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 .
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakazawa JP 06140022.
With regards to claim 1 Nakazawa discloses, a power control apparatus that is connected to a high-voltage battery constructed by connecting a plurality of cell units, the power control apparatus comprising:
an electrical connection unit configured to connect the high voltage battery and a load [fig 2 discloses an “electrical connection unit” which connects a battery PB1 and PB2 which has high and low voltage potential to a load]; and
a series-parallel switching unit that is connected to the plurality of cell units and the electrical connection unit and is configured to switch a connection between the plurality of cell units between series and parallel [fig 2 switches SW1 and SW2 which allow switching between series and parallel connection],
wherein the electrical connection unit and the series-parallel switching unit are integrated [fig 2 reasonably discloses that the “electrical connection unit” and the switching unit both being within the same battery device are “integrated”].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 2-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakazawa JP 06140022 in view of Kuboki et al. US 20180047952.
With regards to claim 2 Nakazawa discloses, the power control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising connecting the electrical connection unit and the series-parallel switching unit [fig 2 the electrical connection unit and switching unit are connected].
Nakazawa fails to disclose, a connecting bus bar.
However, Kuboki discloses, a connecting bus bar [fig 2 bus bar 16 which connects a terminal of the electricity storage module to a terminal of the relay unit].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the battery devices of Nakazawa with Kuboki to utilize a bus bar to connect the battery electrical connections with the switching unit in order to improve current flow and improve power distribution.
With regards to claims 3 and 7 the combination discloses, the power control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a single base member made of insulating resin [Kuboki fig 2 base member 60 is made of resin according to ¶45],
wherein the electrical connection unit and the series-parallel switching unit are integrally formed on the base member [Kuboki fig 2 discloses an “electrical connection unit” or the battery electrical connections formed on the same base member 60 with relay unit 50 and Nakazawa fig 2 discloses a similar configuration where the electrical and switching units are “integrated” which reasonably reads on the “integrally formed” on a “base member”].
Claim 7 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 3 above, a detailed discussion is avoided for brevity.
With regards to claim 4 and 8 the combination discloses, the power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection unit and the series-parallel switching unit [Nakazawa fig 2 and Kuboki fig 2].
The combination fails to explicitly disclose, are separately formed and are capable of being stacked.
However, this appears to be a mere rearrangement of parts, where the structures of both Nakazawa and Kuboki could be modified by a person having ordinary skill in the art and the battery electrical connections and switching units made separable and be oriented in a “stacked” assembly instead of being integrated on a single board or member. See MPEP §2144.04.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize a “stacked” structure for the battery electrical connections and switching unit instead of having them integrated on the same member in order to more efficiently utilize space and enable more modular versatility.
Claim 8 is rejected for similar reasons as claim 4 above, a detailed discussion is avoided for brevity.
With regards to claim 5 the combination discloses, the power control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the series-parallel switching unit [Nakazawa fig 2 SW1 and SW2] is stacked [rearrangement of parts MPEP § 2144.04 above] on the electrical connection unit [Nakazawa fig 2 battery electrical connections], cutaway portions are formed in a base member [Kuboki fig 2 reasonably discloses the “cutaway portions” where there are “cutaway” parts that facilitate the mounting of other components on the overall device when it is being assembled. There are “cutaways” to mount certain units as can be seen in figs 11-12, each of those units have “cutaways” in order to facilitate mounting subsequent units like the relay unit 50 and control unit 40 of fig 15, they do not take up the entire area of the base member because they have “cutaways” that allow the other units to be mounted], which is made of insulating resin and constructs the series-parallel switching unit [Nakazawa fig 2 discloses the switches SW1/SW2 and Kuboki discloses members made of resin ¶35 “The cover 11 is made of a synthetic resin”, ¶36 “Each of the electricity storage elements 13 is held by a separator made of a synthetic resin”, and ¶38 “an accommodating portion 32 made of a synthetic resin that accommodates the plurality of terminals 31”], and
the electrical connection unit includes a load connecting portion for connecting to the load [Nakazawa fig 2 V (H), (L), and (-) connections],
a main positive electrode connecting portion for connecting to a main positive electrode of the high-voltage battery [fig 2 positive electrode of battery PB1], and
a main negative electrode connecting portion for connecting to a main negative electrode of the high-voltage battery [fig 2 negative electrode of PB2], and
the main positive electrode connecting portion, the main negative electrode connecting portion, and the load connecting portion are disposed inside the cutaway portions [Kuboki fig 2 reasonably discloses the “cutaway portions” where the relay unit 50 shows terminal 50a residing in a “cutaway portion” of the module case 27. The main positive and negative electrodes of the battery being situated inside a “cutaway portion” appears to be a mere rearrangement of parts, where fig 2 of Kuboki shows the positive and negative electrode terminals 15A/15B of the battery and one of reasonable skill in the art would rearrange the position of these electrodes in order to facilitate better maintenance or manufacturing access. See MPEP §2144.04].
With regards to claims 6 and 9-12 the combination discloses, the power control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection unit includes a load connecting portion for connecting to the load [Nakazawa fig 2 V (H), (L), and (-) connections],
a main positive electrode connecting portion for connecting to a main positive electrode of the high-voltage battery [fig 2 positive electrode of battery PB1], and
a main negative electrode connecting portion for connecting to a main negative electrode of the high-voltage battery [fig 2 negative electrode of PB2],
the series-parallel switching unit includes a plurality of intermediate potential connecting portions to which electrode terminals of the plurality of cell units that are not the main positive electrode and the main negative electrode are connected [fig 2 SW1 and SW2 show switching points that are different than the positive/negative electrodes of the batteries, SW1 point b and SW2 point a],
the load connecting portion is disposed on an opposite side to the main positive electrode connecting portion, the main negative electrode connecting portion, and the plurality of intermediate potential connecting portions [Nakazawa and Kuboki disclose connecting portions from a batteries positive/negative electrodes to a load, as such this appears to be a mere design choice, where a person of ordinary skill would have a finite amount of options to place the load connecting portion with respect to the batteries electrodes and other connecting portions within the circuit/device in order to conserve space, see MPEP §2143], and
the plurality of intermediate potential connecting portions are disposed between the main positive electrode connecting portion and the main negative electrode connecting portion [This also appears to be a mere design choice, where Nakazawa and Kuboki disclose a plurality of intermediate potential connecting portions and positive/negative battery electrode connections and where a person of ordinary skill would have a finite amount of options to place the intermediate potential connecting portions with respect to the batteries electrodes, see MPEP §2143].
Claims 9-12 are rejected for similar reasons as claim 6 above, a detailed discussion is avoided for brevity.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nathaniel Instone whose telephone number is (571)272-1563. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 EST.
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/NATHAN J INSTONE/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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