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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/8/2023,7/11/2024 and 12/6/2024 were filed prior to the mailing date of the mailing of this action. The submissions comply with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the fixing support is configured to fix the cover (claim 6, although item 70 is shown in figure 1, it is not shown how it fixes the cover), must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
The drawings are objected to because, to clarify the invention, it is requested that a full view in Figure 4 be shown.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
INFORMATION ON HOW TO EFFECT DRAWING CHANGES
Replacement Drawing Sheets
Drawing changes must be made by presenting replacement sheets which incorporate the desired changes and which comply with 37 CFR 1.84. An explanation of the changes made must be presented either in the drawing amendments section, or remarks, section of the amendment paper. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). A replacement sheet must include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of the amended drawing(s) must not be labeled as “amended.” If the changes to the drawing figure(s) are not accepted by the examiner, applicant will be notified of any required corrective action in the next Office action. No further drawing submission will be required, unless applicant is notified.
Identifying indicia, if provided, should include the title of the invention, inventor’s name, and application number, or docket number (if any) if an application number has not been assigned to the application. If this information is provided, it must be placed on the front of each sheet and within the top margin.
Annotated Drawing Sheets
A marked-up copy of any amended drawing figure, including annotations indicating the changes made, may be submitted or required by the examiner. The annotated drawing sheet(s) must be clearly labeled as “Annotated Sheet” and must be presented in the amendment or remarks section that explains the change(s) to the drawings.
Timing of Corrections
Applicant is required to submit acceptable corrected drawings within the time period set in the Office action. See 37 CFR 1.85(a). Failure to take corrective action within the set period will result in ABANDONMENT of the application.
If corrected drawings are required in a Notice of Allowability (PTOL-37), the new drawings MUST be filed within the THREE MONTH shortened statutory period set for reply in the “Notice of Allowability.” Extensions of time may NOT be obtained under the provisions of 37 CFR 1.136 for filing the corrected drawings after the mailing of a Notice of Allowability.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4,6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Jakus et al. (US 9199789).
Regarding claim 1, Jakus et al. disclose an explosion venting plate, comprising: a plate body (22), wherein a slit (38, see Fig. 4) is formed in the plate body, the plate body has a first side (bottom side in Fig. 2) and a second side (top side in Fig. 2) opposite to each other in a thickness direction;
a gasket (18,44), wherein the gasket is arranged on the second side and is configured to seal the slit on the second side; and
a first seal (68), wherein the first seal is provided on the first side and is configured to seal the slit (col.4, lns. 1-4, col. 4, lns. 17-23, Fig. 5) on the first side.
Regarding claim 2, Jakus et al. disclose the slit comprises: a first slit (38 from 30-34, See Fig .2), a second slit (from 34-32) and a third slit (from 32-36) that are connected in sequence; and the first seal comprises: a first sealing part (the left short section in alignment with 34), a second sealing part (the long section in alignment with 32) and a third sealing part (the right short section in alignment with 36) that are connected in sequence, the first sealing part, the second sealing part and the third sealing part are arranged corresponding to the first slit, the second slit, and the third slit.
Regarding claim 3, Jakus et al. disclose a cover (58) and a thermal insulation (62) member, wherein the cover and the thermal insulation member are arranged on the first side, and the cover is configured to accommodate the thermal insulation member.
Regarding claim 4, Jakus et al. disclose a second seal (12), wherein the second seal surrounds the cover to seal the cover.
Regarding claim 6, Jakus et al. disclose a fixing support (76, col. 4, lns. 63-65) is provided on the first side of the plate body, and the fixing support is configured to fix the cover.
Regarding claim 7, Jakus et al. disclose a mounting flange (70, see Fig. 2), wherein the mounting flange is located on the first side, the mounting flange is arranged opposite to the gasket.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jakus et al. ‘789 in view of Guzman et al. (US 20220356957).
Regarding claim 9, Jakus et al. disclose all of the features of the claimed invention, although are silent that a reinforcing rib is also provided on the second side of the plate body and the reinforcing rib is spaced apart from the slit.
Guzman et al. teach the use of a rib (101, para. 20) on a disk, as shown in Fig. 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ rib(s) as taught by Guzman et al. into the device of Jakus et al. to have a reinforcing rib is also provided on the second side of the plate body 10, and the reinforcing rib is spaced apart from the slit, in order to increase the resistance to pressure as needed for the system (Guzman et al., para.0020).
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view Park et al. (US 20230327274) of Jakus et al. ‘789.
Regarding claim 10, Park et al. disclose all of the features of the claimed invention, including, an energy storage cabinet (“energy storage system” para.0022), comprising: a cabinet body (“container” para.0022), wherein at least one side plate (at P, see Fig. 3) in the cabinet body is formed as the explosion venting plate (30,10,20, see Fig. 1-3); or the explosion venting plate is fixed to any side plate of the cabinet body through a mounting flange (26), although are silent to having the explosion venting plate is comprised according to claim 1.
Jakus et al. teach the use of an explosion venting plate according to claim 1, as discussed in the above rejection in claim 1.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute an explosion venting plate as taught by Jakus et al. for the explosion venting plate in Park et al. to have the explosion venting plate according to claim 1, since it has been held, that an express suggestion to substitute one equivalent component (one venting plate for another) or process for another is not necessary to render such substitution obvious. Additionally, the well-known expected outcome of having a venting device operate through the explosion plate, would result from the combination.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 8 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.
None of the prior art of record discloses or renders as obvious, “an outer edge of the second seal abuts against an inner edge of the first seal” in combination with the rest of the limitations in claim 5,
And,
“an inner edge of the mounting flange abuts against an outer edge of the first seal”, in combination with the rest of the limitations in claim 8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Craig Price, whose telephone number is (571)272-2712 or via facsimile (571)273-2712. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday (8:00AM-4:30PM EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Craig Schneider, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-3607, Kenneth Rinehart can be reached at 571-272-4881. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CRAIG J PRICE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3753