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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 7/3/2024, 10/16/2025, 3/25/2026 and 8/4/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings submitted on 7/3/2024 are acceptable.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
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.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO 2021173991 A1, VISSER et al. provided in the IDS dated 3/25/2026.
Regarding claim 1. VISSER [0206] discloses a busbar comprising: a metal plate; and [0003] a plurality of insulating members at an outer surface of the metal plate called an electrodepositable coating layer, and a second coating layer comprising a powder coating layer, wherein at least some of the plurality of insulating members form a chemical bond with the metal plate.
Regarding claim 2. VISSER [0003] discloses the busbar according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of insulating members include a first insulating member called an electrodepositable coating layer and a second insulating member called a powder coating layer, adjacent the first insulating member so as to enclose an outer surface of the first insulating member, and [0010] the first insulating member is made of an inorganic material, called an ionic salt group.
Regarding claim 3. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 2, wherein [0039] the inorganic material is an inorganic metal oxide (e.g., oxides of cerium, zirconium and bismuth).
Regarding claim 4. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 3, wherein the inorganic metal oxide is [0133] aluminum nitride (AlN).
Regarding claim 5. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 2, wherein the first insulating member is in a form of [0148] a nano-inorganic oxide dispersion.
Regarding claim 6. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 2, wherein [0133] the second insulating member is ceramized at high temperatures.
Regarding claim 7. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 6, wherein the second insulating member is made of [0133] boron-based flame retardant coating agents.
Regarding claim 8. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 2, wherein the second insulating member comprises [0133] magnesium hydroxide (MDH).
Regarding claim 9. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 2, wherein the second insulating member comprises [0096] polyamide.
Regarding claim 10. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 1, wherein the metal plate is made of an electrically conductive material comprising [0165] copper.
Regarding claim 11. VISSER discloses the busbar according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of insulating members [0201] is formed by applying a slurry having an insulating material dispersed therein.
Regarding claim 12. VISSER [0212] discloses a battery pack comprising a plurality of battery modules called a module racking, electrically connected to each other via the busbar according to claims 1.
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 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WO 2021173991 A1, VISSER et al. provided in the IDS dated 3/25/2026 in view of US 20100124693 A1, KOSUGI et al.
Regarding claim 13. VISSER discloses the battery pack according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of battery modules is disposed in a battery pack housing, called a module racking
VISSER does not explicitly discloses the battery pack housing includes a grid-shaped partition wall, one battery module is located in one grid space, and the busbar is disposed so as to traverse an upper part of the grid-shaped partition wall to electrically connect the plurality of battery modules to each other.
KOSUGI [title] discloses A Secondary Battery Pack where,
KOSUGI discloses in the annotated figure depicted below the battery pack housing includes a grid-shaped partition wall called partition ribs (30), one battery module is located in one grid space, and the busbar (18) is disposed so as to traverse an upper part of the grid-shaped partition wall to electrically connect the plurality of battery modules to each other.
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KOSUGI [0007-0008] discloses that the busbar is exposed at the top so that the lead wires are not confined and “has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and its object is to provide a secondary battery pack configured so that operations for connecting secondary batteries and detection and control systems are simplified to prevent wrong connection and improve safety.”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have used the insulated busbar disclosed by VISSER in the secondary battery pack disclosed by KOSUGI in the order to keep the control system simplified and improve safety.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20250329853 A1, PARK et al.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE LA RAIA III whose telephone number is (703)756-5441. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thur 6:00am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at (571) 272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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LAWRENCE LA RAIA III
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/L.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
