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 .
Summary
This is the initial Office Action based on the 18/716,106 application filed on 06/03/2024.
Claims 1-2 and 4-33 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
(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) 1-6, 14-17, 27, 26-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Boddakayala et al. (US 2025/0357603).
Addressing claims 1, 16-17 and 26, Boddakayala discloses an insulation barrier 50 for use in an electrical energy storage (fig. 3), the insulation barrier (fig. 9) comprising:
at least one insulation layer 130 (aramid honeycomb [0062], which is insulative);
a support member (128 and 144) laterally surrounding at least a portion of the insulation layer (fig. 9, laterally along the longitudinal direction, or the vertical, of the insulation barrier), and
an encapsulation layer (132, 136 and 144, [0062]) at least partially surrounding the insulation layer (fig. 9), wherein the encapsulation layer comprises a laminate film comprising an outer polymer layer 144, a rigid layer 136, and an inner polymer layer 132, wherein the inner polymer layer is in contact with the insulation layer 130 and wherein the rigid layer 136 is disposed between the outer polymer layer and the inner polymer layer (fig. 9); and
wherein the insulation barrier comprises two support members (144 and 128) positioned on opposing sides of the insulation layer 130.
Addressing claim 2, paragraph [0051-0053] disclose the housing 128 and 144, as the claimed support member, are made of polymeric materials that are different from the aramid honeycomb material of the insulation layer 130 [0062].
Addressing claims 4 and 6, annotated fig. 9 below shows the claimed U-shaped support member.
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Addressing claim 5, fig. 9 shows the support member surrounds a perimeter of the insulation barrier as claimed.
Addressing claims 14-15, paragraph [0062] discloses the rigid layer 136 comprises metal (steel, [0062]).
Addressing claim 24, fig. 9 shows the encapsulation layer 130 is attached to the support member (128 or 144).
Addressing claim 27, Boddakayala discloses a battery module (fig. 3) comprising:
a plurality of battery cells 46, and
one or more insulation barriers 50 according to claim 1, wherein at least one insulation barrier is disposed between adjacent battery cells (fig. 3).
Addressing claim 28, fig. 3 shows the battery cells are disposed in an enclosure 30.
Addressing claim 29, fig. 3 shows the insulation barrier 50 has a surface area greater than the surface area of the battery cell 46 (fig. 3 shows the insulation barrier being higher than the battery cell 46, which implies the surface area of the side contacting the battery cell is greater than the corresponding surface area of the battery cell). Fig. 3 further shows a portion of the insulation barrier contacts an interior surface of the enclosure.
Addressing claims 30-33, figs. 1-2 show an electrical power system as a vehicle comprising one or more battery modules as described in claim 27 (see the rejection of claim 27 above).
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-6, 8-9 and 24-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Rhee et al. (US 2023/0268581).
Addressing claims 1, 5 and 26, Rhee discloses an insulation barrier for use in an electrical energy storage system, the insulation barrier comprising:
at least one insulation layer 1310;
a support member (1420a and 1410, figs. 8A-8B) laterally surrounding at least a portion of the insulation layer (figs. 8A-8B), and
an encapsulation layer (1330+1320, fig. 4) at least partially surrounding the insulation layer 1310, wherein the encapsulation layer comprises a laminate film comprising an outer polymer layer 1330, a rigid layer 1320 (paragraph [0073] discloses the material for the layer 1320, which has inherent degree of rigidity that qualifies it as the claimed rigid layer; the claim does not recite any numerical value associated with the rigidity of the rigid layer to structurally differentiate the claims rigid layer from that of the prior art), and an inner polymer layer 1330, wherein the inner polymer layer is in contact with the insulation layer 1310 and wherein the rigid layer is disposed between the outer polymer layer and the inner polymer layer (fig. 4); and
wherein the insulation barrier comprises two support members (1420a and 1410) positioned on opposing sides of the insulation layer.
Addressing claim 2, paragraph [0053] discloses the material of the support members and paragraph [0071] discloses the material of the insulation layer 1310 that are different from each other.
Addressing claim 4, fig. 8A shows the support member 1420a has the claimed U-shaped configuration.
Addressing claim 6, paragraph [0056] discloses the support member (1410 and 1420) is made of polymeric material.
Addressing claim 8, paragraph [0071] discloses the thermal conductivity of the insulation layer that encompasses the claimed range.
Addressing claim 9, paragraph [0071] discloses the insulation layer 1310 comprises aerogel.
Addressing claims 24-25, figs. 8A-8B show the encapsulation layer is attached to the support member with the portion of the support member immediately adjacent the corresponding encapsulation layer as the claimed one or more adhesive pads coupling the encapsulation layer to the support member.
Addressing claim 27, Rhee discloses in fig. 7 a battery module 1000 comprising:
a plurality of battery cells 100, and
one or more insulation barriers according to claim 1 is disposed between adjacent battery cells.
Addressing claim 28, fig. 7 discloses the battery cells are disposed in an enclosure.
Addressing claim 29, fig. 7 discloses the insulation barrier (as explained above in the rejection of claim 1) has a surface area (the surface area of the surface facing the corresponding battery cell) greater than the surface area of the battery cell (fig. 7), and wherein a portion of the insulation battery contacts an interior of the enclosure.
Addressing claims 30-33, paragraph [0003] discloses the electrical power system, such an electric vehicles and mobile devices having the battery modules in the claimed manner.
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.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boddakayala et al. (US 2025/0357603) in view of Vollbrecht et al. (DE102016215131 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 7, Boddakayala discloses the support member is made of polymeric material comprising polyester [0053]. Boddakayala is silent regarding the claimed intumescent material.
Vollbrecht discloses a polyester material for battery module comprising an intumescent layer (Abstract).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the polyester support member of Rhee with the intumescent material disclosed by Vollbrecht in order to protect the battery module when a limit temperature is exceeded (Vollbrecht, column 6 page 2 of the translation document).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Boddakayala et al. (US 2025/0357603) in view of Yun et al. (US 2025/0096364).
Addressing claim 10, Boddakayala is silent regarding the outer polymer layer is made from the claimed materials.
Yun discloses compressible pads that are situated between adjacent battery cells of a battery module similarly to the configuration of Boddakayala; wherein, the outer polymer layer 322 is made of PET [0079].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious the outer polymer layer of Boddakayala with the known PET material of Yun in order to obtain the predictable result of forming compression pad between adjacent battery cells for a battery module (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rhee et al. (US 2023/0268581) in view of Vollbrecht et al. (DE102016215131 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 7, Rhee discloses the support member is made of adhesive material, such as polyester [0056]. Rhee is silent regarding the claimed intumescent material.
Vollbrecht discloses a polyester adhesive for battery module comprising an intumescent layer (Abstract).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the polyester support member of Rhee with the intumescent material disclosed by Vollbrecht in order to protect the battery module when a limit temperature is exceeded (Vollbrecht, column 6 page 2 of the translation document).
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10-17, 20-24, 26-27 and 30-33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anzai et al. (JP2019147357 with provided machine English translation) in view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0184307).
Addressing claims 1-2, 5 and 26, Anzai discloses an insulation barrier 20 for use in an electrical energy system (electricity storage module), the insulation barrier comprising:
at least one insulation layer 11;
an encapsulation layer (21, 12 and 51) at least partially surrounding the insulation layer 11, wherein the encapsulation layer comprises a laminate film comprising an outer polymer layer 51 [0079], a rigid layer 12 [0033], and an inner polymer layer 21 [0048], wherein the inner polymer layer is in contact with the insulation layer 11 and wherein the rigid layer 12 is disposed between the outer polymer layer 51 and the inner polymer layer 21.
Anzai is silent regarding a support member comprises two support members positioned on opposing sides of the insulation layer and laterally surrounding at least a portion of the insulation layer.
Kim discloses an insulation layer 120 comprises at least one insulation layer 121 and a support member 122 laterally surrounding at least a portion of the insulation layer (fig. 1B) and wherein the insulation barrier comprises two support members positioned on opposing sides of the insulation layer 121 (fig. 1B shows the support member 122 has four sides, with two sides positioned on the top and bottom or on the right and the left sides of the layer 121 as the structural equivalence to the claimed two support members).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the insulation layer of Anzai with the heat insulation layer comprising support member 122 surrounding the insulation layer 121 as disclosed by Kim in order to improve heat-insulation and cooling efficiency of battery cells without being influenced by swelling of the battery cells (Kim, [0006]).
Addressing claim 4, Kim discloses the claimed U-shaped support member as shown in annotated fig. 1B below.
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Addressing claim 6, Kim discloses in paragraph [0054] the frame is made of plastic, which corresponds to the claimed polymeric material.
Addressing claim 8, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0022] the thermal conductivity of the insulation layer 11 that falls within the claimed range.
Addressing claim 10, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0079] the outer polymer layer 51 is made of polyamide or polyester.
Addressing claim 11, Anzai discloses the inner polymer layer 21 is a flame retardant layer, which includes polyolefin resin [0035].
Addressing claim 12, Anzai discloses the materials of the outer polymer layer 51 in paragraph [0079] that are different from the materials of the inner polymer layer 21 as disclosed in paragraph [0035].
Addressing claim 13, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0079] that the outer polymer layer 51 is a flame-retardant adhesive layer, which is made of polyethylene terephthalate [0038]. Anzai further discloses the inner polymer layer 21 is flame-retardant [0048], which is made of polyethylene [0035]. Therefore, the limitation of current claim would have been obvious based on the teaching of Anzai.
Addressing claims 14-15, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0033] the material for the rigid layer 12 includes the claimed metals.
Addressing claims 16-17, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0034] the claimed polymer materials.
Addressing claim 20, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0081] the thickness of the outer polymer layer 51 that falls within the claimed range.
Addressing claim 21, paragraph [0032] of Anzai discloses the rigid layer having a thickness that falls within the claimed range.
Addressing claim 22, Anzai discloses in paragraph [0048] the thickness of the inner polymer layer that falls within the claimed range.
Addressing claim 23, Anzai discloses in paragraphs [0032, 0048 and 0081] the thicknesses of the layers 21, 12 and 51 of the encapsulation layer that result in a total thickness that falls within the claimed range.
Addressing claim 24, Anzai discloses the encapsulation layer (21, 12 and 51) contacts the entire surface of the heat insulation layer; therefore, in the modified insulation barrier of Anzai in view of Kim, the encapsulation layer is attached to the support member (the frame 122 disclosed by Kim) as claimed.
Addressing claim 27, Anzai discloses a battery module 60 (fig. 6) comprising:
a plurality of battery cells 61, and
one or more insulation barriers 62 according to claim 1 (see the rejection of claim 1 above), wherein at least one insulation barrier is disposed between adjacent battery cells (fig. 6).
Addressing claims 30-33, Anzai discloses vehicles that use the battery module, which satisfies the limitation of current claims. Likewise, Kim discloses electrical devices, such as laptop computer, mobile computer and portable multimedia player that use the battery module.
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anzai et al. (JP2019147357 with provided machine English translation) in view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0184307) as applied to claims 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10-17, 20-24, 26-27 and 30-33 above, and further in view of Nishino et al. (US 2010/0183910).
Addressing claim 18, Anzai discloses the rigid layer has flame retardancy property [0030].
Nishino discloses a layer positioned between adjacent battery cells (fig. 4); wherein, the layer includes graphite as flame retardant [0148].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the rigid layer of Anzai with the known expanded graphite material disclosed by Nishino in order to obtain the predictable result of imparting flame retardancy in the rigid layer (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anzai et al. (JP2019147357 with provided machine English translation) in view of Kim et al. (US 2021/0184307) as applied to claims 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10-17, 20-24, 26-27 and 30-33 above, and further in view of Rhee et al. (KR20230025973 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 19, Anzai is silent regarding the limitation of current claim.
Rhee discloses a thermal barrier structure similarly to that of Anzai; wherein, adhesive layer is used at the interface of the layers within the thermal barrier structure [0084].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the thermal barrier layer of Anzai with known the adhesive layer between the layers, such as between the outer polymer layer and the rigid layer and/or the inner polymer layer and the rigid layer, as disclosed by Rhee in order to obtain the predictable result of adhering the layers of the heat insulating layer together (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143).
Conclusion
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/BACH T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726 09/14/2026
