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
Applicant is advised that should claim 7 be found allowable, claim 8 will be objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate thereof. When two claims in an application are duplicates or else are so close in content that they both cover the same thing, despite a slight difference in wording, it is proper after allowing one claim to object to the other as being a substantial duplicate of the allowed claim. See MPEP § 608.01(m).
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) 1-2 and 4-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnsen (US 2014/0375272).
In re claim 1, Johnsen teaches a camper (fig. 6d) comprising a rechargeable battery (abstract “energy storage device”), electric comfort functions (140, 158), further electricity consumers (140, 158), and a controller (120), wherein: the rechargeable battery supplies electricity to the electric comfort functions through a voltage transformer (110) and to the further electricity consumers; the controller enables autarchic operation of the electric comfort functions under power supplied by the rechargeable battery (inherent – when appliances have sufficient power, they are able to work).
Johnsen differs in that it does not explicitly teach the electric comfort functions and the further electricity consumers are divided into different electrical circuits; and the controller prioritizes certain of the electric comfort functions by turning on, turning off, or reducing power to the different electrical circuits to extend an autarchic operation period of the electric comfort functions. Nonetheless, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use different circuits, of which one or more can be turned on or off with priority by a controller, or their power can be reduced, since it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. Furthermore, the use of battery management control is well known and conventional in the electric arts. See classes B60L 1/00 – B60L 1/12 which is directed to battery management. See, also, for example, US patent documents 2020/0313445 to Slepchenkov; and 2023/0373459 to Choi.
In re claim 2, Johnsen teaches the battery is arranged below a floor (164) of the camper, as an under-floor battery (fig. 6D).
In re claim 5, Johnsen teaches the battery can be charged from a public power grid, by way of a charger (150, par. 84).
In re claim 6, the examiner takes official notice that restricting the power consumption of a charger was well known and conventional in the art at the time of invention and would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in order to preserve battery health.
In re claims 4, 7-8, the examiner notes that Johnsen doesn't explicitly teach the electric comfort functions comprise at least one or more of the following: air conditioner, electric heater, electric hotplates, electric oven, electric hot-water heater, ventilation, TV/radio systems, electric outdoor grill, air compressors for pneumatic suspension, water pumps, and maneuvering drive for the camper. Nonetheless, the examiner takes the position that one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention would recognize that Johnsen teaches the apparatus is capable of providing for a number of the above functions (par. 81 - "this could be used as a power source at remote sites without power when power is temporarily needed for tools or other equipment or appliances").
In re claim 9, Johnsen fails to teach the specific voltage of the transformer (the examiner notes that inverters transform the current which comes from a battery in DC form to AC form). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the claimed voltage, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art.
In re claim 10, Johnsen doesn't explicitly teach the electric heater is an electric space heater. The examiner takes the position that, though not explicitly claimed, one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention would recognize the use of a portable electric space heater with the camper of Johnsen which teaches providing electricity to appliances. The use of space heaters with campers has long been common during tailgating at sports events and during camping trips.
In re claim 11, Johnsen differs in that it does not explicitly teach the battery is a
rechargeable lithium ion battery. The examiner takes official notice that the use of
lithium ion batteries in vehicles was well known and conventional in the art at the time of
invention and would have been obvious to use in the vehicle in Johnsen.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Johnsen, as applied above, and further in view of Wilks (US 7514803).
In re claim 3, Johnsen differs in that it doesn't teach the battery divided into a front battery and a rear battery, between which an axle is arranged. Attention, however, is directed to Wilks which teaches the battery divided into a front battery and a rear battery, between which an axle is arranged (fig. 4). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the apparatus of Johnsen to incorporate the battery structure of Wilkes in order to incorporate a generator.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EREZ GURARI whose telephone number is (571)270-1156. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00AM-6:30PM.
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, Marc Jimenez can be reached at (571) 272-4530. 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.
/EREZ GURARI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
