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 .
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Smith et al. US 20190299790.
With regards to claim 1 Smith discloses, a method of fast charging a battery module (¶1 "The present disclosure is generally directed to methods and devices for charging batteries"), the method comprising: heating, via a battery heating system, the battery module to a first temperature range (Fig. 6 thermal control system 515 heater 600 and fig. 10 steps 1015 and 1035 which disclose heating a battery); charging, via a charging system, the battery module while the battery module is heated within the first temperature range (Fig. 10 step 1030-1035 which disclose charging after the battery has been heated); and subsequently actively cooling, via a battery cooling system, the battery module to a temperature below the first temperature range (Fig. 6 thermal control system 515 chiller 605 and Fig. 10 step 1040 which cools the battery after it has reached a certain SOC).
With regards to claim 2 Smith discloses, the method of claim 1, wherein heating the battery module further comprises pumping a first fluid through the battery module via the battery heating system (Fig. 6 discloses the flow of heated fluid through the battery module and ¶77 "The thermal control system 515 may include any device capable of heating and/or cooling a thermal mass (e.g., a thermal management fluid) that is passed through all or part of the battery 208").
With regards to claim 3 Smith discloses, the method of claim 2, wherein cooling the battery module further comprises pumping a second fluid through the battery module via the battery cooling system (Fig. 8 discloses the flow of cooled fluid through the battery module and ¶77 above).
With regards to claim 4 Smith discloses, the method of claim 3, wherein the first fluid is routed through a fluid conduit in fluid communication with the battery module (Fig. 6), and wherein the second fluid is routed through the fluid conduit in fluid communication with the battery module (Fig. 8).
With regards to claim 7 Smith discloses, the method of claim 1, further comprising, monitoring, via a battery management system, a state of charge of the battery module during charging the battery module (¶17 "Battery Charging: Started at this stage and may be regulated based on any one of many control factors such as voltage, temperature, current, lithium plating limits, or SOC").
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.
Claims 5, 8-10, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith et al. US 20190299790 in view of Kelly et al. US 5994682.
With regards to claim 5 Smith discloses, the method of claim 4, wherein the charging system comprises a charger in electrical communication with the battery module via electrical wires (Fig. 5 BMS 503).
Smith fails to disclose wherein the electrical wires are routed through the fluid conduit.
However, Kelly discloses wherein the electrical wires are routed through the fluid conduit (Fig. 11 and Col 5 lines 59-63 "The interior of the copper tube 120 receives the cooling fluid, and the cooling fluid is allowed to pass from the copper tube 120 through the passage area 128 into the annular space 132 to flow in this space and within the individual Litz wire strands 116 along the length of the cable").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the battery thermal management devices of Smith and Kelly to include the wires within the fluid conduit in order to better heat and cool the system to improve efficiency, charging speed, and battery life.
With regards to claim 8 Smith discloses, a hot charging system for use on an electric vehicle (Figs. 1-8), the hot charging system comprising: a battery heating system configured for fluid communication with a battery module of the electric vehicle (Fig. 6); a battery cooling system configured for fluid communication with the battery module of the electric vehicle (Fig. 8); a charger configured for electrical communication with the battery module of the electric vehicle (Fig. 5 BMS 503 battery 208); a controller in electric communication with the battery heating system and the battery cooling system (Charge controller 224 in communication with thermal control system 515); and a fluid conduit configured to removably couple to the electric vehicle (Figs. 6-8 disclose the "fluid conduit" which being a part of a vehicle is capable of being removed), the fluid conduit configured to receive a first fluid from the battery heating system (Fig. 6), the fluid conduit configured to receive a second fluid from the battery cooling system (Fig. 8).
Smith fails to disclose the fluid conduit comprising electrical wires therein.
However, Kelly discloses the fluid conduit comprising electrical wires therein (Fig. 11 and Col 5 lines 59-63 "The interior of the copper tube 120 receives the cooling fluid, and the cooling fluid is allowed to pass from the copper tube 120 through the passage area 128 into the annular space 132 to flow in this space and within the individual Litz wire strands 116 along the length of the cable").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the battery thermal management devices of Smith and Kelly to include the wires within the fluid conduit in order to better heat and cool the system to improve efficiency, charging speed, and battery life.
With regards to claim 9 the combination discloses, the hot charging system of claim 8, wherein the battery heating system comprises a hot tank (Smith Fig. 6 heater 600) and a first feed pump (Smith ¶77 "the heating element (or heater) 600 and/or the cooling element (or chiller) 605 may include one or more pumping mechanisms to cause the flow of the thermal mass"), and wherein the battery cooling system comprises a cold tank (Smith Fig. 6 chiller 605) and a second feed pump (Smith ¶77 above).
With regards to claim 10 the combination discloses, the hot charging system of claim 9, wherein the first feed pump is configured to pump fluid from the hot tank through the fluid conduit to heat the battery module during charging of the battery module (Smith Fig. 6 discloses the flow of heated fluid through the system to the battery module and fig. 10 step 1010 initiate charging operation, step 1015 heat first volume of thermal mass, step 1025 direct first volume of thermal mass to heat battery, and step 1030 begin charging battery).
With regards to claim 13 the combination discloses, the hot charging system of claim 8, wherein the controller is operable to: command the battery heating system to pump the first fluid through the fluid conduit to heat the battery module (Smith Fig. 10 step 1025 direct first volume of thermal mass to heat battery); command the charger to charge the battery module (Step 1030 being charging battery); and command the battery cooling system to pump the second fluid through the fluid conduit to cool the battery module (Step 1040 direct second volume of thermal mass to cool battery).
With regards to claim 14 the combination discloses, the hot charging system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further operable to: command a fluid heating system of the battery heating system to heat the first fluid prior to pumping the first fluid (Smith Step 1015 heat first volume of thermal mass which is done prior to the "pumping" step 1025); and command a cooling system of the battery cooling system to cool the second fluid prior to pumping the second fluid (Step 1020 cool second volume of thermal mass which is done prior to the "pumping" step 1040).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith et al. US 20190299790 in view of Hermann et al. US 20140093760 further in view of Knudson US 20210159557.
With regards to claim 6 Smith fails to disclose the method of claim 3, wherein the first fluid is between 40° C. and 100° C. during heating the battery module, and wherein the second fluid is between −10° C. and 20° C. during cooling the battery module. Examiner notes that Smith does disclose in ¶95 "In operation 1025, the method 1000 includes directing, during a first stage of the charging operation, the first volume of the thermal mass along a first flow path (e.g., shown by the solid lines in FIG. 6) to heat the battery 208 to a first desired temperature. As noted above in the discussion of FIGS. 5-8, the first desired temperature may be a temperature at which the battery 208 can avoid lithium plating during actual charging".
However, Hermann discloses wherein the first fluid is between 40° C. and 100° C. during heating the battery module (¶81 "Relevant aspects of a thermal management system in this architecture include a heater 20, which may be a resistive heater powered by the boost pack 12, and a fluidic heat transfer system containing fluid carrying conduits and associated pumps and valves" and ¶83 "During a cold start and during a charge, thermal energy must be delivered to the primary energy pack 10 to heat it to a temperature that is adequate for high-performance operation. In certain embodiments, the operating temperature of the primary energy pack 10 is maintained between approximately 25.degree. C. to 80.degree. C." and absent a showing of criticality of the claimed range since the ranges overlap there is enough evidence to support an obviousness rejection. See MPEP 2144.05).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Smith with Hermann to heat the battery to within the specified range in order to avoid lithium plating and aging of the battery.
Further, Knudson discloses wherein the second fluid is between −10° C. and 20° C (¶11 "an older battery may be heated (e.g., to between 35-40 degrees C.) during charge and cooled (e.g., to 10 degrees C.) when holding state of charge").
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Smith with Knudson to cool the battery using cooling fluid within the temperature range in order to minimize battery aging.
Claims 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith et al. US 20190299790 in view of Kelly et al. US 5994682 further in view of Zhong et al. US 20150210142.
With regards to claim 11 Smith as combined with Kelly fails to disclose the hot charging system of claim 10, further comprising a climate control system including a third feed pump and a fourth feed pump, the third feed pump in fluid communication with the hot tank, the fourth feed pump in fluid communication with the cold tank.
However, Zhong discloses a climate control system (Abstract "A vehicle climate control system" and Fig. 3) including a third feed pump (pump 316) and a fourth feed pump (Pump 336), the third feed pump in fluid communication with the hot tank (Hot HTF circuit 300 and PCM vessel 306), the fourth feed pump in fluid communication with the cold tank (Cold HTF circuit 302 and HTF cooler 338).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Smith and Kelly with Zhong to utilize the thermal fluid system to assist with climate control functions within the vehicle in order to more efficiently control the temperature of the vehicle and potentially reduce the size of the climate control system by utilizing parts of the battery thermal management system.
With regards to claim 12 the combination discloses, the hot charging system of claim 11, wherein the climate control system is configured to pump fluid to a climate control device of the electric vehicle through the fluid conduit (Zhong Fig. 3).
Claims 15-17 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith et al. US 20190299790 in view of Hermann et al. US 20140093760.
With regards to claim 15 Smith discloses, an article of manufacture including a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processor (¶92 "the method 1000 can be executed as a set of computer-executable instructions executed by the controller 224 and/or the control system (that includes one or more processors) 448 and encoded or stored on a computer readable medium (e.g., a memory of the controller 224 and/or control data storage 468)"), cause the processor to perform operations comprising: commanding, by the processor, a first feed pump to pump a first fluid through a battery module (Fig. 10 step 1025 direct first volume of thermal mass to heat battery); commanding, by the processor, a charger to charge the battery module (Fig. 10 step 1030 begin charging battery); and commanding, by the processor, a second feed pump to pump a second fluid through the battery module, the second fluid having a second temperature less than the first fluid (¶99 "In operation 1040, the method 1000 includes directing the second volume of the thermal mass along the second flow path until the battery 208 reaches the second desired temperature (e.g., see the dashed lines in FIG. 8). Directing the second volume of the thermal mass in operation 1040 may include the second volume of the thermal mass pushing the (hotter) first volume of the thermal mass out of the flow path that includes the battery 208. This allows for minimal mixing of the hotter and cooler volumes of the thermal mass, which improves cooling capability").
Smith fails to disclose the first fluid being heated to a first temperature between 40° C. and 100° C.
However, Hermann discloses the first fluid being heated to a first temperature between 40° C. and 100° C (¶81 "Relevant aspects of a thermal management system in this architecture include a heater 20, which may be a resistive heater powered by the boost pack 12, and a fluidic heat transfer system containing fluid carrying conduits and associated pumps and valves" and ¶83 "During a cold start and during a charge, thermal energy must be delivered to the primary energy pack 10 to heat it to a temperature that is adequate for high-performance operation. In certain embodiments, the operating temperature of the primary energy pack 10 is maintained between approximately 25.degree. C. to 80.degree. C." and absent a showing of criticality of the claimed range since the ranges overlap there is enough evidence to support an obviousness rejection. See MPEP 2144.05). Examiner also notes that Smith discloses in ¶95 "In operation 1025, the method 1000 includes directing, during a first stage of the charging operation, the first volume of the thermal mass along a first flow path (e.g., shown by the solid lines in FIG. 6) to heat the battery 208 to a first desired temperature. As noted above in the discussion of FIGS. 5-8, the first desired temperature may be a temperature at which the battery 208 can avoid lithium plating during actual charging".
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Smith with Hermann to heat the battery to within the specified range in order to avoid lithium plating and aging of the battery.
With regards to claim 16, the combination discloses, the article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: commanding, by the processor, a fluid heating system to heat the first fluid to the first temperature prior to pumping the first fluid (Smith Fig. 10 step 1015 heating performed prior to step 1025 pumping); and commanding, by the processor, a cooling system to cool the second fluid to the second temperature prior to pumping the second fluid (Smith Step 1020 cooling performed prior to step 1040 pumping).
With regards to claim 17 the combination discloses, the article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving, by the processor, a state of charge of the battery module while the battery module is charging (Smith ¶17 "Battery Charging: Started at this stage and may be regulated based on any one of many control factors such as voltage, temperature, current, lithium plating limits, or SOC").
With regards to claim 20 the combination discloses, the article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise commanding, by the processor, the charger to stop charging in response to the battery module reaching a predetermined state of charge (Smith Fig. 10 step 1045 detect that charging is complete); and subsequently commanding the second feed pump to pump the second fluid (Smith Step 1050 pumping of the cooling fluid until the desired temperature is reached).
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Smith et al. US 20190299790 in view of Hermann et al. US 20140093760 further in view of Epstein et al. US 20150054460.
With regards to claim 18 Smith as combined with Hermann discloses, the article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the first feed pump pumps the first fluid through a fluid conduit (Smith Step 1025).
Smith combined with Hermann fails to discloses disposed between a ground service system and a vehicle with the battery module.
Epstein discloses disposed between a ground service system and a vehicle with the battery module (Fig. 1 discloses a fluid conduit between the vehicle and ground service system).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the disclosures of Smith and Hermann with Epstein to utilize a ground based service system to manage the temperature of the vehicle battery in order to provide a more efficient, safe, and cost-effective high rate of energy transfer to the vehicle.
With regards to claim 19 the combination discloses, the article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the second feed pump pumps the second fluid through the fluid conduit when the second fluid is being pumped through the battery module (Smith Fig. 10 Step 1040 and Epstein Fig. 1 disclosing the fluid conduit system).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nathan Instone whose telephone number is (571)272-1563. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4 EST.
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/NATHAN J INSTONE/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859