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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 3/28/2024 and 7/24/2025 was filed in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 32, 38 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wolfgang DE102007032250 (as seen in the IDS) and Olson US 20190369153.
As to claim 17, Wolfgang teaches “A device with leakage detection of a dripable medium (Figure 1. 3 is the drippable medium), the device comprising: a container for holding the dripable medium (Figure 1; [0002] teaches tanks that contain a liquid); and a detection device arranged outside the container for detecting a leakage in the conductor bushing through which the dripable medium escapes from the container along the electrical conductor (Figure 1, 4; [0025]).” Wolfgang does not explicitly teach a conductor passing through the bushing but element 2 is connected to element 4 is some similar fahion.
Olson teaches “an electrical conductor which is passed through a sealed conductor bushing of the container (Figure 1, 110 is the enclosed component and 108 are terminals located outside the enclosed component).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Olson with Wolfgang. Having the electrical conductor located outside the container allows for the drippable medium to interact with this element when leaking. This aids in optimizing the sensing system.
The prior art do not explicitly teach “for a motor vehicle”.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to arrive at a motor vehicle based on the teachings of the prior arts. Wolfgang teaches examples of tanks that contain fluid, therefore the system is not limited to a specific enclosure. Based on this, motor vehicles have tanks that contain a liquid; therefore, it would be obvious from one of ordinary skill in the art to try a known technique on different systems.
As to claim 18, Wolfgang teaches “wherein: the motor vehicle is a utility vehicle; or the dripable medium is a non-conductive dripable medium ([0002] teaches “various liquid container”. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation for where this system can be, it would be obvious from one of ordinary skill in the art to try a known technique on different systems. Therefore having the liquid container be on a motor vehicle falls under predictable results).”
As to claim 19, Olson teaches “wherein the electrical conductor outside the container is surrounded at least in sections by a sealing compound for sealing the conductor bushing, and the detection device is configured to detect the leakage by means of the leaked dripable medium, which has penetrated into a portion between the electrical conductor and the sealing compound ([0021] teaches “For example, the enclosed component can include terminals oriented to connect the PCB. The capacitor seal, which the terminals may be around, can be susceptible to leakage, such as with a supercapacitor.”).”
As to claim 20, Olson teaches “wherein: the sealing compound is permanently elastic and/or adjacent to the container; or the detection device with the electrical conductor is surrounded at least in sections by the sealing compound ([0021]).”
As to claim 21, Olson teaches “wherein the electrical conductor outside the container is electrically connected to an electrotechnical element, and the detection device is arranged on the electrical conductor, at a transition point from the electrical conductor to the electrotechnical element and/or at the electrotechnical element (Figure 1, 112).”
As to claim 23, Olson teaches “wherein the electrotechnical element comprises a printed circuit board (Figure 1 teaches a PCB, therefore one of ordinary skill in the art could utilize a PCB as needed when dealing with electrical components).”
As to claim 25, Wolfgang teaches “wherein the leakage is detectable by detecting a change in the electrical conductivity of the detection device when contaminated with the dripable medium ([0011]; [0025]).”
As to claim 32, Wolfgang teaches “wherein the container is a fuel tank for holding a fuel as the dripable medium ([0002] teaches “various liquid container”. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation for where this system can be, it would be obvious from one of ordinary skill in the art to try a known technique on different systems. Therefore having the liquid container be on a motor vehicle falls under predictable results).”
As to claim 38, Wolfgang teaches “Motor vehicle comprising a device according to claim 17 ([0002] teaches “various liquid container”. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation for where this system can be, it would be obvious from one of ordinary skill in the art to try a known technique on different systems. Therefore having the liquid container be on a motor vehicle falls under predictable results).”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 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. As to claim 22, the prior arts do not teach a sealing compound around the detection device. As to claim 24, the prior arts do not teach the sealable compound or press-fit connection. As to claim 26, the prior arts do not teach the step of dissolving. As to claim 27, the prior arts do not teach an electrode arrangement. Claims 28, 29 and 39 depend from 27. As to claim 30, the prior arts do not teach a control unit attached to a motor vehicle. As to claim 31, the prior arts do not teach the structural details. As to claim 33, the prior arts do not teach a heating element. Claims 36 and 37 depend from 33.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TARUN SINHA whose telephone number is (571)270-3993. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10AM-6PM EST.
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/TARUN SINHA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2855
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