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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species A, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 5/26/26.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 and 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Ma (US 11,766,926 B2).
With respect to claims 1-3, 5, 10, and 12, Ma discloses a vehicle battery pack comprising first and second battery packs (not shown), a cover bracket 80 between said packs, an undercover 202 beneath said packs and bracket, a hollow insertion tube on said bracket 30, an area cover 20, and an insertion protrusion or guide pin 130, wherein said protrusion extends into the tube and secures the undercover a transverse frame member (not shown), as shown in figure 2.
PNG
media_image1.png
282
791
media_image1.png
Greyscale
With respect to claim 7, the undercover is wide enough to cover the gap between said battery packs, as shown in figure 2.
With respect to claim 8, the undercover is equal height from the ground as the battery packs, as shown in figure 2.
With respect to claim 9, the second, third and fourth battery packs are rearward from the first, as shown in figure 1.
PNG
media_image2.png
512
790
media_image2.png
Greyscale
With respect to claim 11, Ma discloses four battery packs, two on each side of central cover bracket 80, above undercover 202, as shown in figure 1.
With respect to claim 13, elastic ring 120 is located on the connection of the guide pin and transverse frame member (not shown), as shown in figure 2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEFFREY J RESTIFO whose telephone number is (571)272-6697. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11am-8pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, J. Allen Shriver can be reached at (303) 297-4337. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
JEFFREY J. RESTIFO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3613
/JEFFREY J RESTIFO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613
Prosecution Insights