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 .
Claims 1-17 are pending.
Claims 10-17 are new.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Pages 5-7, filed 05/07/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-9 under 35 USC 102 and 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Kronenberger (DE 102018204840) wherein a different interpretation of the previously applied reference is made. Specifically, charging opening 300 (now charging opening 234) has been reinterpreted in light of the claim amendments to be positioned ahead of the cover 306 and cavity 300 (previously unclaimed) has been interpreted to sit behind the charging opening wherein the rollable interface cover (cover 306) is positioned within said cavity. See discussion of claim rejections below for more details.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-12, 14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kronenberger (DE 102018204840).
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Regarding claim 1, Kronenberger discloses a charging interface device (charging socket 101, Fig. 2a) for an electric vehicle (vehicle 100, Fig. 1) having a traction battery, said charging interface device comprising: a charging interface (charging interface 200, Fig. 2a) for receiving a plug (charging plug 111, Fig. 1) of a charging cable (charging cable 112, Fig. 1) for charging the traction battery, and a charging opening (see Fig. 2b above, charging opening 234) defined in an exterior wall of the electric vehicle (Fig. 1); a cavity (see Fig. 3a above, cavity 300) of the electric vehicle that is disposed behind the charging opening in which the charging interface is arranged, and a rollable interface cover (cover 306, Fig. 3a) that is moveable between a deployed state (Fig. 3b) and a retracted state (Fig. 3a), wherein in the deployed state of the rollable interface cover, the rollable interface cover prevents access to the charging interface and conceals the cavity (Fig. 3b shows cover 306 closed and blocking charging interface 200 and covering cavity 300), and wherein in the retracted state of the rollable interface cover, the charging opening is exposed to reveal the charging interface and the cavity (Fig. 3a shows cover 306 opened to reveal cavity 300 and charging interface 200), wherein in the retracted state of the rollable interface cover, the rollable interface cover is positioned within the cavity at a location that is behind the charging opening (see Figs. 2b-3b where it is shown that flap 230 comprising flap wall 233 is opened to reveal charging opening 234, cover 306, and cavity 300).
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Regarding claim 2, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein the interface cover comprises a plurality of slats (see Fig. 3b, slats 306a, Par. 0011, “The cover may have a plurality of fins, which are each connected in pairs”).
Regarding claim 3, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 2, wherein the slats are movably connected to each other (see Fig. 3b, Par. 0011, “The cover may have a plurality of fins, which are each connected in pairs”).
Regarding claim 5, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein the interface cover is laterally rollable, downwardly rollable or upwardly rollable (see Figs. 3a-3b for lateral rolling of cover 306).
Regarding claim 6, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein the interface cover is rollable around a charging interface shaft (cassette 301, Fig. 3a).
Regarding claim 7, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 6, wherein the interface cover is connected to the charging interface shaft (Par. 0032, “The charging interface unit 101 has a gate-shaped cover 306 on, in a (round) cassette 301 stored and removed from the cassette 301”).
Regarding claim 8, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein the charging interface device for moving the interface cover includes a drive (motor 302, Fig. 3a).
Regarding claim 9, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 8, wherein the drive is an electric drive (Par. 0012, “The loading interface unit may include a motor configured to move the cover into the gap and / or to move the cover out of the gap”).
Regarding claim 10, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein the rollable interface cover is positioned within the cavity and behind the exterior wall in both the deployed state and the retracted state (see Figs. 1 and 2b-3b, cover 306 sits behind vehicle wall and within cavity 300 in both states).
Regarding claim 11, Kronenberger discloses a vehicle (vehicle 100, Fig. 1) comprising the charging interface device (charging interface 200, Fig. 2a) according to claim 10.
Regarding claim 12, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein an entirety of the rollable interface cover is positioned at an elevation above the charging interface when the rollable interface cover is maintained in the retracted state (see Fig. 3a, cover 306 sits in front of charging interface 200 in the retracted state).
Regarding claim 14, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 6, wherein the charging interface shaft is positioned within the cavity and behind the exterior wall (see Figs. 2b-3b).
Regarding claim 16, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein the rollable interface cover is positioned between the charging interface and the exterior wall (see Fig. 1 and 2b-3b).
Regarding claim 17, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, wherein in the deployed state of the rollable interface cover (cover 306, Fig. 3a-3b), the rollable interface cover is positioned within the cavity (cavity 300, Fig. 3a above) at a location that is behind the charging opening (charging opening 234, Fig. 2b above).
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.
Claim(s) 4, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kronenberger (DE 102018204840).
Regarding claim 4, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 2, wherein the slats (Par. 0011, “The cover may have a plurality of fins, which are each connected in pairs”) are connected to each other in a chain link manner (see Fig. 3a-3b).
Although Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose how the slats are connected to each other, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would find this as an obvious design choice. Kronenberger’s slats (referred to as fins) are connected to each other in pairs (Par. 0011) and are rolled into the cassette (301, Fig. 3a-3b). The instant application states that the slats are “movably connected to one another.” (Page 2, line 18 of specification) and therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize this as a design choice for the intended effect of a rollable cover. See MPEP 2144.01 In re Preda, 401 F.2d 825, 826, 159 USPQ 342, 344 (CCPA 1968).
Regarding claim 13, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 6.
However, Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose wherein a longitudinal axis of the charging interface shaft is oriented horizontally.
Kronenberger discloses a vertically oriented charging interface shaft (cassette 301 is configured vertically within charging opening).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to orient the longitudinal axis of the charging interface shaft horizontally as a matter of obvious design choice. The particular orientation performs the same function permitting the interface cover to be rolled up or down about the shaft regardless of whether the shaft is oriented horizontally or vertically. Applicant’s own specification confirms that the orientation is a matter of design choice without criticality disclosing that the interface cover “may be rollable laterally or downwardly or upwardly… along a longitudinal axis or a transverse axis of the body, or it may be rolled up or down along a vertical axis of the body” (Specification Par. 0011), thereby treating the horizontal and vertical orientations as interchangeable alternatives. No new or unexpected result arises from the claimed horizontal orientation. See MPEP 2144.04(IV)(C) In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950).
Regarding claim 15, Kronenberger discloses the charging interface device according to claim 1, including a rollable interface cover having a free end, the cover being movable between a deployed state (Fig. 3b) and a retracted state (Fig. 3a). Kronenberger discloses the cover deploying and retracting horizontally such that the free end is displaced laterally rather than vertically where the free end would be at an elevation beneath or above the charging interface in the deployed and retracted state respectively.
Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose wherein, in the deployed state, a free end the rollable interface cover is positioned at an elevation beneath the charging interface, and, in the retracted state, the free end the rollable interface cover is positioned at an elevation above the charging interface.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the rollable interface cover such that its free end is positioned at an elevation beneath the charging interface in the deployed state and an elevation above the charging interface in the retracted state. Configuring the cover to deploy and retract vertically so that the free end sits above and beneath the charging interface is a matter of obvious design choice, performing the same function of covering and uncovering the charging interface as the lateral deployment of Kronenberger. Applicant’s own specification confirms that the orientation is a matter of design choice without criticality disclosing that the interface cover “may be rollable laterally or downwardly or upwardly… along a longitudinal axis or a transverse axis of the body, or it may be rolled up or down along a vertical axis of the body” (Specification Par. 0011), thereby treating the horizontal and vertical orientations as interchangeable alternatives. No new or unexpected result arises from the claimed horizontal orientation. See MPEP 2144.04(IV)(C) In re Japikse, 181 F.2d 1019, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950).
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 Jeffrey Mountain whose telephone number is (703)756-1939. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:30am - 6:30pm ET.
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/JEFFREY MOUNTAIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2834
/TULSIDAS C PATEL/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2834
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