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 Objections
Claims 1-9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1 and 9, there is no recited a device /method step using to detect damage, therefore, the scope of the claim is incomplete.
The dependent claims not specifically addressed share the same objections as they depend from objected base claims.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1,3-5 and 8-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshida et al (KR20130074761).
As to claim 1, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as shown in figures 1-2, comprising: an application module (110,120) applying a prescribed material to an object (200,10); and an electrical signal acquisition unit (130) acquiring an electrical signal by measuring impedance of the application module (110,120) of the object (200,10) based on applying the prescribed material to the object (200,10).
As to claim 3, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as mentioned in claim 1 having a processor (140) configured to determine whether the object is damaged based on the acquired electrical signal.
As to claim 4, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as mentioned in claims 1 and 3, wherein processor (140) is configured to acquire an electrical signal for a normal region of the object and determine a region in which an electrical signal different from the electrical signal for the normal region is acquired as a damaged region of the object (200,10).
As to claim 5, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as mentioned in claim 1, wherein the prescribed material is a conductive liquid which is considered as an activated material.
As to claim 8, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as mentioned in claims 1, However, Yoshida et al do not explicitly mention about wherein the object comprising: a conductor and an insulator surrounding at least a portion of the conductor. However, since the object (200) is a battery, it would have been well-known in the art that the battery would include an insulator surrounding at least a portion of the conductor.
As to claim 9, the apparatus of Yoshida et al performs the method steps as recited in claim 9.
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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida et al in view of Van Lammeren et al (Pat# 8,680,868) .
As to claim 2, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as mentioned in claim 1 but do not disclose the electrical signal acquisition unit (130) comprising: a filter circuit filtering the electrical signal of the object; and a measurement circuit measuring the filtered electrical signal.
Van Lammeren et al disclose an impedance measurement circuit for a battery cell as shown in figure 5 having a filter (low pass filter) and a measurement circuit (Amp/phase detector) for measuring the filtered electrical signal.
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide a filter circuit and a measurement circuit as taught by Van Lammeren et al to the impedance measurement circuit (130) in the device of Yoshida et al for the purpose of filtering the detected noise signals from the battery before providing accurate measured signal.
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida et al in view of Van Lammeren et al (Pat# 8,680,868) in view of Lagowski et al (Pat# 7,202,691).
As to claim 6, Yoshida et al disclose an apparatus for detecting damage as mentioned in claim 1 but do not disclose a distance measurement sensor measuring a distance between the application module and the object; and a stage providing a space for having the object loaded therein.
Lagowski et al disclose an inspection apparatus as shown in figure 1 having a stage (16) for supporting a device under test/object (12) and a distance measurement sensor (26) for measuring distance between a device under test /object (12) and application module (20) and the object (12).
It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to provide a stage and a distance measurement sensor as taught by Lagowski et al to the device of Van Lammeren et al for the purpose of adjusting the distance between the object and the application module in order to obtain accurate measurements of the object.
As to claim 7, it appears that in the device of Van Lammeren et al in view of Lagowski et al, the stage moves with respect to the application module to maintain a constant distance between the application module and the object based on the measured distance.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Orozco et al (pat# 7,019,521) disclose Fault Isolation Of Circuit Defects Using Comparative Magnetic Field Imaging.
Kim et al (pat# 11,726,120) disclose Insulation Resistance Inspection System For Battery Module Cell Pouch.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VINH P NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1964. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 6:00am-4:00pm.
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/VINH P NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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