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.
(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.
Claims 1 – 4, 6 – 8 and 10 – 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by patent application number US 2022/0315158 A1 to Mehlo (hereinafter referred to as Mehlo).
Regarding claims 1 – 4, 6 – 8 and 10 – 13, Mehlo discloses a connecting device (holding device 48a) for connecting a battery pack (accumulator 10a) to an electric bike (bicycle 52a), comprising:
[Claim 1] a guide unit (carrier unit 14a) configured to guide the battery pack in a linear manner during a connection process (guides accumulator 10a along longitudinal axis 24a; Paragraph [0034]);
a locking unit (locking unit 106b) configured to lock the battery pack to the electric bike, wherein the locking unit is arranged on a first section of the guide unit (Paragraph [0034], Fig. 4); and
a securing unit (clamping unit 20b) configured to secure the battery pack in the unlocked state, wherein the securing unit comprises a movable securing element (operating element 26b), and wherein the connecting device is designed such that the battery pack is configured to be connected to the electric bike exclusively by way of a linear movement (“accumulator 10b is slipped onto carrier element 16b along a longitudinal axis 24b”, Fig. 6; Paragraph [0039]);
[Claim 2] wherein the securing unit (clamping unit 20b) is arranged on the first section or on a second section of the guide unit (carrier unit 14a; See Fig. 4);
[Claim 3] wherein the securing element (operating element 26b) is designed to be directly actuated (operating element 26b id developed as a toggle lever, Paragraph [0040]);
[Claim 4] wherein the locking unit (locking unit 106b) is designed to be actuated such that the battery pack (accumulator 10a) is partially ejected during unlocking (“spring device 38b of stop unit 18b pushes accumulator 10b a certain distance…accumulator 10b is thereby released”, Paragraph [0043]);
[Claim 6] wherein the locking unit (locking unit 106b) is coupled to an actuating unit (lock 40b), via which the locking unit is designed to be manually actuated (locking unit 106b is locked and unlocked via lock 40b; Paragraph [0044]);
[Claim 7] wherein the actuating unit (lock 40b) is designed as a lock;
[Claim 8] wherein the locking unit (locking unit 106b) comprises at least one linear bearing element (clamping unit 20b) for bearing the battery pack (accumulator 10a) in the locked state;
[Claim 10] wherein the securing element (operating element 26b) is connected to the guide unit (carrier unit 14a; Fig. 4);
[Claim 11] wherein the securing element (operating element 26b) is designed to be indirectly manually actuated via the battery pack (accumulator 10a; “As a result, spring device 38b of stop unit 18b pushes accumulator 10b a certain distance out of receiving region 78b. This causes operating element 26b to be slightly pivoted”, Paragraph [0043]);
[Claim 12] An electric bike (bicycle 52a) comprising a connecting device (holding device 48a) according to claim 1; and
[Claim 13] The battery pack (accumulator 10a) for an electric bike (bicycle 52a) according to claim 12.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 9 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.
Regarding claim 5, Mehlo discloses the connecting device (holding device 48a) according to claim 1, but does not teach wherein:
the locking unit comprises at least one movable locking element, and the locking element is designed to be pretensioned in the locked state. In addition, it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Mehlo to have the feature of claim 5 because such a modification would interfere with the current design.
Regarding claim 9, Mehlo discloses the connecting device (holding device 48a) according to claim 1, but does not disclose wherein the securing element is designed as a resilient stop against which the battery pack rests in the unlocked state. Modifying Mehlo to have the features of claim 9 would also interfere with its design intent and function.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Felicia L Brittman-Alabi whose telephone number is (313)446-6512. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9-6.
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, Valentin Neacsu can be reached at (571)272-6265. 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.
/Felicia L. Brittman-Alabi/ Examiner, Art Unit 3611
/VALENTIN NEACSU/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3611
Prosecution Insights