DETAILED ACTION
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 statement (IDS) submitted on 7/16/2025 and 3/9/2026 were 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 § 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) 1, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hirofumi JP2017067609 (as seen in the IDS).
As to claim 1, Hirofumi teaches “An information collection device ([0001]), comprising: a casing (Figure 1, 4) having a first installation hole (Figure 1, 12); an air pressure sensor installed inside the casing (Figure 1, 6), at least a part of the air pressure sensor being snap-fitted to the first installation hole to acquire an air pressure parameter outside the casing (Figures 1 and 2 show 6 installed at the installation hole but exposed to acquire an air pressure parameter outside the casing); and a sealing member sealing the first installation hole, wherein the sealing member is used to allow gas to pass through and prevent liquid from passing through (Figure 1, 14; [0013]; [0015]).”
As to claim 6, Hirofumi teaches “wherein the sealing member comprises a second gas-permeable membrane and a second sealing cover, the second sealing cover has a second air hole, wherein the second sealing cover is snap-fitted into the first installation hole, and the second gas-permeable membrane is connected to the second sealing cover and seals the second air hole (Figure 2, 18; [0014], [0015]).”
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) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirofumi JP2017067609 (as seen in the IDS) in view of Chiou US 8171800.
As to claim 2, Hirofumi does not teach the particulars of the air pressure sensor.
Chiou teaches “wherein the air pressure sensor comprises: a base (Figure 7, 714); and a sidewall disposed on a peripheral of the base (Figure 7, 704), enclosing an installation cavity with the base (Figure 7, 720 is a gel within the installation cavity), an end portion of the sidewall away from the base extending into the first installation hole (Figure 7, 704 extends away from the base); wherein the base is equipped with an air pressure chip (Figure 7, 716), the base is suitable for installation of a circuit board (Figure 7, 724 is a bond wire to leadframe 708; Column 8, lines 28-46), the air pressure chip is electrically connected to the circuit board (Figure 7, 724 is a bond wire to leadframe 708; Column 8, lines 28-46), and a gel layer (Figure 7, 720) and a sealing layer are sequentially provided in the installation cavity along a direction away from the base (Figure 7, 710).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Chiou with Hirofumi. The pressure sensor in Hirofumi is not fully described in detail, and Chiou teaches a common pressures sensor that could be used in the Hirofumi reference. Using one type of pressure sensor over another only involves routine skill in the art and depends on the application of the information collection device.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirofumi JP2017067609 (as seen in the IDS) in view of Chiou US 8171800 in further view of Delaporte US 6218937.
As to claim 17, Chiou teaches “a circuit board disposed inside the casing, wherein the air pressure sensor is installed on the circuit board (Figure 7).” This prior arts do not teach a signal transmission unit.
Delaporte teaches “the circuit board has a signal transmission unit thereon and the signal transmission unit is used for wirelessly sending parameter information to a terminal (Figure 2; Column 2, lines 20-30).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings Delaporte with Chiou and Hirofumi. Having a signal transmission unit allows for the sensor to transmit data to another location, allowing a user to analyze it from elsewhere.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirofumi JP2017067609 (as seen in the IDS) in view of Chiou US 8171800 in further view of Morton US 20230261331.
As to claim 20, the prior arts do not teach that the information collection device if within a battery pack.
Morton teaches “A battery pack comprising the information collection device according to claim 1 ([1125]-[1137]).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing of the invention to combine the teachings of Mortin with Chiou and Hirofumi. Using a sensor within a battery pack is known in the art since this allows for a user to determine any parameter changes within the battery pack.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 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 prior arts do not teach the limitations of claim 3, specifically the sealing plate and its orientation relative to the first installation hole. Claims 4 and 5 depend on claim 3. The prior arts do not teach the limitations of claim 7, specifically the sealing groove. As to claim 8, the prior arts do not teach a second installation hole that corresponds to a temperature sensor. Nor do the prior arts teach fourth sealing cover. Claims 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18 and 19 depend from claim 8. As to claim 14, the prior arts do not teach a glue injection hole and an exhaust hole. Claims 15 and 16 depend from claim 14.
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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