DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination (RCE) under 37 CFR 1.114 was filed in this application on 23 October 2025 after a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but before the filing of a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the commencement of a civil action. The request, however, lacks the fee required by 37 CFR 1.17(e) and/or the submission required by 37 CFR 1.114. Accordingly, the RCE is improper and any time period running was not tolled by the filing of the improper request.
Response to Arguments
Applicant has amended independent claims 1 and 13 to incorporate features from dependent claims 5, 6, and 8. Subsequently claim 5 has been amended and claims 6 and 8 have been cancelled.
Applicant argues Kim et al (US 20100261043 A1) does not disclose the amended limitation “wherein the master control unit switches the serial charging and the parallel charging based on a difference in a voltage of the cells”, citing Kim ¶0024 and ¶0026 wherein Kim discloses control units that control switches. Kim ¶0032 discloses “controller 50 also checks the average voltage and triggers a reconfiguration event unless
V
d
≤
V
a
*
n
s
<
V
d
α
(4) holds, where
α
specifies an upper bounds of voltage unbalancing”, which compares the average voltage of the battery cells to the total demanded voltage. Kim alone does not disclose the amended limitation “based on a difference in a voltage of the cells”, but does have the structure capable of determining a difference in a voltage of the cells.
Applicant's arguments filed 18 March 206 have been fully considered.
Claim Objections
Claim 2-5, 7, and 9-10 is objected to as failing to set forth the subject matter which the inventor the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 2-5, 7, and 9-10 recite the limitation "Circuit according to claim" in the preamble of each claim which provides an insufficient antecedent basis for each claim. Examiner suggests amending the preamble of each claim to recite “The circuit according to claim”.
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, 5, 7, 9-10, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al (US 20100261043 A1) modified by Gong et al (US 20230198271 A1), Gong has a foreign priority date of 9 June 2020.
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches a circuit having a cell connection conversion function, the circuit comprising: n cell groups, (¶0025 "battery circuits 30a-30n")
each of which comprises a first switching circuit, (¶0025 "output terminal switches 48a", particularly output terminal switch 48n)
a cell, (¶0025 "a battery cell 32a", particularly battery cell 32n)
and a second switching circuit that are connected in series in sequence, (¶0025 "a bypass switch 40a", particularly bypass switch 40n),
wherein the first switching circuit is connected between a positive wire and a positive terminal of the cell, and the second switching circuit is connected between a negative wire and a negative terminal of the cell, where n is an integer greater than 1; (¶0025 "Battery circuits 30a-30n are interconnected by input terminal switches 46a-46n and output terminal switches 48a-48n (also referred to as S.sub.IT and S.sub.OT, respectively) which to allow the battery system to provide multiple terminals", FIG 1 depicts output switches 48a-48n attached to the positive terminals and input switches 46a-46n connected to the negative terminals);
n-1 third switching circuits, each of which is connected between a negative terminal of a first cell and a positive terminal of a second cell adjacent to the first cell, (¶0025 "bypass switch 40a (also referred to as S.sub.B) connected between the negative terminal of the battery cell and a negative terminal of an adjacent battery circuit; and a series switch 42a (also referred to as S.sub.S) connected between positive terminal of the battery cell 32a and the negative terminal of the adjacent battery circuit")
wherein the n-1 third switching circuits are not connected to a positive terminal of the first cell and are not connected to a negative terminal of the second cell adjacent to the first cell; (FIG 1 particularly third switch 42(n-1) which is connected between the positive terminal of battery cell 32n and the negative terminal of battery cell 32(n-1));
and a master control unit, (¶0024 "the control modules 20a-20n are implemented by a controller 50 although it is envisioned that the functions supported by the control modules 20a-20n (or portions thereof) may be partitioned amongst multiple controllers")
which controls turn-on/turn-off of the first switching circuits, the second switching circuits, and the third switching circuits by sending a control signal on a control bus, (¶0030 "controller 50 checks the SOC of each battery cell via the corresponding control unit 20a-20n"),
to enable switching of a serial/parallel connection of the n cell groups; (¶0027 "To configure battery cells in parallel with each other, switches in a given battery circuit 30b are configured as follows: input switch 38b is set on, series switch 42b is set off, bypass switch 40b is set off, and parallel switch 44b is set on")
and a charging interface, which is connected to an external power source to charge a voltage of cells in the n cell groups; (¶0025 "an output terminal 34a", ¶0021 "The architecture described below may be applied to these as well as other types of rechargeable battery cells")
wherein the master control unit controls a serial/parallel connection of the cell groups during charging, such that the charging comprises serial charging and parallel charging; (controller 50, ¶0025 "bypass switch 40a (also referred to as S.sub.B) connected between the negative terminal of the battery cell and a negative terminal of an adjacent battery circuit; and a series switch 42a (also referred to as S.sub.S) connected between positive terminal of the battery cell 32a and the negative terminal of the adjacent battery circuit")
[and wherein the master control unit switches the serial charging and the parallel charging based on a difference in a voltage of the cells.]
Kim does not teach and wherein the master control unit switches the serial charging and the parallel charging based on a difference in a voltage of the cells.
Gong teaches and wherein the master control unit switches the serial charging and the parallel charging based on a difference in a voltage of the cells. (¶0047 “[FIG 5] operation S23, if the voltage difference of at least one group of the cells is greater than or equal to a preset first threshold, operation S24 is performed”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the circuit as taught by Kim wherein the master control unit switches the serial charging and the parallel charging based on a difference in a voltage of the cells as taught by Gong. Kim discloses a dynamically reconfigurable battery system for balancing series-parallel connected batteries using multiple switches. Similarly, Gong discloses a circuit which uses series-parallel battery connections to balance the voltage across the battery cells. Gong compares the difference in voltage between cells to switch between connection modes in series and parallel. It would be obvious to implement the method of Gong FIG 4 using Kim’s controller 50. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to ensure uniform charging and discharging across the battery cells to protect and maximize overall capacity and lifespan of the battery pack.
Similarly for claim 13 as applied to an input power management circuit comprising: n battery input modules, (Kim ¶0025 “battery circuits 30a-30n are comprised of an input terminal 36a, an output terminal 34a, and a battery cell 32a interposed between the input terminal 36a and the output terminal 34a”)
each of which comprises a positive input port, a negative input port. (FIG 1 depicts output switches 48a-48n attached to the positive terminals and input switches 46a-46n connected to the negative terminals which function as positive and negative input ports)
Regarding claim 5, Kim as modified by Gong teaches the circuit according to Claim 1. Kim as modified by Gong further teaches further comprising a power output, which is connected to an external load to discharge cells in the n cell groups. (Kim ¶0021 "The architecture described below may be applied to these as well as other types of rechargeable battery cells")
Regarding claim 7, Kim as modified by Gong teaches the circuit according to Claim 1. Kim as modified by Gong further teaches wherein the master control unit switches the serial charging and the parallel charging based on a temperature of the cells. (Kim ¶0029 "control unit for a given battery circuit monitors an operational state of the battery cell in the battery circuit and controls switches in the battery circuit in accordance with the operational state. In practice, voltage and temperature may also be figured in as battery variables").
Regarding claim 9, Kim as modified by Gong teaches the circuit according to Claim 1. Kim as modified by Gong further teaches wherein the master control unit detects whether there is a difference in capacity of each of the cell groups, (Kim ¶0029 "control unit 20a-20n monitors changes in the state of charge (SOC) and voltage of its battery cells via sensing devices 54a-54n and 56a-56n")
and sends, upon detecting that the difference in the capacity is greater than a predetermined threshold, the control signal to switch the first switching circuits, the second switching circuits, and the third switching circuits such that one or more cell groups in the n cell groups that have a difference in capacity greater than the predetermined threshold are individually charged. (Kim ¶0030 Equation 3 "where delta. denotes a threshold that bounds the maximum variation of SOCs")
Regarding claim 10, Kim as modified by Gong teaches the circuit according to Claim 9. Kim as modified by Gong further teaches wherein the detecting is implemented by checking the voltage and/or temperature of each of the cell groups. (Kim ¶0029 "control unit 20a-20n monitors changes in the state of charge (SOC) and voltage of its battery cells via sensing devices 54a-54n and 56a-56n").
Claim(s) 2 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim modified by Gong and further in view of Winger et al (US 20200280197 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Kim as modified by Gong teaches the circuit according to Claim 1. Kim as modified by Gong further teaches wherein each of the first switching circuits, the second switching circuits, and the third switching circuits is implemented by a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).
Kim as modified by Gong does not teach wherein each of the first switching circuits, the second switching circuits, and the third switching circuits is implemented by a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).
Winger teaches wherein each of the first switching circuits, the second switching circuits, and the third switching circuits is implemented by a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). (¶0095 "Each of the switches 232 may be an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a field effect transistor (FET), such as a metal oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET), or another suitable type of switch, wherein a n-type MOSFET is u sed as one of the switches and a P-type MOSFET is used as another switch")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the circuit as taught by Kim modified by Gong wherein each of the first switching circuits, the second switching circuits, and the third switching circuits is implemented by a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) as taught by Winger. It is well known in the art to use MOSFETs as switches, the modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to minimize conduction losses and implement faster switching speeds.
Regarding claim 3, Kim modified by Gong and Winger teaches the circuit according to Claim 2. Kim modified by Gong and Winger further teaches wherein the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor is a combination of an N-type MOSFET and a P-type MOSFET. (Winger ¶0095 "Each of the switches 232 may be an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a field effect transistor (FET), such as a metal oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET), or another suitable type of switch, wherein a n-type MOSFET is u sed as one of the switches and a P-type MOSFET is used as another switch")
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim modified by Gong and Winger and further in view of Kolar et al (US 20160261205 A1)
Regarding claim 4, Kim modified by Gong and Winger teaches the circuit according to Claim 2. Kim modified by Gong and Winger does not teach wherein the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor is an N-type MOSFET, and the circuit further comprises a boost circuit.
Kolar teaches wherein the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor is an N-type MOSFET, (¶0372 FIG. 81, the two switches HS, LS are drawn as MOSFETs, in particular as n-type MOSFETs")
and the circuit further comprises a boost circuit. (¶0141 "FIG. 12 shows one embodiment of a first power converter 10 having an IS topology and configured to generate the total DC link voltage V2.sub.TOT with a higher voltage level than the peak voltage level of the input voltage V.sub.IN. In this embodiment, the individual first converter stages 1.sub.1-1.sub.N1 are each implemented with a boost converter topology, which is one type of a non-isolating converter topology")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the circuit as taught by Kim modified by Gong and Winger wherein the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor is an N-type MOSFET, and the circuit further comprises a boost circuit as taught by Kolar. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to stabilize a DC power output from batteries of varying states of charge to maintain battery state of health and increase battery lifespan.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim as modified by Gong and further in view of Clay et al (US 20210162867 A1)
Regarding claim 11, Kim as modified by Gong teaches the circuit according to Claim 9. Kim as modified by Gong does not teach comprising a display, which displays a detected status of the n cell groups.
Clay teaches further comprising a display, which displays a detected status of the n cell groups. (¶0122 “[FIG 7] front panel 112 an electronics power switch 76. The front panel 112 also includes a charging status display 90”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the circuit as taught by Kim as modified by Gong to further comprise a display, which displays a detected status of the n cell groups as taught by Clay. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to allow users to more easily access data about battery performance and charging history through clear visual representations
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim modified by Gong and Winger and further in view of Clay.
Regarding claim 12, Kim modified by Gong and Winger teaches the circuit according to Claim 2. Kim modified by Gong and Winger does not teach wherein the circuit further comprises a user input device, which receives an input signal from a user, and wherein the master control unit sends the control signal according to the input signal.
Clay teaches wherein the circuit further comprises a user input device, (¶0069 "A user interface may be a user interface of a system into which the power supply charging system")
which receives an input signal from a user, (¶0081 "The one or more user interfaces may allow a user to determine a status of the power supply charging system")
and wherein the master control unit sends the control signal according to the input signal. (¶0069 "A user interface may be a user interface of a system into which the power supply charging system")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the circuit as taught by Kim modified by Gong and Winger wherein the circuit further comprises a user input device, which receives an input signal from a user, and wherein the master control unit sends the control signal according to the input signal as taught by Clay. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to allow users to more easily access data about battery performance and charging history through clear visual representations.
Prior Art Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found in the attached PTO-892 Notice of References Cited by Examiner attached to this correspondence.
Krieg et al (US 20200274370 A1) discloses a charging circuit for series-parallel connected energy storage units which balances based on a difference in voltage between the battery units.
Furuka et al (US 20030062874 A1) discloses a charging circuit for series-parallel connected battery cells which use switches to connect and disconnect cells during balancing.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA M KOTOWSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-3771. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8a-5p.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman can be reached at (571) 2722147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LISA KOTOWSKI/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
Prosecution Insights