DETAILED ACTION
Application 18/721404, “Drive Battery For A Motor Vehicle, And Motor Vehicle Comprising Such A Drive Battery”, is the national stage entry of a PCT application filed on 2/15/23 and claims priority from a foreign application filed on 2/22/22.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action on the merits is in response to communication filed on 6/18/24.
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.
Claims 12, 18, 19, 22, 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakamura (US 2016/0093864).
Regarding claim 12, Nakamura teaches (Figs. 1-3) a battery (item 9), wherein the battery is a drive battery for a motor vehicle (this statement of intended use is not required of the prior art, but for completeness of record see paragraphs [0068]), comprising: a battery housing comprising a bottom wall (Fig. 3 item 8) and a top wall (item 2); a battery cell layer (item 10) arranged between the bottom wall and the top wall and comprising a plurality of battery cells (items 1) and a battery cell contacting system (items 3); and a support layer (item 4) arranged between the battery cell layer and the bottom wall (see Fig. 3) to protect the battery cell layer in an event of a collision with the bottom wall (this statement of intended use is not required of the prior art, but for completeness of record note that the support layer 4 is disposed between the cells and the bottom wall 8, thereby providing mechanical protection), wherein the support layer is configured as a carrier for the battery cell contacting system (Fig. 3; paragraph [0088]).
Regarding claim 18-19, the cited art remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura further teaches wherein the battery cell contacting system is conductively connected to contacts of each battery cell by welding (paragraph [0072, 0046]).
Regarding claim 22, the cited art remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura further teaches wherein the battery cell layer is formed with a plurality of battery cells arranged vertically and side-by-side (see vertically arranged cells 1 of Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 24, the cited art remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura further teaches the drive battery as a subcomponent of a vehicle paragraph [0068, 0003]; the vehicle implicitly includes some form of a vehicle body).
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Nakamura (US 2016/0093864) and Boehringer (US 2022/0384888).
Regarding claims 13-15, Nakamura remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura teaches the battery cell contacting system (item 3) mated with the support layer (item 4), but does not appear to teach wherein the components are secured together via an adhesive bond or an interlocking connection being a clipped or heat caulked connection.
In the battery art, Boehringer teaches that a bus bar [a kind of battery cell contacting system] may be accurately and reliably fastened to an adjacent component by use of an adhesive, a clip connection, or a hot caulking connection (paragraph [0014]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to secure the contacting system and support layer of Nakamura together using an adhesive, a clip connection, or a hot caulking connection for the benefit of accurately and reliably fastening the components together as taught by Bohringer.
Claims 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Nakamura (US 2016/0093864) and Baek (US 2023/0411797).
Regarding claims 16, Nakamura remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura teaches the battery cell contacting system (item 3) mated with the support layer (item 4), but does not appear to teach wherein the components are secured together via a press-fit connection.
In the battery art, Baek teaches that a bus bar [a kind of battery cell contacting system] may be strongly fixed to a busbar frame by use of a press-fitting connection an adjacent component by use of an adhesive, a clip connection, or a hot caulking connection (paragraph [0062]; Fig. 8]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to secure the contacting system and support layer of Nakamura together using a press-fit connection for the benefit of strongly fixing the components together as taught by Baek.
Claims 17 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Nakamura (US 2016/0093864) and Lim (US 2023/0216150).
Regarding claims 17 and 20, Nakamura remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura teaches the battery cell contacting system (item 3) mated with the support layer (item 4), but does not appear to teach wherein the components are secured together via over-molding or wherein the support is formed by injection molded plastics.
In the battery art, Lim teaches that a bus bar [a kind of battery cell contacting system] may be easily attached to a busbar holder by use of over-molding and/or injection molding (paragraph [0010, 0044-0045, 0058]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to secure the contacting system and support layer of Nakamura together using a process comprising over-molding and or plastics injection-molding for the benefit of easily securing the the components together as taught by Lim.
Claims 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Nakamura (US 2016/0093864) and Binder (US 2022/0242214) or Kuo (US 2023/0173901).
Regarding claim 21, the cited art remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura does not appear to teach wherein the bottom wall of the battery at least partially forms an underbody of the motor vehicle.
In the battery art, Binder teaches that a battery may be mounted on or in an underbody of ta vehicle (Fig. 5; paragraphs [0013, 0080]). The bottom wall of the battery is attached to the underbody, thereby forming at least a part thereof.
Alternatively, in the battery art, Kuo teaches a battery pack which is secured to an underbody of a vehicle (paragraph [0033], Fig. 1). Since the battery pack is the lowermost structure of the vehicle, the bottom wall of the battery pack serves as at least a part of the underbody of the vehicle.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to configure the battery such that the bottom wall at least partially forms an underbody of the motor vehicle for the benefit of attaching the battery module to the vehicle in a secure location that has space to accommodate a large battery pack capable of driving the vehicle.
Claims 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the combination of Nakamura (US 2016/0093864) and Zhou (US 2021/0226278).
Regarding claim 23, the cited art remains as applied to claim 12. Nakamura further teaches wherein the battery cell layer is adhesively bonded to the top wall by way of an uppermost adhesive layer (Fig. 3 shows an adhesive layer 5,59 used to fix battery cells 1 to a top wall 2,7), but does not appear to teach wherein the support layer is adhesively bonded to the bottom wall by way of a lowermost adhesive layer and/or is adhesively bonded to the battery cell layer by way of an upper adhesive layer.
In the battery art, Zhou teaches (e.g. Fig. 3) wherein a support layer (item 10) is adhesively bonded to the battery cell layer (including item 60) by way of an upper adhesive layer (item 40) for the purpose of fixing the cells within the module (paragraph [0035]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to configure the battery such that the support layer is adhesively bonded to the battery cell layer by way of an upper adhesive layer for the benefit of ensuring that the cells are adequately fixed within the battery as taught by Zhou.
Relevant or Related Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, though not necessarily pertinent to applicant’s invention as claimed.
Simon (US 2023/0173903) battery module mounted to vehicle floor;
Naruke (US 2023/0137848) battery module disposed on the floor panel of a vehicle;
Kellner (US 2022/0407164) battery housing arranged at the underbody of the electric vehicle (paragraph [0023]);
Kim (US 2022/0314772) underbody which may hold a battery module;
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEREMIAH R SMITH whose telephone number is (571)270-7005. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 9 AM-5 PM (EST).
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/JEREMIAH R SMITH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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