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). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2022-013727, filed on 01/31/2022 and PCT/JP2023/002462, filed on 01/26/2023.
Drawings
Figure 12 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph [0027], line 5, “current collector plate 15” should read “current collector plate 51”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: “a direction in which the inclined surface parts is arranged” should be “a direction in which the plurality of inclined surface parts is arranged” or “a direction in which the inclined surface parts are arranged.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Fees et al. (US PG Pub. 2018/0108886A1).
Regarding claim 1, Fees discloses an electric power storage module (battery module 100) comprising: a plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cells). A plurality of current collector plates (“center” contact plates 850A and 855A), each of which is connected to (see Fig. 8A with annotations) a respective one of the plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cells). A battery housing includes an insulation layer (para. [0205]), and dividers are part of the insulation layer (para. [0089]). An insulating member (insulation layer of battery housing) including a part (dividers 870A, 875A insulation) disposed between (Fig. 8A) the plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cells 810A, 820A, 830A) and the plurality of current collector plates (contact plate 850A and 855A). The plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cells) is arranged in a direction orthogonal to a height direction of the electric power storage devices (see Fig. 8A with annotations).
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Fees’ Fig. 8A with annotations
The insulating member (insulation layer) includes a plurality of inclined surface parts (see dash arrows identifying the inclined surfaces in Fig. 13C with annotations below) which are inclined in an arrangement direction. Each of the plurality of current collector plates is mounted on a respective one of the plurality of inclined surface parts, and the plurality of inclined surface parts are disposed in a row (see Fig. 13C with annotations).
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Fees’ Fig. 13C with annotations
Regarding claim 2, Fees discloses that the insulating member (battery housing) includes a plurality of battery housing parts for housing (para. [0134]) the plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cells).
Regarding claim 3, Fees discloses that the plurality of inclined surface parts is substantially in parallel to each other (see Fig. 13C with annotations above).
Applicant’s Instant Specification recites that “overlapping each other when seen from the direction in which the plurality of inclined surface parts is arranged” means “with substantially the same existence range in the height direction” (para. [0022]). Accordingly, Fees’ Fig. 13C discloses the plurality of inclined surface parts overlaps each other seen from a direction in which the inclined surface parts are arranged because the annotated inclined surface parts have substantially the same existence range in the height direction.
Regarding claim 4, Fees discloses each of the plurality of current collector plates (“center” contact plates) includes contact areas or holes (para [0085]), which corresponds to through holes. The insulating member (insulation layer) includes a plurality of protruding parts (dividers, para. [0089]) protruding from a surface on which the plurality of current collector plates (contact plate) are arranged in the height direction. As shown in Fees’ Fig. 7B with annotations below, each of the plurality of protruding parts is inserted through the through hole of the each of the plurality of current collection plates (“center” contact plates, “negative pole” contact plate, “positive pole” contact plate).
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Fees’ Fig. 7B with annotations
Regarding claim 5, as shown in Fees’ Fig. 7B with annotations above, the height of the top protruding parts is shorter than the height of the bottom protruding parts, thus the plurality of protruding parts includes two or more of the protruding parts with different heights in the height direction.
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 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fees et al. (US PG Pub. 2018/0108886A1) in view of Bae et al. (US PG Pub. 2019/0280267A1)
Regarding claim 6,
Fees is relied upon as described above
Fees fails to disclose that a recess formed by cutting is formed in an edge of at least one of the plurality of current collector plates, an edge of an upper surface of the insulating member includes a locking part including a rib including a protruding part to be fitted into the recess.
Bae discloses an electric power storage module (battery pack 1) comprising: a plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cell 100) and a plurality of current collector plates (first and second conductive plates 300 and 400) each of which is connected to respective battery cells 100 (abstract). The battery pack includes the first insulating structure 210, second insulating structure 220 and an insulating layer 500 (Fig. 1). The insulating structure 210, 220 includes a part disposed between (see Fig. 1) the plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cell 100). The insulating layer 500 is arranged between the first and second conductive plates 300 and 400 (para. [0063] and Fig. 1). The plurality of electric power storage devices (battery cell 100) is arranged in a direction orthogonal to a height direction of the electric power storage devices (see Fig. 1). The first insulating structure 210 includes a first protrusion 215 arranged at an edge to fix the first conductive plates 300 onto the first insulating structure 210 (para. [0106]), thereby preventing the first conductive plate 300 from being moved on or separated from the first insulating structure 210 (para. [0112]). As shown in Bae’s Fig. 9 with annotation below, at the edge of an upper surface of the first insulating structure 210, the first protrusion 215 is a locking part including a rib to be fitted into the recess of the conductive plates 300 and 400.
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Bae’s Fig. 9 with annotations
Fees and Bae are analogous in the field of electric power storage modules.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the current collector plates and insulating member arrangement taught by Fees to include the recess and corresponding locking rib and protruding part taught by Bae, in order to secure the current collector plates relative to the insulating member, thereby prevent movement or separation of the current collector plates.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THU T TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5480. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thu 7:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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/T.T.T./
THU T TRANExaminer, Art Unit 1788 10/7/2026
/Alicia Chevalier/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1788
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