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
The amendment filed on 04/27/2026 has been entered. Claim 1 is cancelled. No claims are newly added. Claims 2-16 remain pending in this application.
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) 2-5, 7, 10-13, 15-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hudson (US Pub 2016/0114685) in view of Klang (US Patent 7,619,417) and further in view of ZAERI et al. US Pub 2018/0029436 (hereinafter ZAERI).
Regarding claim 2, Hudson teaches an auxiliary power supply for secondary systems in a commercial truck (¶¶ 0002, 0010-0013, 0022, 0024-0025; truck), the auxiliary power supply comprising:
a) a battery module assembly comprising, a plurality of battery cells (see fig. 4, element 10a; battery arrays), a positive bus terminal (+ terminal), a negative bus terminal (- terminal), and an electrical connector (a connector which is able to connect to at least one charging cable);
b) a first charge cable (fig. 4, element 80a) having a first end and a second end, the first charge cable being:
1) operatively coupled to the positive bus terminal at the first end of the first charge cable (see fig. 4 below); and
2) operatively coupled to an alternator (fig. 4, element 14) associated with the commercial truck at the second end of the first charge cable (see fig. 4 below);
c) a second charge cable (fig. 4, element 84a; grounded negative wire) having a first end and a second end, the second charge cable being:
1) operatively coupled to the negative bus terminal at the first end of the second charge cable (see fig. 4 below); and
2) operatively coupled to the alternator (14) associated with the commercial truck at the second end of the second charge cable (see fig. 4 below);
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Hudson fails to teach the system includes a first remote sense wire and a second remote sense wire, wherein:
1) each of the first remote sense wire and the second remote sense wire are operatively coupled to the electrical connector at a first end of each of the first remote sense wire and the second remote sense wire; and
2) the second remote sense wire is operatively coupled to the alternator associated with the commercial truck at a second end of the second remote sense wire; and
e) a battery management system (BMS) operatively coupled to the electrical connector, the BMS being adapted to provide an offset voltage to a remote sense input of the alternator associated with the commercial truck, wherein the alternator associated with the commercial truck is configured to increase a voltage output to compensate for the offset voltage.
Klang further discloses an automotive vehicle (fig. 1, element 10) includes a first remote sense wire and a second remote sense wire (see fig. 1 below), wherein:
1) each of the first remote sense wire and the second remote sense wire (see fig. 1 below) are operatively coupled to the electrical connector (the electrical connector comprising the connector of temperature sensor of the battery 37) at a first end of each of the first remote sense wire and (the electrical connector comprising: another connecting portion is able to connect another wire [see fig. 1 below]) the second remote sense wire; and
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2) the second remote sense wire (comprising: two portions; the first portion is connected between the battery 18 and the microcontroller 22, and the second portion is connected between the microcontroller 22 and the alternator 20) is operatively coupled to (operatively coupled to the alternator via the microprocessor 22; Col. 9, lines 21-27 and Col. 11, lines 29-35) the alternator (fig. 1, element 20) associated with the commercial truck at a second end of the second remote sense wire (fig. 1); and
e) a battery management system (BMS) [see fig. 1, element 12] operatively coupled to the electrical connector, the BMS being adapted to provide an offset voltage to a remote sense input of the alternator associated with the commercial truck, wherein the alternator associated with the commercial truck is configured to increase a voltage output to compensate for the offset voltage (Col. 9, lines 21-30; a control line is provided to allow control of alternator 20. The control can be by simply adjusting the voltage supplied to a voltage regulator of alternator 20 to thereby control charging of battery. The control unit of Klang is able to increase or decrease the voltage supplied to the voltage regulator of the alternator. Therefore, the output voltage of the alternator can be increased or decreased according to the control signal).
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It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson to incorporate with the teaching of Klang by including the battery management system to control of the output voltage of the alternator as suggested by Klang, because it would be advantageous to optimize the charging process of the vehicle battery and further prolong the service life of it.
Hudson in view of Klang fails to teach the auxiliary power supply includes a plurality of lithium-ion battery cells.
ZAERI further discloses the auxiliary power supply (¶ 0027; the vehicle includes an alternator to charge the vehicle electrical system battery) includes a plurality of lithium-ion battery cells (¶ 0027; the rechargeable batteries can be lithium iron phosphate [LFP] batteries).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson in view of Klang to incorporate with the teaching of ZAERI by including the LFP batteries in the system, because it would be advantageous to maintain thermal stability and have longer lifespan.
Regarding claim 3, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI teaches wherein the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells are lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells (ZAERI, ¶ 0027; LFP batteries), and wherein the first remote sense wire is operatively coupled to a positive terminal of a starting battery (Hudson, fig. 1, element 10b) associated with the commercial truck at a second end of the first remote sense wire (Klang, fig. 1; the second end of the first remote sense wire is connected to the alternator).
Regarding claim 4, Hudson teaches wherein a first pin of the electrical connector is an input, and a second pin in the electrical connector is an output (see fig. 4; during charging process).
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Regarding claim 5, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI teaches wherein the BMS is adapted to limit a magnitude of the offset voltage such that the offset voltage does not violate the voltage or current limits of the alternator associated with the commercial truck, the voltage limits of a starting battery associated with the commercial truck, voltage limits of other electrical systems associated with the commercial truck, or a voltage limit of the battery module assembly, and wherein the increased voltage output from the alternator associated with the commercial truck to compensate for the offset voltage causes an increase in charge current to the battery module assembly (Klang, col. 9, lines 20-31; by adjusting the voltage supplied to the voltage regulator of alternator to thereby control charging of battery).
Regarding claim 7, Hudson teaches wherein the wire bonding of each lithium-ion battery cell consists of three wires, wherein one of the three wires is positive (fig. 4, element 82) and two of the three wires are negative (fig. 4, elements 84a, 84b).
Regarding claim 10, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI teaches wherein each of the lithium-ion battery cells is a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cell (ZAERI, ¶ 0027; LFP battery).
Regarding claim 11, Hudson teaches wherein outer dimensions of the battery module assembly are consistent with a double-length Group 31 form factor (¶ 0029).
Regarding claim 12, Hudson teaches a method for decreasing a charge time for an auxiliary power supply for secondary systems in a commercial truck (¶¶ 0002, 0010-0013, 0022, 0024-0025; truck), the method comprising:
a) coupling a first end of a first charge cable (fig. 4, element 80a) to a negative bus terminal of a battery module assembly (see fig. 4 below);
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b) coupling a second end of the first charge cable to an alternator (fig. 4, element 14) associated with the commercial truck;
c) coupling a first end of a second charge cable (fig. 4, element 84a; grounded negative wire) to a positive bus terminal of the battery module assembly (see fig. 4);
d) coupling a second end of the second charge cable (fig. 4, element 84a; grounded negative wire) to the alternator (14) associated with the commercial truck; and the commercial truck includes a starting battery (fig. 4, element 10b).
Hudson fails to teach the method comprising:
e) coupling a first end of a first remote sense wire to an electrical connector of the battery module assembly;
f) coupling a second end of the first remote sense wire to a positive terminal of a starting battery associated with the commercial truck;
g) coupling a first end of a second remote sense wire to the electrical connector of the battery module assembly;
h) coupling a second end of the second remote sense wire to the alternator associated with the commercial truck;
i) sensing, at the second end of the first remote sense wire, a voltage of the starting battery;
j) sensing, at the second end of the second remote sense wire, a charge current of the alternator associated with the commercial truck;
k) providing an offset voltage to a remote sense input of the alternator associated with the commercial truck, wherein the alternator associated with the commercial truck is configured to increase voltage output to compensate for the offset voltage, and wherein the increased voltage output causes an increase in charge current from the alternator associated with the commercial truck to the battery module assembly.
Klang further discloses an automotive vehicle (fig. 1, element 10) includes a first remote sense wire (see fig. 1) and a second remote sense wire (see fig. 1 below), wherein:
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e) coupling a first end of a first remote sense wire (see fig. 1 below) to an electrical connector of the battery module assembly (the connector of the battery 37);
f) coupling (directly/directly) a second end of the first remote sense wire to a positive terminal (see fig. 1 below) of a starting battery (Col. 1, line 24-26) associated with the commercial truck;
g) coupling (directly/indirectly) a first end of a second remote sense wire (see fig. 1 below) to the electrical connector of the battery module assembly (the Office take position to interpret the battery module assembly is the same as the starting battery; see Col. 1, lines 24-26);
h) coupling a second end of the second remote sense wire (see fig. 1 below) to the alternator associated with the commercial truck (the second end of the second remote sense wire is connected via element 22);
i) sensing, at the second end of the first remote sense wire, a voltage of the starting battery (Col. 9, lines 13-14; voltage sensor);
j) sensing, at the second end of the second remote sense wire, a charge current of the alternator associated with the commercial truck (col. 7, lines 17-21; via current sensor 26);
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k) providing an offset voltage to a remote sense input of the alternator associated with the commercial truck, wherein the alternator associated with the commercial truck is configured to increase voltage output to compensate for the offset voltage, and wherein the increased voltage output causes an increase in charge current from the alternator associated with the commercial truck to the battery module assembly (Col. 9, lines 21-30; a control line is provided to allow control of alternator 20. The control can be by simply adjusting the voltage supplied to a voltage regulator of alternator 20 to thereby control charging of battery. The control unit of Klang is able to increase or decrease the voltage supplied to the voltage regulator of the alternator. Therefore, the output voltage of the alternator can be increased or decreased according to the control signal).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson to incorporate with the teaching of Klang by including the battery management system to control of the output voltage of the alternator as suggested by Klang, because it would be advantageous to optimize the charging process of the vehicle battery and further prolong the service life of it.
Hudson in view of Klang fails to teach the auxiliary power supply includes a plurality of lithium-ion battery cells.
ZAERI further discloses the auxiliary power supply (¶ 0027; the vehicle includes an alternator to charge the vehicle electrical system battery) includes a plurality of lithium-ion battery cells (¶ 0027; the rechargeable batteries can be lithium iron phosphate [LFP] batteries).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson in view of Klang to incorporate with the teaching of ZAERI by including the LFP batteries in the system, because it would be advantageous to maintain thermal stability and have longer lifespan.
Regarding claim 13, Hudson teaches wherein:
the secondary systems include a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system associated with the commercial truck (¶ 0039; bunk air conditioning unit 16); and the battery module assembly includes a plurality of battery modules (see fig. 4, elements 10a and 10b).
Regarding claim 15, Hudson teaches wherein: the first and second charge cables (see fig. 4 above) are configured to operatively couple the battery module assembly (10a, 10b) and the alternator (14); and the operative coupling enables the alternator to charge the battery module assembly (claims 3 and 18).
Regarding claim 16, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI teaches wherein: a portion of the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells (ZAERI, ¶ 0027) comprise a positive cell array (Hudson, fig. 4, element 10a), and another portion of the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells comprise a negative cell array (Hudson, fig. 4, element 10b); and the positive cell array includes the BMS (Klang, Col. 9, lines 21-31), the BMS further adapted to monitor operative aspects of the lithium-ion battery cells, wherein the operative aspects include cell voltage, cell current, and temperature (Klang, Col. 9, lines 7-9).
Claim(s) 6 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Guglielmo (WO2019014653A1).
Regarding claim 6, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI fails to teach wherein each lithium-ion battery cell in the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells is interconnected via wire bonding to a printed circuit board (PCB) on a top side of the lithium-ion battery cells.
Guglielmo further discloses wherein each lithium-ion battery cell in the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells is interconnected via wire bonding (¶ 0065) to a printed circuit board (PCB) on a top side of the lithium-ion battery cells (claim 3).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI to incorporate with the teaching of Guglielmo by bonding the PCB on the top side of the battery pack, because it would be advantageous to reduce thermal stress and easy replacement.
Regarding claim 14, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI fails to teach wherein: the battery module assembly further comprises:
a top battery cell tray and a bottom battery cell tray, and an aluminum enclosure base including a plastic lid; and each of the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells is held in place between the top battery cell tray and the bottom battery cell tray using an adhesive.
Guglielmo further discloses wherein: the battery module assembly further comprises:
a top battery cell tray and a bottom battery cell tray (¶ 0018), and an aluminum enclosure base (¶ 0075) including a plastic lid (¶ 0018); and each of the plurality of lithium-ion battery cells is held in place between the top battery cell tray and the bottom battery cell tray using an adhesive (¶¶ 0077, 0079).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI to incorporate with the teaching of Guglielmo by placing the battery cells inside the aluminum casing with a plastic lid, because it would be advantageous to protect the battery cells from physical damage and further prolong the service life of the battery pack.
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Ionescu et al. US 2021/0221251 (hereinafter Ionescu).
Regarding claim 8, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI fails to teach the lithium-ion auxiliary power supply further comprising a plurality of active balancing circuits, wherein each active balancing circuit is associated with a bank of lithium-ion battery cells, and wherein each active balancing circuit is configured to discharge excess energy from the associated bank of lithium-ion battery cells and transfer the excess energy to one or more other banks of lithium-ion battery cells.
However, Ionescu further discloses the lithium-ion auxiliary power supply further comprising a plurality of active balancing circuits (¶ 0032; active balancing circuit), wherein each active balancing circuit is associated with a bank of lithium-ion battery cells, and wherein each active balancing circuit is configured to discharge excess energy from the associated bank of lithium-ion battery cells and transfer the excess energy to one or more other banks of lithium-ion battery cells (¶ 0031; energy is transferred from the cell with the highest charge to the cell with the lowest charge).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI to incorporate with the teaching of Ionescu by transferring the cell with highest charge to the cell with the lowest charge in order to achieve cells balancing, because it would be advantageous to protect the health and lifespan of the battery cells.
Regarding claim 9, Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI fails to teach wherein each active balancing circuit is configured to operate independently of any other active balancing circuit.
However, Ionescu further discloses wherein each active balancing circuit is configured to operate independently of any other active balancing circuit (¶¶ 0028, 0031-0032; independent module).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Hudson in combination of Klang and ZAERI to incorporate with the teaching of Ionescu by transferring the cell with highest charge to the cell with the lowest charge in order to achieve cells balancing, because it would be advantageous to protect the health and lifespan of the battery cells.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 04/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
On pages 3-5 of the remarks, Applicant argues that “Klang fails to disclose or even suggest a remote sense wire, a remote sense input of the alternator, or voltage compensation… Klang is completely silent on 1st remote wire, a 2nd remote wire, a remote wire sensor, and an electrical connector for a remote wire. There is absolutely no mention of a remote sense wire coupled to an electrical connector at a first end of each of the remote sense wire as alleged by the Office. In fact, “the connector of the battery 37” the Office relies on is temperature sensor —not an electrical connector for a remote sense wire…”
The examiner respectfully disagrees because Klang clearly discloses a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the battery in claim 11. Further, microprocessor 22 utilizes the conductance, the voltage, 35 the current, the temperature and a time function to determine the real-time status and overall health of the battery under actual and standard conditions in Col. 9, lines 35-38. Temperature sensor 37 is provided which can be coupled directly to one of the terminals (connector), or exterior surface, of the battery 18 for measuring battery temperature in Col. 10, lines 27-31. Therefore, the battery 18 is connected to the microcontroller 22 via a sense wire. The claimed invention does not define any specific of the first remote sense wire that is notably different from the Klang’s sense wire.
On pages 5-6 of the remarks, applicant argues “…Current sensor wires and remote sensor wires are also not the same. Like temperature sensors, current sensors serve fundamentally different purposes than remote sensor wires. Unlike remote sensor wires, current sensor wires detect electrical current flow. This is disclosed as much in claim 11 of Klang. Therefore, Klang also does not teach, disclose, or suggest a second remote sense wire coupled to the alternator or an alternator with a remote sense input, as recited in Claim 2 and Claim 12…”
Claim 2 recites: “…the second remote sense wire is operatively coupled to the alternator associated with the commercial truck at a second end of the second remote sense wire…”
Klang discloses the microprocessor 22 utilizes the conductance, the voltage, the current, the temperature and a time function to determine the real-time status and overall health of the battery under actual and standard conditions in Col 9, lines 35-38. Therefore, the control can be by simply adjusting the voltage supplied to a voltage regulator of alternator 20 to thereby control charging of battery based on control line is provided to allow control of alternator in Col. 9, lines 21-26. Therefore, the microcontroller must be connected with the alternator 20 via a control and sense wire. Klang discloses the wire includes two portions as shown in fig. 1. Further, the claimed invention does not define any specific of the second remote sense wire that is notably different from the Klang’s wire.
Therefore, the cited prior art still reads on the claimed limitations. After having considered all of applicant’s arguments, the obviousness rejection of claims 2, 12 is maintained.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZIXUAN ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)272-6739. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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) 272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZIXUAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 06/29/2026
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