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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending. Claims 1-13 are currently amended.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 15 August 2024 was filed before the mailing date of the first Office Action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-9, 11, and 14-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reitzle (US 9203067 B2) in view of Onnerud (US 10784492 B2).
In regards to claim 1, Reitzle teaches a battery container
a casing (1) (Fig. 1a) that provides an inner space for housing lithium-ion batteries (col. 1, lines 32-38, “rechargeable battery”), wherein the casing comprises a safety fitting (3-6, 9-11) configured to divert at least one fluid from the inner space of the casing based on a pressure of the at least one fluid exceeding a presettable actuation pressure (col. 5, lines 61-65, “pressure limit value”), wherein the safety fitting is configured to fluid-tightly seal the casing when the pressure of the at least one fluid is below a presettable closing pressure (col. 3, lines 26-35, “until the desired pressure reduction… has been achieved”).
Reitzle does not teach the battery container being provided for rail vehicles.
Onnerud teaches a battery container (100) for rail vehicles (col. 6, lines 36-44).
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 battery container of Reitzle to include a rail vehicle as taught by Onnerud with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of increasing the safety of utilizing lithium-ion batteries in rail vehicles (see Onnerud, col. 2, lines 40-45).
In regards to claim 2, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 1, wherein the safety fitting comprises a check valve (4-6, 9-11) (Reitzle, Fig. 1A).
In regards to claim 3, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 2, wherein the check valve comprises a non-return flap (11) (Reitzle, Fig. 1A).
In regards to claim 4, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 2, wherein the check valve comprises a non-return valve (4-6) (Reitzle, Fig. 1A).
In regards to claim 5, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 4, wherein the non- return valve comprises a proportional valve (4-6) (Reitzle, Fig. 1A) or a full stroke check valve.
In regards to claim 6, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 1, wherein the safety fitting is configured to automatically open a flow communication between the inner space of the casing and an outer side of the casing once the pressure of the at least one fluid reaches the presettable actuation pressure in the inner space (Reitzle, col. 5, lines 61-65, “pressure limit value”), and to automatically shut-off the flow communication based on the pressure of the at least one fluid falling below the presettable closing pressure in the inner space of the casing (Reitzle, col. 3, lines 26-35, “until the desired pressure reduction… has been achieved”).
In regards to claim 7, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 2, wherein the safety fitting is spring-loaded (5) (Reitzle, Fig. 1a) against the pressure of the at least one fluid acting thereon in the inner space of the casing (Reitzle, col. 5, lines 55-61).
In regards to claim 8, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 1, wherein the safety fitting comprises a static part (4) (Reitzle, Fig. 1a) immovably arranged on the casing (Reitzle, as seen in Fig. 1a) and a movable part (6) arranged movable relative to the housing on the static part (Reitzle, as seen in Fig. 1b) wherein the movable part of the safety fitting is configured to generate the flow communication by a rotational or translational movement (Reitzle, as seen in Figs. 1a-1b, the movable part 6 translates upwards) once the presettable actuation pressure is reached (Reitzle, col. 5, lines 61-65, “pressure limit value”).
In regards to claim 9, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 8, further comprising a spring (5) (Reitzle, Fig. 1a) having a first end that bears on an inner side of the casing or on the static part of the safety fitting (as seen in Fig. 1a) and, an opposite second end that bears on the movable part of the safety fitting (as seen in Fig. 1a).
In regards to claim 11, The battery container according to claim 9, wherein the spring is a helical tension spring or as a helical compression spring (Reitzle, as seen in Figs. 1a-1b, spring is a helical compression spring) when the safety fitting is designed as a non-return valve (4-6) (Reitzle, Fig. 1b).
In regards to claim 14, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches a system with a battery container according to claim 1, wherein at least one lithium-ion-battery is arranged in the inner space of the battery container (Onnerud, as seen in Fig. 5).
In regards to claim 15, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches a vehicle (Onnerud, col. 6, lines 36-44) with a system according to claim 14.
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reitzle (US 9203067 B2) in view of Onnerud (US 10784492 B2) and Okabayashi (US 20220223970 A1).
In regards to claim 10, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 9, wherein the
Reitzle does not teach wherein the spring is a torsion spring.
Okabayashi teaches a torsion spring (31) (Fig. 2) when the safety fitting is designed as a non-return flap (27).
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 battery container of Reitzle to include a torsion spring as taught by Okabayashi with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of improving the biasing force on the non-return flap(para. [0019]).
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reitzle (US 9203067 B2) in view of Onnerud (US 10784492 B2) and Tsutsui (US 20210379428 A1).
In regards to claim 12, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 1, further comprising a collecting pipe or a collecting tank that is fluidically connected with the inner space of the casing, when the pressure of the at least one fluid exceeds the presettable actuation pressure.
Reitzle does not teach a pipe or a collecting tank that is fluidically connected with the inner space of the casing.
Tsutsui teaches a pipe (512) (Fig. 5) or a collecting tank (518) that is fluidically connected with the inner space of the casing (502) (as seen in Fig. 5).
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 battery container of Reitzle to include a collecting tank as taught by Tsutsui with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of collecting the exhausted fluid to improve the safety of an operator (see Tsutsui, para. [0030], lines 27-33).
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Reitzle (US 9203067 B2) in view of Onnerud (US 10784492 B2) and Kato (JP 2002237283 A).
In regards to claim 13, the combination of Reitzle as modified by Onnerud above teaches the battery container according to claim 1, wherein the presettable actuation pressure
Reitzle does not teach wherein the presettable actuation pressure is 50-100 hPa.
Kato teaches wherein the presettable actuation pressure is 50-100 hPa (para. [0029], “5 kPa”).
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 battery container of Reitzle to include the presettable actuation pressure being 50-100 hPa as taught by Kato with a reasonable expectation of success for the purpose of allowing for the release of fluid earlier (see machine translation, Kato, para. [0029]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Vandemark (US 20220024674 A1) discloses a shipping package for a lithium battery.
Li (CN 113611936 A) discloses an energy storage lithium battery thermal runaway management device.
Qin (US 20210190026 A1) discloses a pressure relief valve and fuel cell fluid supply system.
Norris (US 20190311594 A1) discloses a lithium battery container for a smoke detector.
Matsuura (CN 106356481 A) discloses a non-aqueous secondary battery.
Scagliarini (US 9428304 B2) discloses an overpressure security vent and exhaust device for a container.
Mysin (US 20160146287 A1) discloses a spring function component for a hydro elastic bearing.
Miura (JP 2013004184 A) discloses a sealed battery and safety valve.
Inoue (US 5554455 A) discloses a resealable safety vent and a sealed alkaline rechargeable battery provided with the safety vent.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES WILLIAM JONES whose telephone number is (571)270-7063. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 11am-7pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel Morano can be reached at (571) 272-6684. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES WILLIAM JONES/Examiner, Art Unit 3615
/S. Joseph Morano/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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