Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
2. Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
I. Claims 1-9, drawn to a portable power supply, classified in H01M50/298.
II. Claims 10-14, drawn to movable housing for a power supply, classified in H02J7/70.
III. Claims 15-20, drawn to human-machine interface on a portable power supply, classified in H02J13/10.
The inventions are independent or distinct, each from the other because:
3. Inventions I and II are directed to related products. The related inventions are distinct if: (1) the inventions as claimed are either not capable of use together or can have a materially different design, mode of operation, function, or effect; (2) the inventions do not overlap in scope, i.e., are mutually exclusive; and (3) the inventions as claimed are not obvious variants. See MPEP § 806.05(j). In the instant case, the inventions as claimed are not capable as used together as they are individual power supply housings, are mutually exclusive because invention II requires a weep hole in the housing, and are not obvious variants of each other because invention I requires a power source electrically connected to the subsystems. Furthermore, the inventions as claimed do not encompass overlapping subject matter and there is nothing of record to show them to be obvious variants.
Inventions I and III are directed to related products. The related inventions are distinct if: (1) the inventions as claimed are either not capable of use together or can have a materially different design, mode of operation, function, or effect; (2) the inventions do not overlap in scope, i.e., are mutually exclusive; and (3) the inventions as claimed are not obvious variants. See MPEP § 806.05(j). In the instant case, the inventions as claimed are not capable as used together as they are individual power supply housings, are mutually exclusive because invention III requires a human-machine interface, and are not obvious variants of each other because invention I requires a power source electrically connected to the subsystems. Furthermore, the inventions as claimed do not encompass overlapping subject matter and there is nothing of record to show them to be obvious variants.
Inventions II and III are directed to related products. The related inventions are distinct if: (1) the inventions as claimed are either not capable of use together or can have a materially different design, mode of operation, function, or effect; (2) the inventions do not overlap in scope, i.e., are mutually exclusive; and (3) the inventions as claimed are not obvious variants. See MPEP § 806.05(j). In the instant case, the inventions as claimed are not capable as used together as they are individual power supply housings, are mutually exclusive because invention III requires a human-machine interface, and are not obvious variants of each other because invention II requires weep hole in the housing. Furthermore, the inventions as claimed do not encompass overlapping subject matter and there is nothing of record to show them to be obvious variants.
4. Restriction for examination purposes as indicated is proper because all the inventions listed in this action are independent or distinct for the reasons given above and there would be a serious search and/or examination burden if restriction were not required because one or more of the following reasons apply:
-the inventions have acquired a separate status in the art in view of their different classification
-the inventions have acquired a separate status in the art due to their recognized divergent subject matter; and/or
-the inventions require a different field of search (e.g., searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search strategies or search queries).
During a telephone conversation with Garrett Hausman on February 24, 2026 a provisional election was made without traverse to prosecute the invention of Group I, claims 1-9. Affirmation of this election must be made by applicant in replying to this Office action. Claims 10-20 are withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner, 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
The election of an invention may be made with or without traverse. To reserve a right to petition, the election must be made with traverse. If the reply does not distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election shall be treated as an election without traverse. Traversal must be presented at the time of election in order to be considered timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are added after the election, applicant must indicate which of these claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
5. Applicant is reminded that upon the cancelation of claims to a non-elected invention, the inventorship must be corrected in compliance with 37 CFR 1.48(a) if one or more of the currently named inventors is no longer an inventor of at least one claim remaining in the application. A request to correct inventorship under 37 CFR 1.48(a) must be accompanied by an application data sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.76 that identifies each inventor by his or her legal name and by the processing fee required under 37 CFR 1.17(i).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claims 1, 3, 8, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson et al. (US 20130164567A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20250169014A1).
As to claim 1, Olsson discloses a portable power supply (figure 6, battery pack module 600) comprising:
a housing (figure 7, capture shell 610 and bottom case assembly 620);
a power source (figure 2, battery assembly 200);
a first subsystem (figure 1, sealed battery enclosure 100) electrically connected to the power source [0089] and positioned within the housing (figure 7);
a second subsystem (figure 2, printed circuit board (PCB) element 152) electrically connected to the power source [0102] and positioned within the housing (figure 7); and
a plurality of wires electrically connecting the power source, the first subsystem, and the second subsystem (figure 2, wires 206);
wherein the first subsystem and the second subsystem are ingress protected when positioned in the housing (figure 12, internal ridge element 1110, [0152].
However, Olsson does not disclose wherein the plurality of wires are ingress protected.
Wang discloses a mechanism for providing ingress protection for an electrical device wherein the plurality of wires extending within a housing (figure 1, housing 150) to connect with an electrical component (figure 1, electrical component 110) are ingress protected [0077] by coating the wires in potting material to assist in improving the ingress protection of the housing [0077]-[0079]. Wang is analogous art with the present application because it would be reasonably pertinent to use the teachings of Wang to solve the problem in the present application of needing the various components within a portable power supply, such as the wires, to be ingress protected to protect the internal electrical components from damage.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the area before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the portable power supply disclosed by Olsson to further provide ingress protection for the wiring within the housing as disclosed by Wang to further protect the internal components of the power supply.
As to claim 3, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the first subsystem is ingress protected when removed from the housing (figure 5, sealing element 214, [0129]).
As to claim 8, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the housing is selectively perforated (figure 7, screw holes 706).
As to claim 9, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 8, and further discloses wherein the first subsystem and the second subsystem are sealed against the housing (figure 12, internal ridge element 1110, [0152]).
8. Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson et al. (US 20130164567A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20250169014A1) as applied to claim 1 above, additionally in view of Ellis (US 20190207416, provided in the IDS mailed on 1 February 2024).
As to claim 2, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the portable power supply includes an ingress protection rating, and wherein the ingress protection rating of the portable power supply remains constant when the first subsystem or the second subsystem is removed from the housing.
Ellis discloses a portable power supply wherein the portable power supply (Figure 1, power supply unit 10) has an ingress protection rating [0047]. Ellis additionally discloses wherein the ingress protection rating of the portable power supply remains constant when the first subsystem or the second subsystem is removed from the housing as the seal used to create the ingress protection in Ellis may be located on the base, the top, or the sides of the housing independent of the subsystems (Figure 3, [0047]).
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the area before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the portable power supply disclosed by Olsson to additionally include an ingress protection rating that remains constant when either subsystem is removed from the housing as disclosed in Ellis.
9. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson et al. (US 20130164567A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20250169014A1) as applied to claim 1 above, additionally in view of Harris et al. (US 20190181407, provided in the IDS mailed on 1 February 2024).
As to claim 4, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the first subsystem is only ingress protected when positioned within the housing.
Harris discloses portable power supply (figure 1, portable energy storage device 1) wherein a first subsystem (figure 4a, skeleton bracket 500) is only ingress protected when positioned within the housing. Harris discloses a skeleton bracket as a subsystem used to house rechargeable batteries (662) within one or more compartments 550 [0134]. As shown in figure 4a, the skeleton bracket does not fully enclose the rechargeable batteries with the bracket not being ingress protected until the top housing assembly is connected to the central housing body [0105].
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the area before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the portable power supply disclosed by Olsson to additionally require that the first subsystem is only ingress protected when positioned within the housing as disclosed in Harris.
10. Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson et al. (US 20130164567A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20250169014A1) as applied to claim 1 above, additionally in view of Jackson et al. (US 20130273396).
As to claim 5, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 1, and further discloses wherein the first subsystem includes a lid (figure 2, lid assembly 120) and a body (figure 2, housing 110) with the lid and the body being joined with a gasket (Figure 2, sealing element 214). However, Olsson does not disclose wherein a grommet is positioned proximate the gasket to allow wires to pass from within the body to a location external from the body.
Jackson discloses a portable power supply having a first subsystem (figure 2, electronics housing 12) having a grommet (figure 2, grommet 22, [0016]) positioned proximate the gasket (figure 2, elastomeric sections 32 [0016]) to allow wires to pass from within the body to a location external from the body [0016] while maintaining a sealed connection.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the area before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the first subsystem as disclosed within Olsson to additionally include a grommet as disclosed in Jackson to allow wires to pass through the grommet while maintaining a sealed connection between the lid and the body of the first subsystem.
As to claim 6, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 5, and further discloses wherein the first subsystem includes a gore valve positioned on the body [0090], the gore valve configured to equalize an internal pressure within the body [0090].
11. Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Olsson et al. (US 20130164567A1) in view of Wang et al. (US 20250169014A1) and Jackson et al. (US 20130273396) as applied to claim 6 above, additionally in view of Blumka et al. (US 20170187079).
As to claim 7, modified Olsson discloses the portable power supply of claim 6, and further discloses wherein the second subsystem includes a vent [0071. However, Olsson does not disclose wherein the vent is louvered and is configured to divert water ingress away from the second subsystem.
Blumka discloses a battery pack having a louvered vent (figure 7, louver 80) that is configured to divert water ingress away [0018] while allowing air to flow through the louver without ingress material entering the vent.
As such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the area before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the vent in the second subsystem as disclosed within Olsson to be louvered as described in Blumka to prevent ingress from entering the vent while still allowing air to flow out.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB JEROME SCHULER whose telephone number is (571)272-8487. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri. 7:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Barbara Gilliam can be reached at 5712721330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/J.J.S./Examiner, Art Unit 1727 /BARBARA L GILLIAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1727