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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because reference numerals in Figures 10 and 11 are cutoff and therefore not legible. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The use of the term “apple”, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application. The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore, the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 10 contains the trademark/trade name Apple. Where a trademark or trade name is used in a claim as a limitation to identify or describe a particular material or product, the claim does not comply with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. See Ex parte Simpson, 218 USPQ 1020 (Bd. App. 1982). The claim scope is uncertain since the trademark or trade name cannot be used properly to identify any particular material or product. A trademark or trade name is used to identify a source of goods, and not the goods themselves. Thus, a trademark or trade name does not identify or describe the goods associated with the trademark or trade name. In the present case, the trademark/trade name is used to identify/describe connector and, accordingly, the identification/description is indefinite.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashley et al. (US 2015326044 A1) in view of Ho (US 20200008548 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ashley discloses a portable charging and discharging integrated battery assembly (para 27, “electrical system 200”), comprising: a rechargeable battery 220, a first charging cable 232/230, and a storage bag for accommodating the lithium battery and the first charging cable (para 32, “messenger bag 30”; fig 5), wherein the storage bag comprises a bag body having a storage space and a cover located at a top of the bag body for opening and closing the storage space, a sleeve opening (para 33, “interface opening 38”) is provided on a side wall of the bag body, a charging interface (para 33, “battery interface module 110”) is located on a side wall of the lithium battery, wherein the lithium battery is positioned within the storage space with the charging interface exposed at the side wall of the bag body, the first charging cable is connected to the charging interface, and the first charging cable passes through the sleeve opening and is secured to the side wall of the bag body (fig. 2/5; see annotated fig 1).
Ashley does not disclose the battery assembly comprises a lithium battery.
[AltContent: textbox (Figure 1: Annotated Figure 5 from Ashley)]
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Ho discloses “the power supply or battery 35 may be selected from…lithium battery”. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery assembly comprising rechargeable battery taught by Ashley to comprise a lithium battery as taught by Ho as doing such is simple substitution of known rechargeable battery for known lithium battery to obtain predictable result of supplying power. MPEP2143
Regarding claim 3, Ashley discloses two of the sleeve openings (para 40, “output interface 440” and “ Interface module 110“) are provided and are spaced apart (fig. 13).
Regarding claim 4, Ashley discloses the sleeve opening is fixed to the side wall of the bag body (fig 13).
Regarding claim 5, Ashley discloses the sleeve opening has a U-shaped cross-section (fig 13; “output interface 440”).
Regarding claim 7, Ashley discloses the bag body is a flat, rectangular shape (fig. 5-8).
Claim(s) 2 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashley et al. (US 2015326044 A1) and Ho (US 20200008548 A1), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Zhijian (US 20170054245 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Ho discloses “lock device 16 of the cover panel 15” and “lock member 18 of the flap 17” may be engaged (para 25).
Ashley and Ho do not explicitly disclose the inner side of the cover comprises a hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener, and an outer side wall of the bag body comprises a loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener that adheres to the hook portion.
Zhijian disclose various types of closing and opening accessories such as magic tape (para 5). The magic tape disclosed by Zhijian corresponds to the hook- and- loop fastener.
Although Zhijian does not explicitly disclose inner side of the cover comprises a hook portion of a hook-and-loop fastener, and an outer side wall of the bag body comprises a loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery assembly comprising “lock device 16 of the cover panel 15” and “lock member 18 of the flap 17” taught by Ho and Ashley to comprise a hook-loop fastener as taught by Zhijian and position them such that the hook portion is on the inner side of the cover and loop portion is on an outer side wall of the bag body. Such positioning represents a predictable application of known fastening device to the corresponding surfaces to be joined and would have been obvious to a person of the ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 6, Ashley discloses a hanging portion is provided on the side wall of the bag body for suspending the storage bag (Fig 7, strap 46/47); the integrated battery assembly further comprises two connecting parts and a handle, wherein one connecting part is located on one side of the bag body directly below the cover, and the other connecting part is located on an opposite side of the bag body, one end of the handle is fixedly connected to one of the two connecting parts, and the other end of the handle extends to and is fixedly connected to the other connecting part (see annotated figure 1 above).
Ashley does not disclose the integrated battery assembly further comprises a first snap-fit structure located at a lower end of the cover, a female part of the first snap-fit structure is located at the lower end of the cover, and a male part of the first snap-fit structure is located on the bag body directly below the loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener; the cover is detachably connected to the bag body not only by the hook-and-loop fastener but also by the first snap-fit structure.
Zhijian discloses “closing or opening accessories can be zipper (4), buckle/button or vecro/magic tape (9), …said buckle or button can be snap button, fastener, magnet button etc." (para 5).
Although Zhijian does not explicitly disclose the claimed female part and the male part located on the cover and bag body respectively, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery assembly comprising “lock device 16 of the cover panel 15” and “lock member 18 of the flap 17” (see rejection of claim 2) taught by Ashley and Ho to additionally comprise a first snap-fit structure located at a lower end of the cover, a female part of the first snap-fit structure is located at the lower end of the cover, and a male part of the first snap-fit structure is located on the bag body directly below the loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener; the cover is detachably connected to the bag body not only by the hook-and-loop fastener but also by the first snap-fit structure as taught by Zhijian as doing such “make[s] the closing and opening” (para 5).
Claim(s) 8-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ashley et al. (US 2015326044 A1) and Ho (US 20200008548 A1), as applied to claim 1, and further in view of USB Type-C Cable and Connector Specification Revision 1.2 (March 2016) (hereinafter referred to as Type-C Specification).
Regarding claim 8, Ashley discloses one end of the first charging cable is a USB connector (para 27), and the other end is an expandable plug-in socket (para 27, “battery interface module 210”; fig 2), the USB connector being engaged with the charging interface (fig. 2).
Ashley does not disclose the USB connector is Type C and the Type-C connector is oriented perpendicularly to the first charging cable.
Type-C Specification discloses USB Type-C connector and further teaches a right-angle configuration for the USB Type-C connector (page 39; fig 3-5). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the USB connector in the battery assembly taught by Ashley to be the USB Type-C connector which is oriented perpendicularly to the cable as taught by the Type-C Specification as doing such enables faster charging (Section 2.3.4) and constitutes simple substitution and predictable use of known connector configurations for their established functions, yielding predictable results. MPEP 2143.
Regarding Claim 9, Ashley discloses a second charging cable 20, wherein one end of the second charging cable is connected to the plug-in socket of the first charging cable and the other end is connected to an electronic device 1 (fig. 2).
Although Ashley does not explicitly disclose the type of connector provided at the other end of the second charging cable for connection to the electronic device, the Type-C Specification discloses Type-C enables faster charging of mobile device or powering device (Section 2.3.4). The Type-C Specification evidences that Type-C was a known connector and cable configuration for charging applications.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the end of the second charging cable taught by Ashley as a Type-C connector as taught by the Type-C Specification as doing such enables faster charging (Section 2.3.4).
Regarding claim 10, modified Ashley discloses one end of the first charging cable is a Type-C connector, the Type-C connector being engaged with the charging interface, the Type-C connector is oriented perpendicularly to the first charging cable (see rejection of claim 8). Ashley teaches “a plurality of electronic devices 1 may be simultaneously charged by connecting the devices 1 to the interface output port 214 and the second interface output port 216 “ (para 29; fig 3). Ashley suggests connecting an additional charging cable (third charging cable) to the connector/socket of the first charging cable.
Although Ashley does not explicitly disclose that the other end of the third charging cable is a Type-C connector, the Type-C Specification evidences that Type-C was a known connector and cable configuration for charging applications (see rejection of claim 9). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the end of the third charging cable suggested by Ashley as a Type-C connector as taught by the Type-C Specification as doing such enables faster charging (Section 2.3.4).
Conclusion
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/A.K./Examiner, Art Unit 1746
/CHRISTOPHER T SCHATZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1746
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