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 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) 1, 3-7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012038558 in view of Zhang et al 7347722.
Regarding claim 1, JP '558 substantially discloses a contact system 70 for electrically connecting a high current power supply system, in particular a battery unit 10, the contact system comprising: a busbar 60, an electrode 12A,B, and a clamp 80, the clamp having clamp legs 82, one clamp leg thereof on one side and the other clamp leg thereof on the other side of an interspace between the clamp legs, the clamp leg on the one side being elastically moveable so as to vary the interspace, the busbar and the electrode and at least one of the clamp legs having a respective contact surface (Figure 11) contacting a further one of the contact surfaces, at least one of the clamp leg contact surface, the busbar contact surface and the electrode contact surface having a protrusion 83 contacting the respective other one of the contact surfaces, the protrusion being convex in two mutually vertical sectional planes. Zhang et al (front page) discloses at least three clamp legs 130,130,60, two clamp legs 130,130 being on one side of an interspace and clamp leg 60 being on the other side of the interspace, and to form the clamp of JP ‘558 in this way thus would have been obvious, for more reliable electrical contact.
Regarding claim 3, JP '558 discloses the protrusion 83 is rounded in the two mutually vertical sectional planes and preferably has radii of curvature of at most 40 mm.
Regarding claim 4, JP '558 discloses the respective other contact surface has a flat portion, the protrusion and the flat portion contacting each other.
Regarding claim 5, JP '558 discloses the flat portion has radii of curvature of at least 100 mm.
Regarding claim 6, JP '558 discloses the protrusion 83 and the flat portion has an average diameter in a projection into a plane perpendicular to the sectional planes of the convexity of the protrusion of at least 10 mm.
Regarding claim 7, JP '558 discloses the electrode 12A, B and the busbar 60 are substantially square at least in a portion thereof clamped by the clamp 80.
Regarding claim 11, JP '558 (Figure 5) discloses the at least one busbar 60 defines a direction of longest extension of the busbar and wherein the flat portion is substantially parallel to this direction.
Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aporius et al 2016/0164235 in view of JP 2012/38558.
Aporius et al substantially discloses the claimed invention, including a contact system (Figures 3a-b) for electrically connecting a high current power supply system, the contact system comprising at least two busbars 3 and a clamp 1, the clamp having at least two clamp legs 18, at least one of the at least two clamp legs being elastically moveable so as to vary an interspace between the clamp legs, the at least two busbars and at least one of the clamp legs having a respective contact surface contacting a further one of the contact surfaces (Figures 1b,3a-5), at least one of the clamp leg contact surface and the busbar contact surfaces having a protrusion 17 contacting the respective other one of the contact surfaces. JP ‘558 discloses protrusion 83 being convex in two mutually vertical sectional planes, and to provide Aporius et al with such a protrusion thus would have been obvious, for good electrical contact.
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012038558 as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of EP 3719934.
EP '934 (Figure 8) discloses the protrusion is provided at one of the electrode contact surface and the busbar contact surface and wherein the flat portion is provided at the other respective electrode contact surface thereof, and to provide JP '558 with this type of structure thus would have been obvious, for good electrical contact.
Claim(s) 9 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012038558 in view of Zhang et al as applied to claims 8 and 1 above, and further in view of EP 3699979.
Regarding claim 9, EP 3699979 discloses one of the clamp legs defines a hole 23 (Figure 3), the protrusion 36 (Figure 6) being adapted to penetrate the hole when contacting the flat portion, and to provide JP '558 (as modified by Zhang et al) with this type of structure thus would have been obvious, for good electrical contact.
Regarding claim 13, EP 3699979 (Figure 2) discloses the electrode and the clamp are formed integrally with each other, and to form the electrode and the clamp of JP '558 integrally with each other thus would have been obvious, for ease and economy of manufacture.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2012038558 in view of Zhang et al as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of FR 3062956.
FR 3062956 (Figures 2, 10) discloses the respective other one of the contact surfaces has a groove portion 36 being concave in at least one and preferably two mutually vertical sectional planes, the groove portion being adapted such that the protrusion contacts only borders of the groove portion, the contacts at the borders being in the at least one sectional plane of concavity, and the groove portion being adapted such that the protrusion 38 can slide within the groove portion 36 in a direction being in a sectional plane vertical to the sectional plane of the two contacts, and to provide JP '558 (as modified by Zhang et al) with this type of structure thus would have been obvious, for good electrical contact.
Claim(s) 15 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP 3719934 in view of JP 2012/038558 and Zhang et al.
Regarding claim 15, EP 3719934 discloses a battery set 2 of at least two battery units (Figure 1), each battery unit having at least two electrodes (positive and negative), and having at least one busbar 4 electrically connecting the at least two electrodes, one of each battery unit, and having at least one contact system as disclosed in JP 2012/038558 (as modified by Zhang et al) according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 16, EP '934 discloses the busbar 4 and one of the electrodes of the other battery unit and a further clamp make up a second contact system.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claim(s) have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY F PAUMEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2013. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th.
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/GARY F PAUMEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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