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 .
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of the amendment filed on 7/1/2025 in which claims 1, 3, 7, and 23 were amended. Claims 24 and 25 were added and claims 2, 5, and 6 were cancelled. Therefore claims 1, 3-4, and 7-25 are pending for examination below. The amendment overcomes the drawing objection, the 35 U.S.C. 101, and 35 U.S.C. 112 rejections.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 7/1/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that Wu CN 203607882 does not disclose the method of claim 1 where the battery is charged, discharged to a specific proportion of its capacitance, and is then charged again until at least one cell reaches its end of charge voltage. This claim limitation still reads on any charging process, for example, a cell phone, you charge it at night, you discharge during the day, and you charge again at night. Examiner believes that Wu still reads on this limitation.
Applicant argues that Wu does not disclose the battery having the lowest efficiency is the battery with the lowest cell voltage, applicant states “defining the battery cell with the lowest efficiency as the battery cell which has the smallest cell voltage”, this appears to be a statement that the cell with the lowest voltage is now being called the cell with the lowest efficiency which the examiner believes to mean that the efficiency is being defined as the voltage. Examiner believes that Wu’s determination of the lowest voltage still reads on this limitation though it is not explicitly described in Wu as being defined as the “efficiency”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 3-4, and 7-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu CN 203607882.
With regards to claim 1 Wu discloses, a method for charging and/or discharging an energy store (1) with a current lo, wherein the energy store (1) has at least one cell block (2) having a number J of series-connected battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (Fig. 1 battery pack with battery cells B1-Bn connected in series), at least some of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of which may have different efficiencies η.sub.N, where 1≤N≤J (¶4 “However, due to the difference in the capacity of the single cells, when charging with the same charging current, some single cells will not be fully charged, while some will be overcharged, which causes uneven charging of the single cells and seriously reduces the life of the battery pack”), having the following method steps: determining the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) having the lowest efficiency η.sub.min (¶13 "The detection circuit is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell, and the control circuit is a circuit for receiving the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell input by the detection circuit, selecting the current lowest cell voltage, comparing each battery cell voltage with the lowest cell voltage one by one, determining the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage, and starting the shunt device connected in parallel with the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage to perform shunting" which discloses that the cell with the lowest voltage is determined, and where the claimed efficiency is merely the way that the voltage is being defined by the applicant) by first charging all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) in the cell block (2) to their end- of-charge voltage (¶27 "The working process of the utility model is as follows: at the beginning, the charger 1 charges the battery pack normally”), then discharging the cell block (2) to a specific proportion of its nominal capacitance (Wu reasonably discloses discharging through normal operation of the device, where all battery powered devices go through a discharging phase where the cell block is discharged to a proportion of its “nominal capacitance”), subsequently charging the cell block (2) until at least one battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) has reached its end-of-charge voltage (Wu also reasonably discloses the subsequent charging until at least one cell reaches its end of charge voltage, as charging/recharging is the normal operation of all battery operated devices, and ¶27 above where the battery pack is charged (or recharged) normally, the normal charging would include at least one cell reaching its end of charge voltage), and then defining the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with the lowest efficiency nmin as the battery cell which has the smallest cell voltage Uzmin of all battery cells (3, 4. 5. 6. 7) (¶27 “the detection circuit 4 detects and samples the charging voltage of the battery pack, detects and samples the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell, and inputs them into the control circuit 3. The control circuit 3 receives the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, and selects the current lowest cell voltage Vmin through calculation. The battery cell with the lowest cell voltage Vmin may be one battery cell, or there may be multiple battery cells at the same time, forming a dynamic voltage reference with the lowest cell voltage Vmin as the control of each switch S1, S2, ..., Sn” where Wu implicitly discloses the cell with the lowest voltage also has the lowest efficiency because it is storing the least amount of energy), - adjusting the efficiency of all the other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) to this lowest efficiency nmin such that for the adjusted efficiency of the battery cells applies: nn’ = nmin (¶27 “Compare each battery cell voltage Vi with the lowest cell voltage Vmin one by one, determine the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control the shunt devices 2 connected in parallel to the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control these shunt devices 2 to reduce the charging current of these battery cells, thereby shunting the charging current of these battery cells. When the voltage of a battery cell in the shunted battery cells is equal to the lowest cell voltage Vmin after being shunted for a period of time, the control circuit 3 controls the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell to stop working” which discloses that all of the other cells are compared to the lowest cell voltage (claimed efficiency) and balancing charging is performed, where power is taken away from higher voltage/efficiency cells so they become less efficient in order to match the lowest voltage/efficient cell) so that all battery cells of the at least one cell block reach their end-of-charge voltage simultaneously when the at least one cell block is being charged (Wu ¶27 above discloses that the purpose of the cell balancing is so that all cells are equal and thus will reach their end of charge voltage simultaneously once the cell balancing process is completed).
Claim 2 (Canceled).
With regards to claim 3 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein after the cell block has finished being charged the cell voltage U.sub.Z0,N for all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is determined (¶13 "The detection circuit is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell”) and wherein for each of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) the energy or the power E.sub.taken,N that is taken from the respective battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) during charging or discharging is determined from the difference U.sub.Z0,N−U.sub.Zmin, so that its thus adjusted efficiency η.sub.N′ corresponds to the efficiency η.sub.min (¶13 "the control circuit is a circuit for receiving the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell input by the detection circuit, selecting the current lowest cell voltage, comparing each battery cell voltage with the lowest cell voltage one by one, determining the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage, and starting the shunt device connected in parallel with the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage to perform shunting").
With regards to claim 4 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 3, wherein the cell voltages U.sub.Z0,N or the efficiencies η.sub.N derived from the cell voltages are stored (¶17 “The utility model can use a dynamic reference voltage (the lowest single cell voltage of the battery) to each shunt device, so it can accurately perform shunt balancing during the entire charging process”, ¶26 “The control circuit 3 may be an analog digital circuit, or a circuit including a single chip microcomputer or a related MCU, and is controlled by software”, ¶27 “the detection circuit 4 detects and samples the charging voltage of the battery pack, detects and samples the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell, and inputs them into the control circuit 3. The control circuit 3 receives the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, and selects the current lowest cell voltage Vmin through calculation.” The mention of a “MCU” device denotes that the data input is being stored in order to be utilized by the “software”).
Claims 5-6 (Canceled).
With regards to claim 7 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 24, wherein for each of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) the energy or power Etaken,N that is taken from the respective battery cell during charging or discharging is determined from the difference Ucurrent step,max and UN,current step, so that its thus adjusted efficiency corresponds to the efficiency nmin (¶27 "The working process of the utility model is as follows: at the beginning, the charger 1 charges the battery pack normally, and the detection circuit 4 detects and samples the charging voltage of the battery pack, detects and samples the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell, and inputs them into the control circuit 3. The control circuit 3 receives the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, and selects the current lowest cell voltage Vmin through calculation. The battery cell with the lowest cell voltage Vmin may be one battery cell, or there may be multiple battery cells at the same time, forming a dynamic voltage reference with the lowest cell voltage Vmin as the control of each switch S1, S2, ..., Sn. Compare each battery cell voltage Vi with the lowest cell voltage Vmin one by one, determine the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control the shunt devices 2 connected in parallel to the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control these shunt devices 2 to reduce the charging current of these battery cells, thereby shunting the charging current of these battery cells").
With regards to claim 8 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 3, wherein for each battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) the energy or the power Etaken,N, that is taken from the respective battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) during charging or discharging, so that its adjusted efficiency corresponds to the efficiency nmin, is stored (¶17 “The utility model can use a dynamic reference voltage (the lowest single cell voltage of the battery) to each shunt device, so it can accurately perform shunt balancing during the entire charging process” where the “reference voltage” denotes that the values are being stored throughout the process).
With regards to claim 9 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein the capacitance of the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with the lowest efficiency η.sub.min is determined (¶27 "During the entire battery charging process, the voltages Vi of each battery cell are within the normal range. When the cell voltage Vi is higher than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, a small portion of the charging current will be diverted to each battery cell, so that the charging current of some cells with higher cell voltages (usually, the capacity of battery cells with higher cell voltages will also be higher under charging conditions) is reduced, and the charging current of cells with the lowest cell voltage Vmin is not reduced, thereby obtaining more charging capacity. In this way, the voltage difference between each battery cell and the lowest cell voltage Vmin gradually decreases until the voltage difference is zero, thus completing the balanced charging of the series battery pack" and ¶27 “The working current of each working shunt device 2 is proportional to the difference between its single cell voltage Vi and the lowest single cell voltage Vmin. The larger the difference is, the greater the current shunted by the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with this battery cell is”).
With regards to claim 10 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein the cell voltages of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) are measured regularly after the cell block has been charged (¶23 "The detection circuit 4 is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell". The claimed “measured regularly after the cell block has been charged” can be taken to mean any time after the initial charge which could also be during another charging cycle).
With regards to claim 11 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein at certain intervals immediately after charging the cell block the cell voltage UZ,N of all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is determined (¶17 "The utility model can use a dynamic reference voltage (the lowest single cell voltage of the battery) to each shunt device, so it can accurately perform shunt balancing during the entire charging process") and compared with the end-of-charge voltage UL,N, and wherein in the event of a deviation of the cell voltage UZ,N of a battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) from its end-of-charge voltage UL,N by more than a specified limit value the energy or the power Etaken,N, that is taken from the relevant battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) or all other battery cells for the adjustment of its efficiency to the efficiency η.sub.min, is adjusted (¶24 "The detection circuit 4 is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell. The control circuit 3 is a circuit for receiving the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, selecting the current lowest cell voltage, comparing each battery cell voltage with the lowest cell voltage one by one, determining the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage, and starting the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage to perform shunting").
With regards to claim 12 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 11, wherein in the event of a deviation of the cell voltage UZ,N of the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with the lowest efficiency nN = nmin from the end-of-charge voltage UL,N by more than a specified limit value, the energy or the power Etaken,N, that is taken from all other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for the adjustment of its efficiency to the efficiency nmin, is adjusted (¶24 "The detection circuit 4 is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell. The control circuit 3 is a circuit for receiving the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, selecting the current lowest cell voltage, comparing each battery cell voltage with the lowest cell voltage one by one, determining the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage, and starting the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage to perform shunting" and ¶27 “During the shunt charging process, the lowest cell voltage Vmin is not fixed but changes. The lowest cell voltage Vmin will change as the overall voltage of the battery pack charged by the charger changes. The battery cells to be shunted are not fixed. When any cell voltage is higher than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, the shunt device 2 connected in parallel will start and shunt the charging current of the cell”).
With regards to claim 13 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 11, wherein in the event of a deviation of the cell voltage UZ,N of a battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), for which nN>nmin previously applied, from the end-of-charge voltage UL,N by more than a specified limit value, the energy or power Etaken,N taken from this battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for the adjustment of the efficiency is reduced to Etaken,N', such that in future AUN = 0 applies for the voltage difference AUN = UL,N - UZ,N (¶8 "Taking the lowest single cell voltage as the benchmark, the single cells with voltage higher than this benchmark close the corresponding switches to discharge them until the voltage is equal to the lowest single cell voltage").
With regards to claim 14 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 13, wherein in the case of a battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), for which η.sub.N>η.sub.min previously applied and for which it is found that the voltage difference is ΔU.sub.N=U.sub.L,N−U.sub.Z,N>0 despite a reduction to E.sub.taken,N′=0, this battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is henceforth defined as the battery cell with the lowest efficiency η.sub.min′, and wherein the efficiencies of all other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) are adjusted to this new lowest efficiency η.sub.min′ (¶8 "Taking the lowest single cell voltage as the benchmark, the single cells with voltage higher than this benchmark close the corresponding switches to discharge them until the voltage is equal to the lowest single cell voltage").
With regards to claim 15 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein the charging current or the discharging current is stepped at least once (¶27 discloses a reduction in current or where “current is stepped” at least once) while the cell block (2) is being charged or discharged, wherein a resulting step change in the cell voltage is recorded as a voltage response for all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and compared with one another for the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (¶13 "The detection circuit is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell, and the control circuit is a circuit for receiving the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell input by the detection circuit, selecting the current lowest cell voltage, comparing each battery cell voltage with the lowest cell voltage one by one, determining the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage, and starting the shunt device connected in parallel with the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage to perform shunting"), and wherein the energy or the power Etaken,N, that is taken from a battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) or multiple battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for the adjustment of its efficiency to the efficiency Clmin, is adjusted if, for at least one battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), the step change in the cell voltage deviates quantitatively from the changes in the cell voltages of the other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) by more than a specified limit value (¶27 "The working process of the utility model is as follows: at the beginning, the charger 1 charges the battery pack normally, and the detection circuit 4 detects and samples the charging voltage of the battery pack, detects and samples the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell, and inputs them into the control circuit 3. The control circuit 3 receives the total voltage Vb of the battery pack and the voltage Vi of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, and selects the current lowest cell voltage Vmin through calculation. The battery cell with the lowest cell voltage Vmin may be one battery cell, or there may be multiple battery cells at the same time, forming a dynamic voltage reference with the lowest cell voltage Vmin as the control of each switch S1, S2, ..., Sn. Compare each battery cell voltage Vi with the lowest cell voltage Vmin one by one, determine the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control the shunt devices 2 connected in parallel to the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control these shunt devices 2 to reduce the charging current of these battery cells, thereby shunting the charging current of these battery cells”).
With regards to claim 16 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 15, wherein in the event of a deviation of the step change in the cell voltage of the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with the lowest efficiency rlN=nmin from the changes in the cell voltages of the other battery cells by more than a specified limit value, the energy or the power Etaken,N, that is taken from all other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for the adjustment of its efficiency to the efficiency adjusted (¶24 "The detection circuit 4 is a circuit for detecting the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell. The control circuit 3 is a circuit for receiving the total voltage of the battery pack and the voltage of each battery cell input by the detection circuit 4, selecting the current lowest cell voltage, comparing each battery cell voltage with the lowest cell voltage one by one, determining the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage, and starting the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell with a higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage to perform shunting").
With regards to claim 17 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 15, wherein in the event of a deviation of the step change in the cell voltage of a battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7), for which fN>nmin previously applied, from the step change of the other battery cells(3, 4, 5, 6, 7) by more than a specified limit value, the energy or the power Etaken,N, that is taken from this battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for the adjustment of its efficiency, is reduced to Etaken,N'such that in the event of a step change in the charging or discharging current in the future the step change in the cell voltage of this battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) essentially corresponds to the step changes in the cell voltages of the other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (¶24 above).
With regards to claim 18 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 17, wherein in the case of a battery cell for which previously applied and for which it is found that the step change in the cell voltage of this battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) as a response to a step change in the charging current or discharging current is greater than the step changes in the cell voltages of the other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) by more than a specified limit value despite a reduction to Etaken,N' = 0, this battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is henceforth defined as the battery cell with the lowest efficiency and wherein the efficiencies of all other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) are adjusted to this new lowest efficiency η.sub.min′ (¶24 above).
With regards to claim 19 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein the efficiency is adjusted using switchable resistors RN, whereby each battery cell is equipped with a switchable resistor (Fig. 1 diversion device 2 switches S1-Sn, and ¶25 "The shunt device 2 can be a constant current source, a DC/DC conversion circuit (can be a forward, flyback, single bridge, full bridge, LLC, push-pull, boost, BUCK-BOOST and other conversion circuits), a resistor, or other types of energy conversion devices").
With regards to claim 20 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 19, wherein the resistor RN (8, 9, 10, 11, 12) of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is set such that for each combination of battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and associated switchable resistor (8, 9, 10, 11,12) the efficiency is η.sub.N′ =η.sub.min (Fig. 1 diversion device 2 switches S1-Sn and ¶23 "Each shunt device 2 is composed of a shunt circuit and a switch connected in series with the shunt circuit. The switches in the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cells B1, B2, ..., Bn are switches S1, S2, ..., Sn respectively").
With regards to claim 21 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 19, wherein the switchable resistors (8, 9, 10, 11, 12) are only connected in parallel over a period of time of the charging process or discharging process of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (¶27 "When the voltage of a battery cell in the shunted battery cells is equal to the lowest cell voltage Vmin after being shunted for a period of time, the control circuit 3 controls the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell to stop working. At this time, the charger 1 may still continue to charge the battery pack. When any battery cell voltage Vi continues to rise during the charging process and reaches the cell protection voltage Vo1 protection point, the balanced charging stops; when the total battery pack voltage Vb reaches the battery pack protection voltage Vo2 protection point, the balanced charging stops").
With regards to claim 22 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 21, wherein the duration of the period of time for each battery cell. (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is set such that for each combination of battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and associated switchable resistor (8, 9, 10, 11,12) the efficiency is η.sub.N′=η.sub.min (¶27 "When the voltage of a battery cell in the shunted battery cells is equal to the lowest cell voltage Vmin after being shunted for a period of time, the control circuit 3 controls the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell to stop working. At this time, the charger 1 may still continue to charge the battery pack. When any battery cell voltage Vi continues to rise during the charging process and reaches the cell protection voltage Vo1 protection point, the balanced charging stops; when the total battery pack voltage Vb reaches the battery pack protection voltage Vo2 protection point, the balanced charging stops").
With regards to claim 23 Wu discloses, the method according to claim 1, wherein the efficiency is adjusted using DC-DC converters, wherein each battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is equipped with one DC-DC converter and the DC-DC converter is set such that for each combination of battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and DC-DC converter the efficiency is η.sub.N′=η.sub.min (Fig. 1 shunt device 2, ¶23 "Each shunt device 2 is composed of a shunt circuit and a switch connected in series with the shunt circuit. The switches in the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cells B1, B2, ..., Bn are switches S1, S2, ..., Sn respectively" and ¶25 "The shunt device 2 can be a constant current source, a DC/DC conversion circuit").
With regards to claim 24 Wu discloses, a method for charging and/or discharging an energy store (1) with a current lo, wherein the energy store (1) has at least one cell block (2) having a number J of series-connected battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (Fig. 1 battery pack with battery cells B1-Bn connected in series), at least some of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of which may have different efficiencies η.sub.N, where 1≤N≤J (¶4 “However, due to the difference in the capacity of the single cells, when charging with the same charging current, some single cells will not be fully charged, while some will be overcharged, which causes uneven charging of the single cells and seriously reduces the life of the battery pack”), having the following method steps:- determining the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) having the lowest efficiency by charging the cell block (2) and while the cell block is being charged stepping a charging current I.sub.0 at least once, recording the cell voltage of all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) over a period of time before, during and after the step change in the charging current I.sub.0, wherein for every battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) the difference U.sub.N,current step between the highest cell voltage U.sub.N,max and the lowest cell voltage U.sub.N,min over this period of time is formed at U.sub.N,currentstep=U.sub.N,max−U.sub.N,min, and wherein the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with the lowest efficiency η.sub.min is defined as the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for which the difference U.sub.N,current step is greatest with U.sub.current step,max (¶27 "Compare each battery cell voltage Vi with the lowest cell voltage Vmin one by one, determine the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control the shunt devices 2 connected in parallel to the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control these shunt devices 2 to reduce the charging current of these battery cells, thereby shunting the charging current of these battery cells"), - adjusting the efficiency η.sub.N of all the other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) to this lowest efficiency η.sub.min such that for the adjusted efficiency η.sub.N′ of the battery cells applies: η.sub.N′=η.sub.min (¶8 "Taking the lowest single cell voltage as the benchmark, the single cells with voltage higher than this benchmark close the corresponding switches to discharge them until the voltage is equal to the lowest single cell voltage").
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.
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 25 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu CN 203607882 in view of Canadi US 20160372940.
With regards to claim 25 Wu discloses, a method for charging and/or discharging an energy store (1) with a current lo, wherein the energy store (1) has at least one cell block (2) having a number J of series-connected battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) (Fig. 1 battery pack with battery cells B1-Bn connected in series), at least some of the battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of which may have different efficiencies η.sub.N, where 1≤N≤J (¶4 “However, due to the difference in the capacity of the single cells, when charging with the same charging current, some single cells will not be fully charged, while some will be overcharged, which causes uneven charging of the single cells and seriously reduces the life of the battery pack”), having the following method steps:- determining the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) having the lowest efficiency η.sub.min, wherein for every battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) the difference step between the highest cell voltage and the lowest cell voltage over this period of time is formed at step U.sub.N,current step=U.sub.N,max−U.sub.N,min and defining the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) with the lowest efficiency as the battery cell (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) for which the difference step is greatest with Ucurrent step,max (¶27 "Compare each battery cell voltage Vi with the lowest cell voltage Vmin one by one, determine the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control the shunt devices 2 connected in parallel to the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control these shunt devices 2 to reduce the charging current of these battery cells, thereby shunting the charging current of these battery cells"). - adjusting the efficiency η.sub.N of all the other battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) to this lowest efficiency η.sub.min such that for the adjusted efficiency η.sub.N′ of the battery cells applies: η.sub.N′=η.sub.min (¶27 “Compare each battery cell voltage Vi with the lowest cell voltage Vmin one by one, determine the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control the shunt devices 2 connected in parallel to the battery cells with higher voltage than the lowest cell voltage Vmin, and control these shunt devices 2 to reduce the charging current of these battery cells, thereby shunting the charging current of these battery cells. When the voltage of a battery cell in the shunted battery cells is equal to the lowest cell voltage Vmin after being shunted for a period of time, the control circuit 3 controls the shunt device 2 connected in parallel with the battery cell to stop working” which discloses that all of the other cells are compared to the lowest cell voltage (claimed efficiency) and balancing charging is performed, where power is taken away from higher voltage/efficiency cells so they become less efficient in order to match the lowest voltage/efficient cell).
Wu fails to disclose by discharging the cell block (2) and while the cell block is being discharged stepping a discharging current to at least once, recording the cell voltage of all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) over a period of time before, during and after the step change in the discharging current lo.
However, Canadi discloses by discharging the cell block (2) and while the cell block is being discharged stepping a discharging current Io at least once (¶23 "The battery management system according to the invention is coupled to a device for current limitation or comprises a device for current limitation in order to influence the charging or discharging current"), recording the cell voltage of all battery cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) over a period of time before, during and after the step change in the discharging current lo (¶34 "Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided that, in the memory device, different voltage change values are stored for different charging current values and/or for different voltage change values are stored for different discharging current values and the limitation of the charging or discharging currents is adjusted depending on the charging current values or discharging current values").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Wu with Canadi to perform the same functions during the discharge process as during the charge process in order to improve efficiency and life of the battery.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/NATHAN J INSTONE/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/NATHANIEL R PELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859