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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 02/28/2024 and 02/18/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication 2020/0403209 to Okazaki et al. in view of US Patent Application Publication 2015/0303435 to Ikeda et al.
With respect to claim 1, Okazaki et al. teach a battery module comprising: a battery cell assembly 1 including a plurality of battery cells 3; a module housing (not shown) having an inner space having the battery cell assembly accommodated therein: at least one bus bar assembly 50 on at least a part of an outer surface of the module housing and electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells 3 of the battery cell assembly: a circuit board (an interconnection board) connected to the at least one bus bar assembly 50 and configured to sense voltages of the plurality of battery cells 3 of the battery cell assembly; and at least one thermistor (not shown) on the circuit board (the interconnection board) and disposed in the module housing to measure the temperature of at least one battery cell 3 among the plurality of battery cells 3 (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
Okazaki et al. do not specifically teach the module housing for the battery assembly.
However, Ikeda et al. teach the battery assembly 11 with a housing or a case (Ikeda et al.: Section [0029]; Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Okazaki et al. with the above teaching from Okazaki et al. with the motivation of having a means such the housing holds the battery assembly in place.
With respect to claim 2, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the module housing includes: a plurality of through holes (openings) configured to expose the columnar pole post 7 of the plurality of battery cells 3 to an outside of the battery module; and at least one groove (locate at the center portion of the bus bar module 10) provided between the plurality of through holes (openings) and having a predetermined depth to seat the at least one thermistor (not shown) (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
Okazaki et al. do not specifically teach the battery module have at least one groove having a predetermined depth to seat the at least one thermistor.
However, Ikeda et al. teach the battery module have a thermistor mounting portions 2 (at least one groove) having a predetermined depth to seat the at least one thermistor 6 (Ikeda et al.: Section [0037]; Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Okazaki et al. with the above teaching from Okazaki et al. with the motivation of having a means such the thermistor keep monitoring the temperature of the batteries.
With respect to claim 3, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the bus bar assembly includes: a bus bar plate 50 on at least a part of the outer surface of the module housing and configured to cover the at least one groove (at where the bus bar 50 locates); and a plurality of bus bar wires 8 configured to electrically connect terminals 5 of the battery cells 3 exposed through the plurality of through holes (openings) of the module housing and the bus bar plate 50 (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 4, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the at least one groove for the bus bar 50 is between adjacent battery cells 3 (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 5, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the at least one groove for the wire holding structure 30 extends from one end of the module housing to the center part (the inside) of the battery cell assembly (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 6, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the at least one groove extends from one end of the module housing to the center of the battery cell assembly (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 7, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the battery module includes an electric wire routing groove portion 31 (an injection tube) configured to cover at least a part of the thermistor (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 8, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the electric wire routing groove portion 31 (the injection tube) is disposed within the at least one groove (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 9, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the electric wire routing groove portion 31 (the injection tube) is bendable along the at least one groove (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 10, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, wherein the electric wire routing groove portion 31 (the injection tube) has a shape complementary to the at least one groove (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claims 11 and 12, Okazaki et al. do not specifically teach the battery module, further comprising a glue between the injection tube and the bus bar plate to bond the injection tube and the bus bar plate; wherein the glue fills a space between the at least one groove and the injection tube and is configured to fix the injection tube.
However, it would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have a glue between the injection tube and the bus bar plate to bond the injection tube and the bus bar plate since it was known in the art that a glue helps to hold battery components in place.
With respect to claim 13, Okazaki et al. teach the battery module, further comprising a case 20 for the bus bar 50 (an insulation resin) in a space between the thermistor wires and the bus bar plate to prevent electrical contact between the thermistor and the bus bar plate (Okazaki et al.: Section [0039]; Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 14, Okazaki et al. teach a battery pack comprising one battery module (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
With respect to claim 15, Okazaki et al. teach a vehicle comprising one battery pack (Okazaki et al.: Sections [0031]-[0046]; Fig. 1 and 2).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINGWEN R ZENG whose telephone number is (571)272-6649. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette can be reached on (571) 270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LINGWEN R ZENG/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 6/20/2026
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