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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 9 recites contradicting limitations as follows: in line 4, the claim recites: “the outer housing comprises a thermally insulative material”; whereas in lines 5-6, the claim recites: “the outer housing comprises a thermally conductive material”.
Claims 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are:
Claim 9 fails to clearly recite where the clip is positioned relative to the interior or the exterior of the instantly claimed case.
Claim 9 is unclear in regards to whether the clip is also formed by the heat sink in addition to being formed by a portion of the heat pipe.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the closest prior art of record fails to teach or make obvious the instantly claimed case for a battery device, the case comprising:
an outer housing forming an opening at a first end of the case and forming a cavity
extending from the opening and within the outer housing toward a second end of the case; and an elastic layer within the outer housing and extending along inner walls of the outer housing; in combination with
a clip extending from the first end of the case, away from the outer housing, and toward the second end of the case, and in combination with the clip forming a heat sink with multiple fins on an outer surface of the clip.
Claims 15-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the closest prior art of record fails to teach or make obvious the instantly claimed case for a portable electronic device and a battery device, the case comprising:
an outer housing forming an opening at a first end of the case and forming a cavity
extending from the opening and within the outer housing toward a second end of the case, wherein the outer housing comprises a thermally insulative material;
a heat pipe extending within the outer housing, wherein the outer housing comprises
a thermally conductive material; in combination with
a clip extending from the first end of the case, away from the outer housing, and
toward the second end of the case; and in combination with
a fan configured to direct air across an outer surface of the clip.
Relevant art has been cited in the attached PTO-892.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAITY V CHANDLER whose telephone number is (571)272-8520. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-6:00PM.
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/KAITY V CHANDLER/ 7/28/2026Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725