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 § 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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kojima(US 12,136,746) in view of Kurata (US 5,525,758) and further in view of Durse et al.(US 2023/0036434)..
Regarding claim 1, Kojima discloses members made from a conductive material and consecutively arranged to form a plate shape defining a wiring pathway(fig 2); and a fused joint joining adjacent members(col 1, line 65 through col 2, line , the members include: connection members arranged at both ends of the wiring pathway and having connection portions for electrical input-output; and a conductive member arranged between the connection members. Kojima does not disclose in the members, only the connection members are plated. However, Kurata discloses the members, only the connection members are plated so as to improve reliability of connection(col 1, lines 34-45). Additionally, Durse et al. discloses the members, only the connection members are plated(para 0058). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the invention to have the members, only the connection members are plated as shown by Kurata and Durse et al., with the bus bar of Kojima, since as shown by Kurata and Durse et al. having only the connection members are plated is commonly done so as to so as to improve reliability of connection.
Note; the limitation that the fused joint is laser fused is not given patentable weight since how the device is made is not germane to the patentability of the device itself.
Regarding claim 2, Kojima discloses wherein the conductive member and at least one of the connection members are connected to each other in a state where connection surfaces of the at least one of the connection members and the conductive member located in a same plane are in contact with each other(fig 2).
Regarding claim 3, Kojima discloses wherein the wiring pathway electrically connects between different battery stacks(fig 1).
Claim(s) 1and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harris, III(US 2018/0097322) in view of Kurata (US 5,525,758) and further in view of Durse et al.(US 2023/0036434)..
Regarding claim 1, Harris, III discloses members made from a conductive material and consecutively arranged to form a plate shape defining a wiring pathway(fig 1A); and a fused joint joining adjacent members(para 0038, (fig 1A, 115) , the members include: connection members arranged at both ends of the wiring pathway and having connection portions for electrical input-output(fig 1A, 107); and a conductive member arranged between the connection members(fig 1A, 110). Harris, III does not disclose in the members, only the connection members are plated. However, Kurata discloses the members, only the connection members are plated so as to improve reliability of connection(col 1, lines 34-45). Additionally, Durse et al. discloses the members, only the connection members are plated(para 0058). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the invention to have the members, only the connection members are plated as shown by Kurata and Durse et al., with the bus bar of Harris, III, since as shown by Kurata and Durse et al. having only the connection members are plated is commonly done so as to so as to improve reliability of connection.
Note; the limitation that the fused joint is laser fused is not given patentable weight since how the device is made is not germane to the patentability of the device itself.
Regarding claim 3, Harris, III discloses wherein the wiring pathway electrically connects between different battery stacks(fig 2).
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/TIMOTHY J THOMPSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847