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 § 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.
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.
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.
Claims 1-2, 5-6, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pai et al. (CN109149294 (A) and using Machine Translation as English version), and further in view of Oyama et al. et al. (U.S. PGPub US 2013/0052501 (A1)).
Regarding claim 1, Pai et al. discloses a waterproof assembly of an energy storage device (i.e., at least electric vehicle battery(s) as disclosed in [0002] such as a battery box as disclosed in [0017], etc., and lacking any further distinction as to said energy storage device), the waterproof assembly comprising:
a boss, which is arranged on an outer wall of a case of a battery and comprises a first outward protruding portion that defines a first through hole in communication with the interior of the case (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Figs. 1 and 3, such that that as disclosed in [0017] only one hole needs to be made on the battery box to connect the high voltage and low voltage, etc., whereby as disclosed in [0035] the end of the fork handle ref. (a) has a circular through hole ref. (c) for connecting the battery inside the box (See at least Figs. 2-3), such that the skilled artisan would appreciate that said base ref. 1 including low voltage socket ref. 11, high voltage connector ref. 12, protrusion ref. 13, etc., is at least a boss including a first outward protrusion arranged on an outer wall of a case of a battery that defines a first through hole in communication with the interior of the case so as to connect the high voltage and low voltage, as well as connect the battery inside the box, etc., also see [0004], [0006], [0014], [0028], [0034], [0036], Fig. 4); and
a wire harness cover, which is configured to be of a hollow cavity structure for receiving a wire harness and is internally provided with a first recess that is configured to accommodate the first outward protruding portion to communicate the first through hole with the hollow cavity (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1, such that as disclosed in [0028] the top cover ref. 2 including the wire harness inlet ref. 25 is at least configured to be of a hollow cavity structure so as to provide a wire harness inlet for said wire harness, and such a first recess is at least is internally provided and is configured to accommodate the first outward protruding portion to communicate the first through hole with the hollow cavity so as to provide a low-voltage socket ref. 11 that is a through hole, which is interference-fitted with a low-voltage plug ref. 21, etc., as disclosed in at least [0034], also see [0009], [0024], [0030], [0032]);
wherein the boss comprises:
a first end, which is connected to a side wall of the case (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 2, such that said first end is at least connected so as to connect the high voltage and low voltage, as well as connect the battery inside the box, etc., as discussed above): and
a second end, which is arranged opposite the first end and is provided with the first outward protruding portion (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 2);
wherein a second recess is formed between the first end and the first outward protruding portion and is configured to accommodate a portion of the wire harness cover (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 2, such that said recess is at least configured to accommodate a portion of the wire harness cover so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and lacking any further distinction thereof);
wherein the wire harness cover comprises:
a mouth portion, which is located at one end of the wire harness cover connected to the boss and is provided with an opening through which the first outward protruding portion enters the hollow cavity of the wire harness cover (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1, also see Fig. 4, such that said top cover ref. 2 is at least connected to the base ref. 1 and is provided with an opening through which the first outward protruding portion enters the hollow cavity of said top cover ref. 2 so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and shown in at least Fig. 4, and lacking any further distinction thereof);
a tail portion, which is located at the other end of the wire harness cover and comprises a second through hole through which the wire harness enters the hollow cavity of the wire harness cover (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1, such that said second through hole is at least provided so that the wire harness is connected through the wiring harness connection hole, etc., as disclosed in [0038], also see Fig. 4); and
a transition portion, which connects the mouth portion with the tail portion, the outer diameter of one end of the transition portion connected to the mouth portion being greater than the outer diameter of one end of the transition portion connected to the tail portion (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 4, also see Fig. 1, and lacking any further structural distinction thereof as to said portion(s)).
Pai et al. further discloses the tail portion comprises a tail pipe, and an inner cavity of the tail pipe is in communication with the second through hole (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 4, also see Fig. 1, such that said inner cavity, as well as second through hole are at least provided so that the wire harness is connected through the wiring harness connection hole, etc., as disclosed in [0038], and lacking any further distinction thereof).
However, Pai et al. is silent as to the tail portion comprises a bent tail pipe, and an inner cavity of the bent tail pipe is in communication with the second through hole.
Oyama et al. teaches a battery mounting structure (Title). Oyama et al. further teaches in [0037] a battery positive cover ref. 44 that is made of resin attached to the terminal ref. 42 and the tip ref. 40A of the wire harness ref. 40, etc., such that said positive cover ref. 44 at least provides a bent tail pipe as shown in Annotated Fig. 1.
Oyama et al. further teaches in [0050] as it has been described so far, with the battery mounting structure ref. 10 according to the embodiment, it is possible to improve a procedure for connecting the terminal ref. 42 that is connected to the wire harness ref. 40 to the battery post ref. 12B.
Therefore, both Pai et al. and Oyama et al. are analogous in the field of batteries, and therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified Pai et al. with the teachings of Oyama et al., whereby the waterproof assembly of an energy storage device including the tail portion comprising a tail pipe, and an inner cavity of the tail pipe is in communication with the second through hole as disclosed by Pai et al., further includes a bent tail pipe as taught by Oyama et al. so as to improve a procedure for connecting the terminal that is connected to the wire harness to a battery post.
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Annotated Figure 1 (Pai et al.)
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Annotated Figure 2 (Pai et al.)
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Annotated Figure 3 (Pai et al.)
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Annotated Figure 4 (Pai et al.)
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Annotated Figure 1 (Oyama et al.)
Regarding claim 2, Pai et al. and Oyama et al. disclose the waterproof assembly including the first outward protruding portion and first recess as discussed above in claim 1. Pai et al. further discloses the first outward protruding portion is in interference-fit with the first recess in an axial direction of the boss (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 4 above in claim 1, so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and shown in at least Fig. 4, and lacking any further structural distinction thereof).
Regarding claim 5, Pai et al. and Oyama et al. disclose the waterproof assembly including the mouth portion as discussed above in claim 1. Pai et al. further discloses the mouth portion comprises:
an opening section, which is located at one end of the mouth portion connected to the boss (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1 above in claim 1, such that said mouth portion is at least connected to the boss so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and lacking any further distinction thereof, also see Fig. 4); and
a connecting section, which is located at the other end of the mouth portion and configured to connect the opening section with the transition portion (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 4 above in claim 1, also see Fig. 1, lacking any further structural distinction thereof as to said section(s) and/or portion(s));
wherein the inner diameter of the connecting section is greater than the inner diameter of the opening section (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1 above in claim 1); and
the opening section, the connecting section and the transition portion jointly form the first recess (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1 above in claim 1, such that said section(s)/portion(s) are at least jointly formed so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and shown in at least Fig. 4, and lacking any further distinction thereof).
Regarding claim 6, Pai et al. and Oyama et al. disclose the waterproof assembly as discussed above in claim 5. Pai et al. further discloses the boss comprises a second outward protruding portion that is located in the second recess (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 2 above in claim 1); and
the second outward protruding portion and the first outward protruding portion form a third recess that is configured to accommodate at least a portion of the opening section when the first outward protruding portion is accommodated in the first recess (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 2 above in claim 1, such that said third recess is at least configured to accommodate at least a portion of the opening section so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and shown in at least Fig. 4, and lacking any further distinction thereof ),
the at least a portion of the opening section being in interference-fit with the third recess (i.e., at least as shown in Fig. 4 so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and lacking any further distinction thereof as to said portion(s)).
Regarding claim 10, Pai et al. and Oyama et al. discloses the waterproof assembly as discussed above in claim 1. Pai et al. further discloses in [0009] the wire harness inlet is located at one end of the upper cover, etc., and Pai et al. further discloses in [0036] the fork lug (a) is a mutual interference fit with the high-voltage socket ref. 22, and the end of the fork handle (a) has a circular through hole (c) for connecting the battery inside the box, etc., such that Pai et al. at least provides a waterproof assembly for implementing a waterproof function at a connection between the wire harness and the battery.
Although Pai et al. describes said battery and/or wire harness as discussed above, Pai et al. is silent as to an energy storage device, comprising: a battery; a wire harness.
Oyama et al. further teaches in [0031] the battery ref. 12 shown in these Figs. is mounted in a hybrid vehicle as an auxiliary device, etc., whereby as taught in [0037] and shown in at least Fig. 1, a terminal ref. 42 is connected to the battery post ref. 12B that is vertically arranged on the upper face of the battery ref. 12, and a tip ref. 40A of a wire harness ref. 40 is connected (attached) to the terminal ref. 42., etc., such that the wire harness ref. 40 is placed forward of the battery ref. 12 in the vehicle and is also displaced on the inner side of the bracket ref. 30 in the vehicle width direction (on one side in the vehicle width direction) (see FIG. 3), thus at least providing an energy storage device, comprising: a battery; a wire harness, etc., and lacking any further distinction thereof.
Oyama et al. further teaches in [0050] as it has been described so far, with the battery mounting structure ref. 10 according to the embodiment, it is possible to improve a procedure for connecting the terminal ref. 42 that is connected to the wire harness ref. 40 to the battery post ref. 12B.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. further with the teachings of Oyama et al., whereby the waterproof assembly of an energy storage device including said waterproof assembly as disclosed by the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al., further includes an energy storage device, comprising: a battery; a wire harness as taught by Oyama et al. so that it is possible to improve a procedure for connecting the terminal that is connected to the wire harness to the battery post.
Furthermore, since the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. discloses the waterproof assembly as discussed above in claim 1, which is identical and/or substantially identical to the product as claimed, properties and/or functions such as for implementing a waterproof function at a connection between the wire harness and the battery, are presumed inherent (MPEP 2112.01, I., In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977)).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pai et al. and Oyama et al. as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Hwang et al. (U.S. PGPub US 2012/0114998 (A1) as cited in IDS).
Regarding claim 7, Pai et al. and Oyama et al. disclose the waterproof assembly as discussed above in claim 6. Pai et al. further discloses a portion of the opening section in contact with the second outward portion is provided with a third outward protruding portion extending toward the first end (i.e., at least as shown in Annotated Fig. 1 above in claim 1, so as to be interference-fitted with the low-voltage plug ref. 21 as disclosed in [0034] and shown in at least Fig. 4, and lacking any further distinction thereof).
However, the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. are silent as to the second outward protruding portion is provided with a fourth recess matching the third outward protruding portion.
The combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. disclose the waterproof assembly as discussed above in claim 6. Hwang et al. teaches a waterproof battery case (Title). Hwang et al. further teaches outward protruding portion(s) that are provided with recess(es) matching the outward protruding portion(s) (See Annotated Fig. 3), such that the skilled artisan would appreciate that outward protruding portion(s) and/or recess(es) is broad in scope, and whereby threaded parts such as those shown in Annotated Fig. 3 and discussed in at least [0023] at least provides said protruding portion(s) and/or recess(es) match one another so as to be threaded, and lacking any further structural distinction thereof.
Hwang et al. further teaches in [0027] the advantages of the present invention are that: through installing resilient sealing components between the base and the top cover, the case member and the main body, and the main body and the wires, liquid, moisture and dust are prevented from entering the case member for ensuring the DC power supply, and the electrode plate set is prevented from being eroded, so the service life of the battery case is prolonged, and the waterproof battery case is fully qualified to be used in outdoor or moist environments.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. with the teachings of Hwang et al., whereby the waterproof assembly of an energy storage device including the first/second/third recess(es), first/second/third outward protruding portion(s), as disclosed by the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al., further includes an outward protruding portion is provided with a recess matching the outward protruding portion (e.g., threaded parts with protruding portion(s) and/or recess(es) matching one another) so that the service life of the battery case is prolonged, and the waterproof battery case is fully qualified to be used in outdoor or moist environments.
Furthermore, the examiner asserts that since the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. provide the first/second/third recess(es), first/second/third outward protruding portion(s), etc., and Hwang et al. teaches an outward protruding portion is provided with a recess matching the outward protruding portion (e.g., threaded parts with protruding portion(s) and/or recess(es) matching one another), that providing a fourth recess, etc., is a mere duplication of parts so as to provide that the service life of the battery case is prolonged, and the waterproof battery case is fully qualified to be used in outdoor or moist environments, such that said duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced (MPEP 2144.04, VI., B., In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960)).
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Annotated Figure 3 (Hwang et al.)
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pai et al. and Oyama et al. as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Han et al. (U.S. PGPub US 2015/0101842 (A1)).
Regarding claim 9, Pai et al. and Oyama et al. discloses the waterproof assembly as discussed above in claim 1. However, the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. are silent as to the material of the wire harness cover includes rubber.
Han et al. teaches a waterproof cover (Title). Han et al. further teaches in [0033] the waterproof cover ref. 10 (Figs. 1-3), which is a molded component composed of a rubber or elastomer (EPDM in the present embodiment), has a peripheral wall ref. 19 covering a circumference of the wire harness W/H, etc., which at least provides a material of a wire harness cover (i.e., at least waterproof cover) includes rubber, lacking any further distinction thereof.
Han et al. further teaches in [0021] the waterproof cover is prevented from deforming substantially and sealing performance is prevented from deteriorating in the two end portions of the peripheral wall, and concurrently, the waterproof cover, which expands substantially due to an increase in temperature, is prevented from interfering with a peripheral member and getting damaged, thus, the waterproof cover maintains high waterproof performance.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have modified the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al. with the teachings of Han et al., whereby the waterproof assembly of an energy storage device including the wire harness cover, etc., as disclosed by the combined teachings of Pai et al. and Oyama et al., further includes the material of the wire harness cover includes rubber as taught by Han et al. so that the waterproof cover is prevented from deforming substantially and sealing performance is prevented from deteriorating in the two end portions of the peripheral wall, and concurrently, the waterproof cover, which expands substantially due to an increase in temperature, is prevented from interfering with a peripheral member and getting damaged, thus, the waterproof cover maintains high waterproof performance.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Sawayanagi et al. (U.S. PGPub US 2003/0017739 (A1)) discloses a waterproof low insertion force connector (Title), whereby as disclosed in [0032] as shown in FIG. 1, a waterproof low insertion force connector ref. 1 includes a male connector ref. 3 having a rotary lever ref. 2 for fitting with low insertion force, a female connector ref. 6 having sloped guide grooves ref. 5 which correspond to protrusions ref. 4 for pushing the lever ref. 2 and an elastic rubber grommet ref. 7 which covers at least the male connector ref. 3.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSHUA PATRICK MCCLURE whose telephone number is (571)272-2742. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tong Guo can be reached on (571) 272-3066. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOSHUA P MCCLURE/Examiner, Art Unit 1723
/TONG GUO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1723