DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the AIA first to file provisions. 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 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.
Application Status
This office action is in response to the claims filed 4/13/2023.
Claims 1, 3-9, and 11-17 are currently pending and being examined.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The 3 IDS documents have been considered. See the attached PTO 1449 forms.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5, 6, 8, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 5 and 8:
Claim 5 recites “wherein the battery pack mounting part is configured to move the battery pack forward toward the battery pack mounting part and mount the battery pack”. This renders the claim indefinite because it requires the mounting part to move the battery toward the mounting part itself, which is unclear. For examination purposes, the limitation is being interpreted as “wherein the battery pack is configured to be moved forward toward the battery pack mounting part to mount the battery pack to the battery pack mounting part”. Claim 8 is rejected as being dependent on rejected claim 5.
Regarding claim 6:
Claim 6 recites “the fuse is [] disposed in a region within a width dimension of the terminal holding part”, however it is unclear what is meant by “within a width dimension”. For example, if the fuse is present, it would be considered “within” all dimensions of the holding part.
Regarding claim 13:
Claim 13 recites “wherein the fuse unit, the first positive electrode terminal, and the first negative electrode terminal are fixed to each other through soldering” which is indefinite because the positive and negative electrodes cannot be fixed to each other without causing a short circuit. The metes and bounds of the claim are thus indefinite.
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 1, 4-7, and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tomita et al. US 2010/0029139.
Regarding claim 1:
Tomita teaches an electrical device (10), comprising: an operation part (electric motor 20), operated by electrical power; a body part (12), accommodating the operation part; a battery pack mounting part (15c), connected with the body part and being able to mount a battery pack (19) for supplying electrical power to the operation part;
a terminal holding part (30), provided at the battery pack mounting part and having a plurality of terminals (31/32) connectible with the battery pack; and
a fuse unit, configured to be detachable (i.e., the fuse is capable of being removed) to a first positive electrode terminal (31) and a first negative electrode terminal (32) forming the terminals ([0026]), and comprising:
a fuse (38), connected between the first positive electrode terminal and the first negative electrode terminal (envisaged in FIG. 4; [0036]);
a first conductor part (37a), one end of the first conductor part being connected to an end of the fuse (see FIG. 4) and an other end of the first conductor part being detachably connected (i.e., 37a is capable of being removed) to the first positive electrode terminal; and a second conductor part (37b), one end of the second conductor part being connected to an other end of the fuse (envisaged in FIG. 4) and an other end of the second conductor part being detachably connected (i.e., 37b is capable of being removed) to the first negative electrode terminal (described in [0036]).
Regarding claim 4:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the other end of the first conductor part is connected in a state of being fit with the first positive electrode terminal, and the other end of the second conductor part is connected in a state of being fit with the first negative electrode terminal (“fit” interpreted as “connected to”).
Regarding claim 5:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the battery pack is configured to be moved forward toward the battery pack mounting part to mount the battery pack to the battery pack mounting part (envisaged in FIG. 2), the terminal holding part has: a front surface part (35d) located at a rear part of the terminal holding part and being opposite to the battery pack (see FIG. 4; 35d faces/opposes the battery pack); and a back surface part (35u) located on a side opposite to the front surface part, and the fuse unit is disposed on the back surface part of the terminal holding part (see FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 6:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the fuse is covered by an insulating material (e.g., ambient air acts as an insulating material covering the fuse) and disposed in a region within a width dimension of the terminal holding part (see FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 7:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the terminal holding part has an input terminal group (e.g., groups 31x/31r/31m and/or 32x/32r/32m) into which the electrical power is input from the battery pack, and the fuse is disposed at a position overlapped with the input terminal group in a width direction (see FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 15:
Tomita teaches an electrical device (10), comprising: an operation part (electric motor 20), operated by electrical power; a body part (12), accommodating the operation part;
a battery pack mounting part (15c), connected with the body part and being able to mount a battery pack (19) for supplying electrical power to the operation part;
a terminal holding part (30), provided at the battery pack mounting part and having a plurality of terminals (31/32) connectible with the battery pack;
a first terminal (31) and a second terminal (32), held by the terminal holding part and configured to having an end side (side beneath 35u in FIG. 4) connectible with the battery pack ([0025]);
a fuse (38), detachably connected (i.e., the fuse is capable of being removed) on a current path on which an other end side of the first terminal and an other end side of the second terminal are electrically connected ([0036], fuse 38 is connected to 31 and 32 on the other side (i.e., 35u) of where 31 and 32 connect to the battery).
Regarding claim 16:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 15, as discussed above, wherein the fuse is connected with the other end side of the first terminal through a first conductor part (37a) and is connected with the other end side of the second terminal through a second conductor part (37b), and the first conductor part and the second conductor part are configured as portions of a substrate or wires (37a and 37b can be considered portions of substrate 35u, or alternatively as wires).
Regarding claim 17:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 16, as discussed above, wherein a controller (43) for controlling an operation of the operation part ([0027]) is accommodated in the body part (see FIG. 2), and the fuse is disposed in a space between the terminal holding part and the controller inside the body part (envisaged in FIG. 2 in view of FIG. 4).
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomita, as applied above.
Regarding claim 9:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above, but does not teach wherein the fuse unit is disposed outside the body part and the battery pack mounting part ().
However, given that it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art (see MPEP 2144.04 V. C.), it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the device of Tomita by making the fuse unit separate and outside the body part and the battery pack mounting part, since this would not affect the operation of the device and would make it easier for a user to change a burnt fuse without having to reach inside the body part or disassemble the fuse from mounting part.
Regarding claim 11:
Tomita teaches the electrical device as claimed in claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the terminal holding part is further provided with a holder part (36) holding the terminals, an extension part (35u) extending in a predetermined direction from the holder part is provided in the holder part, and the fuse is disposed in a region covered by the extension part (FIG. 4: fuse 38 is “covered” by extension 35u when viewed inverted).
Tomita does not teach the holder part made of resin.
However, Examiner takes official notice that resin is an old and well-known hard material used in related applications and it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, at the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the device of Tomita by using resin for the holder part, for its well-known durability, light-weight, and corrosion resistance properties.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 8, 12, and 14 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. Regarding claim 3 (and depending claim 12), the prior art does not disclose or render obvious “the first power supply path and the second power supply path are configured in a serially connected state in which the first power supply path and the second power supply path are connected in series with each other” since this would require a substantial redesign of the circuit. Regarding claim 8, the prior art does not teach or render obvious a substrate is fixed to the back surface part of the terminal holding part (the back surface part acts as the substrate thus precluding a separate substrate). Regarding claim 14, in the context of claim 1, the prior art does not teach or render obvious a second positive electrode terminal and second negative electrode terminal, such that in a state in which the battery pack is not mounted to the battery pack mounting part, the operation part is not disposed on a current path on which the first positive electrode terminal and the first negative electrode terminal are electrically connected, but disposed on a current path on which the second positive electrode terminal and the second negative electrode terminal are electrically connected.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DARIUSH SEIF whose telephone number is (408)918-7542. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:30 AM-6:00 PM PST.
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/DARIUSH SEIF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731