Patent Application 17825733 - APPARATUS FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE OF BATTERY - Rejection

Patent Application 17825733 - APPARATUS FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE OF BATTERY

Title: APPARATUS FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE OF BATTERY CELL

Application Information

• Invention Title: APPARATUS FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE OF BATTERY CELL
• Application Number: 17825733
• Submission Date: 2025-05-14T00:00:00.000Z
• Effective Filing Date: 2022-05-26T00:00:00.000Z
• Filing Date: 2022-05-26T00:00:00.000Z
• National Class: 429
• National Sub-Class: 007000
• Examiner Employee Number: 99532
• Art Unit: 2855
• Tech Center: 2800

Rejection Summary

• 102 Rejections: 0
• 103 Rejections: 1

Cited Patents

The following patents were cited in the rejection:

• US 2780972🔗
• US 3637074🔗
• US 9834536🔗
• US 2387232🔗

Office Action Text

    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 .

Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of species 1A and 2B in the reply filed on 11 April 2025 is acknowledged. It is noted that species 2A/2B would only apply to species 1B. Thus, claims 1-4, species 1A, will be examined.

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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 9834536 B2 (Takahashi) in view of EP 2780972 B1 (Fischer).
Regarding claim 1: Takahashi teaches an apparatus for measuring a temperature of a battery cell, the apparatus comprising: one or more temperature sensor modules respectively in a longitudinal direction (temperature sensors 140a-140c); an insulating plate having one or more through-holes through which respective one sides of the one or more temperature sensor modules pass (“The bus-bar holder 130 may be made of an insulating material…”; Fig. 2: opening 131, bus-bar holder 130); and a battery cell module stacked on the insulating plate (Fig. 2, battery cell 110).
Takahashi does not directly teach a cooling conductor having a refrigerant flow passage extending in an inward longitudinal direction or that the temperature sensor modules are disposed in one or more grooves on the cooling conductor.
However, Fischer teaches a means of cooling 400 in Fig. 3. 
Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the temperature sensing apparatus of Takahashi with the cooling conductor of Fischer. This is because they are both apparatuses to measure the temperature of a battery cell. This is important in order to keep the battery cells cool.
Additionally, Applicant does not show the criticality of disposing the temperature sensors in grooves on the cooling conductor. In paragraph [0055] of the specification filed 26 May 2022, applicant discloses that changes may be made to the system without departing form the scope of the invention. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to secure temperature sensors in a groove instead of attaching them via a battery terminal, as a matter of design choice without unexpected results.
Regarding claim 2: Modified Takahashi teaches the apparatus of claim 1 (see above), wherein each of the one or more temperature sensor modules includes: a temperature sensor accommodated in a corresponding one of the one or more grooves (while Modified Takahashi does not directly address this, this limitation regarding temperature sensor accommodation in grooves is addressed above) and having a region protruding upward and passing a corresponding one of the one or more through-holes of the insulating plate to be in contact with the battery cell module (Takahashi: Fig. 2: side 141 of temperature sensor 140a to pass through opening 131); and a cable extending from one side of the temperature sensor and accommodated in the groove (Fischer: “The temperature sensors are designed as temperature sensors and connected via electrical lines to the outer region of the battery case.”).
Modified Takahashi does not directly teach that the side surfaces and lower surfaces of the temperature sensor and the cable are thermally insulated.
However, in paragraph [0016], Takahashi teaches that using insulating material helps to not short-circuit the battery cell. Applicant does not show the criticality of the thermally insulating material for the surfaces of the temperature sensor and cable. In paragraph [0055] of the specification filed 26 May 2022, applicant discloses that changes may be made to the system without departing form the scope of the invention. Therefore, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to use thermally insulating material for the surfaces of the temperature sensor and cable instead of only for the insulating plate, as a matter of design choice without unexpected results.
Regarding claim 3: Modified Takahashi teaches the apparatus of claim 2 (see above), wherein the temperature sensor includes a contact-type temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature value when the region protruding upward is in contact with a lower surface of the battery cell module through the through-hole (Takahashi: “first surface 141 of the temperature sensor 140a contacts at least one battery cell 110”).
Regarding claim 4: Modified Takahashi teaches the apparatus of claim 2 (see above), but does not directly teach that the one or more through-holes are respectively arranged at a plurality of locations in the insulating plate.
	However, Takahashi does teach an opening 131 at one location of the insulating plate and Fischer teaches the use of multiple temperature sensors to increase the accuracy of the overall temperature measurement (“Advantageously, such a lower absolute accuracy of the second temperature sensor 20 can be compensated for by calibrating the temperature T .sub.2 of the second temperature sensor 20 using the absolutely more accurate first and / or third temperature sensors 120, 220.”). In order to accommodate multiple temperature sensors it would have been obvious to use multiple openings through which the temperature sensors measure the temperature. It is inherent that a plurality of openings in the insulating plate would be arranged at a plurality of locations.



Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
CN 110926650 A teaches a sensor assembly for a measuring-temperature plate.
EP 3637074 B1 teaches a battery pack temperature control device.
US 20190165434 A1 teaches a battery cell comprising a temperature sensor.
US 10290909 B2 teaches a battery module with battery cells in a stacked state with a contact temperature sensor.
US 20180364108 A1 teaches a temperature sensor to be in contact with an upper surface of a battery cell.
US 20180172520 A1 teaches a temperature sensor patch to be attached to the terminal of a battery.
US 20150064526 A1 teaches a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of a battery cell via a contact point.
KR 20130034282 A teaches a battery cell with a temperature sensor to prevent overcharging and overdischarging by controlling charging current according to the temperature sensed by the temperature sensor.
US 20130004811 A1 teaches a battery temperature sensor with a substrate and a separator.
DE 102005045216 A1 teaches a device for determining the temperature of a battery connected with a clip to a temperature sensor.
GB 2387232 A teaches a measuring arrangement for measuring the temperature of a battery cell.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIA FITZPATRICK whose telephone number is (703)756-5783. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 7am-4pm.
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/JULIA FITZPATRICK/Examiner, Art Unit 2855                                                                                                                                                                                                        
/LAURA MARTIN/SPE, Art Unit 2855