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 .
Receipt is acknowledged of the preliminary amendment filed on May 09, 2023, which has been entered. Claims 1-19 are pending.
Drawings
Figures 1-4 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated (see the description of figures 1-3 in the background of the invention, at least paras. 0003 & 0004, and the brief description of Fig. 1 in para. 0073). It is noted that Fig. 5 is the first figure described as an embodiment of the present invention. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Also, it is noted that it appears that Fig. 4 has not been discussed in the specification, other than the brief description of Fig. 4 in para. 0076.
Specification
The use of the term TESLA, which is a trade name or a mark used in commerce, has been noted in this application (see at least para. 0004 of the specification). The term should be accompanied by the generic terminology; furthermore the term should be capitalized wherever it appears or, where appropriate, include a proper symbol indicating use in commerce such as ™, SM , or ® following the term.
Although the use of trade names and marks used in commerce (i.e., trademarks, service marks, certification marks, and collective marks) are permissible in patent applications, the proprietary nature of the marks should be respected and every effort made to prevent their use in any manner which might adversely affect their validity as commercial marks.
Claim Objections
Claim 12 objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 12 includes a period at the end of line 28. Only a single period should appear at the end of the claim. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "a sensor" in lines 3 and 5-6. It is unclear if the sensor recited in lines 5-6 is the same sensor or a different sensor than the sensor recited in line 3.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “an information interface” in lines 3 and 4. It is unclear if this is the same information interface recited in claim 1, or if there are multiple information interfaces being recited.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “its DC voltage gain” in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “a battery module in line 5. It is unclear if this is the same battery module recited in claim 1 or if there are multiple battery modules being claimed.
Claim 4 includes multiple recitations of “a processor” (see lines 3, 5-6, 8, and 12). It is unclear if this is referring to the same processor or if there are multiple processors being recited.
Claim 6 includes multiple recitations of “a first AC port” (see lines 7-8 and 11) and “an isolated bidirectional resonant network” (see lines 7, 11-12, and 14). It is unclear how many distinct AC ports and isolated bidirectional resonant networks are being claimed.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “a first inductor” in lines 3-4. It is unclear if this is the same first inductor as recited in claim 6, line 7, or if this is another first inductor.
Claim 7 includes multiple recitations of “a second inductor”, “a first capacitor”, “a second capacitor”, “a transformer”, “a first AC end”, and “a second AC end”. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 8 includes multiple recitations of “a first capacitor”, “a first inductor”, “a transformer”, “a first AC port”, and “a tap”. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 9 includes recitations of “an inductor” and “a inductor”; and multiple recitations of “a second switch transistor”, and “a fourth switch transistor”. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 10 recites the limitations “a intelligent battery interface” and “a power interface”, “a power converter”, and “a battery”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited in claims 4 & 1, or if these are additional components.
Claim 11 recites the limitation “the power converter”. As noted above, multiple power converters are recited in parent claims. It is unclear which power converter is being referred to.
Claim 11 recites the limitations “a processor”, “a power converter”, “a cooling device”, and “a balance circuit”. These limitations were previously recited in parent claims. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited, or if these are additional components.
Claim 12 recites the limitation “the processor”. As noted above, multiple processors are recited in parent claims. It is unclear which processor is being referred to.
Claim 12 recites multiple recitations of “a battery module” and “a battery”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited, or if these are additional components.
Regarding claim 12, the phrase "such as" (see lines 20, 32-33, 38) renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claim 12, the phrase "etc." (see lines 20, 33 and 38) renders the claim(s) indefinite because the claim(s) include(s) elements not actually disclosed (those encompassed by "etc."), thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claim 13, the terms “a large number” (see lines 3-4 & 5), and “big data mining” (see line 6) in claim 13 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The terms “a large number”, and “big data mining” are not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. Thus, it is unclear how many power electronic intelligent battery modules are required to be considered “a large number”, and it is unclear as to how much data mining is required to be considered “big” data mining.
Claim 14 includes multiple recitations of “a battery module” and “a processor”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited, or if these are additional components. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 14 recites the limitation “each battery cell” in line 11, there is insufficient antecedent basis for this term in the claim. The battery was not previously defined as having multiple cells.
Claim 15 recites the limitations “a power interface”, “a battery module”, and “a power converter”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited in the parent claim, or if these are additional components. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 16 recites the limitations “a processor”, “a power converter”, “a protection device”, “a cooling device”, and “a balance circuit”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited in the parent claim, or if these are additional components. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 17 recites the limitation “a battery unit” in line 12. It is unclear if this is referring back to the previously recited power electronic intelligent battery units or if this is a different battery unit.
Claim 18 recites the limitations “a battery status information” and “each unit”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited in the parent claim, or if these are additional components. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Claim 19 recites the limitation “a battery fault information”, “a communication bus”, and “an information interaction interface”. It is unclear if this is referring back to these components previously recited in the parent claim, or if these are additional components. It is unclear how many distinct components are being recited.
Due to the issues noted above, one of ordinary skill in the art would be unable to determine the scope of the claims. Thus, the claims are indefinite. A lack of a prior art rejection on any claim should not be interpreted as an indication of allowable subject matter. The examiner will need to reconsider the claims and prior art after a claim scope can be determined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sada et al (US 2017/0338668 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Sada et al teaches a power electronic intelligent battery unit (power storage system 1, see Fig. 1), comprising: a battery module (power storage module 20), the battery module (storage battery 21) comprising a plurality of battery cells connected in series (see para. 0018) and a sensor for measuring voltage (voltage sensor 222), current (current sensor 223), pressure and/or temperature (temperature sensor 221) of the battery cell; and an intelligent battery interface (charge and discharge control apparatus 10), connected to an output side of the battery module and a sensor (see power and communication connections between 20 and 10, shown in Figs. 1 & 2), and having a power interface and an information interface to the outside (see the power and communication connections between 10, 3 and 30, shown in Figs. 1 & 2), wherein the battery module monitors voltage, current, pressure and/or temperature information of the battery cell (the battery management unit 14 receives temperature, voltage and current information of the battery 21 from monitoring unit 22), and at the same time provides or absorbs power through the intelligent battery interface (the battery 21 is charged and discharged through charge and discharge control apparatus 10) (also see paras. 0017-0034).
Note: The claim recitations of “and/or” in claim 1 are given their broadest reasonable interpretation of “or”.
Regarding claim 2, Sada et al teaches the power electronic intelligent battery unit of claim 1, wherein the intelligent battery interface transmits status information and fault information through an information interface (for example, status and fault information (such as over-temperature over/under-voltage or over-current) would be transmitted through the information interface between 10, 20 & 30), and receives control information from an information interface (10 receives control information from 30 and controls 20), the intelligent battery interface changes its DC voltage gain according to a voltage of a battery output side of a connected battery module to maintain a voltage stability of a power interface of the power electronic intelligent battery unit (10 uses battery management unit 14 & converter controller 12 to control the DC voltage gain of DC/DC converter 12 based on the voltage level of battery 21, in order to provide a stable voltage to bidirectional AC/DC converter 11 and system line 3, see Fig. 1 and paras. 0017-0034).
Regarding claim 3, Sada et al teaches the power electronic intelligent battery unit of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises one or more of the following items: a plurality of voltage sensors, temperature sensors and pressure sensors arranged on the battery cells of the battery module, to detect cell voltage, temperature and pressure data of a battery module; a plurality of voltage sensors (since voltage sensor 222 detects the voltage of each battery cell, see para. 0020, there are necessarily a plurality of sensors) and current sensors (since current sensor 223 detects a current flowing through each current path, see para. 0020, there are necessarily a plurality of sensors) arranged within the battery module (power storage module 20), to detect voltage and current data of the output side of the battery module (see communication between 20 and 10, as shown in Figs. 1 & 2).
Note: The claim recitation “one or more of the following items” in claim 3 has been given the broadest reasonable interpretation of “one of the following items”.
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.
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) 4, 5, and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sada et al (US 2017/0338668 A1) in view of Furukawa et al (US 2021/0159710 A1).
Regarding claim 4, the teachings of Sada et al as applied to the power electronic intelligent battery unit of claim 1 have been discussed above. Sada et al also teaches wherein the intelligent battery interface comprises: a processor (controller 142 in battery management unit 14); a power converter (Bidirectional AC/DC converter 11, DC/DC converter 12) connected to a battery module (storage battery 21), enabling bidirectional flow and active control of power according to a control of a processor (converter controller 13, battery management unit 14), and forming a stable and controllable output voltage at the power interface (the Bidirectional AC/DC converter 11 provides a stable and controllable output voltage at the power interface to system line 3, and the DC/DC converter 12 provides a stable and controllable output voltage at the power interface to storage battery 21) (also see paras. 0017-0034).
Sada et al does not specifically teach: a conditioning circuit connected to an output end of the sensor, and conditioning an electrical signal output by the sensor to form an electrical signal that can be read by a processor; and a balance circuit arranged at both ends of each battery cell, a balance circuit realizing a balance of a state of charge of battery cells by switching a switch transistor, through a certain balance algorithm, under a control of a processor.
Furukawa et al teaches (Fig. 1) a power supply system (1) including battery cells (E1 – E15) connected in series (see Fig. 1), sensors (in voltage detection circuits 11a, 21a, 31a, see para. 0024), a conditioning circuit (a multiplexer and an analog to digital converter, see para. 0024) connected to an output end of the sensor, and conditioning an electrical signal output by the sensor to form an electrical signal that can be read by a processor (the analog to digital converter conditions the analog signal from the voltage detection and forms a digital signal that can be read by a processor, see para. 0024); and a balance circuit (equalization circuits 11b, 21b, 31b, see paras. 0024, 0025) arranged at both ends of each battery cell (see Fig. 1), a balance circuit realizing a balance of a state of charge of battery cells by switching a switch transistor (see, for example, selection circuit 31bb, that includes switches S30-S39. Since 31 is an application specific integrated circuit, see para. 0022, and the switches are controlled, the switches would necessarily be transistors), through a certain balance algorithm, under a control of a processor (the switch control circuit 31ba controls the switches based on a control signal of the equalization process input from communication unit 32, see paras. 0060-0067)
In view of the teachings of Furukawa et al, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to include with the teachings of Sada et al, a conditioning circuit connected to an output end of the sensor, and conditioning an electrical signal output by the sensor to form an electrical signal that can be read by a processor; and a balance circuit arranged at both ends of each battery cell, a balance circuit realizing a balance of a state of charge of battery cells by switching a switch transistor, through a certain balance algorithm, under a control of a processor; in order to provide the ability to measure the voltage of each cell and perform cell balancing to maintain power efficiency and ensure safety of the batteries (see para. 0003 of Furukawa et al).
Regarding claim 5, Sada et al as modified by Furukawa et al teaches the power electronic intelligent battery unit of claim 4, wherein the power converter is a bidirectional isolated DC converter (DC/DC converter 12 is an insulated bidirectional DC/DC converter that is used to discharge and charge storage battery 21, see paras. 0022, 0025, 0026), and the bidirectional isolated DC converter has different voltage gain expressions when operating forward and reverse (the DC/DC converter 12 increases or decreases the voltage when charging and discharging, see paras. 0022, 0025, 0026).
Regarding claim 14, Sada et al teaches (see Figs. 1 & 2) an intelligent battery interface (charge and discharge control apparatus 10) connected to an output side of a battery module (see power and communication connections between 20 and 10, shown in Figs. 1 & 2) and a sensor (sensors in monitoring unit 22), and connected to a power interface and an information interaction interface (see the power and communication connections between 10, 3 and 30, shown in Figs. 1 & 2)), and comprising: a processor (controller 142 in battery management unit 14); a power converter (Bidirectional AC/DC converter 11, DC/DC converter 12) connected to a battery module (storage battery 21), enabling bidirectional flow and active control of power according to a control of a processor (converter controller 13, battery management unit 14), and forming a stable and controllable output voltage at the power interface (the Bidirectional AC/DC converter 11 provides a stable and controllable output voltage at the power interface to system line 3, and the DC/DC converter 12 provides a stable and controllable output voltage at the power interface to storage battery 21) (also see paras. 0017-0034).
Sada et al does not specifically teach: a conditioning circuit connected to an output end of the sensor, and conditioning an electrical signal output by the sensor to form an electrical signal that can be read by a processor; and a balance circuit arranged at both ends of each battery cell, a balance circuit realizing a balance of a state of charge of battery cells by switching a switch transistor, through a certain balance algorithm, under a control of a processor.
Furukawa et al teaches (Fig. 1) a power supply system (1) including battery cells (E1 – E15) connected in series (see Fig. 1), sensors (in voltage detection circuits 11a, 21a, 31a, see para. 0024), a conditioning circuit (a multiplexer and an analog to digital converter, see para. 0024) connected to an output end of the sensor, and conditioning an electrical signal output by the sensor to form an electrical signal that can be read by a processor (the analog to digital converter conditions the analog signal from the voltage detection and forms a digital signal that can be read by a processor, see para. 0024); and a balance circuit (equalization circuits 11b, 21b, 31b, see paras. 0024, 0025) arranged at both ends of each battery cell (see Fig. 1), a balance circuit realizing a balance of a state of charge of battery cells by switching a switch transistor (see, for example, selection circuit 31bb, that includes switches S30-S39. Since 31 is an application specific integrated circuit, see para. 0022, and the switches are controlled, the switches would necessarily be transistors), through a certain balance algorithm, under a control of a processor (the switch control circuit 31ba controls the switches based on a control signal of the equalization process input from communication unit 32, see paras. 0060-0067)
In view of the teachings of Furukawa et al, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date, to include with the teachings of Sada et al, a conditioning circuit connected to an output end of the sensor, and conditioning an electrical signal output by the sensor to form an electrical signal that can be read by a processor; and a balance circuit arranged at both ends of each battery cell, a balance circuit realizing a balance of a state of charge of battery cells by switching a switch transistor, through a certain balance algorithm, under a control of a processor; in order to provide the ability to measure the voltage of each cell and perform cell balancing to maintain power efficiency and ensure safety of the batteries (see para. 0003 of Furukawa et al).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Please see the additional references cited on the attached PTO-892, which are directed to battery control systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jared Fureman whose telephone number is (571)272-2391. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30 am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JARED FUREMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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