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 .
Acknowledgement is made of application #18/026,035 filed on 03/13/2023 in which claims 1-12 have been presented for prosecution in a first action on the merits.
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of preliminary amendment filed on 03/13/2023 in which claims 1,3-11 are currently amended while claims 2 and 12 remain as originally presented. By this amendment, claims 1-12 are still pending in the application for prosecution in a first action on the merits.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 03/13/2023, 06/04/2024, 07/09/2024 and 10/31/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner and placed of record. Initialed copies are attached herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2,7-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee at al., (Lee) KR20200051394A(Machine Translation) .
Regarding claim 1: Lee at least discloses and shows in Fig. 2: A battery management apparatus(100)(see Fig. 2 and [0047]), comprising: a converter unit(131)(included in power switch diagnostic device 130)(see [0058]-[0062]) electrically connected to a node(construed as junction between 20/B+ and 132/30 respectively; see Fig. 2) between a battery(20) and a first end of a positive electrode relay(30) connected in series to the battery(see Fig. 1), the converter unit(131) being configured to convert a voltage of the battery into a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltage based on an operation mode(see [0059]-[0060]); and a converter driving unit(construed as control unit 133; see [0061]-[0063]) connected to the node to receive the battery voltage from the battery(20)(see [0059]), the converter driving unit(133) being configured to control the operation mode of the converter unit(131) to a shutdown mode(construed as turn-off state; see [0062]-[0063])(note- When the voltage of the signal is less than the threshold voltage or when a control signal is not input, the operating state is changed to a turn-off state) in which the converter unit(131) is inactivated or a wakeup mode(construed as turn-on state; see [0062]-[0063])(note-the power switch 132, the operation state is changed to the turn-on state only when the voltage of the control signal input from the control unit 133 is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage (e.g., 5V)) in which the battery voltage is applied to activate the converter unit(131) according to whether a converter driving signal is input to the converter driving unit from the outside(1)(see [0064]-[0065],[0072],[0075],[0098], [0102]).
Regarding claim 2, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Lee further discloses, wherein the converter driving unit(133) is configured to control the operation mode of the converter unit(131) to the shutdown mode(construed as turn-off state; see [0062]-[0063]), when the converter driving signal is not input(note- When the voltage of the signal is less than the threshold voltage or when a control signal is not input, the operating state is changed to a turn-off state), and wherein the converter driving unit is configured to control the operation mode of the converter unit(131) to the wakeup mode(construed as turn-on state; see [0062]-[0063]), when the converter driving signal is input(note-in the power switch 132, the operation state is changed to the turn-on state only when the voltage of the control signal input from the control unit 133 is greater than or equal to the threshold voltage (e.g., 5V)).
Regarding claim 7, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Lee discloses, further comprising: a control unit(133) configured to control an operation state of the control unit to an inactive mode(construed as turn-off state; see [0062]-[0063]) or an active mode(construed as turn-on state; see [0062]-[0063]) based on whether a power is applied according to the operation mode of the converter unit(131), and control an operation state of the positive electrode relay(30) according to the controlled operation state(see [0059]-[0060]).
Regarding claim 8, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 7. Lee further discloses, wherein the control unit(133) is configured to: control the operation state to the active mode(turn-on state; see [0062]-[0063]) by receiving the power from the converter unit(131), when the operation mode of the converter unit is controlled to the wakeup mode(construed as turn-on state; see [0062]-[0065]), and wherein the control unit(133) is configured to control the operation state to the inactive mode(turn-off state; see [0062]-[0065]) by not receiving the power from the converter unit(131), when the operation mode of the converter unit is controlled to the shutdown mode(construed as turn-off state; see [0016],[0026],[0030],[0063]-[0065],[0082],[0101]-[0102])
Regarding claim 9, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 8. Lee further discloses, wherein the control unit(133) is configured to: control the operation state of the positive electrode relay(30) to a turn-off state, when the operation state is controlled from the active mode to the inactive mode([0016],[0026],[0030],[0063]-[0065],[0082],[0101]-[0102]), and wherein the control unit(133) is configured to control the operation state of the positive electrode relay to a turn-on state, when the operation state is controlled from the inactive mode to the active mode([0062]-[0064],[0098]).
Regarding claim 10, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Lee further discloses a battery pack(10)(see [0042]-[0043], [0045], [0051] ,[0123]), comprising the battery management apparatus(100) according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 11, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 1. Lee further discloses a battery system(see Fig. 2), comprising: the battery pack(10) according to claim 10; and a load(construed as external device 1 which is, e.g., an auxiliary battery for an electric vehicle; see [0059]) connected to a positive electrode terminal(P+)(see [0045]) and a negative electrode terminal(P-)(see [0045]) of the battery pack(10) and configured to output the converter driving signal(as output by OUT signal of 131) to the converter driving unit(133) according to an operation state of a switching unit(132)([0059]-[0065])
Regarding claim 12, Lee discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 11. Lee further discloses, wherein the load(1) is configured to switch the operation mode of the converter unit(131) to the wakeup mode by outputting the converter driving signal before starting charging of the battery by being connected to the battery pack(10). (note- the first photo relay 121 may convert a shutdown command from the external device 1 into a shutdown signal. As another example, the first photo relay 121 may convert a wake-up command from the external device 1 into a wake-up signal. The shutdown command is for directing the battery management device 100 from the wakeup mode to the shutdown mode. The wake-up command is for guiding the battery management device 100 from the shutdown mode to the wake-up mode. In the shutdown mode, power consumption by the battery management device 100 is stopped. On the other hand, in the wake-up mode, the battery management apparatus 100 operates using the power supplied from the battery module 20 or an external power source; see [0053], [0059] and [0072]).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 3, the prior art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest, wherein the converter driving unit includes: a field effect transistor (FET), connected between the node and the converter unit and configured to control the operation mode of the converter driving unit by sending the battery voltage input from the node to the converter unit according to an operation state of the FET; and a FET control unit configured to control the operation state of the FET to a turn-on state or a turn-off state according to whether the converter driving signal is input to the converter driving unit.
Claims 4-6 depend either directly or indirectly from claim 1 and therefore are allowable for the same reasons.
Conclusion
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M'BAYE DIAO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/M BAYE DIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 December 9, 2025