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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/4/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 5-6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In Claim 1 Line 1, “for suppression of electric vehicle battery fire” should be revised to “for suppression of an electric vehicle battery fire” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 1 Line 1, “the device” should be revised to “the fire extinguishing device” to ensure using terminology consistent with what is used elsewhere throughout the claims.
In Claim 1 Line 7, “the bottom of the electric vehicle” should be revised to “a bottom of the electric vehicle” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 1 Line 9, “on an side surface” should be revised to “on a side surface” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 1 Line 13, “to control the operation” should be revised to “to control operation” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 1 Line 17, “thereby enabling the operation” should be revised to “thereby enabling operation” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 5 Line 1, “for suppression of electric vehicle battery fire” should be revised to “for suppression of an electric vehicle battery fire” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claims 5-6, each instance of “electric vehicle fire extinguishing vehicle” should be revised to “electric fire extinguishing vehicle” to ensure proper grammar.
In Claim 5 Line 9, “extinguishing agent supply line” should be revised to “fire extinguishing agent supply line” to ensure using terminology consistent with what is used elsewhere throughout the claims.
In Claim 6 Line 7, “into a battery pack” should be revised to “into the battery pack” to ensure clarity in the claim.
In Claim 6 Line 8, “thereby prevent damage” should be revised to “thereby preventing damage to ensure proper grammar.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-6 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 1 is indefinite because Lines 6-12 state “a nozzle tip rod vertically installed under each of the plurality of outlet holes of the mobile vehicle body, having a pointed upper end to penetrate a battery pack placed on the bottom of the electric vehicle when rising vertically, so as to be partially inserted into the battery pack, and having a plurality of nozzles formed on an side surface inserted into the battery pack, to inject firefighting water or a fire extinguishing agent supplied through the connection terminal; a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder installed inside the mobile vehicle body to vertically move the nozzle tip rod by receiving hydraulic/pneumatic pressure through the connection terminal” and it is not clear if a single nozzle tip rod and a single hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder are being claimed as part of the fire extinguishing device, or if multiple nozzle tip rods and multiple hydraulic/pneumatic cylinders are being claimed as part of the fire extinguishing device. Furthermore, it is not clear if “hydraulic/pneumatic” means “hydraulic and pneumatic” or if it means “hydraulic or pneumatic”. Fig. 1B shows multiple nozzle tip rods #30 and multiple cylinders #40. Furthermore, dependent Claim 6 states “some nozzle tip rods among the plurality of nozzle tip rods”. Additionally, the specification uses the term “hydraulic/pneumatic” but never states whether that means “hydraulic and pneumatic” or if it means “hydraulic or pneumatic”. For the purpose of examination, Claim 1 Lines 6-12 will be interpreted to state “a plurality of nozzle tip rods vertically installed under each of the plurality of outlet holes of the mobile vehicle body, each nozzle tip rod of the plurality of nozzle tip rods having a pointed upper end to penetrate a battery pack placed on the bottom of the electric vehicle when rising vertically, so as to be partially inserted into the battery pack, and having a plurality of nozzles formed on an side surface inserted into the battery pack, to inject firefighting water or a fire extinguishing agent supplied through the connection terminal; a plurality of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders installed inside the mobile vehicle body to vertically move the plurality of nozzle tip rods by receiving hydraulic or pneumatic pressure through the connection terminal”. Furthermore, each instance of “the nozzle tip rod” in the claims will be interpreted as “each nozzle tip rod of the plurality of nozzle tip rods” and each instance of “hydraulic/pneumatic” throughout the claims will be interpreted as meaning “hydraulic or pneumatic”.
Claim 1 is also indefinite because Lines 17-18 state “thereby enabling the operation of the nozzle tip rod when the mobile vehicle body is in close contact with the bottom of the electric vehicle” and the term “close contact” is a relative term. The term “close contact” is not explicitly defined by the claim and the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree. It is not clear how far from the bottom of the electric vehicle the mobile vehicle body must be to qualify as being in “close contact” with the bottom of the electric vehicle, and if “close contact” means being in direct contact or not. Fig. 2B and Fig. 2C appear to show the mobile vehicle body #20 being in direct contact with the bottom of the electrical vehicle #90. Therefore, for the purpose of examination, Claim 1 Lines 17-18 will be interpreted to state “thereby enabling operation of each nozzle tip rod of the plurality of nozzle tip rods when the mobile vehicle body is in contact with the bottom of the electric vehicle”. Claims 2-6 depend from Claim 1, therefore Claims 2-6 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for being indefinite since Claim 1 from which they depend is indefinite.
Claim 5 is also indefinite because Lines 3-8 state “the fire extinguishing device according to claim 1, comprising the nozzle tip rod and the hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder, provided on the mobile vehicle body having the connection terminal; and an electric vehicle fire extinguishing vehicle comprising a storage compartment configured to store the fire extinguishing device, a fire extinguishing tank configured to store firefighting water or a fire extinguishing agent, and a control panel installed on one side thereof to operate the fire extinguishing device” and it is not clear if the entire fire extinguishing device from Claim 1 is being claimed as part of the fire extinguishing system or not, since not all components of the fire extinguishing device of claim 1 are recited and because Claim 1 previously states that the control panel is part of the fire extinguishing device. For the purpose of examination, Claim 5 Lines 3-8 will be interpreted to state “the fire extinguishing device according to claim 1; and an electric fire extinguishing vehicle comprising a storage compartment configured to store the fire extinguishing device and a fire extinguishing tank configured to store firefighting water or a fire extinguishing agent, wherein the control panel of the fire extinguishing device is installed on one side of the electric fire extinguishing vehicle”.
Claim 6 depends from Claim 5, therefore Claim 6 is also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for being indefinite since Claim 5 from which it depends is indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 1 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art fails to teach, disclose, or suggest, in combination with other limitations recited in independent Claim 1 when interpreted as best understood by the examiner: “wherein a hydraulic/pneumatic lift is further installed on the mobile vehicle body such that a support protrudes downward to raise the mobile vehicle body when hydraulic/pneumatic pressure is supplied thereto, thereby enabling the operation of the nozzle tip rod when the mobile vehicle body is in close contact with the bottom of the electric vehicle”.
As to Claim 1, the closest prior art of record US PGPUB 2023/0241432 A1 to Park et al. (“Park”), discloses a fire extinguishing device (See #1200 in Figs. 4 and 7) for suppression of electric vehicle battery fire (See Paragraph 0007 and See Fig. 10), the device comprising:
a mobile vehicle body (#1205) equipped with a movable wheel (#1240) to move to a space under an electric vehicle (See Fig. 10 and Paragraph 0069), and having a connection terminal formed on a side surface thereof (See Annotated Fig. 7 and Paragraph 0070, the pipe #1271 connects to #1205 at some area that is equivalent to a connection terminal on a side surface of #1205);
a nozzle tip rod (See multiple rods #1255 in Fig. 7) vertically installed in the mobile vehicle body (See Figs. 4 and 7), having a pointed upper end (#1257) to penetrate a battery pack (#1110) placed on the bottom of the electric vehicle (#1100) when rising vertically (See Paragraph 0095), so as to be partially inserted into the battery pack (See Fig. 10), and having a plurality of nozzles (#1258) formed on an side surface inserted into the battery pack (See Fig. 10 and Paragraph 0075), to inject firefighting water or a fire extinguishing agent supplied through the connection terminal (See Paragraph 0095);
a hydraulic cylinder (#1250) installed inside the mobile vehicle body to vertically move the nozzle tip rod by receiving hydraulic pressure (See Paragraph 0072 disclosing a cylinder with a hydraulic piston as part of #1250 to reciprocate #1255); and
a control panel (#1270, which is an MCU equivalent to a control panel) connected to the mobile vehicle body to control the operation of the hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder (See Paragraph 0080).
Regarding Claim 1, in reference to the fire extinguishing device of Park as applied to Claim 1 above, Park does not specifically disclose wherein the mobile vehicle body has a plurality of outlet holes formed through an upper surface thereof, wherein each nozzle tip rod is vertically installed under each of the plurality of outlet holes of the mobile device, and wherein the hydraulic cylinder receives hydraulic pressure through the connection terminal (See Fig. 7 and Paragraph 0072. No holes are explicitly disclosed in #1205 and while the piston is disclosed as being hydraulic, a location that hydraulic pressure is received at is not disclosed).
However, WO 2021/146763 A1 to Ronacher et al. (“Ronacher”) discloses, in the same field of endeavor of fire extinguishing, a fire extinguishing device (See Figs. 1-3) for suppression of electric vehicle battery fire (See Figs. 1-3 and See Abstract), comprising a vehicle body (#15) that has an outlet hole formed through an upper surface thereof (See Annotated Fig. 2), wherein a nozzle tip rod (#12) is vertically installed under the outlet hole of the mobile device (See Annotated Fig. 2), and wherein a hydraulic cylinder (See Annotated Fig. 2) is installed inside the mobile vehicle body to vertically move the nozzle tip rod by receiving hydraulic pressure through a connection terminal (See Annotated Fig. 2 and See Abstract, a liquid #17 applies pressure to the hydraulic cylinder).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fire extinguishing device of Park as applied to Claim 1 above to use the nozzle tip rods and hydraulic cylinders of Ronacher in place of the nozzle tip rods and hydraulic cylinders of Park such that the mobile vehicle body has a plurality of outlet holes formed through an upper surface thereof with each nozzle tip rod of the plurality of nozzle tip rods being vertically installed under each of the plurality of outlet holes of the mobile device, and such that the hydraulic cylinders receive hydraulic pressure through the connection terminal, since doing so would utilize substitution of known components to yield the predictable result of actuating the nozzle tip rods using the same fluid that is used to extinguish a fire (See Fig. 2 and Abstract of Ronacher).
Regarding Claim 1, in reference to the fire extinguishing device of Park in view of Ronacher as applied to Claim 1 above, Park does not further disclose wherein a hydraulic/pneumatic lift is further installed on the mobile vehicle body such that a support protrudes downward to raise the mobile vehicle body when hydraulic/pneumatic pressure is supplied thereto, thereby enabling the operation of the nozzle tip rod when the mobile vehicle body is in close contact with the bottom of the electric vehicle.
US PGPUB 2019/0091716 A1 to Fuller et al. (“Fuller”), discloses wherein a lift (See #460 in Fig. 4F) is installed on a mobile vehicle body (#204) such that a support (#462) protrudes downward to raise the mobile vehicle body (See Figs. 4F-4G and Paragraph 0079).
However, Fuller is not used in fire extinguishing (See Paragraph 0002 disclosing a fountain), is not used relative to another vehicle (See Figs. 4F-4G showing the mobile vehicle body being used in water), and does not lift with hydraulic or pneumatic pressure (See Paragraph 0079 disclosing an electric motor, but hydraulic or pneumatic pressure are not specifically disclosed).
One having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would not be motivated to reconfigure the fire extinguishing device of Park in view of Ronacher such that a hydraulic/pneumatic lift is further installed on the mobile vehicle body such that a support protrudes downward to raise the mobile vehicle body when hydraulic/pneumatic pressure is supplied thereto, thereby enabling the operation of the nozzle tip rod when the mobile vehicle body is in close contact with the bottom of the electric vehicle as required by independent Claim 1 when interpreted as best understood by the examiner, as there is no prior teaching in Park, Ronacher, Fuller, or other prior art that indicates that making such a modification would be an obvious design choice without utilizing improper hindsight.
Claims 2-6 depend from Claim 1, therefore Claims 2-6 are also deemed to contain allowable subject matter.
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See Notice of References Cited Form PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN E SCHWARTZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1770. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM MST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Arthur O Hall can be reached at (571)-270-1814. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEVIN EDWARD SCHWARTZ/Examiner, Art Unit 3752 January 12, 2026