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
Acknowledgement is made of amendment filed on 12/29/2025 in which claims 1,3,15,19 and 20 are currently amended while claim 2 has been canceled. By this amendment, claims 1,3-20 are still pending in the application for prosecution.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1,3-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
Claim(s) 1,3-4,12-15,18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fukada et al., (Fukada) US 2019/0140327.
Regarding claims 1 and 20: Fukada at least discloses and shows in Figs. 1-2 and 5: A control apparatus for a vehicle(not shown but battery 10 is mounted on a vehicle; see [0023]),the vehicle including a storage battery(30)(see [0024]) that stores therein electric power that is supplied from an external power supply apparatus(such as three-phase AC power supplied from the outside from the terminals 90, see [0025]), and a rotating electric machine([0083]) that is driven by electric power from the storage battery(30),the control apparatus comprising: a temperature adjusting unit(50)([0027],[0029],[0039],[0050]-[0053],[0068],[0080])that adjusts a temperature of the storage battery(30), wherein the temperature adjusting unit(50) performs an internal temperature adjustment process that is a process for adjusting the temperature of the storage battery using energy other than the electric power supplied from the power supply apparatus(see [0052]-[0053]), and the temperature adjusting unit performs the internal temperature adjustment process using electric power stored in the storage battery(see [0052]-[0053]).
Regarding claim 19: Fukada at least discloses and shows in Figs. 1-2 and 5: A control system(controller 55 is part of battery system 10 which is mounted on a vehicle) for a vehicle(not shown but battery 10 is mounted on a vehicle; see [0023]), the vehicle including a storage battery(30) that stores therein electric power that is supplied from an external power supply apparatus(such as three-phase AC power supplied from the outside from the terminals 90, see [0025]), and a rotating electric machine(see [0083]) that is driven by electric power from the storage battery(30),the control system(55) comprising: a processor(see [0049]);a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium(ROM)(see [0049]); a set of computer-executable instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium that, when read and executed by the processor, cause the processor to implement: adjusting(via temperature adjustment unit 50) a temperature of the storage battery(30); and performing an internal temperature adjustment process that is a process for adjusting the temperature of the storage battery(30) using energy other than the electric power supplied from the power supply apparatus([0052]-[0053], [0057]-[0059] and Fig. 4), and performing the internal temperature adjustment process using electric power stored in the storage battery(see [0052]-[0053]).
Accordingly claims 1,19 and 20 are anticipated.
Regarding claim 3, Fukuda discloses, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit performs the internal temperature adjustment process when an amount of electric power stored in the storage battery(30) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value(target temperature and in view of the Peltier effect)(see [0053],[0055]-[0062]).
Regarding claim 4, Fukuda discloses wherein: the temperature adjusting unit(50) performs the internal temperature adjustment process when the temperature of the storage battery is outside a predetermined temperature range that is suitable for charging([0058]-[0059],[0065],[0067]-[0068]).
Regarding claim 12, Fukuda discloses, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit(50) starts the internal temperature adjustment process before the vehicle and the power supply apparatus are connected to each other(since the temperature adjustment unit 50 operate by being supplied with electric power stored in the storage battery 30; see [0052] or when the power storage device 10 may be used as a stationary type power storage device installed in a building as a part of the HEMS, or may be used as a power storage device installed in a base station for mobile phones; see [0023]).
Regarding claim 13, Fukuda discloses, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit(50) starts the internal temperature adjustment process after the vehicle and the power supply apparatus are connected to each other(inherently as the vehicle is being charged and since the process is repeated, see [0057]).
Regarding claim 14, Fukuda discloses, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit(50) adjusts the temperature of the storage battery(30) using the electric power supplied from the power supply apparatus(via terminals 90,91)(see [0024]-[0025]) while performing the internal temperature adjustment process.
Regarding claim 15, Fukuda discloses, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit(50) performs the internal temperature adjustment process when the temperature of the storage battery is outside a predetermined temperature range that is suitable for charging(0 to 20℃, preferably 10℃ to 20℃)([0058]-[0059],[0065],[0067]-[0068]).
Regarding claim 18, Fukuda teaches, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit(50) determines whether the internal temperature adjustment process can be continued while performing the internal temperature adjustment process(see [0057]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-11,16-17 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 claims 5 and 16, the prior art of record does not teach or reasonably suggest, among other patentable features, further comprising: a determining unit that determines a start timing of the internal temperature adjustment process.
Regarding claim 17, the prior art of record fails to teach or reasonably suggest, wherein: the temperature adjusting unit determines whether the internal temperature adjustment process is performed based on both a predicted value of an amount of electric power required for the internal temperature adjustment process and a predicted value of electric power that can be supplied to the storage battery from the power supply apparatus.
Claims 6-11 depend either directly or indirectly from claim 5 and thus are also allowed for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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.
M’BAYE DIAO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/M BAYE DIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 January 27, 2026