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
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDS filed 11/15/23 has been considered and placed of record. The initialed copy is attached herewith.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 12-14, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JP document JP2012105375A (see attached machine translation).
Re claim 1, the document discloses a connection device for connecting an electric vehicle for a charging process (para 8; “electric vehicle charging device module”) having, inter alia, at least one receiving profile (para 25; fig 1; “gatepost bodies 1”) open at one side for receiving at least one module (para 37; “outlet module 10”), wherein the at least one module 10 includes a housing 10 having a first side configured to form part of an outer surface of the connection device when received by the receiving profile (“gatepost bodies 1”). See figure 1.
Re claim 2, the document further discloses the at least one module 10 has a plug-in connector (“power cable”) on at least one additional side of the housing 10 to electrically contact an adjacent module 100 inserted into the receiving profile 1 the adjacent module including a housing 101 having a first side and a plug-in connector (“power cable”) on at least one additional side. See figure 1; para 101.
Re claim 12, the document further discloses the plug-in connector having contacts for voltage/current and data signals. See para 24, 34-35.
Re claim 13, the document further discloses the receiving profile 1 has a u- or c-shape. See figure 1.
Re claim 14, the document further discloses at least one of the modules 10 is concealably screwed into the receiving profile 1. See para 30.
Re claim 16, the document further discloses a wall-mounted profile 1. See para 23.
Re claim 17, the document further discloses the module has a plug socket, an operating unit or a power meter. See para 34-36.
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.
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.
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.
Claims 3-11 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP document JP2012105375A (see attached machine translation).
Re claims 3-6, the document is silent on the specific orientation of different plug-in connectors. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have placed the connectors in most efficient manner within a set of specifications since it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art.
Re claims 7 and 8, the document is silent on the specific path of the two independent current paths. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have routed the current in the specific claimed paths since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
Re claim 9, the document is silent on having the connector configured in the housing with lateral play. Official notice is taken of the fact that having installed items with lateral play is to allow movement, adjustment and longevity to take into account temperature and humidity fluctuation. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have the connectors configured tin the housing with lateral play to prevent wear-and-tear due to, for example, temperature or humidity to vibration.
Re claims 10 and 11, the document is silent on the specific configuration of the connector (i.e. plug-in with circumferential edge and grove. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have fabricated the connector as claimed since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known materiale on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice.
Re claim 15, the document discloses only one receiving profile 1. The document does not disclose two profiles connected back-to-back with respective door opened in opposite direction. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have multiple chargers with claimed profiles connected in the claimed manner since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art (i.e. two same profiles 1 connected back-to-back).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to the Examiner at the below-listed number. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thu from 7:00am-5:00pm.
The Examiner’s SPE is Drew Dunn and he can be reached at 571.272.2312. The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571.273.8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866.217.9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800.786.9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571.272.1000.
/EDWARD TSO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 571.272.2087
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