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 .
Election/Restrictions
Acknowledgement is made of reply filed on 10/17/2025 in which Applicant's election with traverse of claims 1-8 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that the application is a 371. This is found persuasive and the restriction has been withdrawn. Claims 1-12 are now pending in the application and will be examined.
Response to Preliminary Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of preliminary amendment filed on 6/29/2022 in which claims 1-2 and 9 have been amended while claims 3-8,10-12 remain as originally presented.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Acknowledgment is made of Applicant's benefit claim to International ApplicationPCT/KR2021/0073100, filed on 19 June 2021, of which this Application is a National Stage entry.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06/29/2022, 08/09/2023, 11/14/2023, 06/10/2025 and 08/19/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner and placed of record. Initialed copies are attached herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 1-12 are 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.
Claims 1,2,4-5,8,9 and 12 are rejected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites the underlined limitations of, “…receive a power voltage from an external lead-acid battery…” in lines 11 and 13 of claim 1 and lines 4,6,10 and 13 of claim 9, in lines 3 and 5 of claim 2, in line 2 of claim 4, in line 2 of claim 5 and in line 2 of claim 8. It is unclear as to what is meant by “power voltage” since the two(i.e. “power” and “voltage”) are different concepts and they refer to two different quantities since power is the rate of energy transfer and is equal to voltage multiply by current whereas voltage is energy per unit charge or electrical pressure or potential difference and thus render the claims indefinite.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended 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.
The prior art of record either taken alone or in combination thereof fails to teach or reasonably suggest, among other patentable features, assuming the corrected wordings suggested supra in claim 1,
As in claim 1:“…a battery management system controlling charging and discharging of the battery, and controlling the first main relay, the pre-charge relay, and the second main relay, wherein the first main relay, the pre-charge relay, the second main relay, and the battery management system receive a power supply voltage from an external lead-acid battery, and wherein the battery management system opens the first main relay, the pre-charge relay, and the second main relay when the power supply voltage is a predetermined reference voltage or less, closes the pre-charge relay and the second main relay to execute a pre-charge when the power voltage is higher than the reference voltage”.
As in claim 9: “…a method comprising: determining whether a power voltage is less than or equal to a predetermined reference voltage by using a detection signal that is an output of the SR latch; opening the first and second main relays and the pre-charge relay when the power voltage is less than or equal to the reference voltage according to a determination result of the determining; closing the pre-charge relay and the second main relay to perform a pre-charge when the power supply voltage is higher than the reference voltage after the opening; closing the first main relay after the pre-charge is completed; and opening the pre-charge relay after closing the first main relay, wherein the power supply voltage is a voltage supplied to the first and second main relays and the pre-charge relay”.
Claims 2-8,10-12 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.
Examiner found US 2012/0169117 A1 to Park to be the closest prior art of record in which a battery system and an electric vehicle including the battery system are disclosed. Park teaches and shows in Fig. 1 a battery system(1) comprising: a battery(20a) including a plurality of battery cells(21); a first main relay(50) connected between one electrode(positive electrode via current sensor 30) and a first output terminal(output at the inverter 60) of the battery(20a)(see [0046]); a pre-charge relay (51)connected to the first main relay(50) in parallel(see Fig. 1); a second main relay(52) connected between another electrode(negative electrode) and a second output terminal of the battery(20a); and a battery management system(BMS 10a) controlling(via ECU 40) charging and discharging of the battery(20a), and controlling the first main relay(50), the pre-charge relay(51), and the second main relay(52). However, Park does not teach the limitations of, “wherein the first main relay, the pre-charge relay, the second main relay, and the battery management system receive a power voltage from an external lead-acid battery, and wherein the battery management system opens the first main relay, the pre-charge relay, and the second main relay when the power supply voltage is a predetermined reference voltage or less, closes the pre-charge relay and the second main relay to execute a pre-charge when the power supply voltage is higher than the reference voltage or more, and closes the first main relay after the pre-charge is completed”. Instead, Park discloses, that the main switch 33 turns on or off the battery 20a based on a control signal of the BMS 10a or the ECU 40 if an abnormal condition is created such as an overvoltage(more than the reference voltage), an overcurrent, or a high temperature. Park further teaches that the first main relay 50 is turned on(relay is closed as opposed to the instant application) when the auxiliary relay 51 is transitioned from an on state to an off state, thereby supplying power stored in the battery 20a to the inverter 60 whereas the instant application closes the pre-charge relay(which was previously in an Off state)(which corresponds to Park’s auxiliary relay 51) and the second main relay to execute a pre-charge when the power supply voltage is higher than the reference voltage, and closes the first main relay after the pre-charge is completed.
Conclusion
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M'BAYE DIAO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/M BAYE DIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 November 5, 2025