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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The new drawings filed on 4/21/26 comprises new matters. Therefore, the amended drawings will not be entered. Applicant created new definitions/labels which are not even in the original SPEC.
The drawings are not of sufficient quality to permit examination. Accordingly, replacement drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to this Office action. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action.
Applicant is given a shortened statutory period of TWO (2) MONTHS to submit new drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.81. Extensions of time may be obtained under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136(a) but in no case can any extension carry the date for reply to this letter beyond the maximum period of SIX MONTHS set by statute (35 U.S.C. 133). Failure to timely submit replacement drawing sheets will result in ABANDONMENT of the application.
Specification
The amendment filed 4/21/26 is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. 35 U.S.C. 132(a) states that no amendment shall introduce new matter into the disclosure of the invention. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows:
conducting contact face 16a,
the form of clamp elements extending from a first side or end of the body 19
second spring contact elements 24 extending from an opposite side or end of the body 19
the web portions 20 and has on the opposite side of the body 19
Conclusion:
almost all the amendments are new matters. Therefore, the amended SPEC will not be entered.
As discussed above, the drawings quality are not of sufficient quality to permit examination. These may cause Examiner can’t interpret the SPEC and claims.
Applicant is required to cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 5-6 and dependent claims are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, “a first housing part which shields electromagnetic radiation and has an electrically conducting contact surface” are not supported by SPEC/drawing. The limitation lacks antecedent basis and/or is not supported by SPEC/drawings. Further clarification is required. For example, at least, the electrically conducting contact surface is not found in the drawing.
Examiner request Applicant to review and remove the similar issues in the dependent claims. If Applicant still can’t clearly find the support of the claimed limitation, a 112 rejection will be filed in the next office action.
The Examiner respectfully requests that the Applicant(s) review all claims for any such similar issues.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
Examiner’s note: the quality of the drawing is very low and also unclear. Examiner request Applicants further update the drawing without new matter in the next response.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the limitations, rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112, second paragraph, and/or discussed in the above claim objections (see above objections) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 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 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.
Claims 1, 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over BITSCHE (DE 10258672) in view of Myer (US 20100317219).
With regard claim 1, BITSCHE discloses An electromagnetically compatible housing device for a high-voltage battery of a vehicle, comprising (abstract, see also fig 1-7 ): a first housing part which shields electromagnetic radiation and has an electrically conducting contact surface (at least fig 1, fig 5, fig 7, the housing part which shields electromagnetic radiation and has an electrically conducting contact face contacted with 14, but not limited to); a second housing part shields electromagnetic radiation and which is connected in an electrically conducting manner to the electrically conducting contact surface of the first housing part (abstract, paragraph [29]-[33]) and is configured to establish electrically conducting contact with a battery housing part of the high-voltage battery (abstract, paragraph [36]-[41]).
BITSCHE lacks teaching: a second housing part which is in the form of a spring part, wherein the second housing part comprises: a body; a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body and configured to contact the electrically conducting contact surface of the first housing part; and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body and configured to contact the battery housing part.
Myer teaches: a housing part which is in the form of a spring part (at least fig 4, fig 5, fig 7, paragraph [51]-[58]), wherein the second housing part comprises: a body (at least fig 4, fig 5, Examiner consider the middle portion is a body which has a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body, and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body); a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body (at least fig 4, fig 5, the first spring contact elements to receive the “web structure” as shown inf fig 4C-4E) and configured to contact the electrically conducting contact surface of the other housing part (at least fig 4, fig 5, fig 7, paragraph [51]-[58]); and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body (at least fig 4, fig 5, a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body) and configured to contact the base housing part (fig 4, fig 5, fig 7, paragraph [51]-[58]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, or at the time of the invention was made, to include this feature (a plurality of first and second spring contact elements extending from both ends of the body; configure to contact both sides of the housing or parts; modified a web portion on the first housing part to connect to the plurality of spring contact elements) and modify to previous discussed structure (modified to second housing portion of the primary art) so as to have (BITSCHE in view o Myer): a second housing part which is in the form of a spring part (modified by Myer), wherein the second housing part comprises: a body; a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body (modified by Myer) and configured to contact the electrically conducting contact surface of the first housing part (Primary’s art modified by Myer); and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body (modified by Myer); and configured to contact the battery housing part (Primary’s art modified by Myer).
Examiner’s note: above modification including adjusting the size of the contact, spring structure, web portion etc. so that it can fit into the structure of primary art.
The motivation to modify the previous discussed structure with the current feature is to further enhance the connectivity and/or contact and/or shielding of the housing.
With regard claim 7, modified BITSCHE further teaches: the electrically conducting contact surface of the first housing part comprises at least one web portion (Mayer’s fig 2, fig 4, see above modification) extending toward the second housing part (see modification of primary art discussed in claim 1), wherein the at least one web portion is in electrically conducting contact with the first spring contact elements (Mayer’s fig 2, fig 4, fig 5).
the primary art and/or the modified structure discussed in the preceding claim disclosed all the subject matter except for the electrically conducting contact face of the first housing part has web portions formed in some regions, which web portions are in electrically conducting contact with the first spring contact elements.
For examples:
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention was made to include this feature (above discussed web portions, spring in the form of clamp elements etc.) and modify to previous discussed structure (modified to primary art’s first and second housings) so as to further improve the contact of the modified structure. (see also claim 1 rejection)
Regarding claim 8, modified BITSCHE further disclosed the first spring contact elements contact the a least one web portion laterally (see claim 7 modification; at least Myer’s fig 4-5 showed spring contact elements contact the a least one web portion laterally).
Regarding claim 9, modified BITSCHE further disclosed the first spring contact elements (22) are in the form of clamp elements which contact the a least one web portion (20) on opposite sides (see claim 7 modification; at least Myer’s fig 4-5 showed clamp elements which contact the web portions (20) on opposite sides).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to the Applicants’ remarks that, “The Office Action objects to claims 1, 5, and 6 for allegedly not being supported by the SPEC/drawing and for "obviously" comprising grammar errors. See Office Action at Pages 2-3. Applicant respectfully submits that the first replacement drawing sheet included herewith, which replaces the original drawing sheet containing FIG. 1, clearly depicts the electrically conducting contact face (16A) recited in independent claim 1. Further, as shown above, dependent claim 5 and 6 have been canceled herein,” (pages 6-7).
Examiner’s Answer: the Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that
The new amended SPEC and drawings are not entered, see above discussion.
Applicant’s drawings quality are very low. A protectional drawing is required.
With respect to the Applicants’ remarks that, “As best understood, Bitsche discloses a shielding device 9, which includes an electrically conductive plate 11 and an electrically conductive frame 12 that is circumferentially attached along all outer edges of the plate 11. See Bitsche at paragraphs [0029-30] and Figs. 2-4. Bitsche explicitly teaches that the frame 12 has legs 15 and 16, which enclose the outer edge of the plate 11 and are glued onto the plate 11 (e.g., using electrically conductive adhesive), as depicted in Fig. 4 and described at least in paragraph [0032] of Bitsche. Although unclear, as discussed above, it appears that the Office Action asserts that the plate 11 of Bitsche provides the "first housing part," that the frame 12 provides the "second housing part," and that the spring 14 provides both the "first spring contact elements" and the "second spring contact elements," as recited in amended independent claim 1.” (pages 8 to the end).
Examiner’s Answer: the Examiner respectfully disagrees and notes that:
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to current ground of rejection in the office action.
In this case, Myer teaches: a housing part which is in the form of a spring part (at least fig 4, fig 5, fig 7, paragraph [51]-[58]), wherein the second housing part comprises: a body (at least fig 4, fig 5, Examiner consider the middle portion is a body which has a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body, and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body); a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body (at least fig 4, fig 5, the first spring contact elements to receive the “web structure” as shown inf fig 4C-4E) and configured to contact the electrically conducting contact surface of the other housing part (at least fig 4, fig 5, fig 7, paragraph [51]-[58]); and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body (at least fig 4, fig 5, a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body) and configured to contact the base housing part (fig 4, fig 5, fig 7, paragraph [51]-[58]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, or at the time of the invention was made, to include this feature (a plurality of first and second spring contact elements extending from both ends of the body; configure to contact both sides of the housing or parts; modified a web portion on the first housing part to connect to the plurality of spring contact elements) and modify to previous discussed structure (modified to second housing portion of the primary art) so as to have (BITSCHE in view o Myer): a second housing part which is in the form of a spring part (modified by Myer), wherein the second housing part comprises: a body; a plurality of first spring contact elements extending from a first end of the body (modified by Myer) and configured to contact the electrically conducting contact surface of the first housing part (Primary’s art modified by Myer); and a plurality of second spring contact elements extending from a second end of the body opposite the first end of the body (modified by Myer); and configured to contact the battery housing part (Primary’s art modified by Myer).
Examiner’s note: above modification including adjusting the size of the contact, spring structure, web portion etc. so that it can fit into the structure of primary art.
The motivation to modify the previous discussed structure with the current feature is to further enhance the connectivity and/or contact and/or shielding of the housing.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JERRY WU whose telephone number is (571)270-5420. The examiner can normally be reached on PHP: M-Th: 8:30-12:30; 2:30-8:30pm.
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, Imani Hayman can be reached on 571.270.5528. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JERRY WU/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
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