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
Applicant’s amendment filed 12/19/2025 has been entered. Claims 1-9 remain pending. Applicant’s amendment to the specification overcomes the objection to the Drawings and the Specification. Due Applicant’s amendment to Claims 1-3 to change the interpretation from 35 U.S.C. 112(f) to broadest reasonable interpretation, the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of Claims 1-3 is withdrawn. Applicant’s amendment to Claims 1-3 to detail that the calculation unit configured to put a voltage and current rather than calculate a voltage and current overcomes the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection of Claims 1-3.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, see Pages 10-12, filed 12/19/2025, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 103 rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues on Page 10 that “In the Office Action, it is alleged that Condition 2/3 (stopping when the allowable current reaches a pre-correction value) of Ohkawa et al. details the process where "stopping when W becomes close to zero." However, Ohkawa et al. controls the increasing/decreasing of the allowable input/output values (power/current). In contrast, the output control device of claim 1 seeks the allowable output value power by the increasing of output current. That is, the output control device of claim 1 identifies the extreme point (ΔW->0) on the dynamic power curve while increasing the output current and stops the increasing at that time point. Therefore, Ohkawa et al. does not teach or even suggest the control of the features of claim 1 related to, "wherein the monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power per unit time ΔW becomes close to zero”. Applicant’s arguments on Pages 11-12 detail the same argument with respect to Claims 4 and 7.
Examiner respectfully disagrees. Previously disclosed prior art Ohkawa (US20190067954) details condition 2 in [0099] and condition 3 in [0100]. Condition 2 and condition 3 both detail the process at which the increase in the allowable discharge power during the charging period and the stopping the increase. As the rate of change is detailed in the process as increasing until it reaches a certain point, and the increase stops after that point, the rate of change after the point would be zero. Thus, under broadest reasonable interpretation of the claim limitation, Ohkawa (US20190067954) in view of Kobayashi (US20240204548) and Liang (CN110058118A) teaches the claim limitation as written. Ohkawa teaches the limitation with condition 2 and condition 3 as the limitation details “stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power per unit time ΔW becomes close to zero”. The claim limitation does not detail as applicant argues that “the output control device of claim 1 identifies the extreme point (ΔW->0) on the dynamic power curve while increasing the output current and stops the increasing at that time point”, only that the output current is increased and the increasing is stopped at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power ΔW becomes close to zero.
Claim Interpretation
Applicant’s amendment to the claims to detail that the voltage measuring unit, current measuring unit, storage unit, calculation unit, and control unit are a processor changes the interpretation from 35 U.S.C. 112(f) to broadest reasonable interpretation.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-3 objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1-3 were amended to detail that “a calculation unit configured to output a voltage and a current…”. The further limitation “a control unit configured to perform feedback control of the output current and the output voltage of the lithium-ion battery on the basis of a calculation result from the calculation unit” should read “a control unit configured to perform feedback control of the output current and the output voltage of the lithium-ion battery on the basis of an output result from the calculation unit” so that the claim language is consistent.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 are amended to detail that “a processor, that upon execution of the program, is configured to operate as: a voltage measuring unit…; a current measuring unit…; a storage unit…; a calculation unit…; a control unit …;…”
The specification details the following about the processor:
[0039]: “The control unit 15, the calculation unit 14, and the storage unit 13 out of the elements of the aforementioned output control device 1 are implemented, for example, by causing a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) to execute a program (software). Some or all of such elements may be implemented by hardware (a circuit unit including circuitry) such as a large scale integration (LSI) circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a graphics processing unit (GPU) or may be cooperatively implemented by software and hardware. The program may be stored in a storage device (a storage device including a non-transitory storage medium) such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory in advance or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM and be installed by setting the storage medium to a drive device.”
[0041]: “An output control device including:
a storage medium storing computer-readable instructions; and
a processor connected to the storage medium,
wherein the processor executes the computer-readable instructions to perform: control for monitoring an output electric power W of a lithium-ion battery BAT while increasing an output current I of the lithium-ion battery BAT and stopping an increase of the output current I of the lithium-ion battery BAT at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power W per unit time ΔW becomes close to zero; or control for monitoring the output current I of the lithium-ion battery BAT while increasing the output current I of the lithium-ion battery BAT and stopping an increase of the output current I of the lithium-ion battery BAT at a time point at which a value ΔW/ΔI obtained by dividing a rate of change of the output electric power W per unit time ΔW by a rate of change of the output current I per unit time ΔI becomes equal to or less than a preset threshold value.”
That is, the specification provides support for the processor to perform the functions related to the control unit, the calculation unit, and the storage unit. The specifications are silent with regards to a processor performing the voltage measuring and the current measuring that would be performed by the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohkawa (US20190067954) in view of Kobayashi (US20240204548) and Liang (CN110058118A).
In regards to Claim 1, Ohkawa teaches “a voltage measuring unit configured to measure an output voltage of the lithium- ion battery (voltage detector 140 – Figure 1; voltage detection circuit 122 to measure the voltage of the battery cells 111 – Figure 2; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]);
a current measuring unit configured to measure an output current of the lithium- ion battery (current detector 130 – Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]);
a calculation unit configured to output a voltage and a current which are to be output from the lithium-ion battery on the basis of the measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit (battery pack controller receives data from the current detector 130 and the voltage detector 140, and the controller detects the state of the battery pack of the received information and the results of the controller are transmitted out to the unit cell management unit and the vehicle controller – [0031], Figure 1); and
a control unit, upon execution of the program, configured to perform feedback control of the output current and the output voltage of the lithium-ion battery on the basis of a calculation result from the calculation unit (battery pack controller 150 detects state of the battery pack 110 based on the received information, i.e. output current and output voltage, and the result of the state detection by the battery pack controller is transmitted to the unit cell management unit 120, i.e. feedback control – [0031], Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]), wherein the monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power per unit time ΔW becomes close to zero (condition 2 is a process of increasing the allowable discharge power during the charging period, and once the allowable discharge current reaches the pre-correction allowable discharge current, temporarily stops the process of increasing the allowable discharge current – [0099]; condition 3 carries out an increase process of the allowable discharge power during the charging period and stops the increase/decrease process of the allowable discharge power when the allowable discharge current reaches the pre-correction allowable discharge current – [0100]; conditions 2 and 3 detail processes which the rate of change of the power becomes close to zero and the increase of the discharge current is stopped).”
Ohkawa is silent with regards to the language of “a memory that stores a program; and a processor that, upon execution of the program, is configured to operate as:
a storage unit configured to store measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit.”
Kobayashi teaches “a memory that stores a program (main storage device 902 – [0063]); and a processor that (computer with CPU – [0063]), upon execution of the program, is configured to operate as:
a storage unit configured to store measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit (data acquisition unit acquires information including voltage and current relating to charging and discharging, and stores these pieces of information – [0028]).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ohkawa to incorporate the teaching of Kobayashi to utilize storage of the voltage and current relating to the discharging and charging of a battery. By storing the charging and discharging values this is an improvement that yields predictable results to the lifetime of the battery with the controlling of the operations of the battery during charging and discharging.
Ohkawa in view of Kobayashi is silent with regards to the language of “wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point.”
Liang teaches “wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point (“Preferably, the discharge load module and the current detection module cooperate with each other. The programmable controller controls the power increase of the discharge load and the discharge current of the battery increases. The current detection module detects the current in the discharge circuit and transmits the current data to the processor… At this time, the power increase of the electric load is stopped, and it is determined that the circuit current at this time is the maximum discharge current of the battery.” – [0010]).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ohkawa in view of Kobayashi to incorporate the teaching of Liang to have the discharge load module and the detection modules cooperate with each other so that the programmable controller can control the power and current of the battery discharge. By controlling the power and current of the battery discharge this is an improvement that yields predictable results with respect to the efficiency of the battery.
Claims 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohkawa (US20190067954) in view of Liang (CN110058118A).
In regards to Claims 4 and 7, Ohkawa teaches “by causing a computer to give an instruction to an output control device for the lithium-ion battery (battery pack controller 150 detects state of the battery pack 110 based on the received information, i.e. output current and output voltage, and the result of the state detection by the battery pack controller is transmitted to the unit cell management unit 120, i.e. feedback control – [0031], Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]; battery pack controller connected to vehicle controller, i.e. computer – [0038]), monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing an output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power per unit time ΔW becomes close to zero (condition 2 is a process of increasing the allowable discharge power during the charging period, and once the allowable discharge current reaches the pre-correction allowable discharge current, temporarily stops the process of increasing the allowable discharge current – [0099]; condition 3 carries out an increase process of the allowable discharge power during the charging period and stops the increase/decrease process of the allowable discharge power when the allowable discharge current reaches the pre-correction allowable discharge current – [0100]; conditions 2 and 3 detail processes which the rate of change of the power becomes close to zero and the increase of the discharge current is stopped)”
Ohkawa is silent with regards to the language of “performing control for monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing an output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point.”
Liang teaches “performing control for monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing an output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point (“Preferably, the discharge load module and the current detection module cooperate with each other. The programmable controller controls the power increase of the discharge load and the discharge current of the battery increases. The current detection module detects the current in the discharge circuit and transmits the current data to the processor… At this time, the power increase of the electric load is stopped, and it is determined that the circuit current at this time is the maximum discharge current of the battery.” – [0010]).”
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Ohkawa to incorporate the teaching of Liang to have the discharge load module and the detection modules cooperate with each other so that the programmable controller can control the power and current of the battery discharge. By controlling the power and current of the battery discharge this is an improvement that yields predictable results with respect to the efficiency of the battery.
Examiner’s Note
Claims 2 and 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a), but are not rejected under a prior art rejection (35 U.S.C. 102 or 35 U.S.C. 103).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 8-9 are allowed.
In regards to Claims 2, 5, and 8, the most pertinent prior art is Ohkawa (US20190067954). Ohkawa teaches a battery control device with the monitoring of the charging and discharging of the battery.
In regards to Claims 2, 5, and 8, Ohkawa teaches “a voltage measuring unit configured to measure an output voltage of the lithium-ion battery (voltage detector 140 – Figure 1; voltage detection circuit 122 to measure the voltage of the battery cells 111 – Figure 2; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]);
a current measuring unit configured to measure an output current of the lithium- ion battery (current detector 130 – Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]);
a calculation unit configured to output a voltage and a current which are to be output from the lithium-ion battery on the basis of the measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit (battery pack controller receives data from the current detector 130 and the voltage detector 140, and the controller detects the state of the battery pack of the received information and the results of the controller are transmitted out to the unit cell management unit and the vehicle controller – [0031], Figure 1); and
a control unit, upon execution of the program, is configured to perform feedback control of the output current and the output voltage of the lithium-ion battery on the basis of a calculation result from the calculation unit (battery pack controller 150 detects state of the battery pack 110 based on the received information, i.e. output current and output voltage, and the result of the state detection by the battery pack controller is transmitted to the unit cell management unit 120, i.e. feedback control – [0031], Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]).”
Secondary prior art Kobayashi (US20240204548) teaches the limitations “memory that stores a program (main storage device 902 – [0063]); and a processor that (computer with CPU – [0063]), upon execution of the program, is configured to operate as:
a storage unit configured to store measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit (data acquisition unit acquires information including voltage and current relating to charging and discharging, and stores these pieces of information – [0028]).”
Tertiary prior art Liang (CN110058118A) teaches the limitations “wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point (“Preferably, the discharge load module and the current detection module cooperate with each other. The programmable controller controls the power increase of the discharge load and the discharge current of the battery increases. The current detection module detects the current in the discharge circuit and transmits the current data to the processor… At this time, the power increase of the electric load is stopped, and it is determined that the circuit current at this time is the maximum discharge current of the battery.” – [0010]).”
Ohkawa in view of Kobayashi and Liang are silent with regards to the language of “wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for monitoring the output current of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a value ΔW/ΔI obtained by dividing a rate of change of an output electric power per unit time ΔW by a rate of change of the output current per unit time Δl becomes equal to or less than a preset threshold value” and it would not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ohkawa in view of Kobayashi and Liang to incorporate the teaching to utilize the value of ΔW/ΔI with the control of the lithium-ion battery. By utilizing the value of ΔW/ΔI with the control of the battery, this is an improvement that improves the output efficiency of the battery when operating under large currents.
In regards to Claims 3, 6, and 9, Ohkawa teaches “a voltage measuring unit configured to measure an output voltage of the lithium- ion battery (voltage detector 140 – Figure 1; voltage detection circuit 122 to measure the voltage of the battery cells 111 – Figure 2; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]);
a current measuring unit configured to measure an output current of the lithium- ion battery (current detector 130 – Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]);
a calculation unit configured to output a voltage and a current which are to be output from the lithium-ion battery on the basis of the measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit (battery pack controller receives data from the current detector 130 and the voltage detector 140, and the controller detects the state of the battery pack of the received information and the results of the controller are transmitted out to the unit cell management unit and the vehicle controller – [0031], Figure 1); and
a control unit, upon execution of the program, configured to perform feedback control of the output current and the output voltage of the lithium-ion battery on the basis of a calculation result from the calculation unit (battery pack controller 150 detects state of the battery pack 110 based on the received information, i.e. output current and output voltage, and the result of the state detection by the battery pack controller is transmitted to the unit cell management unit 120, i.e. feedback control – [0031], Figure 1; lithium ion battery is used – [0028]), wherein the control unit is configured to perform:
monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a rate of change of the output electric power per unit time ΔW becomes close to zero (condition 2 is a process of increasing the allowable discharge power during the charging period, and once the allowable discharge current reaches the pre-correction allowable discharge current, temporarily stops the process of increasing the allowable discharge current – [0099]; condition 3 carries out an increase process of the allowable discharge power during the charging period and stops the increase/decrease process of the allowable discharge power when the allowable discharge current reaches the pre-correction allowable discharge current – [0100]; conditions 2 and 3 detail processes which the rate of change of the power becomes close to zero and the increase of the discharge current is stopped); and
control for monitoring the output current of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a value ΔW/ΔI obtained by dividing a rate of change of an output electric power per unit time ΔW by a rate of change of the output current per unit time Δl becomes equal to or less than a preset threshold value, selectively according to an output mode”
Secondary prior art Kobayashi teaches the limitation “memory that stores a program (main storage device 902 – [0063]); and a processor that (computer with CPU – [0063]), upon execution of the program, is configured to operate as:
a storage unit configured to store measurement results from the voltage measuring unit and the current measuring unit (data acquisition unit acquires information including voltage and current relating to charging and discharging, and stores these pieces of information – [0028]).”
Tertiary prior art Liang (CN110058118A) teaches the limitations “wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for monitoring an output electric power of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point (“Preferably, the discharge load module and the current detection module cooperate with each other. The programmable controller controls the power increase of the discharge load and the discharge current of the battery increases. The current detection module detects the current in the discharge circuit and transmits the current data to the processor… At this time, the power increase of the electric load is stopped, and it is determined that the circuit current at this time is the maximum discharge current of the battery.” – [0010]).”
Ohkawa in view of Kobayashi and Liang are silent with regards to the language of “wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for monitoring the output current of the lithium-ion battery while increasing the output current of the lithium-ion battery and stopping an increase of the output current of the lithium-ion battery at a time point at which a value ΔW/ΔI obtained by dividing a rate of change of an output electric power per unit time ΔW by a rate of change of the output current per unit time Δl becomes equal to or less than a preset threshold value” and it would not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Ohkawa in view of Kobayashi and Liang to incorporate the teaching to utilize the value of ΔW/ΔI with the control of the lithium-ion battery. By utilizing the value of ΔW/ΔI with the control of the battery, this is an improvement that improves the output efficiency of the battery when operating under large currents.
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.
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/YOSSEF KORANG-BEHESHTI/Examiner, Art Unit 2857