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 .
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) 1-4, 6, 10, & 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over paper of Kimmo Keranen, “Infrared temperature sensor system for mobile devices”, 2009 hereafter Keranen in view of Kim KR 20170034497.
With respect to claim 1, Keranen teaches a temperature measurement apparatus comprising:
a light collector (fig 2, concentrator) positioned in at least a partial region of one surface of and configured to collect an electromagnetic wave radiated from the at least one surface;
a light receiver (fig 2, detector) configured to receive the collected electromagnetic wave “IR temperature sensor” (pg. 163, ¶ 2, line 6-8); and
a controller “Labview…software” (pg. 165, col 1, ¶ 3) configured to measure a temperature of at least a partial region of one surface of the at least one surface based on the received electromagnetic wave “target temperature was then calculated…voltage values” (pg. 165, col 1, ¶ 3).
Keranen does not teach at least one battery cell.
Kim, in the same field of endeavor of thermopiles as Keranen, teaches a thermopile (fig 4a, 100) configured to measure the temperature of several battery cells (fig 4a, n cells) (abstract, lines 14-21). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to try to measure the temperature of several battery cells to prevent overheating of the battery cells.
With respect to claim 2 according to claim 1, the combination teaches the temperature measurement apparatus wherein the at least one battery cell is a plurality of battery cells (fig 4a, n cells Kim).
With respect to claim 3 according to claim 1, the combination teaches the temperature measurement apparatus wherein the controller acquires temperature spectrum information “voltage values” (pg. 165, col 1, ¶ 3 Keranen) based on the received electromagnetic wave, and
measures a temperature of at least a partial region of one surface of the at least one battery cell based on the temperature spectrum information “target temperature was then calculated” (pg. 165, col 1, ¶ 3 Keranen).
With respect to claim 4 according to claim 1, the combination teaches the temperature measurement apparatus wherein the light collector includes a light guide plate (fig 2, concentrator Keranen) on which the electromagnetic wave radiated from the at least one battery cell is incident and that is configured to change a path of the incident electromagnetic wave “high optical transmittance through reflective optics” (pg. 163, col 1, ¶ 1, lines 20-21 Keranen) to the light receiver.
With respect to claim 6 according to claim 4, the combination teaches the temperature measurement apparatus wherein the light receiver includes at least one light receiving sensor (fig 2, detector Keranen) disposed on one side surface of the light guide plate (fig 2, concentrator Keranen) and configured to detect an infrared region “IR temperature sensor” (pg. 163, ¶ 2, line 6-8) of the electromagnetic wave.
With respect to claim 10 according to claim 4, the combination teaches the temperature measurement apparatus wherein the light collector (fig 2, concentrator Karen) has a shape of which a width decreases from an opposite side to a side at which the light receiver is disposed toward a side at which the light receiver is disposed.
With respect to claim 11 according to claim 10, the combination teaches the temperature measurement apparatus wherein the light receiver includes one light receiving sensor (fig 2, detector Keranen) disposed on a side surface at which the width of the light collector (fig 2, concentrator Karen) decreases and configured to detect an infrared region “IR temperature sensor” (pg. 163, ¶ 2, line 6-8 Keranen) of the electromagnetic wave.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over paper of Kimmo Keranen, “Infrared temperature sensor system for mobile devices”, 2009 hereafter Keranen in view of Kim KR 20170034497 in further view of KIMURA JP 2010112828.
With respect to claim 5 according to claim 4, the combination does not teach the light collector includes a reflective member disposed on a surface opposite to a surface on which the electromagnetic wave is incident and configured to reflect the electromagnetic wave.
Kimura, in the same field of endeavor of thermopiles as Keranen, teaches a light collector including a reflective member (fig 6, 8 upper) which is disposed opposite of a surface (fig 6, 8 lower) on which an electromagnetic wave is reflected. At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Kimura’s reflective member to enable light to travel to the receiver in a compact configuration.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over paper of Kimmo Keranen, “Infrared temperature sensor system for mobile devices”, 2009 hereafter Keranen in view of Kim KR 20170034497 in further view of Nguyen US 20140036068.
With respect to claim 7 according to claim 6, the combination does not teach the light receiver includes the plurality of light receiving sensors, and the plurality of light receiving sensors are disposed on one side surface of the light guide plate at a predetermined interval.
Nguyen, in the same field of endeavor of thermopiles as Keranen, teaches a light receiver comprises a plurality of pixels i.e. light receiving sensors, wherein the pixels provide visual images of the object and temperature signals (claim 1). Examiner notes the pixel placement is at a predetermine interval since the pixels form an array. At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to substitute the combination’s light receiver for Nguyen’s plurality of light receiving sensors to visually observe temperatures along with the calculated temperature values.
Claim(s) 8 & 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over paper of Kimmo Keranen, “Infrared temperature sensor system for mobile devices”, 2009 hereafter Keranen in view of Kim KR 20170034497 in further view of Cao CN 212409882.
With respect to claim 8 according to claim 4, the combination does not teach the light collector further includes a Fresnel lens positioned closer to the at least one battery cell than the light guide plate and configured to concentrate the electromagnetic wave radiated from the at least one battery cell.
Cao, in the same field of endeavor of thermopiles as Keranen (abstract, lines 3-10 Cao), teaches a thermopile comprising a Fresnel lens (fig 4, 22) positioned closer to a target than a light guide plate (fig 4, 23) (pg. 3, ¶ 5). Cao further teaches the Fresnel lens can greatly increase the precision of the thermopile sensor and the Fresnel lens also can block the influence of the humidity and environmental temperature in the air to the thermopile sensor (pg. 3, ¶ 12, lines 7-11). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to place a Fresnel in front of the combination’s light guide plate to increase the precision of the combination’s thermopile avoiding unwanted influence from environmental temperatures.
With respect to claim 13 according to claim 1, the combination does not teach the light collector includes a Fresnel lens positioned close to the at least one battery cell and configured to concentrate the electromagnetic wave radiated from the at least one battery cell; and wherein the light receiver includes at least one light receiving sensor positioned in a direction in which a focus of the Fresnel lens is formed.
Kim, in the same field of endeavor of thermopiles as Keranen, teaches a thermopile (fig 4a, 100) positioned relatively close to at least one battery cell wherein the thermopile is configured to concentrate electromagnetic light from the battery via a lens (fig 3b, 140) onto a light receiver (pg. 5, ¶ 3).
Kim does not teach a Fresnel lens wherein at least one light receiving sensor positioned in a direction in which a focus of the Fresnel lens is formed.
Cao, in the same field of endeavor of thermopiles as Keranen (abstract, lines 3-10), teaches a thermopile comprising a Fresnel lens (fig 4, 22) configured to focus light onto a light receiving sensor. Cao further teaches the Fresnel lens can greatly increase the precision of the thermopile sensor and the Fresnel can also block the influence of the humidity and environmental temperature in the air to the thermopile sensor (pg3, ¶ 12, lines 7-11). At the time prior to the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to place a Fresnel in front of the combination’s light guide plate to increase the precision of the combination’s thermopile avoiding unwanted influence from environmental temperatures.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 & 12 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims or to include the limitation(s) and any intervening claims into the base claim. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
As to claim 9, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious wherein “the Fresnel lens has a greater horizontal or vertical length than the light guide plate”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 9.
As to claim 12, the prior art of record, taken alone or in combination, fails to disclose or render obvious wherein “preset intensity is detected at a wavelength equal to or less than a preset wavelength based on the intensity information for each wavelength, the controller determines that heat at a temperature equal to or greater than a reference value is generated from at least a partial region of the at least one battery cell”, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 12.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAURICE C SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-2526. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm 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, Kara Geisel can be reached at (571) 272-2416. 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.
/MAURICE C SMITH/Examiner, Art Unit 2877
Prosecution Insights