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 with traverse of invention I in the reply filed on 12/03/2026 is acknowledged. The election has been withdrawn in light of the amendment.
Response to Amendment
In response to the amendment received on 01/30/2026:
Claims 29, 35-41, 44, 45, 48 and 49 have been amended.
Claims 1-28 and 30 have been canceled.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 06/08/2022, 08/07/2024 and 12/18/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
In this case, the abstract is not within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
Claim Objections
Claim 35 is objected: the limitation has to be amended as follow, “the handle has flexibility to enable a distance of the holding portion relative to the battery pack housing to
Claim 31 is objected: the limitation has to be amended as follow, “a ratio
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.
Claims 29, 41 and 45-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by US Patent Application Publication 2004/0174138 to Moores et al.
With respect to claim 29, Moores et al. teach a battery pack, comprising: a battery pack housing 80; and a cell group, arranged in the battery pack housing 80, the cell group comprising a plurality of cells 36, wherein the battery pack housing 80 comprises a housing upper portion and a housing lower portion arranged opposite to the housing upper portion, a first air vent 92 is provided on the housing lower portion, a second air vent 90 is provided on the housing upper portion, a longitudinal direction of the cells is vertically arranged along an up-down direction of the battery pack housing 80, a heat dissipation channel (not shown) in communication with the first air vent 92 and the second air vent 90 is formed in the battery pack, and at least part of peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 are arranged in the heat dissipation channel (not shown), and the longitudinal direction of the cells 36 is substantially parallel to a circulation direction of the heat dissipation channel such that air flows along the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 from the first air vent 92 to the second air vent 90 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012] and [0039]; Fig. 4a).
With respect to claim 41, Moores et al. teach an electric tool system, comprising an electric tool body 20, comprising:
a tool housing 22;
a motor 32 accommodated in the tool housing 22; and
a battery pack housing 80; and a cell group, arranged in the battery pack housing 80, the cell group comprising a plurality of cells 36, wherein the battery pack housing 80 comprises a housing upper portion and a housing lower portion arranged opposite to the housing upper portion, a first air vent 92 is provided on the housing lower portion, a second air vent 90 is provided on the housing upper portion, a longitudinal direction of the cells is vertically arranged along an up-down direction of the battery pack housing 80, a heat dissipation channel (not shown) in communication with the first air vent 92 and the second air vent 90 is formed in the battery pack, and at least part of peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 are arranged in the heat dissipation channel (not shown), and the longitudinal direction of the cells 36 is substantially parallel to a circulation direction of the heat dissipation channel such that air flows along the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 from the first air vent 92 to the second air vent 90;
the tool housing 22 comprises a receiving portion (not shown) for receiving at least part of the battery pack 26, the battery pack 26 is detachably connected to the electric tool body 20, the battery pack 26 provides power for the motor 32, and when the battery pack 26 is connected to the electric tool body 20, an airflow is allowed to flow from the first air vent 92 through the at least part of the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 and flow out from the second air vent 90 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012], [0033]-[0034] and [0039]; Figs. 1 and 4a).
With respect to claim 45, Moores et al. teach a charging system, comprising a charger 160 comprising:
a charger housing; and
a charging circuit 168 arranged in the charger housing; and
comprising:
a battery pack housing 80; and a cell group, arranged in the battery pack housing 80, the cell group comprising a plurality of cells 36, wherein the battery pack housing 80 comprises a housing upper portion and a housing lower portion arranged opposite to the housing upper portion, a first air vent 92 is provided on the housing lower portion, a second air vent 90 is provided on the housing upper portion, a longitudinal direction of the cells is vertically arranged along an up-down direction of the battery pack housing 80, a heat dissipation channel (not shown) in communication with the first air vent 92 and the second air vent 90 is formed in the battery pack, and at least part of peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 are arranged in the heat dissipation channel (not shown), and the longitudinal direction of the cells 36 is substantially parallel to a circulation direction of the heat dissipation channel such that air flows along the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 from the first air vent 92 to the second air vent 90;
the charger housing comprises a receiving portion 162 for accommodating at least part of the battery pack 26, the battery pack 26 is detachably connected to the charger 160, and when the battery pack 26, an airflow being allowed to flow from the first air vent 92 through the at least part of the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36 and flow out from the second air vent 90 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012], [0033]-[0034] and [0039]; Figs. 1 and 4a).
With respect to claim 46, Moores et al. teach the charging system, wherein the receiving portion 162 comprises a bottom surface arranged opposite to the housing lower portion, a first ventilation hole 169 is provided on the bottom surface, and the first ventilation hole 169 is airflow-communicable with the first air vent 92 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012], [0033]-[0034], [0039] and [0045]-[0047]; Figs. 1, 4a, 9 and 10).
With respect to claim 47, Moores et al. teach the charging system, wherein a gap is provided between the receiving portion 162 and the battery pack 26, and an airflow is allowed to enter the first air vent 92 through the gap, flow through the at least part of the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36, and flow out from the second air vent 90 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012], [0033]-[0034], [0039] and [0045]-[0047]; Figs. 1, 4a, 9 and 10).
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.
Claims 31-34, 42-44, 48 and 49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US Patent Application Publication 2004/0174138 to Moores et al.
With respect to claim 31, Moores et al. teach the battery pack, wherein the first air vent 92 comprises a first air hole, the second air vent 90 comprises a plurality of second air holes, and
Moores et al. do not specifically teach the limitation, “a ratio of a sum of cross-sectional areas of the plurality of first air holes to a cross-sectional area of the cell group is not less than 0.2, and a ratio of a sum of cross-sectional areas of the plurality of second air holes to a cross-sectional area of the cell group is not less than 0.2.”
Changes in proportion of a known element have been held to be obvious. See Gardner v. TEC Systems, Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984) and In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966
With respect to claim 32, Moores et al. disclose the claimed invention except for a housing middle portion arranged between the housing upper portion and the housing lower portion, and a third air vent is provided on the housing middle portion. It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have additional vents in the middle portion of the housing, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 (CA7 1977).
With respect to claim 33, Moores et al. teach the battery pack in another embodiment, wherein the cell group comprises a bracket for fixing the cells 36, a plurality of openings are provided on the bracket, and the openings are in communication with the heat dissipation channel 44 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012] and [0039]; Fig. 1).
With respect to claim 34, Moores et al. teach the battery pack in another embodiment, wherein an air guide plate 75-78 protrudes on a side of the bracket close to the cells 36, and the air guide plate 75-78 is configured to change an airflow direction in the heat dissipation channel (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012] and [0039]; Fig. 3).
With respect to claim 42, Moores et al. teach the electric tool system in another embodiment, wherein the receiving portion (not shown) comprises a bottom surface arranged opposite to the housing lower portion (not shown), a first ventilation hole 40 is provided on the bottom surface, and the first ventilation hole 40 is airflow-communicable with the first air vent 92 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012], [0033]-[0034] and [0039]; Figs. 1 and 4a).
With respect to claim 43, Moores et al. teach the electric tool system in another embodiment, wherein a gap is provided between the receiving portion (not shown) and the battery pack 26, and an airflow is allowed to enter the first air vent 92 through the gap, flow through the at least part of the peripheral surfaces of the cells 36, and flow out from the second air vent 90 (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012], [0033]-[0034] and [0039]; Figs. 1 and 4a).
With respect to claim 44, Moores et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the battery pack further comprises a housing middle portion arranged between the housing upper portion and the housing lower portion, a third air vent is provided on the housing middle portion, the electric tool body 20 further comprises a fan arranged in the tool housing 22, the receiving portion (not shown) comprises a side surface arranged opposite to the housing middle portion, a second ventilation hole is provided on the side surface, and when the battery pack 26 is accommodated in the receiving portion, an airflow generated by the fan comprises: a first airflow, sucked from the first air vent 40 and flowing to the third air vent; and a second airflow, sucked from the second air vent and flowing to the third air vent, the first airflow and the second airflow merging at the third air vent, and then flowing out from the second ventilation hole. It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have additional vents and additional ventilation hole in the housing, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 (CA7 1977).
With respect to claim 48, Moores et al. disclose the claimed invention except for the battery pack further comprises a housing middle portion arranged between the housing upper portion and the housing lower portion, a third air vent is provided on the housing middle portion, the charger further comprises a fan arranged in the charger housing, the receiving portion comprises a side surface arranged opposite to the housing middle portion, a second ventilation hole is provided on the side surface, and when the battery pack is accommodated in the receiving portion, an airflow generated by the fan comprises: a first airflow, sucked from the first air vent and flowing to the third air vent; and a second airflow, sucked from the second air vent and flowing to the third air vent, the first airflow and the second airflow merging at the third air vent, and then flowing out from the second ventilation hole. It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have additional vents and additional ventilation hole in the housing, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 (CA7 1977).
With respect to claim 49, Moores et al. teach the battery pack in another embodiment, wherein the bracket comprises: a plurality of cylindrical walls, each cylindrical wall having an inner cavity forming an accommodating hole for receiving the cells 36; and a first bracket and a second bracket connected to the first bracket, the first bracket being configured to receive an end of the cells 36 close to the first air vent 40, the second bracket being configured to receive another end of the cells 36 close to the second air vent 42, wherein both the first bracket 40 and the second bracket 42 are provided with a plurality of openings, the openings being in communication with the heat dissipation channel 44 and being arranged between adjacent cylindrical walls (Moores et al.: Section [0002], [0006]-[0012] and [0039]; Fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 35-40 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINGWEN R ZENG whose telephone number is (571)272-6649. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Milton I Cano and Tiffany Legette can be reached on (313) 446-4937 and (571) 270-7078, respectively. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LINGWEN R ZENG/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 5/23/2026
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