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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: in the third paragraph of page 13, "circ uit" should be "circuit"; and in paragraph 1 of page 17, "descried" should be "described".
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamai (US 20020190690 A1) in view of Tasaka (JP 2018088724 A).
Regarding claim 1, Tamai teaches in figure 1 an electronic component unit (11) comprising:
a power supply terminal (battery 12 terminal) that is connected to a power supply ([0029]; wherein battery 12 is connected to motor generator 10) mounted on a vehicle ([0010]) and capable of supplying power at a first voltage ([0030]);
a circuit branch portion (branch points 26 and 27) that is connected to the power supply terminal to branch power supplied from the power supply into a plurality of power supply systems (wherein 10 supplies power to battery 13 and voltage loads 14, 14-1 to 14n, and 15, 15-1 to 15n);
and a voltage converter (DC/DC converter 21) that is provided from at least one of the plurality of power supply systems in the circuit branch portion ([0040]; wherein 21 connects to branch point 27 and thus battery 13 and loads 15), and converts a voltage of the power supplied from the power supply into a second voltage lower than the first voltage to output the second voltage ([0041]).
Tamai does not teach a voltage converter that is detachably provided from at least one of the plurality of power supply systems in the circuit branch portion.
However, Tasaka teaches in figure 1 a voltage converter (10) that is detachably provided from at least one of the plurality of power supply systems in the circuit branch portion ([0006]; wherein a power conversion device in a voltage conversion circuit attached to an external device contains voltage converter modules 10 and one of the modules can be removed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the electronic component unit of Tamai to be able to detach a voltage converter, in order to allow more embodiments of the invention with different voltage conversions and the replacement of a broken converter.
Regarding claim 2, Tamai teaches in figure 1 the electronic component unit (11), further comprising:
a circuit protector (fuses 22, 22-1 to 22n, and 24, 24-1 to 24-n) that is detachably provided from the power supply systems (fuses attached to the lines to loads 14 and 15) in the circuit branch portion (26 and 27) and protects, in response to overcurrent flowing through the power supply systems, the power supply systems by cutting off the overcurrent ([0042] and [0043]; wherein fuses 22 and 24 act as detachable circuit protectors to cut off overcurrent).
Regarding claim 3, Tamai teaches in figure 1 a wire harness (the power source system shown) comprising:
an electronic component unit (11) that is provided in a power supply (motor generator 10 connected to battery 12) mounted on a vehicle ([0010]) and capable of supplying power at a first voltage ([0030]); and
a power supply wire that supplies power from the electronic component unit to devices mounted on the vehicle (output wires from 11 to supply power to battery 13 and loads 14 and 15), wherein
the electronic component unit includes
a power supply terminal (terminal of battery 12) that is connected to the power supply (battery 12 connected to motor generator 10),
a circuit branch portion (branch points 26 and 27) that is connected to the power supply terminal to branch power supplied from the power supply into a plurality of power supply systems (battery 13 and loads 14 and 15), and
and a voltage converter (DC/DC converter 21) that is provided from at least one of the plurality of power supply systems in the circuit branch portion ([0040]; wherein 21 connects to branch point 27 and thus battery 13 and loads 15), and converts a voltage of the power supplied from the power supply into a second voltage lower than the first voltage to output the second voltage ([0041]).
Tamai does not teach a voltage converter that is detachably provided from at least one of the plurality of power supply systems in the circuit branch portion.
However, Tasaka teaches in figure 1 a voltage converter (10) that is detachably provided from at least one of the plurality of power supply systems in the circuit branch portion ([0006]; wherein a power conversion device in a voltage conversion circuit attached to an external device contains voltage converter modules 10 and one of the modules can be removed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the wire harness of Tamai to be able to detach a voltage converter, in order to allow more embodiments of the invention with different voltage conversions and the replacement of a broken converter.
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Jiyou (JP 2007312543 A), Fukazu (US 20100127565 A1), and Kikuchi (US 20160347184 A1).
Jiyou teaches an electronic component unit with a voltage converter, a circuit branch, a power supply, power supply systems, and circuit protectors.
Fukazu teaches an electronic component unit with a voltage converter, a circuit branch, a power supply, power supply systems, and a circuit protector.
Kikuchi teaches an electronic component unit with a power supply, voltage converter, and power supply systems.
The above references are considered of particular relevance to the claimed invention but cannot
be considered to teach the limitations or combined to being obvious to a person skilled in the art to
disclose the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABIGAIL MARIE THAYER whose telephone number is (571)270-0134. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th/F 7:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Dole can be reached at (571) 272-2229. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABIGAIL MARIE THAYER/Examiner, Art Unit 2847
/Timothy J. Dole/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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