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
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(s) 1 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Higashina (US 20110024207 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Higashina teaches a battery pack comprising a cell assembly including at least one battery cell (0015, Fig. 4 – battery module); a cell case accommodating the cell assembly (Fig. 4 – case 42); and a pack housing having an internal space in which the cell case is received (Figs. 1 and 13 – housing 26).
Regarding Claim 12, Higashina teaches the battery pack of CLaim 1 and a vehicle comprising the battery pack (0103, Claim 21).
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.
Claim(s) 2-3 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Higashina (US 20110024207 A1) in view of Lee (US 20200343604 A1).
Regarding Claims 2 and 3, Higashina teaches the battery pack of Claim 1. Higashina does not teach the limitations of Claims 2 or 3.
Lee teaches a battery module including at least one battery cell (Abstract) and a cell case accommodating battery cell(s) (Figs. 1 and 2 – parts 40 and 50). The cell case includes a cover made of a metal accommodating the cell assembly (0012 – the first plate 50 and second plate 40 may be made of aluminum), an open portion present in the cover, through which an electrode portion of the cell assembly is exposed (Fig. 2 – the first and second plates only form 4 walls), and an insulation block which is disposed in the open portion and configured to insulate the electrode portion from the cover (0099, 0100, Fig. 2 – insulating covers 70 ensure insulation between the electrode leads and the first plate 50 of the cover) (Claim 2). The insulation block includes a body portion and a slot portion present in the body portion that provides a space through which the electrode portion passes (0095, Fig. 5) (Claim 3).
Higashina and Lee are considered analogous to the claimed invention as they relate to the same field of endeavor, namely battery modules/packs.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have substituted the battery modules of Higashino for the battery modules of Lee as it is a suitable construction for a battery module and the simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved (see MPEP 2143 B).
Regarding Claim 11, modified Higashina teaches the battery pack of Claim 2. Higashina teaches that a plurality of couplers are mounted on the battery modules to (Abstract) allow the batteries to be coupled (Figs. 7 and 9). Thus, the cover of the cell case further includes a first coupling portion disposed on a first side, and having a first coupling structure, and a second coupling portion disposed on a second side, and having a second coupling structure corresponding to the first coupling structure so that the second coupling portion is coupled to a first coupling portion of a cover of an adjacent cell case (Higashina: Figs. 7 and 9).
Claim(s) 1 and 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katase (US 20190190099 A1) in view of Oonuma (US 20130284531 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Katase teaches a battery pack comprising a cell assembly including at least one battery cell (Fig. 2 – battery element 11) and a cell case accommodating the cell assembly (Fig. 2 – exterior material 12 and housing part 15).
Katase teaches that a plurality of the cell cases may be stacked (Fig. 5D) to form a battery pack (0135) but does not teach a pack housing having an internal space in which the cell case is received.
Oonuma a battery module/pack comprising a plurality of battery cells (0051, Fig. 6). The battery cases are received in a case (0014, Fig. 6 – part 3).
Katase and Oonuma are considered analogous to the claimed invention as they relate to the same field of endeavor, namely battery packs/modules.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery pack of Katase by providing a battery pack case/housing to receive the cell cases as it is a known component of a battery pack/module. Doing so would provide nothing more than the predictable results of a battery pack with a battery pack housing/case and the combination of familiar elements is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results (see MPEP 2143 A).
Regarding Claim 2, modified Katase teaches the battery pack of CLaim 1. The cell case includes a cover made of a metal (0035 – the exterior material may have a metal layer), an open portion in the cover through which an electrode portion of the cell assembly is exposed (Figs. 1A and 1B – exterior material 12 and electrode leads 13), and an insulation block in the open portion configured to insulate the electrode portion from the cover (0035 – an adhesive film 14a is inserted between the exterior material and the leads. The adhesive film is made from polyolefins, which can be viewed as insulating materials).
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katase and Oonuma as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Cheon (US 20060238162 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, modified Katase teaches the battery pack of Claim 2. The insulation block would necessarily have an inner surface and an outer surface (i.e., the surface closest to the battery element vs. the surface furthest away from the battery element or the surface contacting the case vs. the surface contacting the lead).
Katase does not teach that the insulation block is movable in a first direction relative to the cover.
Cheon teaches a sealant for a battery that is used to prevent a short circuit between the case and the leads (0025). The sealant has a groove in the center (Figs. 2 and 3 – notch 28) with less resistance to fracture (0035). When the internal pressure of the battery increases, the groove area ruptures to release gas (0035). Thus, the sealants work as safety vents to release internal gas in a battery when it is over-pressurized (0047). The rupturing would mean that the sealant moves in a first direction relative to the cover (specifically in a direction perpendicular to the leads to open the gas release path).
Cheon is considered analogous to the claimed invention as it relates to the same field of endeavor, namely batteries with insulation blocks.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the adhesive film of modified Katase to be the sealant of Cheon in order to provide a safety vent to release internal gas in the batteries.
Regarding Claim 14, modified Katase teaches the battery pack of Claim 13. The inner surface, which can be viewed as the surface inside the case, comprises an area that is thinner than the rest in the form of a groove (Katase: 0013, Figs. 2 and 3). This can be viewed as a stepped surface.
Regarding Claim 15, modified Katase teaches the battery pack of Claim 13. The shape of the groove on the outer surface of the body would mean that the outer surface tapers inwardly in the first direction (Katase: Figs. 2 and 3 – part 28).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-10 and 16 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:
Regarding Claims 4-10, the prior art does not teach or suggest all the limitations presented by Claim 4: specifically, the prior art does not teach or suggest an insulation block comprising the limitations of Claims 1-3 and that is also “configured to move to the entry hole when a thermal event occurs in the cell assembly”.
The closest prior art is MacFarland (US 2704780 A), which teaches a battery cell (Title) comprising a soft plastic seal (Col. 2, lines 39-54 – part 24) that can be viewed as an insulation block disposed in an open portion of the battery housing (Figs. 4-5 – the seal 24 is disposed in the open portion of the can/housing 10. Examiner notes that a lid/terminal is placed over the seal as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 6). The seal/insulation block has a slot portion configured to provide a space through which the electrode portion passes (Fig. 1 – the seal 24 has an opening through which the carbon electrode 14 passes). When gas builds inside the cell to a sufficient pressure, the seal rises to the top of the cell (Col. 3, lines 55-67; Fig. 1 shows the initial position of the seal while Fig. 3 shows the final position) to prevent gas from escaping and to provide additional expansion room inside the cell (Col. 3, line 81-Col. 4, line 4). The seal of MacFarland is used internally within a singular battery cell rather than in a cell case for a cell assembly comprising a battery cell. Examiner also notes that the purpose of the movement of the seal is to prevent gas from escaping the cell.
Cho `131 (US 20180062131 A1) discloses a battery cell (Title) comprising an insulation block disposed in an open portion of the battery casing (Figs. 4 and 5 – the insulating member 130 is disposed in an open portion of the casing 300). The insulation block comprises a body portion and a slot portion through which the electrode passes (Figs. 6 and 7 – the insulating member surrounds the electrode leads 110 and 120). In the case of gas generation within the cell (0035), the internal pressure causes a portion of the outer lead 120 (Fig. 7 – part 121) to move outward (Figs. 7 and 11), which stops electrical connection (0118) and allows gas to leave through through holes (0119 – part H2). However, it is a portion of the electrode lead rather than the insulation block that moves outward (Figs. 7 and 11 – part 121).
Cho `185 (US 20150072185 A1) discloses a battery cell (Title) in which the electrode lead is configured to move outward during a thermal event to allow the release of gas from the cell (0086, 0087, Fig. 11). Cho `185 does not disclose an insulation block.
Cheon (US 20060238162 A1) teaches a battery cell comprising insulation blocks with slots configured to provide a space through which an electrode portion passes (Cheon: Fig. 1 – sealant 27). The insulation block comprises grooves/notches (0013) that are weaker than the rest of the insulation block (0012). This allows the sealant to rupture in the case of high temperature usage to prevent an explosion or combustion of the battery (0039).
Yasuda (US 20240125400 A1) teaches a valve for releasing gas in a case (Abstract). The valve has a structure relevant to those depicted in Figs. 9 and 10 of the present invention (Fig. 3). However, the valve does not involve an electrode.
Regarding Claim 16, the prior art discloses venting frames with entry holes for battery packs (See Figs. 5 and 6 of Motokawa (US 20190273243 A1) and Figs. 1 and 2 of Kim `813 (US 20130004813 A1) and Examiner notes that any location of the entry hole can be viewed as corresponding to the insulation block in some manner. However, the prior art does not teach or suggest the limitation of “wherein a cross sectional area of a first end of the body [of the insulation block] is less than a cross sectional area of the entry hole, and wherein a cross sectional area of a second end of the body [of the insulation block] is greater than the cross section area of the entry hole”.
The closest prior art is Kim `701 (US 20200303701 A1), which teaches a battery pack comprising a battery cell including a cell vent and frames including guide ribs surrounding the cell vent (Abstract). The guide ribs have a first end with a cross-sectional area less than the cross sectional area of the entry hole of a gas discharge path and a second end with a cross sectional area greater than the cross sectional area of the entry hole (Fig. 5 – parts GR and PW). However, the guide ribs of Kim would not satisfy the parent limitations of Claim 16: For instance, the guide ribs are fixed components of the frame/cover (Fig. 2 – part F) and would therefore not be movable in a first direction relative to the cover.
Kim `769 (US 20230187769 A1) discloses a gas venting device that can be used with a battery module (Abstract). The gas venting device has a variable cross-sectional area (Figs. 3-10). Kim `769 does not disclose any relationship between the cross-sectional area of the venting device and an entry hole to where the gas is being discharged.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZIHENG LU whose telephone number is (703)756-1077. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30 - 5 ET.
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/ZIHENG LU/Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
