DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
The amendment filed 09/16/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-20 remain pending.
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Ito (US 9,616,736) in view of Kim (US 2012/0312610) does not teach an electrical connection extending in an up-down direction of the electric work vehicle between battery modules housed in different battery housing portions. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Choi et al. (US 2014/0322583) and Jung et al. (US 2007/0015050).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim 1-13 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito et al. (US 9,616,736) in view of Choi et al. (US 2014/0322583) and Jung et al. (US 2007/0015050).
Regarding claim 1, Ito teaches an electric work vehicle comprising:
battery casing 60;
a plurality of battery modules 6a (first battery string and a second battery string); and
the first battery string and the second battery string are layered with respect to each other in an up-down direction of the electric work vehicle (Figs. 1 and 2); and
each of the first battery string and the second battery string extends across a plurality of battery housing portions.
Figure 2 to Ito is provided below.
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A “battery string” may be a string of three modules as illustrated in Fig. 2 above with each “string” including three battery modules. Moreover, the number of battery modules 6a is not limited to nine. Further, the battery modules 6a may be arranged in any number of rows or tiers (col. 8, lines 18-23). The upper battery strings will extend across lower battery housing portions.
Ito does not teach does not teach battery modules connected in series.
Choi, directed to a battery pack, teaches battery module groups 110c and 120c (i.e., battery strings: Fig. 5) and each unit module may be connected in series to each other (para 0038). Alternatively, module groups 110c and 120c may be viewed as the battery string. Figure 5 to Choi is provided below.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to connect battery modules in series to reach the desired voltage.
Ito does not teach an electrical connection extending in the up-down direction of the electric work vehicle.
Jung, directed to a battery module for medium or large size battery packs, teaches battery pack 401 with an electrical connection in series in an up-down direction (Fig. 3). Figure 3 to Jung is provided below.
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date that the electrical connection between the unit cells may be variously accomplished depending upon the series connection and/or the parallel connection of the unit cells (para 0021). When the unit cells are arranged in the horizontal direction, the unit cells have large spacing distance between the electrode terminals, and therefore, the electrical connection between the unit cells may be accomplished using connecting members, for example, bus bars or a printed circuit board (PCB). The battery modules may be electrically connected in the battery pack in various manners (para 0025).
Regarding claim 2, Ito does not further teach the first plurality of battery modules includes a first portion of battery modules and a second portion of battery modules spaced away from the first portion of battery modules; and the second plurality of battery modules includes a third portion of battery modules and a fourth portion of battery modules spaced away from the third portion of battery modules.
Choi teaches battery module groups 110c and 120c and spaced apart (Fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have the batteries spaced apart in order to allow air flow between the battery modules (abstract: Fig. 5).
Regarding claims 3-13 and 16-20, Ito teaches a plurality of battery modules arranged in a work vehicle; the battery modules 6a may be arranged in any number of rows or tiers (col. 8, lines 18-23). The number of modules is viewed as duplication of parts. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). With respect to the location of the modules, this limitation is viewed as a rearrangement of part (design choice). See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have different number of modules depending on the power requires of the vehicle and to place the modules accordingly throughout the vehicle where the modules may conform to the vehicle interior.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ito et al. (US 9,616,736) in view of Choi et al. (US 2014/0322583) and Jung et al. (US 2007/0015050), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ikeda et al. (US 2012/0224309).
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Ito does not further teach a service plug for each battery string.
Ikeda, directed to a power source circuit shut off apparatus, teaches battery assembly 11 in which a service plug (a power source circuit shut off apparatus) 10 is installed is mounted as a power source apparatus of a vehicle such as an electric vehicle (para 0041; Figs. 1 and 2). Jung teaches the battery terminals face the same direction. A plurality of service plugs is viewed as duplication of parts. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further comprise a service plug as means for shutting down the apparatus (para 0044). The location of the service plus are viewed as a design choice so long the service plugs are accessible for performing their intended purpose. See MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C).
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues Ito does not teach or suggest battery strings corresponding to claim 1. Ito teaches nine module 6a arranged in groups of three. To one skilled in the art, this would at least suggest groupings of three. Batteries and modules are commonly connected in series and/or parallel. However, to make it abundantly clear and to alleviate Applicant’s concerns, Jung et al. (US 2007/0015050) is presented above to show a “battery string” comprising a plurality of modules (the same number as Ito) and connected in series.
With respect to first battery and second battery strings extending across a plurality of battery housing portions, Ito teaches the battery modules may be arranged in any number of rows or tiers (col. 8, lines 18-23). In such a configuration with multiple rows and tiers, upper rows/tiers would extend across battery housing portions of the lower tier battery modules.
With respect to claims 3-13 and 16-20, the premise for duplication of parts and design choice is found in the teachings of Ito who states the battery modules may be arranged in any number of rows or tiers (col. 8, lines 18-23). As such, a 1x2, 3x3, or 3x4, etc. can be envisaged by one skilled in the art with different number of battery modules in each “string” as shown by Jung (Figs. 2 and 5) and may be tailored to fit a space dictated by the work vehicle that may result in a different number of modules per string. Applicant argues a structural relationship; however, it is commonly known to connect battery modules in series and/or in parallel to achieve the desired voltage and/or current required by the vehicle. It is within the skill of the trained artisan to connect the various battery modules in different configurations.
With respect to claims 14 and 15, Ikeda teaches a battery module string that has a service plug. Each string having a service plug is not viewed as inventive but duplication of parts. The service plug would still perform its intended purpose on each battery module string. Having more service plugs means having more control over the system. For example, an electrical panel for a house has a main breaker to cut off power to the entire house but also has individual circuit breakers to isolate a specific circuit. The same principle applies.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLOS BARCENA whose telephone number is (571)270-5780. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8-5 pm.
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/CARLOS BARCENA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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