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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 8/3/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-6, 8-13, 15, and 19 are pending. Claims 16-18 are canceled. Claims 7 and 14 were previously canceled. Claims 1-2, 8-9, and 15 are amended. Claims 3, 5-6, 10, and 12-13 are previously presented. Claims 4 and 11 are original. Claim 19 is new.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 8/3/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to arguments regarding the objections to the drawings, replacement Figure 7 filed 8/3/2026 shows support for the recitations of claim 1, but not for claims 5 and 6. Also, the objections to the drawings for containing "unlabeled generic box elements" is maintained. Each of the elements mentioned in the drawings objections needs a descriptive text label. For example, in Figure 1, element 110 needs to be labeled "Load ", element 210a in Figure 2 needs to be labeled "First charge profile", etc.
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 10-11 of the remarks, with respect to the rejection under 35 USC 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection under 35 USC 101 has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the amended recitation of “segmenting…based on a frequency threshold” in independent claim(s) 1, 8, and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Newly found reference DONG is relied upon to teach said recitation.
In response to arguments on pages 12-13 of the remarks that secondary reference MONDEN does not disclose the limitations of “reassigning a given member”, it is maintained that the teaching of MONDEN of one battery, e.g., the high-output storage battery, assuming a portion of the component of the power demand of the other battery, e.g., the large-capacity storage battery, can be interpreted as the high-output storage battery being reassigned “to be a new member of the second group of power storage units”, within the broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim language. In this case, high-output storage battery can be interpreted as having been reassigned to the large-capacity storage battery group because it is assuming the function of the large-capacity storage battery group by outputting the component of the power demand assigned to the large-capacity storage battery, without losing its “operational characteristics”. The “reassigning” is not interpreted as being exclusive. Applicant’s arguments are therefore not convincing.
In response to arguments on pages 13-14 of the remarks regarding claims 2 and 9, it is submitted that the given member of MONDEN “retains operational characteristics…despite being assigned as the new member” in that the reassignment is for assuming a portion of the component of the power demand of the other group, and the given member retains its battery chemistry (either high-output or high-capacity) after it assumes a portion of the component of the power demand of the other group. It is therefore maintained that MONDEN discloses the recitations of claims 2 and 9.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 3/10/2026 and 8/3/2026. The replacement drawings are acceptable to overcome at least part of the previous objections.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change requiring fewer members to meet the power demand on the first group of power storage units” as recited in claim 5; and “the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change requiring more members to meet the power demand on the second group of power storage units” as recited in claim 6 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to for containing “unlabeled generic box elements” (see 110, 160, Figure 1; 210a, 210b, Figures 2A-2C; 510, 520, 530, 540, 550, Figure 5; and 800, 810, 820, 830, 840, 850, Figure 8). Correction is required in accordance with 37 CFR 1.83 as stated below.
Further, 37 CFR 1.83 – Content of Drawing:
(a) The drawing in a nonprovisional application must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. However, conventional features disclosed in the description and claims, where their detailed illustration is not essential for a proper understanding of the invention, should be illustrated in the drawing in the form of a graphical drawing symbol or a labeled representation (e.g., a labeled rectangular box). In addition, tables that are included in the specification and sequences that are included in sequence listings should not be duplicated in the drawings.
(b) When the invention consists of an improvement on an old machine the drawing must when possible exhibit, in one or more views, the improved portion itself, disconnected from the old structure, and also in another view, so much only of the old structure as will suffice to show the connection of the invention therewith.
(c) Where the drawings in a nonprovisional application do not comply with the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the examiner shall require such additional illustration within a time period of not less than two months from the date of the sending of a notice thereof. Such corrections are subject to the requirements of § 1.81(d).
[31 FR 12923, Oct. 4, 1966; 43 FR 4015, Jan. 31, 1978; paras. (a) and (c) revised, 60 FR 20195, Apr. 25, 1995, effective June 8, 1995; para. (a) revised, 69 FR 56481, Sept. 21, 2004, effective Oct. 21, 2004; para. (a) revised, 78 FR 62368, Oct. 21, 2013]
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 5, and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claims 1 and 8, the claims recite “a first component”, “a second component”, “a fast discharge component”, and “a slow discharge component”. It is unclear whether the first and second components correspond to the fast and slow components. For examination purposes, the first and second components are interpreted as corresponding to the fast and slow components, respectively.
In claim 5, it appears the claim was inadvertently amended to remove the phrase “based on a demand characteristic change” after the word “reassigned” in line 2. Since the claim is labeled as “previously presented”, it is interpreted as being the same as claim 5 as shown in the claims filed on 3/10/2026.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 19, the amended recitation “the frequency threshold is determined from applying a Fourier Transform onto the power demand” is not described in the specification and constitutes new matter. The application of a Fourier transform is disclosed only on page 11, lines 10-13 of the specification as originally filed. However, the specification does not disclose determining the frequency threshold from applying the Fourier transform.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 8-11, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DONG (Pub. No.: US 2021/0218249 A1) in view of MONDEN (Pub. No.: US 2021/0356527 A1; cited in previous office action).
Regarding claim 1, DONG discloses method for managing power storage and discharge (¶ 0052: In order to cope with AC load power fluctuations and stabilize the DC bus voltage, the energy storage circuit needs to frequently absorb or output high power. Frequent high-power charging and discharging will seriously reduce battery lifespan, and it is difficult for a single energy storage device to meet both power and energy requirements. In this case, the present disclosure provides a hybrid energy storage circuit 111 constituted of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 which uses a low-power-density energy storage element, and the second energy storage circuitry 1112 which uses a high-power-density energy storage element. The low-power-density energy storage element and the high-power-density energy storage element cooperate with each other and have complementary advantages, which not only meets a load power scheduling curve, but also improves dynamic performance of the hybrid energy storage circuit 111 and prolongs the service lifespan of each energy storage element; ¶ 0085: At this time, there is no need to start the frequency division control mechanism, and the output power P.sub.ESS is the low-frequency power, which is input to the current source control circuit to control the charging and discharging operation of the low-power density energy storage element) from a storage array (111, Fig. 1) including a first group of power storage units (1112, Fig. 1) and a second group of power storage units (1111, Fig. 1; ¶ 0045: energy storage circuit 111 includes at least a first energy storage circuitry 1111 and a second energy storage circuitry 1112; ¶ 0052: a hybrid energy storage circuit 111 constituted of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 which uses a low-power-density energy storage element, and the second energy storage circuitry 1112 which uses a high-power-density energy storage element; ¶ 0055: the energy storage circuit 111 includes a plurality of energy storage circuitries. A part of the plurality of energy storage circuitries include the low-power-density energy storage elements, and the other part of the plurality of energy storage circuitries include the high-power-density energy storage elements. Further, the energy storage circuitries including the low-power-density energy storage elements provide the low-frequency power, which may be the first energy storage circuitries. Similarly, the energy storage circuitries including the high-power-density energy storage elements provide the high-frequency power, which may be the second energy storage circuitries), the method comprising:
monitoring operational characteristics of members of the first group of power storage units and members of the second group of power storage units (¶ 0063: the calculation circuit 1121 is also used to calculate a state of charge of the high-power-density battery, which is recorded as a first state of charge SOC1, and a state of charge of the low-power-density battery, which is recorded as a second state of charge SOC2; ¶ 0093: frequency division method is implemented by using the FIR filter that introduces the state of charge. The frequency division method has the advantages of large filter attenuation ratio and small phase delay near the cut-off frequency. The low-frequency component after filtering can be ideally decoupled from the high-frequency component, and the charge-discharge control is performed in a balanced manner according to the state of charge, which can prolong the operating time of the hybrid energy storage circuit and avoid overcharge or over-discharge of the energy storage elements);
monitoring demand characteristics of a power demand on the storage array (¶ 0047: When the AC grid capacity is insufficient and thus the power supply demand for the AC load cannot be met, the power supply system 1 may provide energy to the AC grid; or when the power grid cannot meet the power demand for the AC load due to the switching capacity of the AC grid, the power supply system 1 may cooperate with the AC grid to supply power to the load. Therefore, grid-disconnected power supply and grid-connected power supply without changing the structure and configuration of the original power grid can be achieved by only adding a backup power supply system, and at the same time, it can effectively respond to changes in the power supply demand of the AC load), wherein the first group of power storage units is activated to supply power for a first component of the power demand and the second group of power storage units is activated to supply power for a second component of the power demand (¶ 0045-0046: controller 112 is configured to control conversion operation of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 to output a low-frequency power to the DC bus 13. The controller 112 is further configured to control conversion operation of the second energy storage circuitry 1112 to output a high-frequency power to the DC bus 13. The power required for the AC load 10 includes the high-frequency power and the low-frequency power. The controller 112 can decompose a power signal for the AC load to extract a low-frequency component, control the first energy storage circuitry 1111 to provide the low-frequency power according to the low-frequency component, and control an output voltage of the second energy storage circuitry 1112, thereby the second energy storage circuitry 1112 automatically providing the required high-frequency power);
segmenting the power demand into a fast discharge component and a slow discharge component based on a frequency threshold of the power demand, wherein the first group of power storage units are designated for handling the fast discharge component and the second group of power storage units are designated for handling the slow discharge component (¶ 0045-0046: see above; the disclosed “low-frequency component” implies a frequency threshold), and
discharging power from the storage array to respond to the power demand (¶ 0045-0047, 0093: see above).
DONG fails to disclose while the members of the first group of power storage units and the members of the second group of power storage units remain installed and available to respond to the power demand on the storage array: reassigning a given member of the first group of power storage units to be a new member of the second group of power storage units in response to at least one of a change in the operational characteristics or a change in the demand characteristics.
MONDEN discloses while the members of the first group of power storage units and the members of the second group of power storage units remain installed and available to respond to the power demand on the storage array: reassigning a given member of the first group of power storage units to be a new member of the second group of power storage units in response to at least one of a change in the operational characteristics or a change in the demand characteristics (¶ 0063: When an amount PD of demanded power at a certain point in time is as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 3, the proportions of the discharging capacities that the power storage device 11A in the large-capacity storage battery system 11 and the power storage device 12A in the high-output storage battery system 12 are assumed to have at the initial state of the power storage system 10 are assumed to be as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 3; ¶ 0064: when the power storage device 11A in the large-capacity storage battery system 11 is comparatively deteriorated and the power storage device 11A is to be protected, the power storage device 12A in the high-output storage battery system 12 is caused to output power that is increased, by an amount of power that corresponds to ΔPD1, from the power output thereby in (a) of FIG. 3, so that the amount of power that corresponds to the amount PD of demanded power is supplied in total, for example, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 3; it is noted that the increase in the power output by the high-output storage battery 12 such that it assumes some of the discharge capacity, or component of power demand, of the large-capacity storage battery 11 is interpreted as the high-output storage battery being “reassigned”; modifying primary reference DONG to include this feature, such that a given member of the plurality of storage units is “reassigned”, teaches the claimed recitations).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include reassigning a given member as recited in order to extend of the lifetime of the power storage system as a whole (MONDEN, ¶ 0005).
Regarding claim 2, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the method as applied to claim 1, but fails to teach the given member retains operational characteristics matching an operational definition for the first group of power storage units despite being assigned as the new member of the second group of power storage units.
MONDEN further discloses the given member retains operational characteristics matching an operational definition for the first group of power storage units despite being assigned as the new member of the second group of power storage units (¶ 0015, 0063-0064).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the given member retains operational characteristics matching an operational definition for the first group of power storage units in order to leverage the complementary strengths of each group of power storage units, optimizing performance, efficiency, and lifespan.
Regarding claim 3, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the method as applied to claim 1, but fails to teach the given member is reassigned based on an operational characteristic change in an existing member of the second group of power storage units that causes the existing member to be reassigned to a different group of power storage units.
MONDEN further discloses the given member is reassigned based on an operational characteristic change in an existing member of the second group of power storage units that causes the existing member to be reassigned to a different group of power storage units (¶ 0063-0064: e.g., a deteriorated group).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include reassigning a given member to a different group of power storage units in order to extend of the lifetime of the power storage system as a whole (MONDEN, ¶ 0005).
Regarding claim 4, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the existing member is reassigned to be a member of one of: the first group of power storage units; or a third group of power storage units (MONDEN, ¶ 0063-0064: e.g., a deteriorated group).
Regarding claim 8, DONG discloses a system for managing power storage and discharge (¶ 0052: In order to cope with AC load power fluctuations and stabilize the DC bus voltage, the energy storage circuit needs to frequently absorb or output high power. Frequent high-power charging and discharging will seriously reduce battery lifespan, and it is difficult for a single energy storage device to meet both power and energy requirements. In this case, the present disclosure provides a hybrid energy storage circuit 111 constituted of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 which uses a low-power-density energy storage element, and the second energy storage circuitry 1112 which uses a high-power-density energy storage element. The low-power-density energy storage element and the high-power-density energy storage element cooperate with each other and have complementary advantages, which not only meets a load power scheduling curve, but also improves dynamic performance of the hybrid energy storage circuit 111 and prolongs the service lifespan of each energy storage element; ¶ 0085: At this time, there is no need to start the frequency division control mechanism, and the output power P.sub.ESS is the low-frequency power, which is input to the current source control circuit to control the charging and discharging operation of the low-power density energy storage element) from a storage array (111, Fig. 1) including a first group of power storage units (1112, Fig. 1) and a second group of power storage units (1111, Fig. 1; ¶ 0045: energy storage circuit 111 includes at least a first energy storage circuitry 1111 and a second energy storage circuitry 1112; ¶ 0052: a hybrid energy storage circuit 111 constituted of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 which uses a low-power-density energy storage element, and the second energy storage circuitry 1112 which uses a high-power-density energy storage element; ¶ 0055: the energy storage circuit 111 includes a plurality of energy storage circuitries. A part of the plurality of energy storage circuitries include the low-power-density energy storage elements, and the other part of the plurality of energy storage circuitries include the high-power-density energy storage elements. Further, the energy storage circuitries including the low-power-density energy storage elements provide the low-frequency power, which may be the first energy storage circuitries. Similarly, the energy storage circuitries including the high-power-density energy storage elements provide the high-frequency power, which may be the second energy storage circuitries), the system comprising:
a processor (¶ 0111: Those skilled in the art may understand that all or parts of the steps for implementing the above embodiments are implemented as a computer program executed by a central processing unit (CPU). When the computer program is executed by a central processing unit (CPU), the functions defined in the system provided by the present disclosure are performed. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk); and
a memory device including instructions embodied therewith that when executed by the processor perform an operation (¶ 0111: see above) comprising:
monitoring operational characteristics of members of the first group of power storage units and members of the second group of power storage units (¶ 0063: the calculation circuit 1121 is also used to calculate a state of charge of the high-power-density battery, which is recorded as a first state of charge SOC1, and a state of charge of the low-power-density battery, which is recorded as a second state of charge SOC2; ¶ 0093: frequency division method is implemented by using the FIR filter that introduces the state of charge. The frequency division method has the advantages of large filter attenuation ratio and small phase delay near the cut-off frequency. The low-frequency component after filtering can be ideally decoupled from the high-frequency component, and the charge-discharge control is performed in a balanced manner according to the state of charge, which can prolong the operating time of the hybrid energy storage circuit and avoid overcharge or over-discharge of the energy storage elements);
monitoring demand characteristics of a power demand on the storage array (¶ 0047: When the AC grid capacity is insufficient and thus the power supply demand for the AC load cannot be met, the power supply system 1 may provide energy to the AC grid; or when the power grid cannot meet the power demand for the AC load due to the switching capacity of the AC grid, the power supply system 1 may cooperate with the AC grid to supply power to the load. Therefore, grid-disconnected power supply and grid-connected power supply without changing the structure and configuration of the original power grid can be achieved by only adding a backup power supply system, and at the same time, it can effectively respond to changes in the power supply demand of the AC load), wherein the first group of power storage units is activated to supply power for a first component of the power demand and the second group of power storage units is activated to supply power for a second component of the power demand (¶ 0045-0046: controller 112 is configured to control conversion operation of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 to output a low-frequency power to the DC bus 13. The controller 112 is further configured to control conversion operation of the second energy storage circuitry 1112 to output a high-frequency power to the DC bus 13. The power required for the AC load 10 includes the high-frequency power and the low-frequency power. The controller 112 can decompose a power signal for the AC load to extract a low-frequency component, control the first energy storage circuitry 1111 to provide the low-frequency power according to the low-frequency component, and control an output voltage of the second energy storage circuitry 1112, thereby the second energy storage circuitry 1112 automatically providing the required high-frequency power);
segmenting the power demand into a fast discharge component and a slow discharge component based on a frequency threshold of the power demand, wherein the first group of power storage units are designated for handling the fast discharge component and the second group of power storage units are designated for handling the slow discharge component (¶ 0045-0046: see above; the disclosed “low-frequency component” implies a frequency threshold); and
discharging power from the storage array to respond to the power demand (¶ 0045-0047, 0093: see above).
DONG fails to disclose while the members of the first group of power storage units and the members of the second group of power storage units remain installed and available to respond to the power demand on the storage array: reassigning a given member of the first group of power storage units to be a new member of the second group of power storage units in response to at least one of a change in the operational characteristics or a change in the demand characteristics.
MONDEN discloses while the members of the first group of power storage units and the members of the second group of power storage units remain installed and available to respond to the power demand on the storage array: reassigning a given member of the first group of power storage units to be a new member of the second group of power storage units in response to at least one of a change in the operational characteristics or a change in the demand characteristics (¶ 0063: When an amount PD of demanded power at a certain point in time is as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 3, the proportions of the discharging capacities that the power storage device 11A in the large-capacity storage battery system 11 and the power storage device 12A in the high-output storage battery system 12 are assumed to have at the initial state of the power storage system 10 are assumed to be as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 3; ¶ 0064: when the power storage device 11A in the large-capacity storage battery system 11 is comparatively deteriorated and the power storage device 11A is to be protected, the power storage device 12A in the high-output storage battery system 12 is caused to output power that is increased, by an amount of power that corresponds to ΔPD1, from the power output thereby in (a) of FIG. 3, so that the amount of power that corresponds to the amount PD of demanded power is supplied in total, for example, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 3; it is noted that the increase in the power output by the high-output storage battery 12 such that it assumes some of the discharge capacity, or component of power demand, of the large-capacity storage battery 11 is interpreted as the high-output storage battery being “reassigned”; modifying primary reference DONG to include this feature, such that a given member of the plurality of storage units is “reassigned”, teaches the claimed recitations).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include reassigning a given member as recited in order to extend of the lifetime of the power storage system as a whole (MONDEN, ¶ 0005).
Regarding claim 9, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the system as applied to claim 8, but fails to teach the given member retains operational characteristics matching an operational definition for the first group of power storage units despite being assigned as the new member of the second group of power storage units.
MONDEN further discloses the given member retains operational characteristics matching an operational definition for the first group of power storage units despite being assigned as the new member of the second group of power storage units (¶ 0015, 0063-0064).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the given member retains operational characteristics matching an operational definition for the first group of power storage units in order to leverage the complementary strengths of each group of power storage units, optimizing performance, efficiency, and lifespan.
Regarding claim 10, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the system as applied to claim 8, but fails to teach the given member is reassigned based on an operational characteristic change in an existing member of the second group of power storage units that causes the existing member to be reassigned to a different group of power storage units.
MONDEN further discloses the given member is reassigned based on an operational characteristic change in an existing member of the second group of power storage units that causes the existing member to be reassigned to a different group of power storage units (¶ 0063-0064: e.g., a deteriorated group).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include reassigning a given member to a different group of power storage units in order to extend of the lifetime of the power storage system as a whole (MONDEN, ¶ 0005).
Regarding claim 11, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the existing member is reassigned to be a member of one of: the first group of power storage units; or a third group of power storage units (MONDEN, ¶ 0063-0064: e.g., a deteriorated group).
Regarding claim 15, DONG discloses a method, comprising:
defining a plurality of battery groups, wherein each battery group is associated with one category of a plurality of categories of operational characteristics for batteries (¶ 0052: Energy storage elements, according to output characteristics thereof, can be divided into two categories: high power density and low power density. The low-power-density energy storage elements have large energy density, but low power density and long response time, and are suitable for low-frequency output. The high-power-density energy storage elements have high power density and short response time, but low energy density, and are suitable for high-frequency output);
classifying each battery belonging to a battery array (111, Fig. 1) into the plurality of categories based on the operational characteristics of each battery (¶ 0052: the present disclosure provides a hybrid energy storage circuit 111 constituted of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 which uses a low-power-density energy storage element, and the second energy storage circuitry 1112 which uses a high-power-density energy storage element. The low-power-density energy storage element and the high-power-density energy storage element cooperate with each other and have complementary advantages, which not only meets a load power scheduling curve, but also improves dynamic performance of the hybrid energy storage circuit 111 and prolongs the service lifespan of each energy storage element; ¶ 0055: the energy storage circuit 111 includes a plurality of energy storage circuitries. A part of the plurality of energy storage circuitries include the low-power-density energy storage elements, and the other part of the plurality of energy storage circuitries include the high-power-density energy storage elements. Further, the energy storage circuitries including the low-power-density energy storage elements provide the low-frequency power, which may be the first energy storage circuitries. Similarly, the energy storage circuitries including the high-power-density energy storage elements provide the high-frequency power, which may be the second energy storage circuitries);
assigning a first plurality of batteries classified into a first category to a first battery group (1112, Fig. 1) associated with the first category (¶ 0045: energy storage circuit 111 includes at least a first energy storage circuitry 1111 and a second energy storage circuitry 1112; ¶ 0052, 0055: see above);
assigning a second plurality of batteries classified into a second category to a second battery group (1111, Fig. 1) associated with the second category (¶ 0045, 0052, 0055: see above);
segmenting a power demand into a fast discharge component and a slow discharge component based on a frequency threshold of the power demand, wherein the first group of power storage units are designated for handling the fast discharge component and the second group of power storage units are designated for handling the slow discharge component (¶ 0045-0046: controller 112 is configured to control conversion operation of the first energy storage circuitry 1111 to output a low-frequency power to the DC bus 13. The controller 112 is further configured to control conversion operation of the second energy storage circuitry 1112 to output a high-frequency power to the DC bus 13. The power required for the AC load 10 includes the high-frequency power and the low-frequency power. The controller 112 can decompose a power signal for the AC load to extract a low-frequency component, control the first energy storage circuitry 1111 to provide the low-frequency power according to the low-frequency component, and control an output voltage of the second energy storage circuitry 1112, thereby the second energy storage circuitry 1112 automatically providing the required high-frequency power), and
discharging power from the batteries to respond to the power demand (¶ 0047: When the AC grid capacity is insufficient and thus the power supply demand for the AC load cannot be met, the power supply system 1 may provide energy to the AC grid; or when the power grid cannot meet the power demand for the AC load due to the switching capacity of the AC grid, the power supply system 1 may cooperate with the AC grid to supply power to the load. Therefore, grid-disconnected power supply and grid-connected power supply without changing the structure and configuration of the original power grid can be achieved by only adding a backup power supply system, and at the same time, it can effectively respond to changes in the power supply demand of the AC load; ¶ 0093: frequency division method is implemented by using the FIR filter that introduces the state of charge. The frequency division method has the advantages of large filter attenuation ratio and small phase delay near the cut-off frequency. The low-frequency component after filtering can be ideally decoupled from the high-frequency component, and the charge-discharge control is performed in a balanced manner according to the state of charge, which can prolong the operating time of the hybrid energy storage circuit and avoid overcharge or over-discharge of the energy storage elements).
DONG fails to disclose in response to the first battery group satisfying a first demand threshold, and the second battery group not satisfying a second demand threshold, reassigning a given battery of the first plurality of batteries to the second battery group, wherein the given battery remains classified in the first category.
MONDEN discloses in response to the first battery group satisfying a first demand threshold, and the second battery group not satisfying a second demand threshold, reassigning a given battery of the first plurality of batteries to the second battery group, wherein the given battery remains classified in the first category (¶ 0063: When an amount PD of demanded power at a certain point in time is as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 3, the proportions of the discharging capacities that the power storage device 11A in the large-capacity storage battery system 11 and the power storage device 12A in the high-output storage battery system 12 are assumed to have at the initial state of the power storage system 10 are assumed to be as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 3; ¶ 0064: when the power storage device 11A in the large-capacity storage battery system 11 is comparatively deteriorated and the power storage device 11A is to be protected, the power storage device 12A in the high-output storage battery system 12 is caused to output power that is increased, by an amount of power that corresponds to ΔPD1, from the power output thereby in (a) of FIG. 3, so that the amount of power that corresponds to the amount PD of demanded power is supplied in total, for example, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 3; it is noted that the increase in the power output by the high-output storage battery 12 such that it assumes some of the discharge capacity, or component of power demand, of the large-capacity storage battery 11 is interpreted as the high-output storage battery being “reassigned”; it is also noted that the large-capacity storage battery 11 being comparatively deteriorated is interpreted as “not satisfying a second demand threshold”; modifying primary reference DONG to include this feature, such that a given battery of the plurality of batteries is “reassigned”, teaches the claimed recitations).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include reassigning a given member as recited in order to extend of the lifetime of the power storage system as a whole (MONDEN, ¶ 0005).
Claim(s) 5-6 and 12-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DONG in view of MONDEN as applied to claims 1-4, 8-11, and 15 above, and further in view of SHIBATA (Pub. No.: US 2018/0183239 A1; cited in previous office action).
Regarding claim 5, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the method as applied to claim 1, but fails to disclose the given member is reassigned requiring fewer members to meet the power demand on the first group of power storage units.
SHIBATA discloses a demand characteristic change requiring fewer members to meet the power demand on the first group of power storage units (¶ 0082-0085, 0114-0117). Including this feature in the method of DONG as modified by MONDEN, which teaches the reassignment of the given member, would teach the reassignment is “based on” the demand characteristic change, within the broadest reasonable interpretation
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change in order to provide system redundancy and/or provide more stable power output.
Regarding claim 6, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the method as applied to claim 1, but fails to disclose the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change requiring more members to meet the power demand on the second group of power storage units.
SHIBATA discloses a demand characteristic change requiring more members to meet the power demand on the second group of power storage units (¶ 0082-0085, 0114-0117). Including this feature in the method of DONG as modified by MONDEN, which teaches the reassignment of the given member, would teach the reassignment is “based on” the demand characteristic change, within the broadest reasonable interpretation
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change in order to provide system redundancy and/or provide more stable power output.
Regarding claim 12, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the system as applied to claim 8, but fails to disclose the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change requiring fewer members to meet the power demand on the first group of power storage units.
SHIBATA discloses a demand characteristic change requiring fewer members to meet the power demand on the first group of power storage units (¶ 0082-0085, 0114-0117). Including this feature in the method of DONG as modified by MONDEN, which teaches the reassignment of the given member, would teach the reassignment is “based on” the demand characteristic change, within the broadest reasonable interpretation
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change in order to provide system redundancy and/or provide more stable power output.
Regarding claim 13, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the system as applied to claim 8, but fails to disclose the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change requiring more members to meet the power demand on the second group of power storage units.
SHIBATA discloses a demand characteristic change requiring more members to meet the power demand on the second group of power storage units (¶ 0082-0085, 0114-0117). Including this feature in the method of DONG as modified by MONDEN, which teaches the reassignment of the given member, would teach the reassignment is “based on” the demand characteristic change, within the broadest reasonable interpretation
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the given member is reassigned based on a demand characteristic change in order to provide system redundancy and/or provide more stable power output.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DONG in view of MONDEN as applied to claims 1-4, 8-11, and 15 above, and further in view of CHASSIN (Pub. No.: US 2006/0229768 A1).
Regarding claim 19, DONG as modified by MONDEN teaches the method as applied to claim 1, but fails to disclose the frequency threshold is determined from applying a Fourier Transform onto the power demand.
CHASSIN discloses the frequency threshold is determined from applying a Fourier Transform onto the power demand (¶ 0016, 0043-0046, 0084-0091).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the frequency threshold is determined from applying a Fourier Transform onto the power demand in order to clearly measure power levels and/or set precise cutoff thresholds.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/Manuel Hernandez/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 9/27/2026
/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
