Nk 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 .
The Applicant has amended independent claim 23 and dependent claim 38; canceled claims 24, 28-30; and added new claim 39. The pending claims are claims 23, 25-27, 31-39.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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(s) 23, 25-27, 31-39 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yusa et al., US 2017/0244073, in view of Wang, CN 203103456.
Regarding claim 23, Yusa et al., teaches a battery pack (abstract) comprising: a battery (battery pack) (abstract) including a plurality of battery blocks (0066) arranged in at least one row (Fig. 1-2); a support body that holds the plurality of batteries (0066); the support body including upper and lower holders (0066; 0069-0073) and having side surfaces a top surface, and a bottom surface (Fig. 1; 5);
first coupling members having projections formed on a side surface of the support body (0069-0072); and second coupling members having recesses (spacers) (0053; 0055-0061) formed on a side surface of the support body (0061; 0072; 0091) wherein two adjacent battery blocks are configured to be coupled to each other (0055) such that the side surface of one of the two adjacent battery blocks faces the side surface of the other of the two adjacent blocks (0055) by fitting the first coupling members and the second coupling members of the two adjacent battery blocks to each other (0055; 0133), wherein the first coupling members are provided on one side of a center line of the side surface of the support body (0060; 0089-0090) wherein the projections and the recesses are integrally provided near a boundary position between the upper and lower holders of the battery block (0069-0072) , wherein a positional relationship of the first coupling members and the second coupling members (0060-0061; 0090-0091) of the two adjacent battery blocks (0055; 0133) is the same after one of the two adjacent battery blocks is rotated by 180° in a same plane (0017; 0022; 0055), allowing the two adjacent battery blocks to be coupled to each other after the rotation (0055; 0133), wherein a plurality of connection electrodes are provided on the top surface and the bottom surface of the two adjacent battery blocks (0131) to connect electrodes of the batteries of the two adjacent battery blocks with each other (0053-0057), and wherein batteries of the two adjacent battery blocks (0055; 0133) are connected in series or in parallel (0068; 0097) according to whether one of the two adjacent battery blocks is rotated relative to the other of the two adjacent battery blocks (0101), and a coupling member provided on the support body (holder), wherein the coupling member (connecting unit) is provided to cooperate with another coupling member (connecting unit) formed on a support body (holder) of another battery block (block 10B) to couple the battery blocks (10B) with each other (Fig. 2) and to locate at an equal position after the battery block is rotated in an equal plane (abstract; 0010; 0017; 0055), wherein the battery block is configured to switch (0068); wherein the battery block is configured to be rotated (abstract; 0061; 0091; 0101) around a longitudinal direction of the battery (0102; Fig. 12; “[0102] A fitting direction of the relay connector 30 to the connectors 11a and 11b is a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to a connecting direction of a plurality of battery blocks 10B, that is to say, a rotational axis direction.”).
Yusa et al., does not teach a switch from a series connection to a parallel connection, or from a parallel connection to a series connection, based on whether the battery block rotates.
Wang teaches a switch (0002; 0007; 0019) from a series connection to a parallel connection (0019-0021), or from a parallel connection to a series connection (0019-0021), based on whether the battery block rotates (0010; 0020; 0036).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to insert the teachings of Wang into Yusa because Wang teaches “The turntable of the utility model includes a first rotating connector, a second rotating connector and a third rotating connector, which realize series-parallel switching of the battery pack by connecting to the contact pieces and the battery terminals in different ways. The design is ingenious and the switching is convenient..” (0020).
Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to have a series-parallel conversion switch because “The design is ingenious and the switching is convenient.” (0020).
Regarding claim 25, Yusa does not teach the batteries with even number of pieces are arranged in a row.
However, the batteries with even number of pieces arranged in a row, is an obvious matter of design choice. In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950).
Regarding claim 26, Yusa et al., teaches the battery (ref. 101) arranged at a first end of the row and the battery arranged at a second end of the row have electrodes (positive electrode 101a; negative electrode 101b) exposed on an equal surface with different polarities (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 27, Yusa et al., teaches battery pack device according to wherein the positive electrodes (0067; 0069) and the negative electrodes (0067; 0069) are alternately exposed in the one row (Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 31, Yusa et al., teaches power system (0123; 0185), wherein the battery pack device according to claim 23 is charged by a power generation device configured to generate power from renewable energy (0185; 0234).
Regarding claim 32, Yusa et al., teaches power system (0123; 0185), comprising the battery pack device according to claim 23, wherein the power system is configured to supply electric power to an electronic device connected to the battery pack device (0185; 0234).
Regarding claim 33, Yusa et al., teaches electric vehicle (0122) comprising: a converter that receives power supply from the battery pack device (0025) according to claim 23 and converts the power into driving force of the electric vehicle (0122); and a controller that performs information processing regarding vehicle control based on information of the battery pack device (0124; 0185; 0234).
Regarding claim 34, Yusa et al., teaches power system comprising a power information transceiver (0124; 0185) configured to transmit and receive a signal (0097; 0104) to and from another device via a network (0097; 0104), wherein charging and discharging of the battery pack device (0079; 0097) according to claim 23 is performed based on information received by the power information transceiver (0121; 0126).
Regarding claim 35, Yusa et al., teaches a power system (0124; 0185), wherein electric power is configured to be received from the battery pack device (0124) according to claim 23, or electric power (0124) is configured to be supplied from a power generation device (0124; 0185) or a power network to the battery pack device (0124; 0185: 0234).
Regarding claim 36, Yusa et al., teaches battery pack device according to wherein the battery block (abstract; 0054-0063) has a box shape as a whole (Fig. 2-3), and the box shape has a first side surface and a second side surface (Fig. 2), a first end surface and a second end surface, and a top surface and a bottom surface (Fig. 2-3).
Regarding claim 37, Yusa et al., teaches battery pack device (0053) according to wherein on the top surface, a first connection electrode (0038-0040) connects the positive electrodes of first and second batteries (0038-0040); a second connection electrode (abstract; 0021).
Yusa does not teach connect the negative electrodes of third and fourth batteries and the positive electrodes of fifth and sixth batteries and a third connection electrode connects the negative electrodes of seventh and eighth batteries and wherein on the bottom surface, a fourth connection electrode connects the negative electrodes of the first and second batteries and the positive electrodes of the third and fourth batteries, and a fifth connection electrode connects the negative electrodes of the fifth and sixth batteries and the positive electrodes of the seventh and eighth batteries.
However, the court held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960).
Regarding claim 38, Yusa et al., teaches battery pack device (0121) according to wherein a control board bracket is attached to a mounting boss (connectors) (0053-0056) provided on a side surface of the two adjacent battery blocks (0054-0066), and a control board is attached to the control board bracket (0097; 0126) wherein the mounting boss is arranged at a position that does not prevent fitting of the two adjacent battery blocks to each other (0054-0056) when the two adjacent battery blocks are connected in parallel (0068; 0097; 0101).
Regarding claim 39, Yusa et al., teaches wherein each of the projections (projections 111a, 122a, 132a) has a screw hole (screws 51a and 51b) formed in a long-side direction of the battery block (0056; 0062; 0096), each of the recesses has a screw hole formed therein (0069), and fitting the first coupling members and the second coupling members to each other includes matching positions of the screw holes and inserting mounting screws into the screw holes (0056; 0104).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/14/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues that “Yusa does not describe a structure in which two adjacent battery blocks can still be side-surface-coupled with a same coupling geometry after one block is rotated by 180° relative to the other, as disclosed in the present application.”
However, Yusa teaches flexibility in the rotation of the structure (battery blocks) as it teaches both series and parallel coupling geometry (0068; 0101; 0104; 0121).
Applicant argues that “the Office Action relies on Yusa's elements 111a, 122a, and 132a as allegedly corresponding to the claimed projections. Office Action, page 6. However, Yusa's elements 111a, 122a, and 132a do not disclose the claimed projections because these elements relate to internal holding or terminal connection and do not correspond to the claimed coupling members and/or projections.”
However, Yusa teaches “projections” formed on a support body (“holder”) as seen in Fig. 5-6 of Yusa (holders 110a, 110b) and projections (111a, 122a, 132a) in Fig. 5 and 6.
The Applicant argues that “Wang discloses a separate switching control device using a knob, a transmission mechanism, a turntable, and contacts. Wang does not disclose that battery blocks themselves are rotated to switch between series and parallel connection. Accordingly, even if Wang were combined with Yusa, the resulting combination still does not disclose, teach, or suggest the module-orientation-based switching disclosed in the present application and the presently recited elements of independent Claim 23.”
However, Wang teaches a switch (0002; 0007; 0019) from a series connection to a parallel connection (0019-0021), or from a parallel connection to a series connection (0019-0021), based on whether the battery block rotates (0010; 0020; 0036).
Thus, Wang teaches “The turntable of the utility model includes a first rotating connector, a second rotating connector and a third rotating connector, which realize series-parallel switching of the battery pack by connecting to the contact pieces and the battery terminals in different ways. The design is ingenious and the switching is convenient..” (0020).
Conclusion
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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