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 . As per the remarks of 12/22/2025, examiner considered with appreciation applicant’s amendment of the Title as per the previous objection to the specification; hence the objection to the title has been withdrawn. claims 1-16 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statment
The Information Disclosure Statement dated 12/22/2025 is acknowledged and the cited references have been considered in this examination.
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 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 present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) 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.
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.
Claims 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2021/0281085) in view of Jia (US 2022/023564).
With respect to claims 1 and 9, Lee et al. (hereinafter, Lee) discloses a power supplying system, for supplying power in an electronic device (Para. # 0032), comprising: a plurality of rechargeable batteries (Fig. 1, Bat1 and Bat2), coupled to a functional block of the electronic device, wherein the plurality of rechargeable batteries at least comprises a first battery (Fig. 1, Bat-1) and a second battery (Fig. 1, Bat-2), and wherein in a normal mode, the first battery and the second battery are connected in parallel between a system voltage supplying node and a ground node (Para. # 0051: The first transistor Q1 may be arranged between a first node ND1, which is connectable to a negative terminal of the first battery BAT1, and a ground terminal GND),
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and in a charging mode, the first battery and the second battery are connected in serial between a charge input node and the ground node (Para. # 0032: When the first and second batteries BAT1 and BAT2 are connected in series, the second transistor Q2 may be turned ON)
LEE, however, does not expressly disclose charging the battery cells in series, and powering or discharging battery cells in parallel.
Jia discloses, on the other hand, charging the battery cells in series, and powering or discharging battery cells in parallel (see Para. # 0003 and 0025).
LEE and Jia are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor namely charger integrated circuit for charging batteries and switched multi-cell battery system.
At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added a multi-cell battery with switching system that connects in series for charging and connecting cells in parallel to power electronic devices or discharge battery cells to the load for the benefit of fat charging when cells connected in series and powering multiple device when connected in parallel for easy and convenient power integration to efficiently use to the charger circuit of LEE in view of the teachings of Jia.
With respect to claims 2 and 10, the combined references of Lee and Jia disclose the power supplying system as described above, Jia discloses further comprising: a plurality of switch devices, each being coupled to at least one of the plurality of rechargeable batteries, for dynamically controlling the first battery and the second battery to be connected with each other in a parallel manner or in a serial manner (Para. # 0057: the battery system 300 can have more than two battery cells, which are connected in series during the first operating state 380 and are connected in parallel during the second operating state 382).
With respect to claims 3-4 and 11-12, the combined references of Lee and Jia disclose the power supplying system as described above, Jia discloses wherein the plurality of switch devices comprises: a first switch device, coupled between the charge input node and the first terminal of the first battery; and a second switch device, coupled between a second terminal of the first battery and the ground node (Para. # 0071).
With respect to claims 5-6 and 13-14, the combined references of Lee and Jia disclose the power supplying system as described above, Jia discloses wherein the first switch device is further coupled to the system voltage supplying node and is configured to selectively connect the first terminal of the first battery to the charge input node or the system voltage supplying node, and the second switch device is further coupled to the system voltage supplying node and is configured to selectively connect the second terminal of the first battery to the system voltage supplying node or the ground node (Para. # 0025, 0067).
With respect to claims 7, 8, 15 and 16, the combined references of Lee and Jia disclose the power supplying system as described above, Jia discloses wherein in the normal mode, the first switch device connects the first terminal of the first battery to the system voltage supplying node and the second switch device connects the second terminal of the first battery to the ground node, in the first state of the charging mode, the first switch device connects the first terminal of the first battery to the charge input node and the second switch device connects the second terminal of the first battery to the system voltage supplying node, and in the second state of the charging mode, the first switch device connects the first terminal of the first battery to the system voltage supplying node and the second switch device connects the second terminal of the first battery to the ground node (Par. # 0071 and 0025).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's amendments and arguments filed in the remarks of 12/22/2025 have been considered but are not persuasive to overcome the rejections based on the references described (see the above office action); no amendment has been made to any claim.
Applicant argues that none of Lee and Jia references, alone or in combination, teaches “… "in a first state of a charging mode, the first battery and the second battery are connected in serial between a charge input node and the ground node with a first terminal of the second battery being connected to the system voltage supplying node, and in a second state of the charging mode, the first battery and the second battery are connected in serial between the charge input node and the ground node with a first terminal of the first battery being connected to the system voltage supplying node"
Lee discloses a power supplying system, for supplying power in an electronic device, comprising: a plurality of rechargeable batteries as stated in the office action. But, it is Jia that discloses charging the battery cells in series, and powering or discharging battery cells in parallel. Besides, Jia discloses in Paragraph # 0057: “… In other configurations, however, the battery system 300 can have more than two battery cells, which are connected in series during the first operating state 380 and are connected in parallel during the second operating state 382…” Jia further added that Par. # 0051 “…FIG. 3B illustrates an example block diagram of the first operating state 380 of the battery system 300 of FIG. 3A, with the battery cells (e.g., 352, 354) connected in series. When the electronic device 102 is coupled to the power adapter 130, the battery system 300 may operate in the first operating state 380 during p that occurs when the first plurality of power control switches (FET 310, FET 312) enable flow of current…”
Besides, Jia in paragraph 0073 states “… When the power adapter 130 (FIG. 1) is coupled to the electronic device 102 (FIG. 1), during φ1, the battery system 500 of FIG. 5A operates in the first operating state 580 by charging the first battery cell 552 and the second battery cell 554 and by discharging the second battery cell 554. Alternately, during φ2, the battery system 500 of FIG. 5A operates in the second operating state 582 by charging the first battery cell 552 and the second battery cell 554 and by discharging the first battery cell 552.” Therefore, applicant’s arguments stated above are not found persuasive.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YALKEW FANTU whose telephone number is (571)272-8928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00AM-4:00PM.
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/YALKEW FANTU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859