CTNF 18/012,309 CTNF 86913 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. This action is written in response to the amendment filed 05/29/2025 Claim 14 has been amended Claims 14 and 17-29 are presented for examination This action is Non-Final Response to Amendment 07-42 AIA Applicant's request for reconsideration of the finality of the rejection of the last Office action is persuasive and, therefore, the finality of that action is withdrawn. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-23-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim (s) 14, 17-18 and 20-29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Stephens et al. (US 2018/0337377) in view of Nishikawa et al. (US 5,501,289) . Claim 14. Stephens discloses a housing lower part (20, 24, 26) of an energy storage device housing, the housing lower part comprising: a trough-like element 20 , wherein the trough-like element has lateral wall elements 36 , and a long axis of each of the lateral wall elements 30, 30a extends which extend-along a longitudinal axis, sill elements 50 that are arranged on an outer side of the wall elements, wherein a long axis of each of the sill elements extends only along the longitudinal axis, and each of the sill elements projects beyond the wall elements along the longitudinal axis by way of a longitudinal section [0059], and transverse elements 52 , each of which is arranged on an end side of the trough-like element and extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis, wherein the sill elements are fastened to an end side of the transverse elements by way of the longitudinal sections (fig. 5A; see annotated figure below). PNG media_image1.png 241 287 media_image1.png Greyscale Stephens discloses a connection of the lateral elements to the longitudinal elements but fails to teach a screw or rivet connection. Nishikawa teaches wherein the sill elements are connected to the transverse elements by at least one of screws or rivets (col. 5, ll. 55-59) Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the lateral and longitudinal wall elements of Stephens to include a screw or rivet connection as taught by Nishikawa to assist in both maintaining a tight connection while also allowing easy removal of the assembled arts. Claim 17. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the wall elements are integrally connected to the sill elements (Nishikawa; col. 5, ll. 42-46). Claim 18. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 17, wherein the wall elements are welded to the sill elements (Nishikawa; col. 5, ll. 53-62). Claim 20. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the transverse elements are integrally fastened to the trough-like element (Stephens; [0059]). Claim 21. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the transverse elements are formed such that the transverse elements continue a geometry of the trough-like element (Stephens; fig. 5). Claim 22 . Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the transverse elements and the trough-like element are connected via a flat joining region (Stephens; fig. 5). Claim 23. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein a large number of transverse beams 36 is arranged along the longitudinal axis, and oriented transversely to the longitudinal axis (Stephens; [0051]). Claim 24. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the transverse elements are cast parts (Nishikawa; col. 3, ll. 18-22). Clams 25-26. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the sill elements are extruded profiled elements (Stephens; fig. 5). Claim 27. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the trough-like element is a folded-back aluminum sheet (Stephens; [0050]). Claim 28. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the device comprising: a series of energy storage device housings, wherein each energy storage device housing has a housing lower part according to claim 14, wherein the sill elements are profiled elements which, to represent energy storage device housings of different sizes, are cut to length (Stephens; fig. 3, 5), and wherein the transverse elements have a same length (Stephens; fig. 8). Claim 29. Stephens-Nishikawa discloses the device according to claim 28, wherein the transverse elements 52 are identical within the series. (Stephens; fig. 3, 5A) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim 19 is 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 RAVEN COLLINS whose telephone number is (571)270-1672. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ANTHONY STASHICK can be reached at 571-272-4561. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /RAVEN COLLINS/Examiner, Art Unit 3735 /Anthony D Stashick/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3735 Application/Control Number: 18/012,309 Page 2 Art Unit: 3735 Application/Control Number: 18/012,309 Page 3 Art Unit: 3735 Application/Control Number: 18/012,309 Page 4 Art Unit: 3735 Application/Control Number: 18/012,309 Page 5 Art Unit: 3735
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