CTNF 18/282,862 CTNF 87839 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on September 19, 2023, April 2, 2025, July 15, 2025 and September 22, 2025 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 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-2, 6 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Kawamoto (JP2012-084486; machine translation relied upon) . Regarding claims 1 and 11, Kawamoto teaches a power storage system comprising a battery pack comprising a first battery module 20C having a first corner formed by two side plates (top side and left side in figure 3), a control unit 10 (taken to be the claimed processor) having a second corner formed by two side plates (top side and right side in figure 3), the processor electrically connecting to the first battery module and controlling charge/discharge of the battery module, and a fixing member 40 (taken to be the claimed first coupling member) having a first side fastened to the first corner and a second side fastened to the second corner (machine translation at pages 2-3; figure 3). Regarding claim 2, Kawamoto teaches that the first battery module is located on a first side of the processor, and the first corner and the second corner are adjacent to each other (figure 3). Regarding claim 6, the left hand side of the figure can be taken to be the “rear”, and the first and second corner are adjacent to each other (figure 3). Regarding claim 12, Kawamoto teaches screws 52 (claimed first and second fasteners) to secure the coupling members to the corners (machine translation at page 5). Regarding claim 13, Kawamoto taches a specific embodiment where the first and second corners each have a chamfered surface, and the coupling member is fastened to the chamfered surfaces (figure 3) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-20-aia 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, 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 3 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawamoto (JP2012-084486; machine translation relied upon) . Regarding claim 3, Kawamoto teaches that the arrangement position of the control unit and the battery module can be easily changed according to the arrangement space (machine translation at page 8, last paragraph), suggesting configurations where a second battery module is located on a second side of the processor and electrically connected to the processor and a second coupling member having a first side fastened to the second battery module and a second side fastened to the processor. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to place and connect a second battery module on the second side of the processor as an alternative configuration useful for certain arrangement spaces (see Kawamoto machine translation at page 8, last paragraph). Regarding claim 9, Kawamoto teaches that the arrangement position of the control unit and the battery module can be easily changed according to the arrangement space (machine translation at page 8, last paragraph), suggesting configurations where a second battery module is located at the “rear” of the first battery module and a second coupling member having a first side fastened to the first corner and a second side fastened to the third corner. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to place and connect a second battery module on the second side of the processor as an alternative configuration useful for certain arrangement spaces (see Kawamoto machine translation at page 8, last paragraph) . 07-22-aia AIA Claim s 4-5, 7-8, 10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawamoto as applied to claim 1-2, 6 and 9 above, and further in view of Cho (KR 2017-0087074; machine translation relied upon) . Regarding claims 4 and 10, Kawamoto does not specifically disclose a double corner cover having hooks coupled to the first coupling member. Cho teaches a cover 70 covering first and second corners, having protrusions 76 which engage with the fixing portion 50 (claimed coupling member) (machine translation at pages 5-6; figures 6-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use one or more covers with hooks as taught by Cho in the battery pack of Kawamoto in order to protect the coupling member from the external environment (see Cho machine translation at page 5, last paragraph). Regarding claim 5, Kawamoto teaches electrically connecting with wires through the fixing member 40 (machine translation at page 4, first full paragraph). Regarding claim 7, Kawamoto does not specifically disclose first and second single corner covers with hooks coupled to the first coupling member. Cho teaches a cover 70 covering first and second corners, having protrusions 76 which engage with the fixing portion 50 (claimed coupling member) (machine translation at pages 5-6; figures 6-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use a corner cover with hooks as taught by Cho in the battery pack of Kawamoto in order to protect the coupling member from the external environment (see Cho machine translation at page 5, last paragraph), and it would have been obvious to use two single corner covers rather than a double corner cover in order to allow the cover to travel with the module before connection without sticking out beyond the module. Regarding claim 8, Kawamoto teaches electrically connecting with wires through the fixing member 40 (machine translation at page 4, first full paragraph). Regarding claim 14, Kawamoto does not specifically disclose a double corner cover having hooks engaging openings first coupling member. Cho teaches a cover 70 covering first and second corners, having protrusions 76 which engage in openings in the fixing portion 50 (claimed coupling member) (machine translation at pages 5-6; figures 6-9). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use one or more covers with hooks as taught by Cho in the battery pack of Kawamoto in order to protect the coupling member from the external environment (see Cho machine translation at page 5, last paragraph). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PHILIP N SCHWARTZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1612. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:00-5:30. 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, Katelyn Smith can be reached at 571-270-5545. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /P.N.S/ Examiner, Art Unit 1749 April 15, 2026 /KATELYN W SMITH/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1749 Application/Control Number: 18/282,862 Page 2 Art Unit: 1749 Application/Control Number: 18/282,862 Page 3 Art Unit: 1749 Application/Control Number: 18/282,862 Page 4 Art Unit: 1749 Application/Control Number: 18/282,862 Page 5 Art Unit: 1749 Application/Control Number: 18/282,862 Page 6 Art Unit: 1749
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