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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference signs mentioned in the description: projections 108 (page 41, line 25, page 42, line 4 and line 7) and perimeter 45 (page 39, line 23, page 40, line 2).
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference characters not mentioned in the description: 212b’, 212z’ and 213z’ (Fig. 8b).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 36, 41, 49, 51 and 53-54 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 36 recites “the first upstanding wall” in line 6 and then “the upstanding wall” in line 9 and it is recommended to change “the upstanding wall” to “the first upstanding wall” for consistency.
Claim 41 recites “according Claim 36” in line 1 which should be “according to Claim 36”.
Claim 41 recites “the frame” in line 1 which should be “the holding frame”.
It is noted that “the at least one cell-locating structure” in line 3 of claim 41 is understood to be the one or more cell locating structures recited in claim 36.
Claim 49 recites “cell locating structures” and it is recommended to amend this to “cell-locating structures” (hyphen added) for consistency with the independent claim.
Claim 49 recites “the upstanding wall” in line 4 which should be changed to “the first upstanding wall” for consistency with claim 36.
Claim 51 recites “the upstanding wall” in line 2 and line 3 (two instances) which should be changed to “the first upstanding wall” for consistency with claim 36.
Claim 53 recites “the first frame” (multiple instances in lines 2-5) and “the second frame” (multiple instances in lines 2-5) and these should be changed to “the first holding frame” and “the second holding frame” respectively for consistency with previous claims.
Claim 54 recites “cell location structures” in line 12 which should be “cell locating structures”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 50-51 and 54 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 50 recites “its terminal edge” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 51 recites “the axis” in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 54 recites the limitation “the distance” in line 10 and “the facing first major surface" in line 10. There is insufficient antecedent basis for these limitations in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 36-42 and 50-51 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983).
Regarding claim 36, Cummins discloses a holding frame (holding frame 3) for use in manufacturing a battery pack assembly (page 2, lines 1-2) as shown below:
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Cummins discloses the holding frame has a first major surface (shown exposed in Fig. 2) and a second major surface (shown exposed in Fig. 1), on one or both of the first major surface and the second major surface the holding frame has one or more cell-locating structures which are shaped and/or sized and/or configured to accommodate at least a portion of one or more cells (arcuate sections complementary to the side wall of the cells 2, page 2, lines 26-27), the one or more cell-locating structures comprising a first wall upstanding from one of the first or second major surfaces (from the first major surface shown above), the first upstanding wall comprising a first portion extending from the first or second major surface (horizontal portion extending from the first major surface).
Cummins does not expressly disclose a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion terminating at a distal end.
However, Schnakenberg discloses a holding frame (carrier 18) with cell-locating structures (comprising journals 22, para. [0023]) comprising a first wall upstanding the first upstanding wall comprising a first portion and a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in (the free end has a curved structure which slopes downward [circled below] on all four sides which would assist in placing the cell) portion terminating at a distal end, the free or terminal portion providing a minor portion of the upstanding wall and the holding frame extending from the first major surface to the distal end as shown below (Fig. 4):
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Likewise, Yi discloses a holding frame (tray 100) with cell-locating structures (ribs 141) comprising a first wall upstanding (shown below) the first upstanding wall comprising a first portion and a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion (the free end has a sloped structure [circled below] which would assist in placing the cell) terminating at a distal end, the free or terminal portion providing a minor portion of the upstanding wall and the holding frame extending from the first major surface to the distal end as shown below (Fig. 4):
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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 teachings of Cummins wherein the first upstanding wall includes a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion terminating at a distal end, the free or terminal portion providing a minor portion of the upstanding wall and the holding frame extending from the first major surface to the distal end.
The person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to provide a lead-in portion to assist in placement of cells.
Regarding claim 37, Cummins discloses wherein at least one cell-locating structure comprises a second upstanding wall (there are multiple protrusions 12 which each cell is in contact with and which each have multiple walls, i.e. four walls, page 5, lines 5-11, Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 38, in the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 36 each upstanding wall comprises a terminal edge shaped to provide a lead-in portion (Schnakenberg, Fig. 4, Yi, Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 39, Cummins discloses the holding frame comprises an array of plural cell- locating structures, each of said plural cell-locating structures defining a cell-locating zone for a cell as shown below:
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Regarding claim 40, Cummins discloses wherein each of said plural cell-locating structures comprises plural upstanding walls to provide a discontinuous boundary about each cell-locating zone as shown below:
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Regarding claim 41, Cummins discloses wherein the frame has a periphery comprising a peripheral wall extending from one or both of the first major surface and the second major surface (the first major surface), wherein the at least one cell-locating structure is located inboard of the periphery as shown below:
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It is noted that Schnakenberg also discloses a peripheral wall and inboard cell-locating structure (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 42, Cummins discloses wherein the one or more cell-locating structures are provided on the first major surface (Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 50, the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 36 disclose wherein the or each of said one or more cell-locating structure comprises a first diametrical dimension and a second diametrical dimension at its terminal edge, the second diametrical dimension being larger than the first diametrical dimension, thereby to provide the lead-in portion in that the lead-in portion has a sloped structure as indicated (with dotted arrows representing diametrical dimensions in Schnakenberg or Yi) below:
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Regarding claim 51, the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 36 reasonably discloses wherein the first portion (Fig. 4 of Schnakenberg or Yi, shown above for claim 36) comprises from 55% to 98% of the height of the upstanding wall, and the terminal portion comprises from 45% to 2% of the height of the upstanding wall (Fig. 4 of Schnakenberg or Yi) and/or wherein the terminal portion is angled relative to the axis of the first portion, at an angle which is greater than zero and less than 60 degrees.
Assuming, arguendo, that the dimensions are not disclosed in Schnakenberg or Yi , the examiner has found that the specification contains no disclosure of any unexpected results arising therefrom, and that as such the parameters are arbitrary and therefore obvious. Such unsupported limitations cannot be a basis for patentability, because where patentability is said to be based upon particular chosen parameters or upon another variable recited in a claim, the applicant must show that the chosen parameters/variables are critical. See In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990) and MPEP 2144.05(III).
With respect to the limitation of the upstanding wall dimension, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to have provided the apparatus of Cummins with the dimensions recited in the instant claims, which are now considered at most an optimum choice, lacking any disclosed criticality.
Claims 43 and 46 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983) as applied to claim 36 above and in further view of Lee (US 20220166113).
Regarding claim 43, Cummins does not expressly disclose that the second major surface comprises an array of projections.
However, Lee discloses a battery pack assembly (battery cell assembly, Abstract) comprising two holding frames (holder plates 121 and 122) and a plurality of cells (cell array 110) and Lee further teaches wherein the second major surface comprises an array of projections (linear and circular) as shown below:
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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 teachings of Cummins wherein the second major surface comprises an array of projections.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to add projections/rib structure to strengthen the device while minimizing material usage.
Regarding claim 46, the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 43 disclose wherein the array of projections comprise linear upstanding walls (Lee, shown above for claim 43).
Claims 44-45 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Lee (US 20220166113) and Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983) as applied to claim 43 above and in further view of Tyler et al. (US 20160301039).
Regarding claim 44, the above-cited references do not appear to expressly disclose concentric circles.
However, Tyler et al. discloses a battery pack (battery module, Abstract) and Tyler et al. teaches concentric circles (receptacle region 63) as part of an array of projections (“one or more concentric circles connected by the ribs 85 that extend through the surface area of the front cover”, pars. [0047]-[0048], Fig. 6).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the array of projections on the second major surface comprises one or more sets of concentric circles.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use concentric circles to provide for reinforcing structure such as at fastener locations (Tyler et al., “clips, fasteners, prongs, grooves, mating projections”, para. [0048], such as around the circles of Lee, insertion hole 151 of Lee is for fastening unit 150, para. [0068], Fig. 3, shown above for claim 43).
Regarding claim 45, Cummins does not expressly disclose an array of projections.
However, Lee further teaches a holding frame comprising an aperture for the receipt of a fastener, located at the centre (center) of one or more sets of circles (Lee, insertion holes 151 are for fastening units 150, para. [0068], Fig. 3, shown above for claim 43).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the holding frame comprises an aperture for the receipt of a fastener, located at the centre (center) of one or more sets of circles.
The person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to include projected circle structures to provide for increased strength around fasteners .
Cummins nor Lee discloses concentric circles.
However, Tyler et al. further teaches concentric circles may be used around fasteners (Tyler et al., “clips, fasteners, prongs, grooves, mating projections” and “the receptacle region 63 may include one or more concentric circles”, para. [0048], Fig. 6).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the aperture for the receipt of a fastener is located at the center of the or each of said one or more sets of concentric circles.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to provide concentric circles around fasteners in order to distribute load (Tyler et al., para. [0047]) or provide strength around fasteners.
Claim 47 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Lee (US 20220166113), Tyler et al. (US 20160301039) and Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983) as applied to claim 45 above and in further view of Shaffer et al. (US 20210143514).
Regarding claim 47, the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 45 disclose
wherein linear walls are located between adjacent apertures for receipt of fasteners (Lee, insertion hole 151 is for fastening unit 150, para. [0068], Fig. 3, shown above for claim 43) and insomuch as the above-cited references for claim 45 do not disclose the linear walls extend between apertures; Shaffer et al. discloses a battery assembly (Abstract) and Shaffer et al. discloses linear walls (ribs 14) extend between apertures (openings 24, Fig. 14).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the linear walls extend between adjacent apertures for receipt of fasteners.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use known patterns for the panels of battery assemblies in order to achieve the predictable result of reinforcing the surfaces of battery assemblies.
Claims 48-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983) as applied to claim 36 above and in further view of Chandan et al. (US 20220059898) or Davies (US 20210159566).
Regarding claim 48, Cummins does not appear to expressly disclose wherein further cell-locating structures are provided on the second major surface.
However, Chandan et al. discloses a similar device (Fig. 1A) having a plurality of cells (cells 15B), holding frames (frames 10A, 10B and 37) and Chandan et al. teaches wherein further cell-locating structures are provided on the second major surface (intermediate holding frame 37 has cell locating structures on both sides at least insofar as cells are seated therein, Fig. 3A) or Davies discloses a holding frame (board 12) for a battery pack (Abstract) having cell-locating structures on a first and second major surface (cell guides 18 are located on the top and bottom, Fig. 15) as shown below:
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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 teachings of Cummins wherein further cell-locating structures are provided on the second major surface.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to place cell-locating structures on both sides of the holding frame in order to use the frame as an intermediate frame (Davies, Fig. 12 or Chandan et al., Fig. 3A).
Regarding claim 49, Cummins does not disclose wherein further cell-locating structures are provided on the second major surface.
However, Davies who is relied upon to teach further cell-locating structures on the second major surface further teaches a symmetrical structure for the first and second major surface (Fig. 13 and Fig. 15).
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 combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 36 wherein the first and second major surfaces have symmetrical cell-locating structures such that the further cell locating structures comprise a first upstanding wall (Cummins, Fig. 2, shown above for claim 36) having a first portion extending from the second major surface and a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion (Schnakenberg, Fig. 4, shown above for claim 36 or Yi, Fig. 4, shown above for claim 36) terminating at a distal end, the free or terminal portion providing a minor portion of the upstanding wall and the holding frame extending from the second major surface to the distal end.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use symmetrical structures on both sides of the holding frame to seat symmetrical (cylindrical) cells on both sides.
Claims 52-53 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983) as applied to claim 36 above and in further view of Lee (US 20220166113) or Chandan et al. (US 20220077534) hereinafter “Chandan II”.
Regarding claim 52, Cummins discloses two holding frames and a plurality of cells (cells 2) are located between a first and a second holding frame of said two holding frames (Fig. 1) or otherwise Lee discloses a battery pack assembly (battery cell assembly, Abstract) comprising two holding frames (holder plates 121 and 122 have the same shape, para. [0063]) and a plurality of cells (cell array 110) wherein said plurality of cells are located between a first and a second holding frame of said two holding frames (Fig. 2) or Chandan II discloses a similar device (Fig. 1A) having a plurality of cells (cells 15B), holding frames (frames 10A and 10B) and Chandan II teaches wherein said plurality of cells are located between a first and a second holding frame (frames 10A and 10B, Fig. 1A).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the battery pack assembly comprises two holding frames according to claim 36 and a plurality of cells, wherein said plurality of cells are located between a first and a second holding frames of said two holding frames.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to include two holding frames for rigid support of cells at both ends.
Regarding claim 53, Cummins does not expressly disclose wherein the first major surface of the first frame faces the first major surface of the second frame.
However, Lee discloses wherein the first major surface of the first frame faces the first major surface of the second frame (Fig. 2) and Lee reasonably teaches the cell-locating structures (structures 131) have different heights between each other or the sidewall has a different height (sidewall /interpolation part 130, Fig. 4, is also a “cell locating structures”) such that for a first of said cell-locating structures the distance between the first major surface of the first frame and the first major surface of the second frame is different to the distance between the first major surface of the first frame and the first major surface of the second frame for a second of said cell-locating structures or Chandan II discloses a similar device (Fig. 1A) having a plurality of cells (cells 15B), holding frames (frames 10A and 10B) and Chandan II teaches first (arcuate side wall sections P1) and second (base protrusions P2) cell-locating structures having different heights (Fig. 1A) or otherwise assuming, arguendo, that Lee and Chandan II do not disclose different heights of cell-locating structures then Schnakenberg discloses a battery pack assembly (accumulator module, Abstract) comprising a first holding frame and a second holding frame (carriers 18, Fig. 2), a plurality of cells (cells 14) an electrically conductive conductor plate (cell connector 16, para. [0020]) and Schnakenberg teaches the first major surfaces have first (journals 22) and second (edges 20) cell-locating structures extending therefrom where the first and second cell-locating structures have different heights (Fig. 4).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the first major surface of the first frame faces the first major surface of the second frame, and wherein for a first of said cell-locating structures the distance between the first major surface of the first frame and the first major surface of the second frame is different to the distance between the first major surface of the first frame and the first major surface of the second frame for a second of said cell-locating structures.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to arrange two holding frames facing each other to provide for rigid support of cells at both ends and would have found it obvious to utilize known configurations of holding frames, such as by using a holding frame having cell-locating structures of different heights, to thereby achieve the predictable result of supporting a cylindrical cell.
Claim 54 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee (US 20220166113) and Chandan et al. (US 20220077534) hereinafter “Chandan II” or Schnakenberg (US 20200313259).
Regarding claim 54, Lee discloses a battery pack assembly (battery cell assembly, Abstract) as shown below:
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Lee discloses the assembly comprises a first holding frame and a second holding frame (holder plates 121 and 122 have the same shape, para. [0063]), a plurality of cells (cell array 110) having terminals (electrode terminal 112a, Fig. 6), and an electrically conductive conductor plate (array panel 160) for providing electrical contact to at least two of said plurality of cells (via contact bolts, para. [0016], Fig. 6), the first holding frame having a first major surface (121a/122a, which seats cells, Fig. 2, Fig. 4) and a second major surface (which seats the conductor plate/array panel 160, Fig. 3), the first major surface (Fig. 4) having first and second cell-locating structures (fixing grid 131 shown to have more than two cell locating structures shown annotated above and additionally Lee discloses a sidewall which is also a cell-locating structure, Fig. 4) extending therefrom each of which are shaped and/or sized and/or configured to accommodate at least a portion of one of said plurality of cells (Fig. 4, para. [0068]), the second holding frame having a first major surface and a second major surface (identical to the first holding frame), the first major surface having first and second cell-locating structures extending therefrom (shown above) each of which are shaped and/or sized and/or configured to accommodate at least a portion of said one of said plurality of cells, the distance between the facing first major surfaces of the first holding frame and the second holding frame being different for the respective first cell locating structures and second cell location structures (Lee reasonably discloses the structures 131 have different heights between each other or different heights from the sidewall/interpolation part 130, Fig. 4, all of which are “cell locating structures”).
Assuming, arguendo, that Lee does not disclose different heights for cell locating structures, Chandan II discloses a similar device (Fig. 1A) having a plurality of cells (cells 15B), holding frames (frames 10A and 10B) and Chandan II teaches first (arcuate side wall sections P1) and second (base protrusions P2) cell-locating structures having different heights (Fig. 1A) or Schnakenberg discloses a battery pack assembly (accumulator module, Abstract) comprising a first holding frame and a second holding frame (carriers 18, Fig. 2), a plurality of cells (cells 14) and an electrically conductive conductor plate (cell connector 16, para. [0020]) and Schnakenberg teaches the first major surfaces have first (journals 22) and second (edges 20) cell-locating structures extending therefrom where the first and second cell-locating structures have different height.
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 teachings of Lee wherein the first and second cell-locating structures have different heights such that distances between the first cell locating structure and the second cell location structure are different.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to change the shape and dimensions of cell-locating structures by using known shapes for cell-locating structures and thereby achieve the predictable result of seating battery cells in holding frames.
Claim 55 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cummins (Applicant disclosed GB 2545267) in view of Shenzhen TOP Mechanical & Equipment Co., Ltd. (YouTube video titled “Automatic Battery PACK Assembly Line for E-Vehicles, E-Bikes, E-Tools, Energy storage”, see attached video summary) hereinafter “Shenzhen” and Schnakenberg (US 20200313259) or Yi (US 20190259983).
Regarding claim 55, Cummins discloses a method for assembling a battery pack assembly (assembling a battery pack assembly comprising assembling a holding frame, plurality of cells and fastening means, page 1, lines 2-6 and 23-30), the method comprising: i. providing a holding frame (holding frame 3) having a first major surface and a second major surface (shown above for claim 36), on one or both of the first major surface and the second major surface (the first major surface) the holding frame having one or more cell-locating structures (arcuate sections complementary to the side wall of the cells 2, page 2, lines 26-27) which are shaped and/or sized and/or configured to accommodate at least a portion of one or more cells, the one or more cell-locating structures comprising a first wall upstanding from one of the first or second major surfaces (shown above for claim 36).
Cummins does not expressly disclose a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion.
However, Schnakenberg discloses a holding frame (carrier 18) with cell-locating structures (comprising journals 22, para. [0023]) comprising a first wall upstanding the first upstanding wall comprising a first portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion (shown above for claim 36, the free end has a curved structure which slopes downward [shown circled in the annotation above for claim 36] on all four sides which would assist in placing the cell).
Likewise, Yi discloses a holding frame (tray 100) with cell-locating structures (ribs 141) comprising a first wall upstanding (shown above for claim 36) the first upstanding wall comprising a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion (the free end has a sloped structure [circled above for claim 36] which would assist in placing the cell).
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the first upstanding wall comprises a free or terminal portion which is shaped to provide a lead-in portion.
The person of ordinary skill would have been motivated to provide a lead-in portion to assist in placement of cells.
Cummins discloses: ii. locating a conductor plate on the holding frame (conductive plates 7a, Fig. 1, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).
Cummins does not expressly disclose: iii. simultaneously locating a plurality of cells on the conductor plate by moving the cells past the lead-in portion of each cell-locating structure.
However, Shenzhen discloses a method for assembling a battery pack (see 2:19 in video, page 3 in attached summary) and Shenzhen teaches simultaneously locating a plurality of cells (robot loads five cells at a time, see 2:19 in video, page 3 in attached summary) on the conductor plate (nickel sheet, see 4:57 in video, page 7 in attached summary) by moving the cells past a lead-in portion (at least an upper surface on the bracket) of each cell-locating structure.
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 teachings of Cummins wherein the method includes simultaneously locating a plurality of cells on the conductor plate by moving the cells past the lead-in portion of each cell-locating structure.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to locate multiple cells simultaneously in order to speed up assembly of the battery pack.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Shaffer et al. (US 20240222682) discloses linear and circular projections on a surface.
Merino et al. (US 20220336900) discloses linear and circular projections on a surface (webbings 80, fastener holes 82, Fig. 3).
Lu et al. (attached translation of CN 109818085A) discloses a concentric circle structure and support ribs around an opening.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK M MCCARTY whose telephone number is (571)272-4398. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Claire Wang can be reached at 571-270-1051. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/P.M.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1774
/CLAIRE X WANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1774
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