DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/25/26 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
2. 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 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Morita, U.S. Patent No. 9,705,319.
As to claim 21, Morita discloses, in figure 1,
a first circuit (load element 53 and/or load element 54), wherein the first circuit contains a first load (53 and/or 54) of a premises, a vehicle, or an article, wherein the first load does not draw current from a first battery (31) when a system of the premises, the vehicle, or the article is not operating (note that loads 53 and 54 do not draw current from battery 31 when the figure 1 system is not operating, i.e., because switches 35 and 36 will be open in the Morita figure 1 system prior to its operation);
a second circuit (load element 51), wherein the second circuit contains a second load (51) of the premises, the vehicle, or the article, wherein the second load draws current from a second battery (20) when the system is not operating or is non-operational (note that load 51 will draw current from battery 20 even when the Morita figure 1 system is not operating or is non-operational, the reason being that it is connected directly to the positive input of battery 20, i.e., without any switch between battery 20 and load 51);
a first switch (34), wherein the first switch disconnects the first battery from the first circuit (note that switch 34, together with switches 35 and 36, performs the function of disconnecting battery 31 from the above-noted first circuit;
a second switch (35 or 36), wherein the second switch connects the first battery to the first circuit (note that when first switch 34 is closed, simultaneously with second switch 35 or 36 being closed, battery 31 is connected to the above-noted first circuit); and
an alternator or a recharger (10), wherein the alternator or the recharger recharges the first battery and the second battery when the system is operating (note that alternator 10 recharges both batteries 31 and 20 when the Morita figure 1 system is operating, i.e., because alternator 10 is directly coupled to second battery 20 and also because during operation of the Morita figure 1 system, alternator recharges first battery 31 when switches 33 and 34 are closed), wherein the apparatus provides electrical power to the second load when the alternator or the recharger ceases to operate or becomes non-operational (note that electrical power is provided to second load 51 when the alternator or recharger 10 ceases to operate or becomes non-operational, the reason being that the positive terminal of second battery 20 is directly connected to second load 51).
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 1-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: claims 1-20 are allowable for the reason noted in paragraph five of the office action mailed on 08/11/25, i.e., none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests an apparatus including first and second circuits, first and second switches and an alternator or a recharger, configured as recited in independent claims 1, 9 and 18.
Conclusion
4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH B WELLS whose telephone number is (571)272-1757. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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/KENNETH B WELLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2842 February 10, 2026