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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
Figure 2 should be designated by the legend --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Figure 2 is repeatedly referred to in the drawing legend and throughout the specification as prior art. Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6-10 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
With respect to claim 6, "calculating resistances of a positive resistor and a negative resistor in each resistor pair" is recited but does not describe the location of the resistor pair, or actually require a resistor pair in the circuit. The claim is indefinite since it does not define the structural relationship between a resistor pair and battery packs, nor is it clear if the claim actually requires a resistor pair, or merely resistance calculation.
Claims 7-10 and 12-14 depend from claim 6 and are rejected for the same reasons.
The Examiner notes that claim 2 first introduces the resistor pair limitation so it appears claim 6 was meant to depend from claim 2.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 6-10 and 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to judicial exception without significantly more.
Step 1
Claims 6-10 and 12-14 are directed to a process, and therefore falls within one of the four statutory categories of invention set forth in 35 U.S.C. 101.
Step 2A, Prong One
Claim 6 recites a judicial exception, abstract idea, of determining resistances of a resistor pair based on battery pack parameters and a current-sharing condition. This is a mathematical concept.
Step 2A, Prong Two
Claim 6 does not recite additional elements that integrate into a practical application. The claim merely uses the parameters to determine resistances and does not apply the calculated resistances by, for example, installing the resistor pair, controlling operation of the battery packs, changing current flow, or otherwise using the calculated result to impose a meaningful limit on the judicial exception.
Step 2B
The additional elements of the battery pack are generic components recited at a high level of generality and merely link the abstract idea to a technological environment without imposing a meaningful limit on the abstract idea. The claim does not actually require a resistor pair to be provided.
Claims 7-10 and 12-14 depend from claim 6 and similarly recite features such as calculating, determining, obtaining, having certain resistances and ratios, and satisfying certain conditions which amount to mere data collection and manipulation and further fail to provide additional elements that integrate into a practical application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA).
With respect to claim 1, AAPA discloses a battery pack parallel circuit [Fig. 2], wherein the battery pack parallel circuit is connected to a charge/discharge apparatus [INVP+ and INVP-], the battery pack parallel circuit comprises a battery module formed by a plurality of battery packs connected in parallel [i.e. (1) through (3)], and battery packs located at two ends of the battery module are a first end battery pack and a second end battery pack respectively [the first pack (1) and the last pack (3)]; and a positive terminal of the first end battery pack is configured as a positive terminal of the battery pack parallel circuit and connected to a positive connection terminal of the charge/discharge apparatus [Rs1 connected to INVP+], and a negative terminal of the second end battery pack is configured as a negative terminal of the battery pack parallel circuit and connected to a negative connection terminal of the charge/discharge apparatus [Rs4 connected to INVP-].
Claim(s) 1, 5, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shigemizu et al. [US 2011/0279085].
With respect to claims 1 and 11, Shigemizu discloses a battery pack parallel circuit [Fig. 6], wherein the battery pack parallel circuit is connected to a charge/discharge apparatus [via the depicted terminals “+” and “-“], the battery pack parallel circuit comprises a battery module formed by a plurality of battery packs connected in parallel [battery packs 1 through n], and battery packs located at two ends of the battery module are a first end battery pack and a second end battery pack respectively [battery pack 1 and battery pack n]; and a positive terminal of the first end battery pack is configured as a positive terminal of the battery pack parallel circuit and connected to a positive connection terminal of the charge/discharge apparatus [battery pack 1 connected to the terminal “+”], and a negative terminal of the second end battery pack is configured as a negative terminal of the battery pack parallel circuit and connected to a negative connection terminal of the charge/discharge apparatus [battery pack n connected to terminal “-“].
With respect to claim 5, Shigemizu further discloses wherein the charge/discharge apparatus comprises a charger, an inverter, or a converter [see at least converters 30].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-4 and 15-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if canceled and incorporated into independent claim 1 including all of the limitations of the base claim and the intervening claims.
With respect to claims 2 and 15, the prior art of record does not suggest or disclose the claimed combination of elements or steps as recited, most particularly the claimed, “wherein the battery module comprises at least one resistor pair formed by a positive resistor and a negative resistor; wherein the positive resistor has an equivalent resistance of a connection impedance between positive charge terminals of two adjacent battery packs, and the negative resistor has an equivalent resistance of a connection impedance between negative charge terminals of the two adjacent battery packs; and a resistance ratio of the positive resistor to the negative resistor in the resistor pair satisfies a battery pack current sharing condition.”
Claims 3-4 depend from claim 2 and claims 16-19 depend from claim 15 and are objected to for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANIEL R PELTON whose telephone number is (571)270-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NATHANIEL R PELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859