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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 12/1/2022 has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because the drawings should be labelled with the figure number. The drawings should not have a black background. 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.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities:
“plurality of battery cell group” in lines 3-4 should be “plurality of battery cell groups”. 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.
Claim 18 is 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 18 recites the limitation “the plurality of battery cell groups" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Scholl (US 3593099 A).
Regarding Claim 11, Scholl teaches a battery discharge device (Fig. 4) comprising:
a discharge circuit (41) connected to a battery module (22);
a sensor unit (59) configured to measure a state of the battery module ([Col 2 Lines 41-43] “The voltage monitor compares the instantaneous battery voltage with a preselected voltage value”), the sensor unit connected to at least one of the discharge circuit or the battery module (see Fig. 4); and
a control unit (62) configured to obtain information on the state of the battery module from the sensor unit,
wherein the discharge circuit includes:
a terminal unit (26) having a first terminal unit and a second terminal unit, the first and second terminal units being electrically connected to the battery module ([Col 3 Lines 22-28] “The monitoring devices include the battery connector switch 26 and 26a”); and
a first electric circuit (circuit formed by 39, 41, and 52, see Fig. 4) electrically connected to the first and second terminal units (see Fig. 4),
wherein the control unit is configured to determine whether the battery module operates normally, based on the information on the state of the battery module ([Col 6 Lines 8-15] “The voltage is also monitored continuously between points 89 and 94. As soon as the battery voltage drops below the preselected value, relay R3 is operated which opens contacts R3-1 to remove the power from line 86 and drop out the resistance relays 83 controlled by the resistance selector 37 while contact R3-3 opens to drop out resistors 87. Similarly contacts R3-2 close to light the "test complete" lamp 91 and sound an audible alarm with buzzer 92”).
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) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scholl (US 3593099 A) in view of Eitler et al. (US 20240092195 A1).
Regarding Claim 12, Scholl teaches the battery discharge device of claim 11.
Scholl does not explicitly teach wherein the discharge circuit further includes:
a changeover switch connected to the second terminal unit and the first electric circuit;
a second electric circuit connected to the changeover switch and the second terminal unit, the second electric circuit being connected to the first electric circuit in parallel,
wherein the battery module forms an electric circuit loop with one of the first electric circuit and the second electric circuit in response to switching of the changeover switch. Eitler teaches wherein the discharge circuit (Fig. 2) further includes:
a changeover switch (8) connected to the second terminal unit (terminal of switch 7) and the first electric circuit (first load 4);
a second electric circuit (second load 9) connected to a changeover switch (10) and the second terminal unit (terminal of switch 7), the second electric circuit being connected to the first electric circuit in parallel (see Fig. 2),
wherein the battery module (2) forms an electric circuit loop with one of the first electric circuit (4) and the second electric circuit (9) in response to switching of the changeover switch (8, 10).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Scholl to incorporate the teachings of Eitler to provide wherein the discharge circuit further includes:
a changeover switch connected to the second terminal unit and the first electric circuit;
a second electric circuit connected to the changeover switch and the second terminal unit, the second electric circuit being connected to the first electric circuit in parallel,
wherein the battery module forms an electric circuit loop with one of the first electric circuit and the second electric circuit in response to switching of the changeover switch;
in order to switch the battery to different loads.
Scholl in view of Eitler does not explicitly teach that the first electric circuit (4 in Eitler) and second electric circuit (9 in Eitler) are connected to the same changeover switch, however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use one changeover switch to reduce the number of components.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scholl (US 3593099 A) in view of Eitler et al. (US 20240092195 A1) further in view of White et al. (US 20090096419 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, Scholl in view of Eitler teaches the battery discharge device of claim 12.
Scholl in view of Eitler does not teach wherein the control unit is configured to control the changeover switch so as to disconnect the first electric circuit from the battery module and connect the second electric circuit to the battery module when a voltage of the battery module is equal to or less than a first threshold voltage.
White teaches wherein the control unit is configured to disconnect the first electric circuit (large load 506) from the battery module (cell 404) and connect the second electric circuit (small load 504) to the battery module when a voltage of the battery module is equal to or less than a first threshold voltage (¶[67] “A control module 520 senses the voltage across each of the cells 404. The control module 520 may initially apply the large loads 506 to the cells 404. When a cell 404 reaches a predetermined voltage threshold, the control module 520 may disconnect the large load 506 and connect the small load 504”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Scholl in view of Eitler to incorporate the teachings of White to provide wherein the control unit is configured to disconnect the first electric circuit from the battery module and connect the second electric circuit to the battery module when a voltage of the battery module is equal to or less than a first threshold voltage in order to reduce the discharging on a module that has reached a low voltage and prevent damage caused by over-discharging.
Claim(s) 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scholl (US 3593099 A) in view of Eitler et al. (US 20240092195 A1) further in view of White et al. (US 20090096419 A1) and further in view of Yang et al. (US 20150185289 A1).
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Scholl, Eitler and White teaches the battery discharge device of claim 13.
Scholl as modified does not teach wherein the battery module includes a plurality of battery cells classified into a plurality of battery cell groups,
wherein the battery cells belonging to a first battery cell group of the plurality of battery cell group are connected in parallel,
wherein the plurality of battery cell groups are connected in series, and
wherein the first threshold voltage is M*1.4[V] to M*1.6[V], where M is a number of the battery cells belonging to the first battery cell group.
White teaches wherein the battery module (402) includes a plurality of battery cells classified into a plurality of battery cell groups (cells 404), and
wherein the plurality of battery cell groups (404-1 to 404-4) are connected in series (see Fig. 9).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Scholl, Eitler and White to further incorporate the teachings of White to provide wherein the battery module includes a plurality of battery cells classified into a plurality of battery cell groups, and
wherein the plurality of battery cell groups are connected in series; in order to increase the voltage the battery pack can provide and make it suitable for larger loads.
The combination of Scholl, Eitler and White does not teach wherein the battery cells belonging to a first battery cell group of the plurality of battery cell group are connected in parallel, and
wherein the first threshold voltage is M*1.4[V] to M*1.6[V], where M is a number of the battery cells belonging to the first battery cell group.
Yang teaches wherein the battery cells (111a) belonging to a first battery cell group (111) of the plurality of battery cell group are connected in parallel (see Fig. 2),
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination of Scholl, Eitler and White to incorporate the teachings of Yang to provide wherein the battery cells belonging to a first battery cell group of the plurality of battery cell group are connected in parallel, in order to increase the capacity of the battery pack for use with larger loads. The combination of Scholl, Eitler, White and Yang does not explicitly teach wherein the first threshold voltage is M*1.4[V] to M*1.6[V], where M is a number of the battery cells belonging to the first battery cell group, however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to choose a threshold based on the cell chemistry and construction, as suggested by White (¶[35] “the large load can be applied until the cell reaches a second threshold voltage”; see also ¶[34] “The threshold voltage of 2.5 V is for example only. Alternative threshold voltages may be chosen. In addition, threshold voltages may vary based on cell chemistry and construction”).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Scholl, Eitler, White and Yang teaches the battery discharge device of claim 14.
White further teaches wherein the control unit disconnects the second electric circuit (504) from the battery module (404) when the voltage of the battery module is equal to or less than a second threshold voltage (¶[35] “Once the cell has reached the second threshold voltage, a smaller load can be applied to the cell until it reaches the threshold voltage, such as 2.5 V in FIGS. 4A-B. The cells may all be discharged simultaneously, with the discharging of each cell stopped when it reaches the threshold voltage”).
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Scholl, Eitler, White and Yang teaches the battery discharge device of claim 15.
The combination of Scholl, Eitler, White and Yang does not explicitly teach wherein the second threshold voltage is M*0.17[V] to M*0.25[V], where M is a number of the battery cells belonging to the first battery cell group, however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to choose a threshold based on the cell chemistry and construction, as suggested by White (¶[35] “the large load can be applied until the cell reaches a second threshold voltage”; see also ¶[34] “The threshold voltage of 2.5 V is for example only. Alternative threshold voltages may be chosen. In addition, threshold voltages may vary based on cell chemistry and construction”).
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Scholl, Eitler, White and Yang teaches the battery discharge device of claim 15.
Scholl further teaches wherein the discharge circuit (Fig. 2) includes an on/off switch (uppermost switch 7) connected to at least one of the first terminal unit and the second terminal unit (switch is connected to the battery terminals),
wherein the on/off switch opens or closes the electric circuit loop in response to switching the on/off switch (¶[24] “charging terminal 6 can be connected to or disconnected from the high-voltage battery 2 with its poles by means of a charging contactor 7, depending on whether the charging contactor 7 is closed or open”).
Claim(s) 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Scholl (US 3593099 A) in view of Yang et al. (US 20150185289 A1).
Regarding Claim 18, Scholl teaches the battery discharge device of claim 11.
Scholl further teaches wherein the sensor unit includes:
a battery module voltage sensor configured to measure a voltage of the battery module ([Col 2 Lines 41-43] “The voltage monitor compares the instantaneous battery voltage with a preselected voltage value”);
Scholl does not teach the sensor unit includes:
a battery cell group voltage sensor configured to measure a voltage of each of the plurality of battery cell groups.
Yang teaches the sensor unit (14) includes:
a battery cell group voltage sensor configured to measure a voltage of each of the plurality of battery cell groups (111) (¶[49] “The example voltage detecting module 14 may be used to detect voltage signal of each series connection unit 111”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Scholl to incorporate the teachings of Yang to provide the sensor unit includes:
a battery cell group voltage sensor configured to measure a voltage of each of the plurality of battery cell groups;
in order to make sure one section of the battery string does not become damaged from over discharge.
Regarding Claim 19, Scholl teaches the battery discharge device of claim 11.
Scholl does not explicitly teach wherein the battery module includes:
a plurality of battery cells classified into a plurality of battery cell groups; and
a plurality of bus bars electrically connecting the plurality of battery cell groups in series.
Yang teaches wherein the battery module (11) includes:
a plurality of battery cells (111a) classified into a plurality of battery cell groups (111); and
a plurality of bus bars (see Fig. 2 for lines connecting the battery groups) electrically connecting the plurality of battery cell groups in series (¶[46] “The example battery cell assembly 11 may comprise a plurality of series connection units 111, and the series connection units 111 may be connected in series to form the battery cell assembly 11. The example series connection unit 111 comprises a plurality of battery cells 111a, and the battery cells 111a in the same series connection unit 111 may be connected in parallel”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Scholl to incorporate the teachings of Yang to provide wherein the battery module includes:
a plurality of battery cells classified into a plurality of battery cell groups; and
a plurality of bus bars electrically connecting the plurality of battery cell groups in series;
in order to increase the voltage and capacity of the battery pack for use with larger loads.
Regarding Claim 20, Scholl in view of Yang teaches the battery discharge device of claim 19.
Yang further teaches wherein the number of the plurality of bus bars is a sum of one and the number of the plurality of battery cell groups (see Fig. 2, where there are five cell groups and six connecting lines).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Keuss (US 20060273783 A1)
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/A.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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