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 Applicant has amended independent claim 1 and dependent claim 8. The pending claims are claims 1-13.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ichikawa et al., US 2020/0020918.
Regarding claim 1, Ichikawa et al., teaches a wiring module (bus bar module; 0007) (wire routing member; 0051) that is attached to a plurality of power storage elements (power source; 0048), comprising: a circuit board (circuit body configured by a flexible board; 0009) (0051-0052; 0073) having a connection land (connection portion) (0016; 0033; 0056) and an electric wire land (0006; 0018); an electric wire (0018; 0113); and a protector configured to hold the circuit board and the electric wire (0045-0047), wherein an intermediate region (0053) (“direction intersecting with the length direction”) (0053) of the electric wire (0018; 0113), which extends between a first end of the electric wire and a second end of the electric wire (0006; 0047), is routed along a body of the protector so as not to contact the circuit board (0012; 0045-0047; 0106-0107); wherein a conductive path is routed on the circuit board (0057; 0082), and the conductive path includes the connection land (connection portion; 0013; 0033) (connector; 0052) that is electrically connected to an electrode terminal (0082) of a power storage element (power source; 0048), among the plurality of power storage elements, the electric wire land (0018) that is connected to the first end of the electric wire (0018), and a fuse portion (0084-0085; 0090-0091) provided between the connection land and the electric wire land (0006; 0018).
Regarding claim 2, Ichikawa et al., teaches wiring module according to wherein each of the power storage elements (power source; 0048) is a laminated battery (0019-0020), and the plurality of power storage elements (power source; 0048) are provided with a joining portion (0050; 0056; 0060) where the electrode terminals (0082) of the adjacent laminated batteries are electrically connected to each other (0082).
Regarding claim 3, Ichikawa et al., teaches further comprising a sub-terminal (“densely connected to the connector”; 0082) that electrically connects the electrode terminal and the connection land to each other (“wiring patterns 204a are densely connected to the connector 212 as described above, the points of contact between the terminals incorporated in the connector 212 and the upper side wiring patterns 204a are also dense”; 0082).
Regarding claim 4, Ichikawa et al., teaches further comprising two busbars (bus bars 25; 0051; 0060) (Fig. 3) each configured to connect a corresponding connection land to a corresponding one of the electrode terminals (0082) that are provided at two end portions of the plurality of power storage elements (0079) and do not form the joining portion (0073).
Regarding claim 5, Ichikawa et al., teaches wherein the protector includes an electric wire locking portion configured to lock the electric wire (“lock”; “the portion of coupling of the front side portion 41 and the rear side portion 42 are closed so that the inside and outside of the cover 40 do not communicate with each other.”) (0117).
Regarding claim 6, Ichikawa et al., teaches wherein two of the electric wire locking portions are provided on each electric wire land, and are disposed on two sides of the electric wire land (“the portion of coupling of the front side portion 41 and the rear side portion 42 are closed so that the inside and outside of the cover 40 do not communicate with each other.”) (0117).
Regarding claim 7, Ichikawa et al., teaches wherein the circuit board (circuit body configured by a flexible board; 0009) (0051-0052; 0073); includes a locked portion, and the protector includes a board locking portion configured to lock the locked portion (“closed portion” is the “locked portion”) (“the portion of coupling of the front side portion 41 and the rear side portion 42 is closed so that the inside and outside of the cover 40 do not communicate with each other. As a consequence, even if the cover 40 stretches or shrinks, the condition where the circuit body 20 and the bus bars 25 are protected from the outside can be maintained.”; 0104).
Regarding claim 8, Ichikawa et al., teaches further comprising a connector connected (connection portion; 0013; 0033) (connector; 0052), wherein the connector is held to the second end of the electric wire (0018; 0113); wherein the connector is held by the protector (0019; 0021; 0046-0047).
Regarding claim 9, Ichikawa et al., teaches wherein the fuse portion is constituted by a chip fuse (0084; 0091-0094) that is soldered to the conductive path of the circuit board (0009; 0018; 0075-0076).
Regarding claim 10, Ichikawa et al., teaches the circuit board is a flexible printed circuit board circuit board (circuit body configured by a flexible board; 0009) (0051-0052; 0073); and the fuse portion is constituted by a pattern fuse (0084-0085; 0090-0094).
Regarding claim 11, Ichikawa et al., teaches including the circuit board (circuit body configured by a flexible board; 0009) (0051-0052; 0073) provided with more than one of each of the connection land (connection portion; 0013; 0033) (connector; 0052), the electric wire land (0018; 0113), and the fuse portion (0084-0085; 0090-0091).
Regarding claim 12, Ichikawa et al., teaches a wiring module (bus bar module; 0007) (wire routing member; 0051) that is attached to the front and rear of the plurality of power storage elements that are elongated in a front-rear direction (0039-0040; 0065; 0096), and includes the electric wire routed extending in the front-rear direction (0018; 0096; 0102; 0113).
Thus, the claims are anticipated.
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.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichikawa et al., US 2020/0020918, in view of Kim et al., KR101729957.
Regarding claim 13, Ichikawa et al., teaches a vehicle wiring module (bus bar module; 0112-0113).
Ichikawa does not teach vehicle wiring module to be used mounted in a vehicle.
Kim et al., teaches a vehicle wiring module (0034), a bus bar module (0007), as a bus bar is employed in a vehicle (0005) to distribute power (0005) efficiently across multiple circuits (0013; 0037) in a vehicle (Kim et al., KR 101729957) (0007-busbar; 0034-wiring board; 0005-vehicles).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art because it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to employ “In particular, in vehicles using batteries, the battery, a busbar for supplying power from the battery to the main board, and a circuit board formed with a switching part for supplying power to the main board are connected by lead wires (Kim et al., 0005).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/15/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues that “From the Office Action, it is unclear exactly which component is considered to be "an electric wire".
However, Ichikawa teaches “even when a multiplicity of circuit structures are contained, the flexible board is typically easy to become deformed flexibly with a far smaller force than normal electric wires used for the above-described conventional bus bar module. For this reason, the assemblability to the battery assembly 1 is significantly improved.” (0113). Thus, Ichikawa teaches a modified electric wire. Additionally, Ichikawa teaches “ the bus bar 25 and the connector 212 are connected so as to be electrically continuous.” (0084), which is the function of the electrical wires.
The Applicant argues that, “Ichikawa fails to disclose an intermediate region of the electric wire, which extends between a first end of the electric wire and a second end of the electric wire, is routed along a body of the protector so as not to contact the circuit board, as encompassed by present claim 1.”
However, Ichikawa teaches an intermediate region (0053) (“direction intersecting with the length direction”) (0053) and teaches “ the circuit body and the bus bar can be protected from the outside while the assemblability to the battery assembly and the conformability to the manufacturing variations are improved” (0019).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANGELA J MARTIN whose telephone number is (571)272-1288. The examiner can normally be reached 7am-4pm.
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ANGELA J. MARTIN
Examiner
Art Unit 1727
/ANGELA J MARTIN/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
/BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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