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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) were submitted on 01/26/2024 and 11/29/2024. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1-4, 8, 9 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by JP2013062103A to Kobayashi et al.
With respect to claim 1, Kobayashi et al. teach a busbar assembly comprising: a busbar 20; and a plurality of insulation covers 21, 22, 23, wherein the respective insulation covers 21, 22, 23 are connected end to end and wrap around the busbar 20 (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 2, Kobayashi et al. teach the busbar assembly, wherein the respective insulation covers 21, 22, 23 are plug-fit with each other (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 3, Kobayashi et al. teach the busbar assembly, wherein a rear portion of one of the insulation covers 22 or 23 at least partly covers a head portion of another adjacent insulation cover 21 (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 4, Kobayashi et al. teach the busbar assembly, wherein a rear portion of one of the insulation covers 22 or 23 is provided with a slot 33, a head portion of another adjacent insulation cover 21 is provided with a protrusion 32, and the protrusion 32 is limited in the slot (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 8, Kobayashi et al. teach the busbar assembly, wherein each of the insulation covers 21, 22, 23 comprises at least two connected connection segments, and an inner diameter of one of the connection segments of located at the rear portion of the insulation cover 22 or 23 is equal to an outer diameter of one of the connection segments located at the head portion of the insulation covers 21 (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 9, Kobayashi et al. teach the busbar assembly, wherein each of the connection segments detachably covers a periphery of the busbar 20 (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 15, Kobayashi et al. teach the busbar assembly, wherein each of the insulation covers is a one-piece structure (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 16, Kobayashi et al. teach a battery comprising: a plurality of battery modules; and the busbar assembly; wherein the respective battery modules are connected by the busbar assembly (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
With respect to claim 17, Kobayashi et al. teach an electric device comprising the battery (Kobayashi et al.: Page 4, Paragraph 7 to Page 6, Paragraph 4; Figs. 1-4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7 and 10-14 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LINGWEN R ZENG whose telephone number is (571)272-6649. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tiffany Legette can be reached on (571) 270-7078. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LINGWEN R ZENG/Examiner, Art Unit 1723 6/26/2026