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
The Amendment filed 1/29/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-19, 21, 30, 32-35, and 37-38 remain pending in the application, and claims 20, 22-29, 31, and 36 have been canceled, with claims 25 and 27-29 newly canceled. Applicant’s amendments to the Claims have overcome every 103 rejection previously set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 11/13/2025. The new grounds of rejection presented below are necessitated by the amendments. Accordingly, this Office Action is made Final.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 37-38 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 Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 objected to for improper claim status labeling, “(Previously Presented)” should have been “(Currently Amended).”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-18, 21, 30, 33-35, and 37-38 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morita (US 20040246635 A1, published 2004-12-09) in view of Nysen (US 20120187898 A1).
Regarding independent claim 1, Morita teaches a cell balancing system (Figs. 1 and 5) for balancing a set of series-connected cells (Fig. 1: B1-B3), the cell balancing system comprising:
a first balancer circuitry (Fig. 1: voltage balance circuit 30) comprising a first set of capacitors (37-38) and a first switch network (31-36), wherein the first switch network is controllable (by control section 39) such that in operation of the cell balancing system:
during a first phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, a capacitor (37) of the first set of capacitors is coupled to a first cell (B1) of the set of series-connected cells (¶’s[15, 55] and Figs. 1 and 2: switches S2 turn off and switches S1 turn on to couple capacitor 37 to cell B1 and couple capacitor 38 to cell B2); and
during a second phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, the capacitor (37) of the first set of capacitors is coupled to a second cell (B2) of the set of series-connected cells (¶’s [15, 55] and Figs. 1 and 2: switches S1 turn off and switches S2 turn on to couple capacitor 37 to cell B2 and couple capacitor 38 to cell B3); and
a second balancer circuitry comprising a second set of capacitors and a second switch network, wherein the second switch network is controllable such that in operation of the cell balancing system:
during a first phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, a capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled to a first subset of cells of the set of series-connected cells (¶’s[15, 55] and Figs. 1 and 2: switches S2 turn off and switches S1 turn on to couple capacitor 37 to cell B1 and couple capacitor 38 to cell B2); and
during a second phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, the capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled to a second subset of cells of the set of series-connected cells, different than the first subset (¶’s [15, 55] and Figs. 1 and 2: switches S1 turn off and switches S2 turn on to couple capacitor 37 to cell B2 and couple capacitor 38 to cell B3).
Morita does not disclose that first subset comprises two or more of the set of series-connected cells and the second subset comprising two or more of the set of series-connected cells.
However, replacing each battery cell B1-B3 with two series-connected cells would have had the predictable benefit to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application of increasing the energy capacity of the battery pack.
Morita discloses the claimed invention except for applying a plurality of balancing circuits to a set of series-connected cells. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to add another balancing circuit in addition to the one balancing circuit to increase the speed of balancing between cells, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 (CA7 1977).
Morita does not disclose the cell balancing system is configured such that the first balancer circuitry and second balancer circuitry operate simultaneously or concurrently.
Nysen discloses a cell balancing system (Fig. 1: rechargeable battery system 10) is configured such that a first balancer circuitry and a second balancer circuitry (Fig .3 and ¶[37, 64, 71-74, 78]: cells in upper and lower rechargeable battery modules 40 are each coupled to a separate capacitor bus 42 and capacitor module 48 which balance cells through charge shuttling) operate simultaneously or concurrently ([93] and Fig. 8: cells are balanced locally in each battery module 40 and globally across both upper and lower modules 40, implying that the two separate balancing components, the bus 42 and capacitor 48 are balancing the set of series connected cells A1-A4 and B1-B4).
Morita and Nysen both disclose balancing series-connected cells. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the simultaneous use of two cell balancing circuits in Nysen into the modified two balancing circuit system of Morita to execute faster and more efficient balancing of the series-connected cells.
Regarding claim 2, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1, wherein the second switch network is operable to couple the capacitor of the second set of capacitors in parallel with the first subset of cells during the first phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, and to couple the capacitor in parallel with the second subset of cells during the second phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry (¶0015 and Fig. 1: The examiner interprets the first phase as when the subset of batteries give charge to the coupled capacitors and the second phase as when the different subset of batteries receive charge from the coupled capacitors).
Regarding claim 3, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 2, wherein the second set of capacitors comprises N−1 capacitors, where N is the number of cells in the set of series connected cells (Fig. 1: three cells B1-B3 and two capacitors 37-38).
Regarding claim 5, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 4, wherein each capacitor of the second set of capacitors is associated with 2(N−1) switches of the second switch network (Fig. 1: capacitors 37-38 are electrically coupled to the switches 31-36).
Regarding claim 6, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 5, wherein an operational cycle of the second balancer circuitry comprises N−1 phases, and wherein over the course of an operational cycle of the second balancer circuitry, each capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled once to each of N−1 subsets of the set of series-connected cells, each subset comprising two or more cells (¶0015: Each capacitor couples to a subset of cells to redistribute charge. The examiner interprets phases as the redistribution of charge in Morita between each subset which must be done N-1 times for all cells to be included in the redistribution process).
Regarding claim 7, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1, wherein the second set of capacitors comprises a plurality of capacitors coupled in parallel between the second switch network and a common node (Fig. 5: capacitors 67-69 coupled between switches 61-66 and connecting node N4).
Regarding claim 8, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 7, wherein the second set of capacitors comprises N−1 capacitors, where N is the number of cells in the set of series connected cells (Fig. 5: three cells B1-B3 connected in series and at least two capacitors 67-69).
Regarding claim 9, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 8, wherein the second switch network comprises 2(N−1) switches (Fig. 5: three cells B1-B3 and at least four switches 61-66).
Regarding claim 10, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 7, wherein the second set of capacitors comprises N/2 capacitors, where N is the number of cells in the set of series-connected cells, and where N is an integer multiple of 2 (Adding cells and capacitors so that the number of cells N is an integer multiple of two and the number of capacitors is at least N/2 falls within the scope of Morita).
Regarding claim 11, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 10, wherein the second switch network comprises 2(N/2) switches (Fig. 5: number of switches 61-66 is at least the same number of cells B1-B3).
Regarding claim 12, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1, wherein the first switch network is operable to couple the capacitor of the first set of capacitors in parallel with the first cell during the first phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, and to couple the capacitor in parallel with the second cell during the second phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry (¶0015 and Fig. 1: The examiner interprets the first phase as when the subset of batteries give charge to the coupled capacitors and the second phase as when the different subset of batteries receive charge from the coupled capacitors).
Regarding claim 13, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 12, wherein the first set of capacitors comprises N−1 capacitors, where N is the number of cells in the set of series-connected cells (Fig. 1: three cells B1-B3 and two capacitors 37-38).
Regarding claim 14, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1, wherein the first set of capacitors comprises a plurality of capacitors coupled in parallel between the first switch network and a common node (Fig. 5: capacitors 67-69 coupled between switches 61-66 and connecting node N4).
Regarding claim 15, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 14, wherein the first set of capacitors comprises N capacitors, where N is the number of cells of the set of series-connected cells (Fig. 5: three cells B1-B3 connected in series and at least two capacitors 67-69).
Regarding claim 16, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 14, wherein the first switch network comprises 2N switches, where N is the number of cells of the set of series-connected cells (Fig. 5: three cells B1-B3 and six switches 61-66).
Regarding claim 17, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 14, wherein each capacitor of the first set of capacitors is associated with two switches of the first switch network (Fig. 5: e.g. capacitor 67 associated with switches 61 and 62).
Regarding claim 18, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1, further comprising control circuitry configured to control operation of the first switch network and the second switch network (Fig. 1 and ¶0015-0016: control section 39).
Regarding claim 21, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1, wherein the first set of capacitors comprises a first plurality of capacitors coupled in parallel between the first switch network and a first common node (Fig. 5: capacitors 67-69 coupled between switches 61-66 and connecting node N4) and the second set of capacitors comprises a second plurality of capacitors coupled in parallel between the second switch network and a second common node (The second set of capacitors has the same arrangement as the first set of capacitors).
Regarding independent claim 30, Morita teaches an integrated circuit comprising a cell balancing system according to claim 1 (See rejection above for claim 1).
Regarding independent claim 33, Morita teaches a battery pack comprising a cell balancing system according to claim 1 (See rejection above for claim 1).
Regarding independent claim 34, Morita teaches an integrated circuit comprising a first switch network and/or a second switch network for a cell balancing system according to claim 1 (See rejection above for claim 1).
Regarding claim 35, Morita teaches the integrated circuit according to claim 34, further comprising control circuitry for controlling the first and/or second switch networks (Fig. 1: control section 39).
Regarding independent claim 37, Morita teaches a cell balancing system for balancing a set of series-connected cells, the cell balancing system comprising:
first balancer circuitry (Fig. 5: voltage detection circuit 60) comprising a first set of capacitors (67-69) and a first switch network (61-66), wherein the first set of capacitors comprises a plurality of capacitors coupled in parallel between the first switch network and a common node (connecting node N4), and wherein the first switch network is controllable (by control section 39) such that in operation of the cell balancing system:
during a first phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, a capacitor (67) of the first set of capacitors is coupled to a first cell (B1) of the set of series-connected cells (¶’s [3, 15, 55] and Fig. 1-2 and 5: The examiner considers the voltage detection circuit 60 to be an advanced version of the voltage balance circuit 30 with the added ability of measuring voltage across individual storage circuits B1-B3 since the overall invention is built on balancing cells after measuring them. Although in this circuit a single capacitor alone cannot be coupled to a storage circuit B1-B3, in a first phase, two capacitors in series, for instance capacitors 67 and 68 with respect to the switches S61-S64 in Fig. 5 of Morita, may function as a single capacitor and couple with the storage circuit B1 when switches S61 and S63 are on and switches S62 and S64 are off.); and
during a second phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, the capacitor (67) of the first set of capacitors is coupled to a second cell (B2) of the set of series-connected cells (¶’s [3, 15, 55] and Figs. 1-2 and 5: In a second phase, two capacitors in series 67 and 68, may function as a single capacitor and couple with the storage circuit B2 when switches S61 and S63 are off and switches S62 and S64 are on.); and
second balancer circuitry comprising a second set of capacitors and a second switch network, wherein the second switch network is controllable such that in operation of the cell balancing system:
during a first phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, a capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled to a first subset of cells of the set of series-connected cells (¶’s [3, 15, 55] and Figs. 1-2 and 5: switches S62, S64, and S66 turn off and switches S61, S63, and S65 turn on to couple capacitors 67 and 68 to cell B1 and couple capacitors 68 and 69 to cell B2); and
during a second phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, the capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled to a second subset of cells of the set of series-connected cells, different than the first subset (¶’s [3, 15, 55] and Figs. 1-2 and 5: switches S61, S63, and S65 turn off and switches S62, S64, and S66 turn on to couple capacitors 67 and 68 to cell B2 and couple capacitors 68 and 69 to cell B3).
Morita does not disclose that first subset comprises two or more of the set of series-connected cells and the second subset comprising two or more of the set of series-connected cells.
However, replacing each battery cell B1-B3 with two series-connected cells would have had the predictable benefit to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application of increasing the energy capacity of the battery pack.
Morita discloses the claimed invention except for applying a plurality of balancing circuits to a set of series-connected cells. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to add another balancing circuit in addition to the one balancing circuit to increase the speed of balancing between cells, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8 (CA7 1977).
Morita does not disclose the cell balancing system is configured such that the first balancer circuitry and second balancer circuitry operate simultaneously or concurrently.
Nysen discloses a cell balancing system (Fig. 1: rechargeable battery system 10) is configured such that a first balancer circuitry and a second balancer circuitry (Fig .3 and ¶[37, 64, 71-74, 78]: cells in upper and lower rechargeable battery modules 40 are each coupled to a separate capacitor bus 42 and capacitor module 48 which balance cells through charge shuttling) operate simultaneously or concurrently ([93] and Fig. 8: cells are balanced locally in each battery module 40 and globally across both upper and lower modules 40, implying that the two separate balancing components, the bus 42 and capacitor 48 are balancing the set of series connected cells A1-A4 and B1-B4).
Morita and Nysen both disclose balancing series-connected cells. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the simultaneous use of two cell balancing circuits in Nysen into the modified two balancing circuit system of Morita to execute faster and more efficient balancing of the series-connected cells.
Regarding independent claim 38, Morita teaches a cell balancing system for balancing a set of series-connected cells, the cell balancing system comprising:
first balancer circuitry (Fig. 1: voltage balance circuit 30) comprising a first set of capacitors (37-38) and a first switch network (31-36), wherein the first switch network is controllable (via control section 39) such that in operation of the cell balancing system:
during a first phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, a capacitor (37) of the first set of capacitors is coupled to a first cell (B1) of the set of series-connected cells (¶0015); and
during a second phase of operation of the first balancer circuitry, the capacitor (37) of the first set of capacitors is coupled to a second cell (B2) of the set of series-connected cells (¶0015); and
second balancer circuitry (another voltage balance circuit 30) comprising a second set of capacitors and a second switch network, wherein the second set of capacitors comprises N−1 capacitors (two capacitors 37-38), where N is the number of cells (three cells B1-B3) in the set of series connected cells, and wherein the second switch network is controllable (via control section 39) such that in operation of the cell balancing system:
during a first phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, a capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled to a first subset of cells of the set of series-connected cells, the first subset comprising two or more of the set of series-connected cells (Two or more cells may serve the same function as the single cell B1 connected to the capacitor 37); and
during a second phase of operation of the second balancer circuitry, the capacitor of the second set of capacitors is coupled to a second subset of cells of the set of series-connected cells, different than the first subset, the second subset comprising two or more of the set of series-connected cells (Two or more cells may serve the same in function as the single cell B2 connected to the capacitor 37).
(First and second balancer circuitries function similarly to the circuit 30 of Morita. It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate two balancing circuits instead of one for increasing the speed to balance a battery pack.)
Morita does not disclose the cell balancing system is configured such that the first balancer circuitry and second balancer circuitry operate simultaneously or concurrently.
Nysen discloses a cell balancing system (Fig. 1: rechargeable battery system 10) is configured such that a first balancer circuitry and a second balancer circuitry (Fig .3 and ¶[37, 64, 71-74, 78]: cells in upper and lower rechargeable battery modules 40 are each coupled to a separate capacitor bus 42 and capacitor module 48 which balance cells through charge shuttling) operate simultaneously or concurrently ([93] and Fig. 8: cells are balanced locally in each battery module 40 and globally across both upper and lower modules 40, implying that the two separate balancing components, the bus 42 and capacitor 48 are balancing the set of series connected cells A1-A4 and B1-B4).
Morita and Nysen both disclose balancing series-connected cells. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the simultaneous use of two cell balancing circuits in Nysen into the modified two balancing circuit system of Morita to execute faster and more efficient balancing of the series-connected cells.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morita in view of Nysen, and further in view of Van Lammeren (US 20110316344 A1), hereinafter referred to as Lammeren.
Regarding claim 4, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 2.
Morita does not teach wherein the second switch network comprises 2(N−1)2 switches, where N is the number of cells in the set of series connected cells.
Lammeren teaches a switch network comprising 2(N−1)2 switches, where N is the number of cells in the set of series connected cells (Fig. 6 and ¶’s [62-63): three cells 10 and eight switches 62).
Morita and Lammeren teach circuits for balancing cells. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the switch configuration of Lammeren into the circuit of Morita to be able to couple any two cells successively to the capacitor for direct cell balancing (abstract and ¶0094)
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morita in view of Nysen, and further in view of Kunimitsu (US 20210083331 A1).
Regarding claim 19, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1.
Morita does not teach wherein the first balancer circuitry and the second balancer circuitry are configured to receive a common clock signal, or wherein the first balancer circuitry is configured to receive a first clock signal and the second balancer circuitry is configured to receive a second clock signal.
Kunimitsu teaches a balancer circuitry configured to receive a common clock signal (¶0030: the examiner interprets a pulse width modulation signal as a clock signal), or
the first balancer circuitry is configured to receive a first clock signal and the second balancer circuitry is configured to receive a second clock signal (alternative claim language used).
Morita and Kunimitsu both disclose cell balancing systems. It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the pulse width modulation technique in the system of Kunimitsu into the system of Morita to finely control the charge being transferred from battery to capacitor to battery. Having a first balancer circuit and a second balancer circuit receiving a common clock signal falls within the scope of Kunimitsu.
Claim 32 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morita in view of Nysen, and further in view of Lin (US 20140097787 A1, published 2014-04-10).
Regarding independent claim 32, Morita teaches the cell balancing system according to claim 1.
Morita does not teach a host device, wherein the host device comprises an electric vehicle, an electric bicycle, a wheelchair, an electric scooter, a cordless power tool, a computing device, a laptop, notebook or tablet computer, a portable battery powered device, a mobile telephone or an accessory device for such a host device.
Lin discloses a host device (¶0006: electric vehicle) comprising of balancing circuitry (battery management system).
Both Lin and Morita disclose circuits for balancing batteries. It would have been obvious to a person with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to substitute the circuitry of Morita into the EV of Lin for the purpose of balancing cells in an EV.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Naghshtabrizi (US 20120293129 A1) teaches a cell balancing system that uses a threshold level of mismatch between a voltage or a state of charge between cells of the set of series-connected cells (Fig. 3: step 70).
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 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryu-Sung Peter Weinmann whose telephone number is (703)756-5964. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman, can be reached at (571) 272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 April 22, 2026
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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