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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
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 (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.
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 1-4 & 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sawatzki (US 2022/0144175 A1).
Regarding claims 1-2 & 11, Sawatzki teaches a vehicle comprising a battery pack device having a movable side step, the battery pack device comprising: a lower casing comprising a battery side member (3+12+15) configured to be coupled to a lateral lower side of a vehicle body (1) of the vehicle (fig. 1; [0031]); and a downward guide (15) provided in the battery side member, the downward guide defining a slope (14) to guide the movable side step (5) and an actuation link (16) thereof to move downwards upon occurrence of a collision of the vehicle (fig. 1; [0011] & [0041]).
Regarding claim 3, Sawatzki teaches the battery pack of claim 2, wherein the battery side member comprises a guide mounting groove (12) formed in a portion of the battery side member adjacent to the actuation link; and the downward guide is provided in the guide mounting groove (fig. 1; [0040]).
Regarding claim 4, Sawatzki teaches the battery pack of claim 3, wherein the downward guide comprises a vertical portion coupled to the battery side member inside the guide mounting groove; a horizontal portion connected to an upper side of the vertical portion in a horizontal direction and an inclined portion connecting an outer end portion of the horizontal portion towards an outside of the vehicle body and a lower end of the vertical portion, and forming the slope (see annotated fig. 1 below).
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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 (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.
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.
Claims 5-8 & 12-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sawatzki (US 2022/0144175 A1) in view of Tatsuwaki (US 2022/0144064 A1).
Regarding claim 5-8, Sawatzki teaches the battery pack device of claim 5 but is silent as to a battery side longitudinal member provided inside the battery side member of the lower casing; and a module anti-crushing member provided in an upper side of the battery side longitudinal member, and preventing a battery module accommodated in the lower casing from being crushed in a vertical direction due to the movement of the movable side step upon a collision of the vehicle. Tatsuwaki teaches a vehicle comprising a battery pack device comprising a lower casing (86) comprising a battery side member to be coupled to a lateral lower side of the vehicle body and a battery side longitudinal member (58) provided inside the battery side member of the lower casing; and a module anti-crushing member (146) provided in an upper side of the battery side longitudinal member and placed so that a top of the module ant-crushing member is at least higher than a top of the battery module, and preventing a battery module accommodated in the lower casing from being crushed in a vertical direction due to a side impact of the vehicle (fig. 4; [0006]-[0007], [0085] & [0138]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide a battery side longitudinal member and a module anti-crushing member as described above, in view of securing the rigidity and strength of a floor panel against the side collision load that is input to the side of the vehicle as taught by Tatsuwaki ([0148]). While Tatsuwaki does not explicitly teach the module anti-crushing member being provided to prevent the battery module from being crushed in the vertical direction due to movement of an actuation link of the movable side step (claim 6) and being locally provided in a portion adjacent to the actuation link of the movable side step (claim 7), it is noted that the actuation link and movable side step in Sawatzski are provided in a portion adjacent to a battery side member of a lower casing of a battery pack device and are configured to guided under a battery module in the event of a side collision. Accordingly, the subject matter of claims 6-7 would have been obvious in view of the combined teachings of the above cited art.
Regarding claims 12-13 & 16-18, Sawatzki teaches a vehicle comprising a battery pack device having a movable side step, the battery pack device comprising: a lower casing comprising a battery side member (3+12+15) configured to be coupled to a lateral lower side of a vehicle body (1) of the vehicle (fig. 1; [0031]); and a downward guide (15) provided in the battery side member, the downward guide defining a slope (14) to guide the movable side step (5) and an actuation link (16) thereof to move downwards upon occurrence of a collision of the vehicle (fig. 1; [0011] & [0041]). Sawatzki is silent as to a battery side longitudinal member provided inside the battery side member of the lower casing; and a module anti-crushing member provided in an upper side of the battery side longitudinal member, and preventing a battery module accommodated in the lower casing from being crushed in a vertical direction due to the movement of the movable side step upon a collision of the vehicle. Tatsuwaki teaches a vehicle comprising a battery pack device comprising a lower casing (86) comprising a battery side member to be coupled to a lateral lower side of the vehicle body and a battery side longitudinal member (58) provided inside the battery side member of the lower casing; and a module anti-crushing member (146) provided in an upper side of the battery side longitudinal member and placed so that a top of the module ant-crushing member is at least higher than a top of the battery module, and preventing a battery module accommodated in the lower casing from being crushed in a vertical direction due to a side impact of the vehicle (fig. 4; [0006]-[0007], [0085] & [0138]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the present invention, to provide a battery side longitudinal member and a module anti-crushing member as described above, in view of securing the rigidity and strength of a floor panel against the side collision load that is input to the side of the vehicle as taught by Tatsuwaki ([0148]). While Tatsuwaki does not explicitly teach the module anti-crushing member being provided to prevent the battery module from being crushed in the vertical direction due to movement of an actuation link of the movable side step (claim 17) and being locally provided in a portion adjacent to the actuation link of the movable side step (claim 18), it is noted that the actuation link and movable side step in Sawatzski are provided in a portion adjacent to a battery side member of a lower casing of a battery pack device and are configured to be guided under a battery module in the event of a side collision. Accordingly, the subject matter of claims 17-18 would have been obvious in view of the combined teachings of the above cited art.
Regarding claim 14, Sawatzki as modified by Tatsuwaki teaches the battery pack of claim 2. Sawatzki further teaches wherein the battery side member comprises a guide mounting groove (12) formed in a portion of the battery side member adjacent to the actuation link; and the downward guide is provided in the guide mounting groove (fig. 1; [0040]).
Regarding claim 15, Sawatzki as modified by Tatsuwaki teaches the battery pack of claim 2. Sawatzki further teaches wherein the downward guide comprises a vertical portion coupled to the battery side member inside the guide mounting groove; a horizontal portion connected to an upper side of the vertical portion in a horizontal direction and an inclined portion connecting an outer end portion of the horizontal portion towards an outside of the vehicle body and a lower end of the vertical portion, and forming the slope (see annotated fig. 1 above) but is silent as to the horizontal portion, the vertical portion and the inclined portion forming an inverted triangular cross-section. However, it is noted that Sawatzki teaches a substantially identical structure except that the horizontal portion, the vertical portion and the inclined portion form a quadrilateral cross-section with a sloped portion corresponding to the location of the claimed triangular cross-section relative to a position of the side collision of the vehicle. “In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966) (The court held that the configuration of the claimed disposable plastic nursing container was a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed container was significant.)”. See MPEP 2144.04 IV (B). In this case, the sloped portion of Sawatzki’s downward guide would be expected to perform the same function of the presently claimed structure including an inverted triangular cross-section since the sloped portion similarly allows the movable step to be guided downwards to prevent damage to the battery module.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-10 & 19-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The combination of the closest prior art (Sawatzki and Tatsuwaki) does not fairly teach or suggest, in particular, the anti-crushing member comprising a load supported coupled to an upper side of the battery side longitudinal member and forming the top higher than the top of the battery module, and a coupling panel extended downwards from the load supporter and coupled being in contact with a lateral side of the battery side longitudinal member to increase coupling rigidity.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANAEL T ZEMUI whose telephone number is (571)272-4894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm (EST).
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, BARBARA GILLIAM can be reached at (571)272-1330. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/NATHANAEL T ZEMUI/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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