DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
This is the first office action regarding application number 18/108,661, filed 02/13/2023.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1, 3, 6, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lian (CN202737003U) in view of Ahn (KR 20180135832 A) (refer to enclosed translations for citations).
Regarding claim 1,
Lian teaches a bike derailleur [0006] battery case (Fig. 1, 141; [0006]) comprising:
a charging box body (Fig. 3, 2);
a waterproof (Fig. 3, wherein waterproof ring 30 seals opening portion 221 of cover 40; [0044], [0046]) and dustproof (Fig. 3, 2; wherein waterproof case is also dustproof) cover (Fig. 3, cover 40; [0047]) pivotally connected (wherein any element is pivotable, see also Fig. 3, wherein flexible buckle 42 allows for pivotable connection with 24; [0050]) to said charging box body (Fig. 3, where cover 40 on right connects to main body of 2 on left);
and a rechargeable battery pack (Fig. 5, 65; [0012], “The inside of the battery box is provided with commercially available dry batteries or rechargeable batteries”) arranged inside said charging box body (Fig. 3, inside 2; see [0012])
Lian fails to teach the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C power delivery (PD) converter and a circuit board disposed in an accommodating space inside said charging box body to perform bi-directional charging/discharging through a USB C port and a rechargeable battery pack electrically connected to said circuit board to provide power to a transmission battery through an one-way charging interface electrically connected to said circuit board.
Ahn teaches a bi-directional [0014] charging/discharging [0014] USB C [0023-0024] power delivery (PD) converter (Fig. 9, 110/122/125) and a circuit board (Fig. 12; 410; [0057]) disposed in an accommodating space (Fig. 12, space inside case 401a/b) inside said charging box body (Fig. 10, 400) to perform bi-directional [00140] charging/discharging [0014] through a USB C port [0023-0024] a rechargeable battery pack 10 electrically connected to said circuit board (see electrical connection flow chart Fig. 21, 410 connected to 10; [0076]) and a one-way charging interface (Fig. 9, 125; wherein 125 is configured to only draw current [0046]) electrically connected to said circuit board 410 (see [0057]) a rechargeable battery pack electrically connected to said circuit board
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to implement the battery box of Lian using the circuit board and USB C interface structure taught by Ahn, and further to configure the USB C interface as a power deliver converter as taught by Ahn, to provide power to a transmission battery (battery within 2) through an one-way charging interface electrically connected to said circuit board, in order to enable controlled bidirectional charging, reducing cost [0014], and improve power management, as suggested by Ahn ([0010]-[0014];
Regarding claim 3,
Lian in view of Ahn teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), wherein said one-way charging interface (Ahn, Fig. 9, 125) is disposed on bottom of a recessed base (Fig. 9, wherein 141b is recessed) formed on upper surface (Fig. 3, wherein charger 100, which includes 141b on bottom surface, connects to upper surface of battery device 400 which holds the battery rightmost inner surface of 141b) of said charging box body 400 to accommodate said transmission battery (battery 141 of Lian, see combination of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 6,
Lian in view of Ahn teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), wherein said circuit board 410 is electrically coupled to an external device (see Fig. 5 of Ahn) via said USB port 422.
Regarding claim 10,
Lian in view of Ahn teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 1, but fails to teach further including a lighting LED disposed on front end of said charging box body and electrically connected to said circuit board, enabling said rechargeable battery pack to provide power for said lighting LED. Ahn teaches a lighting LED (Fig. 4, 402) disposed on front end (Fig. 4, front surface where 402 is disposed) of said charging box body 400 and electrically connected to said circuit board (Fig. 21, wherein 402 is connected to circuit 410), enabling said rechargeable battery pack to provide power for said lighting LED ([0057], wherein circuit module 410 is powered by the battery device). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to incorporate the LED of Ahn in order to visually provide progress of charging/discharging, as suggested by Ahn [0060].
Claims 2, 11, 12, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lian (CN202737003U) in view of Ahn (KR 20180135832 A), Li (CN115051100A).
Regarding claim 2,
Lian in view of Ahn teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1 above), further including a clamping ring (Fig. 2, 142; [0007], wherein 142 is a ring shape and presses onto perimeter of 141, thus clamping it) coupled to said charging box body (Fig. 2, wherein 141 and thus box body 2 of Fig. 3 is coupled to 142), but fails teach a handle clamping ring to fix onto a handle of a bike. Li teaches a handle clamping ring (Fig. 2, 1) to fix onto a handle of a bike (Fig. 2, 6). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to position the bike derailleur battery case near the handlebars with the clamped connected structure of Li in order to improve convenience of access (see Abstract).
Regarding claim 11,
Lian teaches a bike derailleur [0006] battery case (Fig. 1, 141; [0006]) comprising:
a charging box body (Fig. 3, 2);
a waterproof (Fig. 3, wherein waterproof ring 30 seals opening portion 221 of cover 40; [0044], [0046]) and dustproof (Fig. 3, 2; wherein waterproof case is also dustproof) cover (Fig. 3, cover 40; [0047]) pivotally connected (wherein any element is pivotable, see also Fig. 3, wherein flexible buckle 42 allows for pivotable connection with 24; [0050]) to said charging box body (Fig. 3, where cover 40 on right connects to main body of 2 on left);
and a rechargeable battery pack (Fig. 5, 65; [0012], “The inside of the battery box is provided with commercially available dry batteries or rechargeable batteries”) arranged inside said charging box body (Fig. 3, inside 2; see [0012])
a clamping ring (Fig. 2, 142; [0007], wherein 142 is a ring shape and presses onto perimeter of 141, thus clamping it) coupled to said charging box body (Fig. 2, wherein 141 and thus box body 2 of Fig. 3 is coupled to 142).
Lian fails to teach the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C power delivery (PD) converter and a circuit board disposed in an accommodating space inside said charging box body to perform bi-directional charging/discharging through a USB C port and a rechargeable battery pack electrically connected to said circuit board to provide power to a transmission battery through an one-way charging interface electrically connected to said circuit board and a handle clamping ring coupled to said charging box body to fix onto a handle of a bike, wherein said handle clamping ring and said charging box body is relatively rotated.
Ahn teaches a bi-directional [0014] charging/discharging [0014] USB C [0023-0024] power delivery (PD) converter (Fig. 9, 110/122/125) and a circuit board (Fig. 12; 410; [0057]) disposed in an accommodating space (Fig. 12, space inside case 401a/b) inside said charging box body (Fig. 10, 400) to perform bi-directional [00140] charging/discharging [0014] through a USB C port [0023-0024] a rechargeable battery pack 10 electrically connected to said circuit board (see electrical connection flow chart Fig. 21, 410 connected to 10; [0076]) and a one-way charging interface (Fig. 9, 125; wherein 125 is configured to only draw current [0046]) electrically connected to said circuit board 410 (see [0057]) a rechargeable battery pack electrically connected to said circuit board
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to implement the battery box of Lian using the circuit board and USB C interface structure taught by Ahn, and further to configure the USB C interface as a power deliver converter as taught by Ahn, to provide power to a transmission battery (battery within 2) through an one-way charging interface electrically connected to said circuit board, in order to enable controlled bidirectional charging, reducing cost [0014], and improve power management, as suggested by Ahn ([0010]-[0014]; Ahn also fails to teach a handle clamping ring.
Li teaches a handle clamping ring (Fig. 2, 1) coupled to said charging box (Fig. 2, 2) body to fix onto a handle of a bike (Fig. 2, 6), wherein said handle clamping ring 1 and said charging box body 2 is relatively rotated (see Abstract). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to position the bike derailleur battery case near the handlebars with the clamped connected structure of Li in order to improve convenience of access (see Abstract).
Regarding claim 12,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 11 (see rejection of claim 11 above), wherein said one-way charging interface is disposed on bottom of a recessed base formed on upper surface of said charging box body to accommodate said transmission battery (see rejection of claim 3 above).
Regarding claim 15,
Liam in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 11 (see rejection of claim 11 above), wherein said circuit board is electrically coupled to an external device via said USB port (see rejection of claim 6 above).
Regarding claim 16,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 15 (see rejection of claim 15 above), wherein said circuit board is configured to provide a bi-directional power transmission path (see rejection of claim 1 above) between said external device (see Fig. 3 of Ahn) and said rechargeable battery pack 65 by communicating between said external device (see Fig. 3 of Ahn and [0079]) and a power delivery (PD) controller 412 electrically coupled to said USB C port [0023-0024], (i) when said external device is a power source (see power source in Fig. 3 of Ahn), power of said external device is controlled by said PD controller 412 to provide said power to charge said rechargeable battery pack through a charging path (see Fig. 21, wherein the circuit path is a charging path between elements); (ii) when said external device requires power (see Fig. 3 of Ahn, external device requires power to charge cell), power of said rechargeable battery pack is controlled by said PD controller 412 to provide said power to said external device through a discharging path (see rejection of claim 1 above; wherein the charging device is bi-directional).
Claims 4 ,5, 7, 9, 13, and 14 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lian (CN202737003U) in view of Ahn (KR 20180135832 A), Li (CN115051100A), and James (WO2022195286A1) (refer to enclosed translations for citations).
Regarding claim 4,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 3, wherein said one-way charge interface (Fig. 9, 125; wherein 125 is configured to only draw current [0046]) been placed on said bottom of said recessed base (see rejection of claim 3 above), but fails to teach wherein said one-way charging interface is a plurality of Pogo pins. James teaches wherein said one-way charging interface ([0024], “device interface”) is a plurality of Pogo pins [0024]. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to replace the one-way charge interface 125 with the Pogo pins of James, as James teaches the pogo pins as a suitable alternative connection in the art [0024].
Regarding claim 5,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 4, wherein said circuit board 410 is configured to provide an one-way power delivery path between said transmission battery (battery within 2, see rejection of claim 1 above) and said rechargeable battery pack ([0012], “The inside of the battery box is provided with commercially available dry batteries or rechargeable batteries”) by communicating between said transmission battery (battery within 2, see rejection of claim 1 above) and a power delivery (PD) controller (Ahn; [0079], output circuit unit 412; wherein the battery power management system oh Ahn is incorporated in the rejection of claim 1 above) electrically coupled to said one- way charging interface 125 (see Fig. 21) for offering one-way power delivery functionality from said rechargeable battery pack (see rejection of claim 1 above).
Regarding claim 7,
Lian in view of Ahn teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 6 (see rejection of claim 6 above), wherein said circuit board 410 is configured to provide a bi-directional power transmission path (see rejection of claim 1 above) between said external device (see Fig. 5 of Ahn and rejection of claim 1 above) and said rechargeable battery pack (Fig. 5, 65; [0012], “The inside of the battery box is provided with commercially available dry batteries or rechargeable batteries”) by communicating between said external device (see Fig. 3 of Ahn) and a power delivery (PD) controller 412 electrically coupled to said USB C port [0079], when said external device is a power source (see Fig. 3 of Ahn, charging power source), power of said external device is controlled by said PD controller [0079] to provide said power to charge said rechargeable battery pack through a charging path (see Fig. 3 and 21 of Ahn).
Regarding claim 9,
Lian in view of Ahn teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 6 (see rejection of claim , wherein said wherein said circuit board 410 is configured to provide a bi-directional power transmission path (see rejection of claim 1 above) between said external device and said rechargeable battery pack by communicating between said external device and a power delivery (PD) controller electrically coupled to said USB C port, when said external device requires power, power of said rechargeable battery pack is controlled by said PD controller to provide said power to said external device through a discharging path (see rejection of claim 7 above, wherein the charging/discharging is bi-directional).
Regarding claim 13,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 12 (see rejection of claim 12 above), wherein said one-way charging interface is a plurality of Pogo pins been placed on said bottom of said recessed base (see rejection of claim 4 above).
Regarding claim 14,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 13, wherein said circuit board is configured to provide an one-way power delivery path between said transmission battery and said rechargeable battery pack by communicating between said transmission battery and a power delivery (PD) controller electrically coupled to said one- way charging interface for offering one-way power delivery functionality from said rechargeable battery pack (see rejection of claim 5 above).
Claims 8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lian (CN202737003U) in view of Ahn (KR 20180135832 A), Li (CN115051100A), and Ammanamanchi (US-20200039375-A1)
Regarding claim 8,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 7, but fails to teach wherein said charging path includes a plurality of switches controlled by said PD - 19-controller and a buck/boost converter to transmit power from said external device to said rechargeable battery pack. Ammanamanchi teaches wherein said charging path (Fig. 2, wherein the circuit path is of Fig. 2 is configured for charging; [0006] [0134]) includes a plurality of switches (Fig. 2, Q1, Q2; [0148]) controlled by said PD controller (Fig. 2, 210; [0146]) and a buck/boost converter (Fig. 2, 206; [0144]) to transmit power from said external device to said rechargeable battery pack [0120]. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to include the buck/boost circuit of Ammanamanchi in order to generate variable voltages for EV output [0134].
Regarding claim 17,
Lian in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 16, wherein said charging path includes a plurality of switches controlled by said PD controller and a buck/boost converter to transmit power from said external device to said rechargeable battery pack (see rejection of claim 8 above).
Claims 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lian (CN202737003U) in view of Ahn (KR 20180135832 A), Li (CN115051100A).
Regarding claim 18,
Liam in view of Ahn and Li teaches the bike derailleur battery case with bi-directional charging/discharging USB C PD converter of claim 11 (see rejection of claim 11 above), further including a lighting LED disposed on front end of said charging box body and electrically connected to said circuit board, enabling said rechargeable battery pack to provide power for said lighting LED (see rejection of claim 10 above).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL WYROUGH whose telephone number is (571)272-4806. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.
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/PAUL CHRISTIAN ST WYROUGH/Examiner, Art Unit 1728 /TIFFANY LEGETTE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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