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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chinese Patent Publication no. CN113067107 to Bai, citing to the enclosed machine translation (“BaI”). Bai discloses a battery cell assembly comprising a stack of a plurality of battery cells (21) arranged side-by-side. A bus bar is provided on each of two opposed sides of the cell stack electrically connecting the cells in series, each of the bus bars held by a bus bar support (101). Bai at paragraphs [0048] and [0049]. A housing assembly in which the battery cells reside includes two end plates (233) that cover the outside of the two bus bar assemblies. The end plates are considered to correspond to the recited end plates. Two side plates (234) of the housing extend between the two end plates (233). The two side plates are considered to correspond to the recited support blocks. The side plates (234) are bolted to the two end plates (233) at each respective end thereof. Although Bai doesn’t expressly disclose fastening holes are present at the points where these bolts connect, the Office finds that for those structures to be bolted together as described, such fastening holes must be present. Id. at paragraph [0061] and Figure 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(s) 2-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bai. Bai is applied as described above. Further regarding claim 2-5, Bai discloses top plate (231) and bottom plate (232) that are connected to the exposed edges of the end plates (233) and side plates (234) to create an enclosed housing box. Although Bai does not unambiguously disclose that these connections are also created with bolts, the Office finds that such connection would have been obvious based on Bai’s clear and unambiguous teaching that the side and end plate connections are bade with bolts. Such connection requires through holes along side edges of the top and bottom plates and respective corresponding fastening holes in the side edges of the side and end plates extending along the longitudinal length thereof to threadedly receive the bolts.
Claims 6-14are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bai as applied above and further in view of Korean Patent Publication Number KR20170015550 to Park et al. (“Park”). Regarding claim 6, Bai discloses a single battery module. Nonetheless, provision of a plurality of such battery modules, housed in a pack tray, was a common modification known to those of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention for applications requiring greater power than a single module is able to provide, and providing those plurality of modules such that side plates of adjacent cell stacks are placed adjacent to one another. Park at paragraph [0005] and Figure 1. Thus, providing a plurality of modules of Bai with the side plates (234) of adjacent modules located adjacent to one another is considered to be nothing more than the use of a commonly known implementation to achieve the predictable result of a battery pack having more power storage than an individual module of Bai is able to provide.
Further regarding claims 7-12, because Bai already discloses connecting its various housing members via bolts, the person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention would have found it obvious to use those already provided holes and bolts for connecting the individual modules to the bottom and upper portions of the pack tray, with associated through holes provided in those portions of the pack tray. Doing so results in the structures recited in claims 7-12.
Further regarding to claims 13 and 14, the pack tray of Park includes side walls in addition to the bottom try on which the battery modules rest. Park further discloses protrusions from these side walls protruding towards battery modules held in the pack gray, and corresponding protrusions from the sides of the battery modules that fit into a channel formed in the protrusions from the pack tray side panels, with the upper surface of the pack tray side protrusions including through holes, and the protrusions from the sides of the battery modules including corresponding through holes and a bolt passing therethrough as a means of holding the battery modules to the pack tray. Park at Figures 10 and 11 and descriptions thereof. Thus, as an alternative means to attach the plurality of battery modules of Bai securely to a pack tray, the person would have considered the recited structures of claims 13 and 14 to be nothing more than the use of a commonly known alternative to achieve its intended result.
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/WYATT P MCCONNELL/ Examiner, Art Unit 1727
