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 .
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)(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.
(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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Kimura et al. (2015/0097425).
Regarding independent claim 1, Kimura teaches an electric vehicle (Fig. 1) comprising:
a primary power system (20; comprising 5 sets of 21), the primary power system including a primary battery pack (3 of the 5 sets) and an auxiliary battery (2 of the 5 sets), where the auxiliary battery pack is at a voltage different than the primary battery pack;
a vehicle control unit (35) in communication with the primary power system, where the vehicle control unit controls operation of the primary power system;
a secondary power system (10) including a secondary battery pack, where the secondary power system is located in a vehicle location different from the primary power system (Fig. 13; [0111]), adjacent to an exterior panel of the utility vehicle (i.e. in a recess adjacent the exterior), and comprises a panel battery (11).
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) 2-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura et al. (2015/0097425) and Ozawa et al. (2020/0152932). Kimura teaches the electric vehicle as described above.
Regarding claims 2, 6, and 11, Kimura teaches the panel/flexible battery pack (11) comprising an outer portion ([0061]; “case”-not shown) and an inner portion (Fig. 3), wherein the inner portion comprises a fixed shape, and the outer portion can be defined in the shape of a space near the seat where the battery is located ([0114]). Kimura fails to explicitly teach the characteristics of the outer portion. Ozawa teaches a similar battery (Fig. 1) comprising an inner portion (11) and an outer portion (12, 13). Ozawa teaches the battery being a form fitting battery with the outer portion comprising a flexible shape and is made of a shapeable/flexible material (13) that adapts to the shape of a space where the battery is located ([0069], [0075]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have Kimura’s panel battery outer portion comprising a flexible shape made of a shapeable material to more easily fit a battery into a space/recess inside the vehicle and more easily mitigate the negative effects of force made on the battery.
Regarding claim 3, the Kimura/Ozawa combination teaches the panel battery comprising flexibly coupled to the exterior panel (as described above).
Regarding claims 4 and 5, Ozawa teaches (Fig. 1; [0044]) the inner portion comprising a battery or battery pack (11), and where the outer portion (12, 13) completely surrounds the inner portion.
Regarding independent claim 7, Kimura teaches the electric vehicle as described above with respect to independent claim 1, and Ozawa teaches the idea of the panel battery being flexible as described above with respect to claim 2. Additionally, Ozawa also teaches upon impact due to an external force the flexible battery pack operates to flex in a predefined manner to mitigate damage to the secondary power system due to the external force ([0069]).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, Ozawa teaches a barrier layer (13) flexibly coupled to the flexible battery pack, where the barrier layer is positioned between the exterior panel and the flexible battery pack, and where the barrier layer is made of a flexible, puncture proof material ([0069]).
Regarding claim 10, Ozawa teaches the barrier layer (13; a flexible elastic material) is movably coupled to the flexible battery pack, and is moveable relative to the flexible battery pack ([0059]).
Claim(s) 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kimura et al. (2015/0097425) and Ozawa et al. (2020/0152932) as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Williams et al. (2023/0318066). Kimura and Ozawa teach the electric vehicle as described above.
Regarding claims 12 and 20, Kimura and Ozawa fail to explicitly teach the panel battery pack comprising a flex joint. Williams teaches a similar battery system for a vehicle (Fig. 2; [0005], [0006]) to that of Kimura and Ozawa. Williams teaches a battery pack (210) comprising a flex joint comprising an expansion layer that allows the battery pack to flex ([0094], [0095]) at a predefined location (i.e. joints between each of the 4 vertical battery cells in Fig. 3) upon impact (of an external force; i.e. mechanical abuse), minimizing damage (i.e. a leak) to batteries located in the battery pack. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement flex joints into the panel battery pack in Kimura’s invention to minimize damage to batteries located in the battery pack.
Regarding claims 13 and 17, Williams teaches the flex joint causing the battery pack to open up (i.e. flex or hinge) at the predefined location at the flex joint upon impact ([0095]).
Regarding claims 14 and 18, Williams teaches upon impact the flex joint causes the battery pack to structurally open up (i.e. flex or sheer) at the predefined location, while maintaining the electrical integrity of the battery pack ([0049] teaches electrical integrity; [0095])(*note: the term “sheer joint” isn’t very descriptive and can be interpreted broadly).
Regarding claim 15 and 16, Williams teaches the battery pack comprising a first battery (the top battery cell in the 4 vertically stacked cells in Fig. 3), a second battery (the second battery cell directly below the first battery), and a flex joint located between the first and second battery; and an electrical connection (i.e. an electrical jumper aka “flexible connector” in [0049]) between the first and second battery separate from the flex joint.
Regarding claim 19, Ozawa teaches a barrier layer (13) flexibly coupled to the flexible battery pack, where the barrier layer is positioned between the exterior panel and the flexible battery pack ([0069]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DRU M PARRIES whose telephone number is (571)272-8542. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday -Thursday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. The examiner can also be reached on alternate Fridays.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Rexford Barnie, can be reached on 571-272-7492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
DMP
5/5/2026
/DANIEL KESSIE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
Prosecution Insights