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 .
This office action is in response to the amendment filed 14 September 2026, in which claims 2, 8, and 14 were amended, claims 12, 13, and 20 were canceled, and claims 21-23 were added.
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.
Claim(s) 14, 15, and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Iwasaki et al. (JP 2018-069804 A; translation from EPO website is attached). Iwasaki et al. discloses a vehicle fluid management method, comprising:
(claim 14) receiving a flow of fluid in a fluid collection cavity (space #47) of a fluid management tray (tray formed by apron rear panel #31 and lower portion #42 of cowl box #40), the fluid management tray beneath a cowl (including dash panel #21 and upper portion #41 of cowl box #40) having a first portion region (including recess #41a) that supports a battery (#12) within a compartment (engine compartment #6) of a vehicle (including vehicle body #1; figures 1-10);
directing the fluid received within the fluid collection cavity (#47) along a fluid directing channel (including fluid flow shown by arrow #S13) of the fluid management tray (#31, 42) toward an outboard side of the compartment (#6; figures 9, 10; paragraphs 0065-0067, 0077, 0086);
(claim 15) wherein the fluid is directed through the fluid directing channel (#S13) away from components (such as, battery #12) in the compartment (#6; figures 9, 10; paragraphs 0065-0067, 0077, 0086);
(claim 23) wherein the fluid directing channel (#S13) is beneath the first region (#41a) of the cowl (#21, 41), and wherein the directing includes directing the fluid through the fluid directing channel beneath the battery (#12; figures 9, 10; paragraphs 0065-0067, 0077, 0086).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11, 21, and 22 are allowed.
Claims 16-19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The allowable subject matter of claim 1 is a cowl having a first region that supports a battery, and the fluid collection cavity configured to receive fluid from the cowl, in combination with other features of claim 1.
Yamauchi et al. (US 11485421 B2), Mogi et al. (US 2023/0058886 A1; US 11981371 B2; US 12214826 B2), Yashio et al. (JP 2022-182502 A), and Morimoto et al. (US 12017703 B2) disclose a vehicle fluid management assembly comprising a cowl, a battery within a compartment of a vehicle, and a fluid management tray beneath the cowl, the fluid management tray including a fluid collection cavity and a fluid directing channel, the fluid collection cavity configured to receive fluid from the cowl, and the fluid directing channel configured to direct fluid from the fluid collection cavity toward an outboard side of the compartment, but do not disclose the cowl supports the battery.
Iwasaki et al. (JP 2018- 069804 A; JP 2018-069805 A) disclose a vehicle fluid management assembly comprising a cowl having a first region that supports a battery within a compartment of a vehicle, and a fluid management tray beneath the cowl, the fluid management tray including a fluid collection cavity and a fluid directing channel, and the fluid directing channel configured to direct fluid from the fluid collection cavity toward an outboard side of the compartment, but teach against the fluid collection cavity receiving fluid from the cowl since the assembly includes a rib (#41c) that prevents fluid from the cowl (#21) from entering the fluid collection cavity (#47).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-8, filed 14 September 2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 14 under Yamauchi et al. (US 11485421 B2) have been fully considered and are persuasive, in that the cowl does not support the battery. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Iwasaki et al. (JP 2018-069804 A).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA FREEDMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-2442. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm.
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, Jason Shanske can be reached at 571-270-5985. 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.
/LAURA FREEDMAN/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3614
