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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 04/24/2026 have been fully considered and are persuasive. New ground(s) of rejection are presented herein.
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) 13-14, 17-21, 23-25, 26, and 30 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertness et al (US 20030011344 A1) modified by Haring et al (US 20230016346 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Bertness teaches a charge adapter for charging a vehicle battery, (¶0011 "System 100 is shown coupled to a vehicle battery 102")
the charge adapter comprising: a support; (¶0013 “Portable system 100 includes a housing 103”)
a rectifier which is secured to the support and which is configured to generate a rectified charging current based on the alternating charging current; (¶0013 "Internal to housing 103, is circuitry of booster 106 and battery charger 104", ¶0015 "Battery charger 104, of system 100, includes battery charging circuitry 210 and battery testing circuitry 212. Battery charge circuitry 210 generally includes AC source 214 transformer 216 and rectifier 218")
a plus contact secured to the support and a minus contact secured to the support, wherein the plus contact and the minus contact are configured to be plugged onto a plus pole and a minus pole of a vehicle battery, respectively; (¶0011 “System 100 couples to battery contacts 110 and 112 through electrical connections 114 and 116 respectively”, FIG 2-1 depicts battery contacts 110 and 112 to be a plus contact and a minus contact respectively)
and lines which are configured to conduct the rectified charging current to the plus contact and the minus contact. (¶0018 "AC source 214 is coupled to vehicle battery 102 through transformer 216 and rectifier 218")
Bertness does not teach a charging coil which is secured to the support and is configured to generate an alternating charging current in response to a magnetic charging field.
Haring teaches a charging coil which is secured to the support (¶0066 “battery receiving device 20 for charging two inductively coupled battery units 30, which are received mechanically guided in storage seats 50 of the battery receiving device 30… coil circuit 84 can be adjusted for inductive reception or delivery of electrical energy via the coil unit 42”)
and is configured to generate an alternating charging current in response to a magnetic charging field. (¶0066 “frequency and energy of the alternating current supply in the coil circuit 84 can be adjusted for inductive reception or delivery of electrical energy via the coil unit 42”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify Bertness to further comprise a charging coil which is secured to the support and is configured to generate an alternating charging current in response to a magnetic charging field as taught by Haring. Haring ¶0066 discloses “frequency and energy of the alternating current supply in the coil circuit 84 can be adjusted for inductive reception or delivery of electrical energy via the coil unit 42” which would include a standard 12V car battery, resulting in coil unit 42 connecting through a rectifier to charge a battery 40. Bertness and Haring share the structure of a rigid housing which supplies AC power through a rectifier to charge a battery. Further Bertness FIG 2-1 depicts an AC source 214 connected through a transformer 216, it would be obvious to use Haring’s coil unit 42 to generate an AC current in response to a magnetic charging field. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve enable efficient, precise and convenient charging of a vehicle battery during the storage of a vehicle battery.
Regarding claim 14, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring further teaches wherein the charge adapter is configured as a pluggable attachment, (¶0011 “System 100 couples to battery contacts 110 and 112 through electrical connections 114 and 116 respectively”)
which is pluggable onto a cover of a vehicle battery. (Bertness ¶0013 “Polarized plugs 124 are included for easy connection of cables, which are employed to electrically couple system 100 to a vehicle battery (not shown in FIG. 1-2)”)
Regarding claim 17, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring does not teach wherein the support is configured as a plate.
Haring further teaches wherein the support is configured as a plate. (¶0067 “aluminum half-shell housing together with the coil unit 42, which is covered by a coil coupling plate, which represents a wall area on the housing side”, FIG 2d depicts the housing side as being a flat and rigid plate)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring wherein the support is configured as a plate as taught by Haring. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve enable efficient, precise and convenient charging of a vehicle battery during the storage of a vehicle battery.
Regarding claim 18, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 17. Bertness modified by Haring further teaches wherein the plate is a rigid plate. (¶0067 “aluminum half-shell housing together with the coil unit 42, which is covered by a coil coupling plate, which represents a wall area on the housing side”, FIG 2d depicts the housing side as being a flat and rigid plate)
Regarding claim 19, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring wherein: the plus contact and/or the minus contact is arranged displaceably on the support via a rail. (Bertness ¶0013 “mode selection switch 108, which is typically slidably coupled to housing 103”, FIG 1-1 depicts mode selection switch 108 as a bar or rail)
Regarding claim 20, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring further teaches wherein: the charging coil comprises a flat coil. (Haring ¶0066 “battery receiving device 20 for charging two inductively coupled battery units 30 … coil circuit 84 can be adjusted for inductive reception or delivery of electrical energy via the coil unit 42”)
Regarding claim 21, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 20. Bertness modified by Haring further teaches wherein the charging coil consists of the flat coil. (Haring ¶0066 “battery receiving device 20 for charging two inductively coupled battery units 30 … coil circuit 84 can be adjusted for inductive reception or delivery of electrical energy via the coil unit 42”)
Regarding claim 23, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness ¶0016 further discloses “Microprocessor 228 also couples to a system clock 230 and memory 232 which is used to store information and programming instructions… microprocessor 228 also couples to booster pack 106, user output circuitry 234 and user input circuitry 236”, indicating that microprocessor 228 is capable of storing and executing instructions.
Bertness modified by Haring does not explicitly disclose further comprising a charging controller which is configured to adjust the charging current and/or a charging voltage during a charging process of the vehicle battery.
Haring further teaches further comprising a charging controller which is configured to adjust the charging current and/or a charging voltage during a charging process of the vehicle battery. (¶0067 “NFC unit 38 is connected to a battery management system 36 which monitors and controls a charging and discharging process of the battery cells 36”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring to further comprise a charging controller which is configured to adjust the charging current and/or a charging voltage during a charging process of the vehicle battery as taught by Haring. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve enable efficient, precise and convenient charging of a vehicle battery during the storage of a vehicle battery.
Regarding claim 24, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 23. Bertness modified by Haring wherein the charging controller is configured to control the charging current and/or a charging voltage during a charging process of the vehicle battery. (Haring ¶0067 “NFC unit 38 is connected to a battery management system 36 which monitors and controls a charging and discharging process of the battery cells 36”)
Regarding claim 25, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring does not teach further comprising a communication unit which is configured to transmit data relating to the vehicle battery and/or relating to a charging process of the vehicle battery via a communication link.
Haring further teaches further comprising a communication unit which is configured to transmit data relating to the vehicle battery and/or relating to a charging process of the vehicle battery via a communication link. (¶0067 “NFC unit 38 can be sufficient to provide its communication capability”, ¶0069 “NFC data communication via the NFC unit 38 with the battery-side battery management system 36 can also take place through the coil coupling plate 42”, ¶0027 “NFC is an international transmission standard based on RFID technology for the contactless exchange of data by electromagnetic induction”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring to further comprise a communication unit which is configured to transmit data relating to the vehicle battery and/or relating to a charging process of the vehicle battery via a communication link as taught by Haring. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve enable efficient, precise and convenient charging of a vehicle battery during the storage of a vehicle battery.
Regarding claim 26, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 25. Bertness modified by Haring wherein the communication link is a wire-free communication link. (Haring ¶0027 “NFC is an international transmission standard based on RFID technology for the contactless exchange of data by electromagnetic induction”)
Regarding claim 30, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring wherein: the charge adapter is configured to charge a 12 V vehicle battery. (Bertness ¶0011 "System 100 is shown coupled to a vehicle battery 102")
Claim(s) 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertness modified by Haring and further in view of Reed et al (US 20080309287 A1)
Regarding claim 15, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring does not teach wherein the support is configured as a film.
Reed teaches wherein the support is configured as a film. (¶0024 “flex circuit 26 includes a primary-portion 62 and at least one folding-portion 64 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5”, FIG 1 depicts flex circuit 26 as a thin film)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring wherein the support is configured as a film as taught by Reed. Similar to the charge adapter of claim 13 as taught by Bertness modified by Haring, Reed discloses a charge adapter which uses plus contact and minus contact to attach to the terminals of a battery to allow it to wirelessly charge. Reed FIG 5 depicts the flex circuit as being able to accommodate batteries of multiple shapes and sizes. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to increase the flexibility of the charge adapter to accommodate batteries of multiple sizes and shapes.
Regarding claim 16, Bertness modified by Haring and Reed teaches the charge adapter according to claim 15.
Bertness modified by Haring and Reed discloses the claimed invention except for wherein the film is an adhesive film. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to adhere to the surface of the battery to prevent it from moving during charging, since it has been held that choosing from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success is obvious. KSR International Co. v Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 127 S. Ct. 1727, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395-97 (2007).).
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring and Reed wherein the film is an adhesive film as taught by Reed. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to increase the flexibility of the charge adapter to accommodate batteries of multiple sizes and shapes.
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertness modified by Haring and further in view of Butler et al (US 20160046199 A1)
Regarding claim 22, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring does not teach further comprising: and a control unit which is configured to: determine data relating to the charging current, relating to a battery voltage and/or relating to a temperature of the vehicle battery. (Bertness ¶0016 “Battery testing circuitry 212 includes voltage measurement circuitry 224 and current measurement circuitry 226 which provide outputs to microprocessor 228”)
Bertness modified by Haring does not teach further comprising: a display; and output the data via the display.
Butler teaches further comprising: a display; (¶0048 “display device 114 may comprise one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), or a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen”)
and output the data via the display. (¶0048 “the processor 128 may be operatively coupled to a display device 114 via a display driver 116”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring to further comprise a display as taught by Butler. Butler ¶0045 discloses “smart battery charger 102, as disclosed herein, may facilitate both battery charging and maintaining functions for a battery 104, such as a 6V/12V automobile battery”. Connecting Butlers display device 114 to the microprocessor 228 as taught by Bertness to output the data via the display. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to alert the user there may be an issue with the battery or allow for the user to easily update control commands.
Claim(s) 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertness modified by Haring and further in view of Riemer et al (US 20180123176 A1)
Regarding claim 27, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring does not teach further comprising a control unit which is configured to: determine spacing information relating to a set spacing between the plus contact and the minus contact; and control a charging process of the vehicle battery to which the charge adapter is secured, depending on the spacing information.
Riemer teaches further comprising a control unit which is configured to: determine spacing information relating to a set spacing between the plus contact and the minus contact; (¶0047 "he first connector 44 and the second connector 46 may take virtually any physical form that allows the first connector 44 and the second connector 46 to form electrical connections with the battery cell 10 and the PCB 42")
and control a charging process of the vehicle battery to which the charge adapter is secured, depending on the spacing information. (¶0074 "The mechanical lock and key assembly 290 thus mechanically secures the reusable battery indicator 240 to the battery cell 210 at one end (i.e., at the negative battery terminal 224) while completing a negative electrical circuit between the negative terminal 280 of the PCB and the negative battery terminal 224 through the flexible wire 262 at the other end.")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring to further comprise a control unit which is configured to: determine spacing information relating to a set spacing between the plus contact and the minus contact as taught by Riemer. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to allow the charge adapter to be used for multiple shapes/sizes of batteries corresponding to different vehicles.
Claim(s) 28 and 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bertness modified by Haring and further in view of Afzal et al (US 5635814 A1)
Regarding claim 28, Bertness modified by Haring teaches the charge adapter according to claim 13. Bertness modified by Haring does not teach wherein at least one of the lines has a fuse.
Afzal teaches wherein at least one of the lines has a fuse. (Col 9 line 21 "The line voltage AC1, AC2 preferably passes through a safety fuse F1, across a capacitor C1, and through an EMI filter L1.")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the charge adapter as taught by Bertness modified by Haring wherein at least one of the lines has a fuse as taught by Afzal. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to prevent a high impulse of current or voltage from damaging the battery and improving safety during operation.
Regarding claim 29, Bertness modified by Haring and Afzal teaches the charge adapter according to claim 28.
Bertness modified by Haring and Afzal discloses the claimed invention except for the fuse is a fusible link. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to use a fusible link to protect the device from overcurrent, since it has been held that the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results is obvious. Afzal uses safety fuse F1 to prevent overcurrent, and fusible links are well known elements in the art. Agrizap, Inc. v. Woodstream Corp., 520 F.3d 1337, 86 USPQ2d 1110 (Fed. Cir. 2008)
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.
Nilssen et al (US 5146149 A) discloses a regular 12V automotive storage battery comprising a built-in battery charger.
Teggatz et al (US 20130175982 A1) discloses a rechargeable energy storage apparatus which provides wireless charging capabilities and data functionality.
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.
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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.
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/LISA KOTOWSKI/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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