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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 01/11/2024, 06/20/2024 and 01/15/2025. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 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 1-3, 6, 9-14, 17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN217114700U to Xiao (Machine Translation) in view of CN211265603U to Chen et al. (Machine Translation).
With respect to claim 1, Xiao teaches a battery module, comprising a battery 1, a main control board 2, and a conduction sheet 3, wherein the battery 1 is electrically connected to the main control board 2 by the conduction sheet 3, one end of the conduction sheet 3 is welded to the battery 1, and another end of the conduction sheet is welded to the main control board 2 (Xiao: Page 3; Figs. 1-5).
Xiao does not specifically teach the conduction sheet is an elastic conduction sheet with elasticity.
However, Chen et al. teach a battery elastic sheet for a connection between the battery and the circuit board (Chen et al.: Abstract).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Xiao with the teaching above from Chen et al. with the motivation of having a means such the battery elastic sheet improve the connection between two components.
With respect to claims 2 and 3, Xiao does not specifically teach, but Chen et al. teach the battery module, wherein a middle portion of the elastic conduction sheet is concave and deformed toward one side to form an elastic bypass slot 7, and two ends of the elastic conduction sheet are capable of being elastically deformed along a direction toward the elastic bypass slot 7 or a direction away from the elastic bypass slot 7, wherein the elastic bypass slot 7 is provided with a through slot (Chen et al.: Page 3; Figs. 1-3).
With respect to claim 6, Xiao teaches the battery module, further comprising a charging connector and an electrical connector, wherein the charging connector and the main control board 2 are disposed at two ends of the battery 1 respectively, the charging connector is electrically connected to the main control board 2 by the electrical connector, one end of the electrical connector elastically abuts the main control board 2, and another end of the electrical connector is connected to the charging connector (Xiao: Page 3; Figs. 1-5).
With respect to claims 9-11, Xiao in view of Chen et al. do not specifically teach the battery module, wherein the elastic conduction sheet is made of iron.
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have the elastic conduction sheet is made of iron, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
With respect to claim 12, Xiao teaches an atomizer 400, comprising an atomization compartment and a battery module, wherein, the battery module is connected to the atomization compartment and configured to supply power to the atomization compartment; and the battery module comprises a battery 1, a main control board 2, and a conduction sheet 3, wherein the battery 1 is electrically connected to the main control board 2 by the conduction sheet 3, one end of the conduction sheet 3 is welded to the battery 1, and another end of the conduction sheet is welded to the main control board 2 (Xiao: Page 3; Figs. 1-5).
Xiao does not specifically teach the conduction sheet is an elastic conduction sheet with elasticity.
However, Chen et al. teach a battery elastic sheet for a connection between the battery and the circuit board (Chen et al.: Abstract).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Xiao with the teaching above from Chen et al. with the motivation of having a means such the battery elastic sheet improve the connection between two components.
With respect to claims 13 and 14, Xiao does not specifically teach, but Chen et al. teach the atomizer, wherein a middle portion of the elastic conduction sheet is concave and deformed toward one side to form an elastic bypass slot 7, and two ends of the elastic conduction sheet are capable of being elastically deformed along a direction toward the elastic bypass slot 7 or a direction away from the elastic bypass slot 7, wherein the elastic bypass slot 7 is provided with a through slot (Chen et al.: Page 3; Figs. 1-3).
With respect to claim 17, Xiao teaches the atomizer, further comprising a charging connector and an electrical connector, wherein the charging connector and the main control board 2 are disposed at two ends of the battery 1 respectively, the charging connector is electrically connected to the main control board 2 by the electrical connector, one end of the electrical connector elastically abuts the main control board 2, and another end of the electrical connector is connected to the charging connector (Xiao: Page 3; Figs. 1-5).
With respect to claim 20, Xiao in view of Chen et al. do not specifically teach the atomizer, wherein the elastic conduction sheet is made of iron.
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have the elastic conduction sheet is made of iron, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 227 F.2d 197, 125 USPQ 416 (CCPA 1960).
Claims 7 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN217114700U to Xiao (Machine Translation) in view of CN211265603U to Chen et al. (Machine Translation) in view of CN112841730 to Xu et al. (Machine Translation).
With respect to claim 7, Xiao does not specifically teach the battery module, wherein the electrical connector comprises a body and an elastic abutment member, wherein one end of the body is connected to the charging connector, one end of the elastic abutment member is connected to another end of the body, another end of the elastic abutment member is bent and deformed to form an elastic abutment end, and the elastic abutment end elastically abuts the main control board.
However, Xu et al. teach a battery comprising, wherein the electrical connector 22 comprises a body 221 and an elastic abutment member 222 or 223, wherein one end of the body 221 is connected to the charging connector 2141, one end of the elastic abutment member 222 or 223 is connected to another end of the body 221, another end of the elastic abutment member 222 or 223 is bent and deformed to form an elastic abutment end, and the elastic abutment end elastically abuts the main control board 40 (Xu et al.: Page 6, Paragraphs 5-10; Figs. 5 and 9).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Xiao with the teaching above from Xu et al. with the motivation of having a means such the elastic abutment member improve the connection between two components.
With respect to claim 18, Xiao does not specifically teach the atomizer, wherein the electrical connector comprises a body and an elastic abutment member, wherein one end of the body is connected to the charging connector, one end of the elastic abutment member is connected to another end of the body, another end of the elastic abutment member is bent and deformed to form an elastic abutment end, and the elastic abutment end elastically abuts the main control board.
However, Xu et al. teach a battery comprising, wherein the electrical connector 22 comprises a body 221 and an elastic abutment member 222 or 223, wherein one end of the body 221 is connected to the charging connector 2141, one end of the elastic abutment member 222 or 223 is connected to another end of the body 221, another end of the elastic abutment member 222 or 223 is bent and deformed to form an elastic abutment end, and the elastic abutment end elastically abuts the main control board 40 (Xu et al.: Page 6, Paragraphs 5-10; Figs. 5 and 9).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Xiao with the teaching above from Xu et al. with the motivation of having a means such the elastic abutment member improve the connection between two components.
Claims 8 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over CN217114700U to Xiao (Machine Translation) in view of CN211265603U to Chen et al. (Machine Translation) in view of US Patent Application Publication 2019/0237829 to Lo.
With respect to claim 8, Xiao does not specifically teach the battery module, further comprising a shockproof pad, wherein the shockproof pad is disposed between the charging connector and the battery.
However, Lo teaches a battery comprising a thermal insulating layer 36 (a shockproof pad), wherein the thermal insulating layer 36 (the shockproof pad) is disposed between a DC voltage input port 15 (the charging connector) and the battery 32 (Lo: Sections [0003] and [0014]-[0016]; Figs. 1-5).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Xiao with the teaching above from Xu et al. with the motivation of having a means such it has the effect of isolating the electrical connection to avoid the short circuit caused by the electric leakage, thereby causing damage to the battery and providing protection for buffer and shockproof.
With respect to claim 19, Xiao does not specifically teach the atomizer, further comprising a shockproof pad, wherein the shockproof pad is disposed between the charging connector and the battery.
However, Lo teaches a battery comprising a thermal insulating layer 36 (a shockproof pad), wherein the thermal insulating layer 36 (the shockproof pad) is disposed between a DC voltage input port 15 (the charging connector) and the battery 32 (Lo: Sections [0003] and [0014]-[0016]; Figs. 1-5).
It would have been obvious as of the effective filing dated of the claimed invention to have modified Xiao with the teaching above from Xu et al. with the motivation of having a means such it has the effect of isolating the electrical connection to avoid the short circuit caused by the electric leakage, thereby causing damage to the battery and providing protection for buffer and shockproof.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 5, 15 and 16 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.
Conclusion
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/LINGWEN R ZENG/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 6/27/2026
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