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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/22/2023 and 07/11/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuchiya et al. (US 20190199018 A1), hereinafter "Tsuchiya".
In regard to Claim 1, Tsuchiya et al. discloses a cover member (terminal cover (1)), comprising: a base portion (body (10)) that is fixed to a battery and accommodates a battery terminal and a first cover (movable portion (20)), that is coupled to the base portion via a first hinge (hinges (50)) and is configured to be rotationally displaceable between a first shielding position at which the first cover covers a screwing member (bolt (6)), attached to the battery terminal and a first exposed position (open position), at which the screwing member is exposed (Tsuchiya, Abstract).
Tsuchiya et al. also discloses a tool restricting portion (30) that restricts rotation of a tool (T) rotated about the screwing member by interfering with the tool before the tool comes into contact with a peripheral member (vehicle body) disposed around the battery (Tsuchiya, Paragraph [0004]). While Tsuchiya et al. discloses the tool restriction portion is provided on the moveable portion, Tsuchiya teaches a necessary second component of the tool restricting portion that is provided on the fixed portion (base) of the cover member (lateral displacement restricting portion (41)). Tsuchiya discloses that providing the tool restriction portion on the moveable portion (cover) alone has the problem of the pressing force from the tool (T) being transferred from the tool restricting portion to the movable portion and that this force could displace the moveable portion rotationally about the hinge, which then allows the movable portion to be displaced from the body, which is also one of the problems that the original specification is trying to solve (Original Specification, Paragraph [0006-0007]).
The solution to this problem disclosed in Tsuchiya is to provide a second component to the tool restricting portion (lateral displacement restricting portion) that is provided on the fixed plate (the body/base of the cover member includes the fixed plate) and is lockable with the tool restriction portion (Tsuchiya, Paragraph [0005]). Thus, the tool restriction portion is a two component design wherein the first component (tool restriction portion) is mounted on the moveable portion and the second component (lateral displacement restricting portion) is mounted to the fixed plate of the cover member (the base) and the two components being lockable together are capable of achieving the benefits of restricting the lateral displacement of the movable portion while the rotation of the tool is still restricted reliably by preventing displacement of the tool restricting portion (Tsuchiya, Paragraph [0005]). Therefore, Tsuchiya et al. discloses a two component tool restriction portion that is provided on the base portion as well as the moveable portion which restricts rotation of a tool rotated about the screwing member by interfering with the tool before the tool comes into contact with a peripheral member disposed around the battery.
In regard to Claim 3, Tsuchiya et al. discloses the cover member according to claim 1. Tsuchiya et al. also discloses wherein the first cover includes a base end side edge portion coupled to the first hinge and a pair of first width direction side edge portions extending in parallel with each other from both ends of the base end side edge portion and wherein the tool restriction portion is a first protruding rib having a guide surface facing one of the first width direction side edge portions (Tsuchiya, Paragraph [0047], see Annotated Figure 5).
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Annotated Figure 5
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.
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.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuchiya et al. (US 20190199018 A1), hereinafter "Tsuchiya" as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Kato et al. (JP 6147781 B2 - Machine Translation), hereinafter "Kato". Tsuchiya et al. and Kato et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely battery terminal covers.
In regard to Claim 2, Tsuchiya et al. discloses the cover member according to claim 1. Tsuchiya et al. also discloses a screwing member that has a fastening portion for fastening the battery terminal to a battery post of the battery (Tsuchiya, Paragraph [0033], Figure 2) but fails to explicitly disclose wherein a central axis of the screwing member extends in an upper-lower direction of the base portion in parallel with a central axis of the battery post.
Kato et al. discloses a screwing member that has a fastening portion for fastening the battery terminal to a battery post of the battery and a central axis of the screwing member extends in an upper-lower direction of the base portion in parallel with a central axis of the battery post with the benefit of converting the fastening force by the fastening member generated in the direction along the axial direction into the pressing force in the fastening direction which achieves a more secure connection and so that the work space of the tool for fastening the fastening member is above the battery and also is capable of maximizing the space available (Kato, Paragraph [6]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide the screwing member parallel to the battery post as opposed to perpendicular to the battery post as doing so would give the skilled artisan the reasonable expectation of achieving the benefits taught in Kato et al. and as doing so would amount to nothing more than choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuchiya et al. (US 20190199018 A1), hereinafter "Tsuchiya" as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Hill et al. (US 5643693 A), hereinafter "Hill". Tsuchiya et al. and Hill et al. are analogous prior art to the claimed invention because they pertain to the same field of endeavor, namely battery terminal covers.
In regard to Claim 4, Tsuchiya et al. discloses the cover member according to claim 3. While Tsuchiya et al. mentions that when a fuse unit is included, a separate cover for the fuse unit is a known feature in prior works (Tsuchiya, Paragraph [0002]), it fails to explicitly disclose providing a second cover for the fuse unit.
Hill et al. discloses a second cover that is coupled to the base portion via a second hinge and is configured to be rotationally displaceable between a second shielding position at which the second cover covers a fuse unit attached to the battery terminal and a second exposed position at which the fuse unit is exposed (Hill, col. 5, Figures 1,2, 9 (42,43)) and a protruding rib provided on a width direction side edge portion of the cover (Hill, Figure 14 (12C)).
Further, Tsuchiya et al. discloses a protruding rib that is provided on a width direction side edge portion of the cover adjacent to the other first width direction side edge portion of the cover that has a guide surface facing the other first width direction side edge portion of the first cover that protrudes upward from the base portion (see annotated Figure 5). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the current invention to provide a second cover for the fuse unit if a fuse unit is required by the design, as taught in Hill et al. and apply the protruding rib in the configuration disclosed in Tsuchiya et al. as doing so would be obvious to try for the skilled artisan and as doing so would amount to nothing more than applying a known technique to a known device, ready for improvement, to yield predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH MAX OTERO whose telephone number is (571)272-2559. The examiner can normally be reached M-F Generally 7:30-430.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nicole Buie-Hatcher can be reached at (571) 270-3879. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/K.M.O./Examiner, Art Unit 1725
/NICOLE M. BUIE-HATCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1725