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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
1. Claims 1-3 and 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bastian II (US PG Pub No 2020/0277137) in view of King et al. (US PG Pub No 2020/0212515).
[CLAIM 1] Regarding claim 1, Bastian discloses a chargeable battery system for a lift device, the rechargeable battery system comprising: a battery (Paragraph [0135] energy source 622) configured to power at least one component (Motor 1735) of the lift device (Lift 1300); a battery charger (Charging system 1900) connected to the battery (Paragraph [0135] energy source 622).
-However, it fails to disclose a heating system configured to selectively provide heat to the battery; and wherein the heating system is configured to selectively receive power from the battery through a battery power connection or from the battery charger through a battery charger power connection.
-Nevertheless, King discloses a battery heater for a utility vehicle in paragraph [0003] and powered by the charger or battery.
- Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified Bastian to have heating for a battery and components as taught by King with a reasonable expectation of success in order to instantly improve performance of a cold battery system.
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[CLAIM 2] Regarding claim 2, Bastilian/King teach the rechargeable battery system of claim 1, wherein the battery charger is configured to simultaneously apply power to the battery and to the heating system to both heat and charge the battery (King paragraph [0053] discloses charging and heating a battery, both of which can be done simultaneously, if desired to reduce lift down time).
[CLAIM 3] Regarding claim 3, Bastilian/King teach the rechargeable battery system of claim 2, wherein the battery and the heating system are charged simultaneously using only a single power source providing power to the battery charger (Battery chargers are operated by connecting them to a single power outlet or on-vehicle power feed).
[CLAIM 5] Regarding claim 5, Bastilian/King teach the rechargeable battery system of claim 1, wherein the heating system is configured to provide the heat to the battery when an ambient temperature is below zero degrees Celsius (Heating is conventionally employed in cold temperatures and below zero degrees celsius).
[CLAIM 6] Regarding claim 6, Bastilian/King teach the rechargeable battery system of claim 1, further comprising a control system (Bastilian, control 620, see paragraph [0125]) configured to manage a battery usage of the battery during operation, the control system including a controller in communication with the at least one component of the lift device (paragraph [0125] discloses control and system information that can include any desired aspect of the battery operation and status).
2. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bastian II (US PG Pub No 2020/0277137) in view of King et al. (US PG Pub No 2020/0212515) and in view of Schwarz (US PG Pub No 2011/0288704).
[Claim 4] Regarding claim 4, Bastian/King teach the lift device of claim 1.
-However, they fail to disclose wherein the heating system is a blanket heater.
-Nevertheless, Schwarz discloses a blanket heater in claim 8 to heat the battery.
- Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to have modified the combination to have a blanket heater as taught by Schwarz in order to maintain precise battery temperature.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 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.
Bastilian/King teach the rechargeable battery system of claim 6 but fail to disclose inter alia wherein the controller is configured to receive current delivery limits and regeneration limits of the battery and limit operational speeds of the at least one component based on the current delivery limits and the regeneration limits. Claims 8-9 depend from claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure and can be found on the attached Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to whose telephone number is (571)270-3411. The examiner can normally be reached on 9AM-6PM PST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marc Jimenez can be reached on (571)272-.4530. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAMES J TRIGGS/Examiner, Art Unit 3615
/MARC Q JIMENEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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