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 . The instant application with Application Number 18/232,292 filed on 08/09/2023 is presented for examination. As per the remarks of 07/01/2026, claims 65-68 are withdrawn. Claims 1-48 were previously cancelled. Claims 49-64 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statment
The Information Disclosure Statement dated 08/14/2023, 02/11/2025 and 03/27/2025 are acknowledged and the cited references have been considered in this examination.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 65-68 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species II and III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/01/2026.
Drawings
Figure 15 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). All figures configured as prior arts have to be designated as --prior arts-- Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. 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. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 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 49, 51-55 and 57 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Baumgartner et al. (US 2016/0072106).
With respect to claims 49 and 51-52, Baumgartner discloses a battery pack (Fig. 1, 100), being configured for engaging to an external device (Fig. Fig. 4, 300: hand held tool), comprising: a housing having a top portion and a bottom portion arranged opposite to each other and a first side portion and a second side portion arranged opposite to each other (Fig. 1, bottom portion of housing 130, and top portion 120/180: Para. # 0030) a plurality of cells electrically connected to each other and accommodated in the housing (Para. # 0030: Battery cells 400 are positioned between the two housing components 120, 130 either with the aid of a cell support 410); a sliding slot comprising a first sliding slot and a second sliding slot (Fig. 1, 110 and 180; para. # 30), the sliding slot configured for guiding the battery pack to achieve mechanical connection with the external device (Para. # 0031: Contact elements 140 are fixed on battery pack electronics 800 for establishing the electrical and mechanical connection between battery pack 100 and hand-held power tool 300) (Para. # 0039: battery pack 100 according to the present invention may be situated in a locked manner. To lock battery pack 100 on handle 315, battery pack 100 is inserted in contacting direction y along handle 315, namely along a lower outer surface 316 of handle 315 oriented essentially perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction)
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and a locking portion configured for locking between the battery pack and the external device (Para. # 0039: battery pack 100 according to the present invention may be situated in a locked manner. To lock battery pack 100 on handle 315, battery pack 100 is inserted in contacting direction y along handle 315, namely along a lower outer surface 316 of handle 315 oriented essentially perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction), wherein the top portion comprises a top plane and a top recess under the top plane in the height direction (See reproduced fig. 1, top portion), the top recess comprises the sliding slot and the locking portion, and the sliding slot is recessed downward from the top plane in the height direction, and the first side portion, the second side portion, and the sliding slot all extend in the longitudinal direction of the battery pack (Para. # 0020, 0030-0031, 0039).
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With respect to claim 53, Baumgartner discloses the battery pack as described above, wherein the battery pack further comprises a plurality of battery pack terminals configured for being electrically connected to a corresponding terminal of the external device, and wherein the top recess further comprises a terminal accommodating hole for at least partially accommodating the battery pack terminal, and the terminal accommodating hole is arranged in the sliding slot (para. # 0032: detail in FIG. 3 that interface 180 of battery pack 100 includes five contact elements 140, the five contact elements 140 being fixed on battery pack electronics 800, two contact elements, a positive contact element 141 and a negative contact element 142 being provided for the power supply).
With respect to claims 54 and 55, Baumgartner discloses the battery pack as described above, wherein the first sliding slot and the second sliding slot both comprise a pair of sidewalls extending in the longitudinal extension direction of the battery pack and a bottom wall arranged between the pair of sidewalls, and the terminal accommodating hole is arranged in the sidewall and/or the bottom wall (Para. # 0034: contact elements 140 interact during mounting of battery pack 100 on a hand-held power tool 300 or on a charging device 700 with corresponding counter-contact elements 740, 340, so that, in principle, battery pack 100 is mountable or usable on hand-held power tool 300).
With respect to claim 57, Baumgartner discloses the battery pack as described above, wherein the top portion and the bottom portion are connected by ultrasonic welding or laser welding (Para. # 0022: hand-held power tools including a head which is able to be set in rotation or translation, and which is directly drivable by a drive motor via a gearing or a planetary gear, for example cordless screwdrivers, rechargeable drills, percussion drills, multi tools, saws, grinders, shears, and/or cordless combi drills).
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 present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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 50 and 58-62 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baumgartner as described above in view of Koeder et al. (US 2015/0303417).
With respect to claims 50 and 58-62, Baumgartner discloses the battery pack (Fig. 1, 100), being configured for engaging to the external device (Fig. Fig. 4, 300: hand-held tool), as described above, further discloses wherein the top plane comprises a first planar part, a second planar part, and a third planar part (See Fig. 3, plane a, b and c), wherein the first planar part is located between the first sliding slot and the second sliding slot in the width direction, wherein the second planar part is located between the first side portion and the first sliding slot in the width direction (Fig. 1, the lower plane and the second upper plane 110 are between the sliding sots), and wherein the first planar part and the second planar part have substantially the same sizes in the longitudinal extension direction of the battery pack (para. # 0015-0018; Fig. 1 somewhat same size and oriented longitudinal direction relative to pack).
Baumgartner, however, does not expressly disclose wherein the third planar part is located between the second side portion and the second sliding slot in the width direction.
Koeder, on the other hand, discloses multiple planar part is located between the second side portion and the second sliding slot in the width direction (Para. # 0025: multiple planes, such as one first configuration plane and at least one additional configuration plane, and a plurality of lithium-ion secondary cells which have an identical cross section including a central point axis).
BAUMGARTNER and Koeder are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely battery pack for a hand-held power tool and a rechargeable battery device.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the battery pack type to include multiple sliding planes useful for locking portion in a recessed region to the battery pack of Baumgartner in view of Koeder for simple and easy connection to the external device, such as power tool.
Further, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known structure with multiple sliding grooves based on its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Claims 56, 63 and 64, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baumgartner in view of Koeder further in view of Johnson et al. (US 2011/0215767).
With respect to claims 53, 63 and 64, the combined references of BAUMGARTNER and Koeder disclose the battery pack as described above, but both references do not disclose wherein the battery pack further comprises a circuit board, and battery pack with a 3C interface for charging 3C or high rate electronic devices.
Johnson, on the other hand, discloses battery pack further comprises a circuit board (Para. # 0092, 0094: n some constructions, the circuit 130 can be coupled to a printed circuit board 145; the illustrated construction, the PCB 145 can provide the necessary electrical connections between the microprocessor 14), and battery pack with a high charging/discharging rate (Para. # 0084: In some constructions and in some aspects, the battery 50 can supply a high discharge current to electrical devices, such as, for example, a power tool 55, having high-current discharge rates. For example, the battery 50 can power a wide range of power tools 55 including a circular saw 56, a driver drill 58, and the like, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified the battery pack type to include a circuit board in the width direction or on a projection region to control the electrical connection between the battery pack and the external device and a high charge rate connection, such as charger or tool in order to supply power effectively to the combined references of Baumgartner and Koeder in view of Johnson.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YALKEW FANTU whose telephone number is (571)272-8928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00AM-4:00PM.
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, DREW A DUNN can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YALKEW FANTU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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