured to guide the positioning protrusion (110) into the positioning groove along a depth direction of the positioning groove (310), so that a positioning fit is formed between the positioning protrusion (110) and the positioning groove (310) (paragraphs 0059-0060; See Figures).
With regard to Claim 3, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 1-3, wherein a peripheral wall of the positioning protrusion (110) comprises a second guide inclined surface (protrusion), wherein the second guide inclined surface is configured to match the first guide inclined surface (paragraphs 0059-0060; See Figures).
With regard to Claim 14, Park et al. ‘955 disclose an electric device, comprising the battery noted above (paragraph 0077).
With regard to Claim 15, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 1-3, a manufacturing device of a battery, comprising: a providing apparatus (inherently presumed to be human handling), configured to provide a battery module and a box body, wherein the box body, called a housing (300), provided with a first positioning portion, called recessed portions (310); a battery module comprising a plurality of cell cartridges (100), at least partially accommodated in the box body (300), and the battery module (100) is provided with a second positioning portion, called protrusions (110), and an assembling apparatus (again, presumed to be human handling), configured to plug-fit the second positioning portion (110) to the first positioning portion (310) to position the battery module (100) in the box body (300) (paragraphs 0057-0060).
With regard to Claim 16, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 1-3, a manufacturing method of a battery, comprising: providing a battery module comprising a plurality of cell cartridges (100), and a box body, called a housing (300), wherein: the box body (300) is provided with a first positioning portion, called recessed portions (310); and the battery module (100) is at least partially accommodated in the box body (300), and the battery module (100) is provided with a second positioning portion, called protrusions (110); and plug-fitting the second positioning portion (110) to the first positioning portion (310) to position the battery module (100) in the box body (300) (paragraphs 0057-0060).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Claims 4-9 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (KR 20210095398A), using Park et al. (US 2022/0367955 A1) as an equivalent translation, as applied to Claims 1-3 and 14-16 above.
With regard to Claim 4, Park et al. ‘955 disclose the battery in paragraph 9 above, including wherein the groove side wall (310) comprises a plurality of first guide inclined surfaces (paragraphs 0059-0060), but do not specifically disclose wherein the first guide surfaces are located in different directions and connected sequentially in a circumferential direction. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious an obvious matter of design choice to place first guide surfaces in different directions and sequentially connect them in a circumferential direction, since it has been held in the art that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI).
With regard to Claim 5, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figure 3, wherein the first guide inclined surface is a plane (paragraphs 0059-0060; See Figure).
With regard to Claim 6, Park et al. ‘955 disclose the battery in paragraph 9 above, but do not specifically disclose wherein the first guide inclined surface is part or all of a conical surface. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to manufacture the first guide inclined surface to be part or all of a conical surface, since such a modification would only involve a mere change in the shape of a component. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(IV).
With regard to Claim 7, Park et al. ‘955 disclose the battery in paragraph 9 above, including two brackets, called bolts (211), spaced apart in a first direction, wherein the two brackets (211) jointly support the plurality of battery cells (100) of the battery module by being inserted into fastening holes (320) (paragraphs 0064-0065; See Figures 2, 5). Park et al. ‘955 do not specifically disclose wherein the first positioning portion is provided on the bracket. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious an obvious matter of design choice to manufacture the first positioning portion on the bracket, since it has been held in the art that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI).
With regard to Claim 8, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figure 2, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells (100) and two end plates (200) which include vertical plates (220) arranged at two ends of the plurality of battery cells (100) along the first direction, wherein the end plate (200, 220) is provided with the second positioning portion (110), and the end plate (200, 220) is configured to be supported by the bracket (211) (paragraphs 0050-0051, 0064-0065; See Figures).
With regard to Claim 9, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figure 2, wherein the battery cell (100) is located between the two brackets (220) (paragraphs 0050-0051, 0064-0065; See Figures).
With regard to Claim 11, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figure 3, wherein a gap, called a space portion (350, 360), is present between an end of the battery cell (100) provided with the end plate (200, 220) and the bracket (211) (paragraphs 0053-0056; See Figure).
With regard to Claim 12, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 1-3, wherein one of the first positioning portion is a positioning groove (310) and the second positioning portion is a positioning protrusion (110) (paragraphs 0057-0060). Park et al. ‘955 do not specifically disclose wherein a gap is present between a bottom surface of the positioning groove and an end surface of the positioning protrusion facing the bottom surface of the positioning groove. Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious an obvious matter of design choice to manufacture a gap between a bottom surface of the positioning groove and an end surface of the positioning protrusion facing the bottom surface of the positioning groove, since it has been held in the art that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI).
With regard to Claim 13, Park et al. ‘955 disclose in Figures 4-5, wherein the bracket (211) is provided with a plurality of first positioning portions, called fastening holes (320), and the plurality of first positioning portions (320) are spaced apart along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction (paragraphs 0064-0066; See Figures).
Allowable Subject Matter
14. Claim 10 is 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.
15. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the closest prior art, Park et al. (KR 20210095398A), using Park et al. (US 2022/0367955 A1) as an equivalent translation, do not teach or fairly suggest the battery wherein: the first positioning portion is a positioning groove, and the second positioning portion is a positioning protrusion; and the positioning groove runs through a side of the bracket facing the end plate and a side of the bracket facing the other bracket of the two brackets.
Conclusion
16. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KARIE O APICELLA whose telephone number is (571)272-8614. The examiner can normally be reached Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 5:00PM EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at 571-270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KARIE O'NEILL APICELLA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725
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