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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on November 13th 2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 13th 2025, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-17 have been fully considered. The rejection of claims 1-17 under 35 U.S.C 112(b) has been withdrawn due to amendments.
Applicant’s arguments, filed November 13th 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 5-10, and 14-17 under 35 U.S.C 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C 112 and 35 U.S.C 103.
Drawings
Figures 7 and 8 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
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, 7-10, 15-16, and 18-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claims 1 and 20 recite the limitation “further battery modules are configured to non-controllably contribute to the voltage over the battery assembly”.
The specification describes two types of battery modules: analog and discrete. Both analog and discrete battery modules are shown to be controllable in the specification. The analog battery module is described on Page 7, Lines 9-16: “Analog battery module may refer to a battery module that is configured to receive a first signal representing a first voltage to be output over the analog battery module. The first signal is configurable to represent a range of voltages capable of being output over the analog battery module.”
The discrete battery module is described on Page 7, Lines 17-24: “Discrete battery module may refer to a battery module that is configured to receive a second signal, or configuration signal. The second signal may represent "on" or "bypass".”
Based on the specification, both types of battery modules used in the application are controllable, therefore it is not clear what the claim limitation “non-controllable” is referring to.
For the purposes of examination, “non-controllably” will be interpreted as discrete battery modules (the voltage level is not controllable, but the on/off function of the module is controllable). Claims 7-10, 15-16, and 18-24 are rejected because they depend on Claim 1.
Claim 8 is further rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention
Claim 8 recites the limitation “wherein the slave control unit is configured to increase the first voltage when the measured current is greater than the upper threshold value for the current” It is not evident why the voltage (and therefore current) would be increased in response to the current being too high.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor
or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. It is unclear why the voltage and therefore current would be increased in response to the current being above a threshold.
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) 1, 7-10, 15-16, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (US 20140084872 A1) in view of Kessler Martin (US 20150137764 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Iida teaches a battery system (Fig. 2) comprising a battery assembly (92A) connectable to a bus (95),
wherein the battery system comprises, for the battery assembly (92A), a battery arrangement (see Fig. 2, converter 101 combined with storage battery 94A),
wherein the battery arrangement is arranged inside the battery assembly or connected in series with the battery assembly to the bus (see Fig. 2 where storage battery and DC/DC converters are located inside 92A and 92B),
wherein the battery arrangement comprises a first battery module (first battery pack inside storage battery 94A, see Fig. 2) and a slave control unit (101),
wherein the battery assembly (92A) comprises one or more further battery modules connected in series with the first battery module (see Fig. 2),
wherein the slave control unit (101) is configured to receive, from a master control unit (Fig. 3, element 102), a first target value related to a first current to be delivered at, such as to or from, the battery assembly (¶[73] “The coordination unit 102 generates, based on a bus voltage value and a target voltage value, coordination information that is information for calculating a current value that each of storage batteries is caused to output… coordination information generated by the coordination unit 102 is simultaneously transmitted to all of the string current calculating units”),
and/or a second target value related to a voltage over the bus,
wherein the battery arrangement (converter 101 combined with storage battery 94A) is connectable to the master control unit (102) for communication of the first target value and/or the second target value (see Fig. 4, ¶[67] “Here, the coordination unit 102 can transmit the coordination information to each of the DC-DC converter 101 and the DC-DC converter 201, using a given communication path that is wired or wireless”),
Iida does not teach that further battery modules are configured to non-controllably contribute to the voltage over the battery assembly, and
wherein the slave control unit is configured to adjust voltage over the first battery module to steer the first current towards the first target value, and/or to steer the voltage over the bus towards the second target value, by adjusting a first voltage over the first battery module,
- wherein the first battery module is configured to receive, from the slave control unit, a first signal representing the first voltage to be output over the first battery module,
- wherein the first signal is configurable to represent a range of voltages capable of being output over the first battery module,
- wherein the slave control unit is configured to determine the first signal based on the first target value and/or the second target value, and to send the first signal to the respective first battery module
Kessler Martin teaches a series battery management system which is analogous to the field of switchable battery arrangements, wherein further battery modules are configured to non-controllably contribute to the voltage over the battery assembly (¶[34] “The coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d in FIG. 2 can be actuated in such a way that the energy storage cell module 5 is connected selectively between the output connections 3a and 3b or such that the energy storage cell module 5 is bridged”), and
- wherein the slave control unit is configured to adjust voltage over the first battery module to steer the first current towards the first target value, and/or to steer the voltage over the bus towards the second target value, by adjusting a first voltage over the first battery module (¶[30] One or more of the energy storage modules 3 can be configured as energy storage module 30. The energy storage modules 30 are in this case used as internal generation modules for compensation currents in the energy storage device 10”, see Figs. 2 and 3 for adjusting voltage),
- wherein the first battery module is configured to receive, from the slave control unit, a first signal representing the first voltage to be output over the first battery module ¶[46] “The current control signal can be fed into a pulse width modulation device 4, which is coupled to the closed-loop control circuit 6, and which is designed to actuate the coupling device 7 or the coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d of at least one of the energy storage modules 30”, the actuation of the coupling elements affects the voltage output over the first energy module, see Figs. 1-2),
- wherein the first signal is configurable to represent a range of voltages capable of being output over the first battery module (¶[39] “By virtue of the coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, the output voltage of the energy supply string can be varied in steps from a negative maximum value up to a positive maximum value via suitable actuation. The graduation of the voltage level in this case results depending on the graduation of the individual energy storage cell modules 5”),
- wherein the slave control unit is configured to determine the first signal based on the first target value and/or the second target value, and to send the first signal to the respective first battery module (see ¶[46] quoted above),
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Iida to incorporate the teachings of Kessler Martin to provide further battery modules are configured to non-controllably contribute to the voltage over the battery assembly, and
wherein the slave control unit is configured to adjust voltage over the first battery module to steer the first current towards the first target value, and/or to steer the voltage over the bus towards the second target value, by adjusting a first voltage over the first battery module,
- wherein the first battery module is configured to receive, from the slave control unit, a first signal representing the first voltage to be output over the first battery module,
- wherein the first signal is configurable to represent a range of voltages capable of being output over the first battery module,
- wherein the slave control unit is configured to determine the first signal based on the first target value and/or the second target value, and to send the first signal to the respective first battery module
in order to selectively increase or decrease voltage from each battery assembly based on demand.
Regarding Claim 7, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida further teaches wherein the slave control unit of the battery assembly is configured to adjust the first voltage to limit current through the battery assembly based on whether or not a measured current through the battery assembly is greater than an upper threshold value for the current (¶[142] “When the current target value calculated by a corresponding one of the string current calculating units is not in the range indicated by the limiting value determined by the limiting value determining unit 126, each of the limit units 130 and 230 adjusts a current target value to allow the current target value to be in the range”, ¶[142] also mentions an upper limit and lower limit).
Regarding Claim 8 (as best understood), Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida further teaches wherein the slave control unit of the battery assembly is configured to adjust the first voltage to adjust the current through the battery assembly based on whether or not a measured current through the battery assembly is greater than an upper threshold value for the current (¶[142] “When the current target value calculated by a corresponding one of the string current calculating units is not in the range indicated by the limiting value determined by the limiting value determining unit 126, each of the limit units 130 and 230 adjusts a current target value to allow the current target value to be in the range”, ¶[142] also mentions an upper limit and lower limit).
Regarding Claim 9, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida further teaches wherein the slave control unit (201) is configured to decrease the first voltage when the measured current is greater than the upper threshold value for the current (¶[142] “When the current target value calculated by a corresponding one of the string current calculating units is not in the range indicated by the limiting value determined by the limiting value determining unit 126, each of the limit units 130 and 230 adjusts a current target value to allow the current target value to be in the range”, the current output is impacted by the voltage of the battery)
Regarding Claim 10, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida further teaches wherein the battery arrangement (92A) comprises the master control unit (102).
Kessler Martin further teaches a series connection of the battery assembly (10) and the battery arrangements (30, 3) to the bus (see Fig. 1),
wherein the slave control unit of the battery arrangement is configured to adjust voltage over the battery arrangement (30, 3) to steer the first current towards the first target value, and/or to steer the voltage over the bus towards the second target value, by adjusting a first voltage over the first battery module, wherein the first voltage contributes to the voltage over the battery arrangement ((¶[46] “The current control signal can be fed into a pulse width modulation device 4, which is coupled to the closed-loop control circuit 6, and which is designed to actuate the coupling device 7 or the coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d of at least one of the energy storage modules 30”)).
Regarding Claim 15, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida further teaches wherein the first battery assembly (92A) comprises the master control unit (102).
Regarding Claim 16, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1,
Iida further teaches wherein the slave control unit (201, see Fig. 5) of the battery assembly (92A, see Fig. 4 for configuration where the master controller 102 is located outside the first battery assembly) comprises a primary controller (108) and a secondary controller (110),
wherein the primary controller is configured to receive the second target value related to the voltage over the common bus (coordination information from 102),
wherein the second target value is a target voltage (¶[73] “The coordination unit 102 generates, based on a bus voltage value and a target voltage value, coordination information that is information for calculating a current value that each of storage batteries is caused to output”),
wherein the primary controller is configured to receive a measured voltage which represents a voltage at terminals of the battery assembly or a voltage at the bus (coordination information from 102),
wherein the primary controller is configured to send, in dependence on the target voltage and the measured voltage, a signal to the secondary controller (110, see Fig. 5),
wherein the secondary controller is configured to send to the first battery module a signal in dependence on the signal from the primary controller to control the voltage of the battery assembly (¶[75] “Each of the control units causes a corresponding one of the storage batteries to output current having magnitude indicated by the current target value”).
Regarding Claim 19, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida further teaches wherein the battery assembly is a first battery (92A),
wherein the battery system further comprises a set of second battery assemblies, including one or more second battery assemblies (92B),
wherein the second battery assemblies are connectable in parallel with the first battery assembly to the bus (95) (see Fig. 2),
wherein the bus is a common bus (95),
wherein the battery system is configured to be operable, during charging or discharging, to distribute a common current delivered to or from the common bus to the first and second battery assemblies (¶[8] “a charge and discharge control device that controls an output value indicating magnitude of current or power which each of storage batteries connected in parallel to a DC bus outputs when charging or discharging”).
Regarding Claim 20, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 19.
Iida further teaches wherein the battery system comprises, for each of the second battery assemblies, a battery arrangement (see Fig. 2),
wherein each battery arrangement is arranged inside the respective battery assembly or connected in series with the respective battery assembly to the common bus (see Fig. 2 where storage battery and DC/DC converters are located inside 92A and 92B),
wherein each battery arrangement comprises a first battery module (first battery pack inside storage battery, see Fig. 2) and a slave control unit (201),
wherein each battery assembly (92B) comprises one or more further battery modules connected in series with the respective first battery module (see Fig. 2),
wherein each slave control unit (201) is configured to receive, from the master control unit (102), a first target value related to a first current to be delivered at, such as to or from, the respective battery assembly (¶[73] “The coordination unit 102 generates, based on a bus voltage value and a target voltage value, coordination information that is information for calculating a current value that each of storage batteries is caused to output… coordination information generated by the coordination unit 102 is simultaneously transmitted to all of the string current calculating units”),
and/or a second target value related to a voltage over the common bus,
wherein each battery arrangement (converter 201 combined with storage battery 94B) is connectable to the master control unit (102) for communication of the first target value and/or the second target value (see Fig. 4, ¶[67] “Here, the coordination unit 102 can transmit the coordination information to each of the DC-DC converter 101 and the DC-DC converter 201, using a given communication path that is wired or wireless”).
Kessler Martin further teaches that further battery modules are configured to non-controllably contribute to the voltage over the battery assembly (¶[34] “The coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d in FIG. 2 can be actuated in such a way that the energy storage cell module 5 is connected selectively between the output connections 3a and 3b or such that the energy storage cell module 5 is bridged”), and
wherein each slave control unit (6) is configured to adjust voltage over the respective first battery module (30) to steer the first current towards the first target value, and/or to steer the voltage over the common bus towards the second target value, by adjusting a first voltage over the first battery module (¶[30] One or more of the energy storage modules 3 can be configured as energy storage module 30. The energy storage modules 30 are in this case used as internal generation modules for compensation currents in the energy storage device 10”, see Figs. 2 and 3 for adjusting voltage),
- wherein each first battery module is configured to receive, from the respective slave control unit, a first signal representing the first voltage to be output over the first battery module (¶[46] “The current control signal can be fed into a pulse width modulation device 4, which is coupled to the closed-loop control circuit 6, and which is designed to actuate the coupling device 7 or the coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d of at least one of the energy storage modules 30”),
- wherein the first signal is configurable to represent a range of voltages capable of being output over the respective first battery module (¶[39] “By virtue of the coupling elements 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, the output voltage of the energy supply string can be varied in steps from a negative maximum value up to a positive maximum value via suitable actuation. The graduation of the voltage level in this case results depending on the graduation of the individual energy storage cell modules 5”),
- wherein each slave control unit is configured to determine the respective first signal based on the first target value and/or the second target value, and to send the first signal to the respective first battery module (see ¶[46] quoted above).
Regarding Claim 21, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 19.
Iida further teaches wherein the first battery assembly (92A) comprises the master control unit (102),
wherein the master control unit is configured to:
obtain a measure of the common current (¶[76] “In more detail, the coordination unit 102 includes a bus voltage obtaining unit 104”),
distribute the common current equally among the set of second battery assemblies ¶[96] “When the storage batteries are caused to output current having magnitude indicated by the calculated charge and discharge current value, the current ratio calculating unit 122 calculates a current ratio indicating a ratio between current values to be output by the storage batteries”; The current will be distributed equally to all batteries having the same SOC/SOH),
and to obtain the first target value, and send the first target value to the respective slave control unit (¶[73] “The coordination unit 102 generates, based on a bus voltage value and a target voltage value, coordination information that is information for calculating a current value that each of storage batteries is caused to output… coordination information generated by the coordination unit 102 is simultaneously transmitted to all of the string current calculating units”, see Fig. 3).
Regarding Claim 22, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 19,
Iida further teaches wherein the master control unit is configured to determine the first target value by assigning a portion of the common current to the first battery assembly based on a state of charge of the first battery assembly in relation to an average state of charge of the first battery assembly and the set of second battery assemblies (¶[97] “the current ratio calculating unit 122 may calculate the current ratio based on at least one of a condition and a charge level of each storage battery. Here, information indicating the condition of the storage battery is considered as a value such as a State of Health (SOH), the number of cycles of a storage battery, and an operation time. In addition, information indicating the charge level of the storage battery is considered as a value such as a State of Charge (SOC)).
Regarding Claim 23, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 19.
Iida further teaches wherein the battery system is configured to distribute the common current to the first and second battery assemblies in dependence on a respective open source voltage value (Vi, V2) of the battery assemblies and/or in dependence on a respective internal resistance value (R1, R2) of the battery assemblies (¶[97] “the current ratio calculating unit 122 may calculate the current ratio based on at least one of a condition and a charge level of each storage battery. Here, information indicating the condition of the storage battery is considered as a value such as a State of Health (SOH), the number of cycles of a storage battery, and an operation time. In addition, information indicating the charge level of the storage battery is considered as a value such as a State of Charge (SOC)”; batteries with higher state of charge will have a higher open source voltage).
Regarding Claim 24, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 20.
Iida further teaches wherein the distribution of the current between the battery assemblies is at least partially given by the respective voltages of the first battery modules (see ¶[97] quoted above, the voltage of each first battery module contributes to the overall voltage of the battery assembly).
Claim(s) 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (US 20140084872 A1) in view of Kessler Martin (US 20150137764 A1) further in view of Kinoshita et al. (US 6157165 A).
Regarding Claim 18, Iida in view of Kessler Martin teaches the battery system according to claim 1.
Iida in view of Kessler Martin does not teach wherein the first battery module comprises a filter to reduce ripple in the output voltage of the first battery module.
Kinoshita teaches wherein the first battery module (Fig. 13) comprises a filter (204, 205) to reduce ripple voltage and ripple current in the output voltage of the first battery module (203) ([Col 17 Lines 62-67, Col 18 Lines 1-3] “Thereby, the high frequency components of the electric power, which produce bad effects on the battery 201 and the battery control circuit 202, are not allowed to pass through the battery 201 and the battery control circuit 202, but are by-passed by the capacitor 205. On the other hand, direct current power necessary for the battery 201 and the battery control circuit 202 can readily pass through the battery 201 and the battery control circuit 202 via the inductor 204”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Iida in view of Kessler Martin to incorporate the teachings of Kinoshita to provide wherein the first battery module comprises a filter to reduce ripple voltage and ripple current in the output voltage of the first battery module in order to avoid increased temperature and improve the life and performance of the battery, as suggested by Kinoshita (see Col 18 Lines 4-14).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AIMAN BICKIYA whose telephone number is (571)270-0555. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 - 6 PM EST.
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/A.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859