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 07/17/2026 has been entered. No claim has been added or cancelled. Claims 1-20 remain pending in this application.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-4, 7-10, 13-16, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Endo et al. US Pub 2015/0162757 (hereinafter Endo) in view of Park (KR101923958B1).
Regarding claims 1 and 13, Endo discloses a power distribution method in an energy storage system including a plurality of battery racks (fig. 1, element 10A, 10B, 10C; battery with housing/casing) and one current/direct current (DC/DC) converter (fig. 1, element 30 and ¶ 0018; the charge/discharge controller 30 is a DC/DC converter) connected to each corresponding battery rack (10A to 10C),
the power distribution method comprising:
collecting, by a battery system controller (BSC) [controller 50], information about each battery rack (¶¶ 0024, 0025, 0052, 0072; The CAN gateway 20 may use, for example, an identifier notified by the charge/discharge controller 30 or controller 50 as the CANID of the storage devices 10A, 10B and 10C, or may use an identifier according to a position of a hardware configuration to which the storage devices 10A, 10B and 10C are attached as the CANID of the storage devices 10A, 10B and 10C) and information about the DC/DC converter (¶¶ 0023, 0027; the controller 50 communicates with the host system 80 by Ethernet, and communicates with the charge/discharge controller 30; if the overcharge or overdischarge of the battery cell is notified, the charge/discharge controller 30 notifies the controller of the abnormality and protects the storage devices by suspension of charging, suspension of discharging) through a switching hub (including elements 20A, 20B, 20C, 32, 42) connected to (directly/indirectly connected to) the DC/DC converter (fig. 6, element 30);
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setting, by the charge/discharge controller (fig. 6, element 30), a power command for each battery rack according to a type and a state of each battery rack (¶ 0027; type and state: overcharge or overdischarge); and
performing, by the charge/discharge controller (fig. 6, element 30), charge/discharge control for each battery rack according to the set power command for each battery rack (¶ 0027; by suspension of charging, suspension of discharging) through the switching hub (including elements 20A, 20B, 20C, 32, 42).
Endo discloses the charge/discharge controller perform the charge/discharge control for each battery rack. Changing the location of a controller of the charge/discharge controller 30 from the location shown by Endo to a location in the controller 50, absent any criticality, is only considered to be an obvious modification of the Endo device that a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be able to provide using routine experimentation since the courts have held that there is no invention in shifting the position if the operation of the device would not be thereby modified. See In re Japikse, 86 USPQ 70 (CCPA 1950) and MPEP 2144.04 VI.
Endo fails to disclose the system includes a plurality of direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converters, and wherein the step of determining, by the BSC, whether the plurality of battery racks are in a first rack state or a second rack state, where the first rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having the same type and a similar state of health (SOH) range, and the second rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having different types and different SOH ranges; setting, by the BSC, a power command for each battery rack according to a type and a state of health of each battery rack.
However, Park discloses a power management device includes a plurality of direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converters (see fig. 2 and page 6: The AC / DC converter 210 is connected to the DC / DC converters 210-1 to 210-n and the DC / DC converter 210. The AC / DC converter 210 generates individual powers P1 to Pn for discharging each of the plurality of battery racks310-1 to 310-n), and
determining, by the BSC, whether the plurality of battery racks are in a first rack state or a second rack state (pages 1, 8: the battery of the energy storage system can be composed of a plurality of battery racks, wherein the plurality of battery racks may be the same type or different types; the capacity, type, and remaining life of the battery constituting the first battery rack 310-1 may be different or the same as the capacity, type, and remaining life of the battery constituting the second battery rack 310-2),
where the first rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having the same type and a similar state of health (SOH) range (pages 1, 15: the power management apparatus 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention is capable of storing state information (e.g., capacity, model, and the like) of the battery racks 310-1 and 310-2), and
the second rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having different types and different SOH ranges (page 15; the capacity Q1 of the first battery rack 310-1 and the capacity Q2 of the second battery rack 310-2 are different from each other. 5, the type TYPE1 of the first battery rack 310-1 and the type TYPE2 of the second battery rack 310-2 are different from each other);
setting, by the BSC, a power command for each battery rack according to a type and a state of health of each battery rack (pages 16-17: a power conversion device for charging the n battery racks based on the determined individual charging powers, wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a state of health; further acquiring status information of each of the n battery racks and discharging each of the n battery racks based on the acquired status information… wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a state of health).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Endo to incorporate with the teaching of Park by connecting each power storage battery with a corresponding DC/DC conversion unit and collecting the battery types and battery SOH information as suggested by Park, , because it would be advantageous to improve the battery balancing and further extend the service life of the whole system.
Regarding claims 2 and 8, Endo discloses wherein the collecting the information about each battery rack includes: collecting information about the type of each battery rack (¶¶ 0023, 0027; the controller 50 communicates with the host system 80 by Ethernet, and communicates with the charge/discharge controller 30; if the overcharge or overdischarge of the battery cell is notified, the charge/discharge controller 30 notifies the controller of the abnormality and protects the storage devices by suspension of charging, suspension of discharging).
Endo fails to teach wherein the collecting the information about the state of health of each battery rack and information about each DC/DC converter includes: collecting information about a power limit of each battery rack; and collecting information about a power limit and a state of each DC/DC converter.
Park further discloses wherein the collecting the information about the state of health of each battery rack (pages 9, 15-16: a power conversion device for charging the n battery racks based on the determined individual charging powers, wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a state of health; The upper limit voltage V1H of the first battery rack 310-1 and the upper limit voltage V2H of the second battery rack 310-2 may be different from each other, The voltage V1L may be different from the upper limit voltage V2L of the second battery rack 310-2) and information about each DC/DC converter includes: collecting information about a power limit of each battery rack (page 9, 15-16); and collecting information about a power limit and a state of each DC/DC converter (pages 15, 17-18: the power management apparatus 100 can control the power conversion apparatus 200; controlling the power conversion device to charge and discharge the n battery racks based on the determined individual powers, wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a
remaining lifetime state power (SOH) and a state of charge (SOC), wherein the
discrete power is determined…, wherein Pk is a kth (k is a natural number) Is the discrete power for the battery rack, Qk is the capacity of the kth battery rack, SOHk is the SOH of the kth battery rack, and PTOTAL is the total power for the battery racks).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Endo to incorporate with the teaching of Park by determining the power limit of the batteries and the DC/DC converter as suggested by Park, because it would be advantageous to prevent damaging the battery pack and the DC/DC converter and further prolong the service life of the whole system.
Regarding claims 3, 9, 14, Endo fails to teach wherein the setting the power command for each battery rack includes: for battery racks of the same type and having the similar state of health (SOH) range, calculating a charge power or a discharge power for each battery rack based on an output power requested by the energy storage system, a sum of states of charge (SOC) of plurality of battery racks in operation, and a SOC of each battery rack.
Park discloses wherein the setting the power command for each battery rack includes: for battery racks of the same type (page 1: same type) and having the similar state of health (SOH) range (page 4: The state information of the battery 300 may include a capacity of the battery 300, a state of charge (SOC) of the battery 300, a state of health (SOH) of the battery 300, The temperature of the battery 300, and the voltage of the battery 300),
calculating a charge power or a discharge power for each battery rack based on an output power requested by the energy storage system (page 6: the load power PLOAD may be equal to the discharge power output from the battery 300), a sum of states of charge (SOC) of plurality of battery racks in operation (page 4; the amount of electric power that can be stored or supplied by the actual battery decreases as the battery is used, the capacity of the battery described herein is the capacity of the battery
having the remaining life of 100%), and a SOC of each battery rack (page 4: The state information of the battery 300 may include a capacity of the battery 300, a state of charge (SOC) of the battery 300).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Endo to incorporate with the teaching of Park by setting the power command for each battery rack in the system as suggested by Park, because it would be advantageous to avoid overcharging the battery packs and extend the service life of the battery packs.
Regarding claims 4, 10, 15, Endo fails to teach wherein the setting the power command for each battery rack includes: for battery racks of different types or for battery racks having the different state of health (SOH) ranges, calculating the power command for each battery rack based on an output power requested by the energy storage system, a nominal capacity of each battery rack, a SOH of each battery rack, and a state of charge (SOC) of each battery rack.
Park discloses wherein the setting the power command for each battery rack includes: for battery racks of different types or for battery racks having the different state of health (SOH) ranges (page 8: different type includes remaining life of the battery/SOH), calculating the power command for each battery rack based on an output power requested by the energy storage system (page 16: a power conversion device for charging the n battery racks based on the determined individual charging powers, wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a state of health), a nominal capacity of each battery rack (page 18), a SOH of each battery rack (page 18), and a state of charge (SOC) of each battery rack (page 16-17: wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a remaining lifetime state power (SOH) and a state of charge (SOC)…).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Endo to incorporate with the teaching of Park by setting the power command for each battery rack in the system as suggested by Park, because it would be advantageous to avoid overcharging the battery packs and extend the service life of the battery packs.
Regarding claim 7, Endo discloses an energy storage system comprising:
a battery management system (BMS) (fig. 6, element 12; BMUs) configured to manage a state of a plurality of battery racks (¶ 0017; The battery management unit 12 monitors temperature and voltage of the battery cells, equalizes charge amounts
of the battery cells, and controls charging and discharging of the assembled battery BT);
one direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converter (fig. 1, element 30 and ¶ 0018; the charge/discharge controller 30 is a DC/DC converter) respectively connected to (directly connected to) corresponding battery racks (fig. 6, elements 10A, 10B, 10C); and
a battery system controller (controller 50), in connection with the BMS and the DC/DC converter (fig. 6; via CAN gateway and Ethernet), battery system controller being configured to:
collect information about each battery rack (¶¶ 0024, 0025, 0052, 0072; The CAN gateway 20 may use, for example, an identifier notified by the charge/discharge controller 30 or controller 50 as the CANID of the storage devices 10A, 10B and 10C, or may use an identifier according to a position of a hardware configuration to which the storage devices 10A, 10B and 10C are attached as the CANID of the storage devices 10A, 10B and 10C) and information about the DC/DC converter (¶¶ 0023, 0027; the controller 50 communicates with the host system 80 by Ethernet, and communicates with the charge/discharge controller 30; if the overcharge or overdischarge of the battery cell is notified, the charge/discharge controller 30 notifies the controller of the abnormality and protects the storage devices by suspension of charging, suspension of discharging) through a switching hub (including elements 20A, 20B, 20C, 32, 42) connected to (directly/indirectly connected to) the DC/DC converter (30),
set a power command for each battery rack according to a type and a state of each battery rack (¶ 0027; type and state: overcharge or overdischarge), and
perform charge/discharge control for each battery rack according to the set power command for each battery rack (¶ 0027; by suspension of charging, suspension of discharging) through the switching hub (including elements 20A, 20B, 20C, 32, 42),
wherein the DC/DC converter controls an output of the corresponding battery rack according to the power command for each battery rack received from the battery system controller (¶ 0027; when the over-discharging of the battery cell is notified…protects the storage devices by suspension of discharging).
Endo fails to disclose the system includes a plurality of direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converters, and wherein the step of determining, by the BSC, whether the plurality of battery racks are in a first rack state or a second rack state, where the first rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having the same type and a similar state of health (SOH) range, and the second rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having different types and different SOH ranges; setting, by the BSC, a power command for each battery rack according to a type and a state of health of each battery rack.
However, Park discloses a power management device includes a plurality of direct current/direct current (DC/DC) converters (see fig. 2 and page 6: The AC / DC converter 210 is connected to the DC / DC converters 210-1 to 210-n and the DC / DC converter 210. The AC / DC converter 210 generates individual powers P1 to Pn for discharging each of the plurality of battery racks310-1 to 310-n), and
determining, by the BSC, whether the plurality of battery racks are in a first rack state or a second rack state (pages 1, 8: the battery of the energy storage system can be composed of a plurality of battery racks, wherein the plurality of battery racks may be the same type or different types; the capacity, type, and remaining life of the battery constituting the first battery rack 310-1 may be different or the same as the capacity, type, and remaining life of the battery constituting the second battery rack 310-2),
where the first rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having the same type and a similar state of health (SOH) range (pages 1, 15: the power management apparatus 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention is capable of storing state information (e.g., capacity, model, and the like) of the battery racks 310-1 and 310-2), and
the second rack state is defined by the plurality of battery racks having different types and different SOH ranges (page 15; the capacity Q1 of the first battery rack 310-1 and the capacity Q2 of the second battery rack 310-2 are different from each other. 5, the type TYPE1 of the first battery rack 310-1 and the type TYPE2 of the second battery rack 310-2 are different from each other);
setting, by the BSC, a power command for each battery rack according to a type and a state of health of each battery rack (pages 16-17: a power conversion device for charging the n battery racks based on the determined individual charging powers, wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a state of health; further acquiring status information of each of the n battery racks and discharging each of the n battery racks based on the acquired status information… wherein the state information of the n battery racks includes a capacity of the n battery racks, a state of health).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Endo to incorporate with the teaching of Park by connecting each power storage battery with a corresponding DC/DC conversion unit and collecting the battery types and battery SOH information as suggested by Park, because it would be advantageous to improve the battery balancing and further extend the service life of the whole system.
Regarding claims 16 and 18, Endo further discloses wherein the state of
the DC/DC converter includes at least one of diagnosis information (¶ 0027) and ON/OFF state information of a protection device (¶ 0027; if the overcharge or overdischarge of the battery cell is notified, the charge/discharge controller 30 notifies the controller of the abnormality and protects the storage devices by suspension of charging, suspension of discharging, etc.).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 11-12, 17, 19-20 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 5, the prior art fails to teach or suggest further inclusion of the power distribution method of claim 4, further comprising, upon receiving the calculated power command for each battery rack exceeding a power limit of a corresponding battery rack or a power limit of a corresponding DC/DC converter, recalculating
the power command for each battery rack, the BSC resets the power command of the exceeding rack to a minimum value of the power limit of the battery rack or the power limit of the corresponding DC/DC converter, and recalculates power commands for remaining normal racks except for the exceeding rack.
Regarding claim 11, the prior art fails to teach or suggest further inclusion of wherein the battery system controller is further configured to, upon the calculated power command for each battery rack exceeding a power limit of a corresponding battery rack or a power limit of a corresponding DC/DC converter, recalculate the power command for each battery rack the battery system controller resets the power command of the exceeding rack to a minimum value of the power limit of the battery rack or the power limit of the corresponding DC/DC converter, and recalculates power commands for remaining normal racks except for the exceeding rack
Regarding claim 20, the prior art fails to teach or suggest further inclusion of wherein upon receiving the calculated power command for each battery rack exceeding a power limit of a corresponding battery rack or a power limit of a corresponding DC/DC converter, the at least one instruction further includes an instruction to recalculate the power command for each battery rack limit, reset the power command of the exceeding rack to a minimum value of the power limit of the battery rack or the power limit of the corresponding DC/DC converter, and recalculate power commands for the remaining normal racks except for the exceeding rack, and wherein the power command is repeatedly recalculated in a range up to a number of times not exceeding a total number of the plurality of battery racks.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 9-11, filed 07/17/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1, 13 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Park.
Conclusion
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.
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/ZIXUAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 07/22/2026
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