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 8 and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities: claims 8 and 14 incorrectly depend from themselves.
As best understood and for purposes of examination Claim 8 has been examined to have depended from Claim 7 which provides antecedent basis for “the second planar portion”.
As best understood and for purposes of examination Claim 14 has been examined to have depended from Claim 13 which provides antecedent basis for “the first arm”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “a first support bracket is coupled to the frame cross member and second frame rail above the battery” (as claimed in Claim 1) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
See the 35 USC 112 rejections below for further details.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
It is not clear how “a first support bracket is coupled to the frame cross member and second frame rail above the battery”.
The instant specification identifies the “first support bracket” as element 64; see paragraph [0036] “the first support bracket 64”;
The instant specification identifies the “frame cross member” as element 62; see paragraph [0034] “the frame cross-member 62”;
Figure 2B and 2D are the only figure that shows both the first support bracket (64) and the frame cross member (62). The first support bracket (64) does not appear to be coupled to the frame cross member (62).
Broadly, the first support bracket (64) could be considered to be coupled to the frame cross member (62) by their connection with the power distribution center (22).
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(s) 1 and 4, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication 2024/0166069 issued to McKibben et al.
Regarding Claim 1, McKibben et al. teach in Figures 1-17 and respective portion of the specification of a vehicle comprising:
a first frame rail (88A);
a second frame rail (88B);
a frame cross member (264) disposed between the first frame rail (88A) and the second frame rail (88B);
a first support bracket (220) coupled to the frame cross member (264) and the second frame rail (88B) above a battery;
a second support bracket (265) coupled to the first support bracket (220); and
a power distribution center (power distribution unit 120) coupled (see Figure 5) to the second support bracket (265).
McKibben et al. shows in Figure 7 the frame cross member (264) in position relative to the battery assembly (100) but does not show the frame cross member above the battery assembly. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to locate the first support brackets coupling above the battery as an obvious design choice for locating two components that are not connected together on a vehicle body.
Regarding Claim 4, McKibben et al. teach the first support bracket (220) is coupled below (see Figure 5) the frame cross member (264).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3 and 5-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN L SWENSON whose telephone number is (571)270-5572. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday (9-5).
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BRIAN SWENSON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3618
/BRIAN L SWENSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3613
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