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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been received.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 3/15/2023, 3/29/2024, and 6/3/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the references given in the IDS are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 6, 8, and 17-18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 6 recites “a second battery having a second internal short circuit state determined to be the predetermined normal state” while parent claim 4 already recites “a second battery having a second internal short circuit state that is determined to be the predetermined normal state.”
Since a second battery and a second internal short circuit state was already introduced in claim 4, the examiner interprets the phrase in claim 4 as “the second battery having the second internal short circuit state that is determined to be the predetermined normal state.”
Claim 8 recites “in response to a charging current of the charger changing from the first charging current to a second charging current representing a charging of the second battery is completed” but the terms “charging current of the charger” and “second charging current representing charging of the second battery is completed” are already recited in claim 4. For the purposes of compact prosecution, the examiner interprets, the phrase as “in response to the charging current of the charger changing from the first charging current to the second charging current representing a charging of the second battery is completed”
Claim 17 recites “a second battery” on line 3 where “a second battery” is recited on line 2. For the purposes of compact prosecution, the examiner interprets “a second battery” on line 3 as “the second battery.”
Claim 18 recites “control a current greater than a first charging current of a charger is supplied to the second battery and a current less than the first charging current is supplied to the first battery” which should be “control a current greater than a first charging current of a charger to be supplied to the second battery and a current less than the first charging current to be supplied to the first battery.”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 5 is 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.
Claim 5 recites “transmitting a control signal to the second switch in the first circuit connected in parallel with the second battery” while parent claim 4 already recites “transmitting a control signal to a first switch in a first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery”
It is not clear whether the control signal being sent to the second switch and the control signal being sent the first switch are the same control signal or different control signals. For the purposes of compact prosecution, the examiner interprets claim 5 as reciting “transmitting the control signal to the second switch in the first circuit connected in parallel with the second battery”
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 11, 14-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Quiambao (US 20180062401 A1).
Regarding independent claim 1, Quiambao teaches a processor-implemented method (Figs. 2-3 and abstract: method 200), the method comprising:
determining a first internal short circuit resistance value of a first battery based on obtained sensor data (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220, voltage is monitored and compared to a model to determine internal resistance and flags the cell for a potential internal short circuit based on the resistance);
determining a first internal short circuit state of the first battery using the first internal short circuit resistance value (¶[17, 19, 26]: cell is flagged if internal resistance matches a potential short circuit state); and
performing a first control process of reducing a current of the first battery, for alleviating a current burden of the first battery, in response to the determined first internal short circuit state being a first state other than a predetermined normal state (¶[22, 45]: flagged cell is disconnected from the load and other cells of the battery, thereby reducing the current through the flagged battery to zero).
Regarding claim 2, Quiambao teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the first control process comprises transmitting a control signal to a first switch in a first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery to control a portion of a charging current of a charger to flow into the first circuit (Fig. 4A and ¶[28]: when switch between cell 105A and transformer 415 is ON, charging current ICH is diverted away cell 105 to transformer 415 and spare cell 405).
Regarding claim 3, Quiambao teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising:
electrically isolating the first battery in response to the first internal short circuit state of the first battery being a reduced-performance state compared to the first state (¶[22, 45]: see rejection for claim 1).
Regarding claim 4, Quiambao teaches the method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the first control process comprises:
in response to a second battery having a second internal short circuit state that is determined to be the predetermined normal state, charging the second battery with a first charging current of a charger by causing a second switch in a first circuit connected in parallel with the second battery to be turned off (¶[27, 32] and Fig. 4A: cells 105B-N not flagged are not coupled to the spare cell 405 and charge substantially at the same rate. It is implied that the switch between non-flagged cells and transformer is OFF); and
transmitting a control signal to a first switch in a first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery to control a portion of the first charging current to flow into the first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery (Fig. 4A and ¶[28]: when switch between cell 105A and transformer 415 is ON, part of charging current ICH is diverted away cell 105 to transformer 415 and spare cell 405).
Regarding claim 11, Quiambao teaches the method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to the first internal short circuit state being determined to be a second state (examiner interprets second state to be the same as the first state) and a second battery having a second internal short circuit state determined to be the predetermined normal state, performing a second control process of causing state information of the first battery to be within a first range (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220, voltages of cells are monitored and compared to a model to determine internal resistance and flags a cell for a potential internal short circuit based on the resistance. It is implied that internal resistance indicating a short circuit lies within a range of resistance values).
Regarding independent claim 14, Quiambao teaches an electronic device (Fig. 1: battery system 100), comprising:
a first battery (Figs. 1 and 4A: 105A);
a sensor configured to sense the first battery (Fig. 1: internal resistance detector 115 and short monitor 130);
a first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery (Fig. 4A: transformer 415 and spare cell 405 connected in parallel with cell 105A); and
a processor (Fig. 1: battery management system 110) configured to:
obtain sensor data of the first battery from the sensor;
determine a first internal short circuit resistance value of the first battery based on the sensor data (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220, voltage is monitored and compared to a model to determine internal resistance and flags a cell in the battery pack for a potential internal short circuit based on the resistance);
determine a first internal short circuit state of the first battery using the first internal short circuit resistance value (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220); and
perform a first control process of reducing a current of the first battery for alleviating a current burden of the first battery, in response to the determined first internal short circuit state of the first battery being a first state other than a predetermined normal state (¶[22, 45]: flagged cell is disconnected from the load and other cells of the battery, thereby reducing the current through the flagged battery to zero).
Regarding claim 15, Quiambao teaches the electronic device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to transmit a control signal to a first switch in the first circuit to control a portion of a charging current of a charger to flow into the first circuit (Fig. 4A and ¶[28]: when switch between cell 105A and transformer 415 is ON, charging current ICH is diverted away cell 105 to transformer 415 and spare cell 405).
Regarding claim 16, Quiambao teaches the electronic device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to electrically isolate the first battery in response to the first internal short circuit state of the first battery being a reduced performance state compared to the first state (¶[22, 45]: flagged cell is disconnected from the load and other cells of the battery, thereby reducing the current through the flagged battery to zero).
Regarding claim 17, Quiambao teaches the electronic device of claim 14, wherein the electronic device further comprises a second battery, and
wherein the processor is configured to, in response to a second battery having a second internal short circuit state determined to be the predetermined normal state, charge the second battery with a first charging current of a charger by causing a second switch in a first circuit connected in parallel with the second battery to be turned off (¶[27, 32] and Fig. 4A: cells 105B-N not flagged are not coupled to the spare cell 405 and charge substantially at the same rate. It is implied that the switch between non-flagged cells and transformer is OFF); and
transmit a control signal to a third switch in a first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery to control a portion of the first charging current to flow into the first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery (Fig. 4A and ¶[28]: when switch between cell 105A and transformer 415 is ON, part of charging current ICH is diverted away cell 105 to transformer 415 and spare cell 405).
Regarding claim 18, Quiambao teaches the electronic device of claim 14, wherein the first circuit comprises a converter (Fig. 4A and ¶[50]: flyback converter 820), and
wherein the processor is configured to, in response to a second battery of the electronic device having a second internal short circuit state determined to be the predetermined normal state, control the converter and a converter of the second battery (Fig. 4A and ¶[50]: the examiner interprets there is another corresponding flyback converter connected in parallel to cell 105B) to control a current greater than a first charging current of a charger is supplied to the second battery and a current less than the first charging current is supplied to the first battery (¶[27-28, 32]: when part of charging current ICH is diverted away cell 105A to transformer 415 and spare cell 405, cells 105B-N not flagged are not coupled to a spare cell 405 and charge substantially at the same rate. Since cells 105B-N are not coupled to a spare cell 405, their charging current is not diverted away and therefore is greater than the charging current for cell 105A).
Regarding independent claim 20, Quiambao teaches a battery pack (Fig .1: battery system 100), comprising:
a plurality of batteries (Figs. 1 and 4A: cells 105A-N); and
a control apparatus electrically connected to the plurality of batteries (Fig. 1: battery management system 110 connected to cells 105A-N),
wherein the control apparatus comprises:
a sensor configured to monitor each of the plurality of batteries (Fig. 1: internal resistance detector 115 and short monitor 130);
a first circuit connected in parallel with each battery of the plurality of batteries (Fig. 4A: transformer 415 and spare cell 405 connected in parallel with cell 105A); and
a processor (Fig. 1: battery management system 110) configured to:
obtain sensor data of each of the plurality of batteries from the sensor (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220, voltage is monitored and compared to a model to determine internal resistance and flags a cell in the battery pack for a potential internal short circuit based on the resistance);
determine a plurality of internal short circuit resistance values for each of the plurality of batteries based on the sensor data (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220);
determine a respective internal short circuit state of each battery of the plurality of batteries using respective internal short circuit resistance values (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220); and
perform a first control process of reducing a current of a first battery among the plurality of batteries for alleviating a current burden on the first battery through the first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery in response to a determined internal short circuit state of the first battery being a first state other than a predetermined normal state (¶[22, 45]: flagged cell is disconnected from the load and other cells of the battery, thereby reducing the current through the flagged battery to zero).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-10, 12-13, and 19 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.
Claims 5-10, 12-13, and 19 are allowable over prior art. The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for indicating allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 5, closest prior art, Quiambao teaches the method of claim 4.
Quiambao as considered and understood by the examiner does not teach or fairly suggest the method wherein the performing of the first control process comprises, in response to a charging current of the charger changing from the first charging current to a second charging current representing that a charging of the second battery is completed,
charging a first battery with the second charging current by causing the first switch in the first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery to be turned off, and transmitting a control signal to the second switch in the first circuit connected in parallel with the second battery
taken in combination with the other limitations of claim 5.
Another close prior art Endo (US 20210088596 A1) teaches a method wherein the performing of the first control process comprises, in response to a charging current of a charger (Fig. 1: 14) changing from a first charging current to a second charging current representing that a charging of a second battery is completed (Figs. 6B, 7B and ¶[13-14]: current changes after charging ends).
However, there is no motivation to combine them, and neither Quiambao or Endo teach charging a first battery with the second charging current by causing the first switch in the first circuit connected in parallel with the first battery to be turned off, and transmitting a control signal to the second switch in the first circuit connected in parallel with the second battery
Claims 6-8 are allowable over prior art by virtue of their dependence from claim 5.
Regarding claim 9, closest prior art Quiambao teaches the method of claim 1.
Quiambao as considered and understood by the examiner does not teach the method wherein the performing of the first control process comprises, in response to a second battery having a second internal short circuit state determined to be the predetermined normal state, controlling a first converter of the first battery and a second converter of the second battery to control a current greater than a required current of a load to be output from the second battery and a current less than the required current to be output from the first battery
taken in combination with the other limitations of claim 9.
Another close prior art Kristjansson (US 20200412136 A1) describes load sharing between two batteries 1S and 2S (¶[60]) where the each provide less than the load required so that together they provide the full load requirement.
Kristjansson does not teach controlling a first converter of the first battery and a second converter of the second battery to control a current greater than a required current of a load to be output from the second battery and a current less than the required current to be output from the first battery.
Claim 10 is allowable over prior art by virtue of its dependence from claim 9.
Regarding claim 12, closest prior art Quiambao teaches the method of claim 11, wherein the performing of the second control process comprises:
determining whether the state information is within the first range (¶[23-25] and Fig. 2: step 220);
in response to the state information being within the first range, controlling the first battery to be in a bypass state of being electrically isolated from the second battery (¶[22, 45]: flagged cell is disconnected from the load and other cells of the battery, thereby reducing the current through the flagged battery to zero);
Quiambao as considered and understood by the examiner does not teach, in response to the state information being above the first range, controlling the first battery to be discharged faster than the second battery; and
in response to the state information being below the first range, controlling the first battery to be charged until the state information enters the first range
taken in combination with the other limitations of claim 12.
Claim 13 is allowable over prior art by virtue of its dependence from claim 9.
Regarding claim 19, closest prior art Quiambao teaches the electronic device of claim 14 wherein the first circuit comprises a converter (Fig. 4A and ¶[50]: flyback converter 820).
Quiambao as considered and understood by the examiner does not teach wherein the first circuit comprises a converter, and
wherein the processor is configured to, in response to there being a second battery of the electronic device having a second internal short circuit state determined to be the predetermined normal state, control the converter and a converter of the second battery to control a current greater than a required current of a load is output from the second battery and a current less than the required current is output from the first battery
taken in combination with the other limitations of claim 19.
Another close prior art Kristjansson (US 20200412136 A1) describes load sharing between two batteries 1S and 2S (¶[60]) where the each provide less than the load required so that together they provide the full load requirement.
Kristjansson does not teach controlling a first converter of the first battery and a second converter of the second battery to control a current greater than a required current of a load to be output from the second battery and a current less than the required current to be output from the first battery.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hekmat (US 20210096398 A1) teaches a processor-implemented method (abstract, Figs. 5 and 10), the method comprising:
determining a first internal short circuit state of the first battery using the first internal short circuit resistance value (¶[49]: PMIC detects faulty batteries); and
performing a first control process of reducing a current of the first battery, for alleviating a current burden of the first battery, in response to the determined first internal short circuit state being a first state other than a predetermined normal state (abstract and ¶[48]: faulty battery is isolated so no current runs through it).
Hekmat does not appear to measure resistance.
Zhou (US 20200062140 A1) teaches bypass switches Sa7 and Sa8 but they are not wired in parallel with battery cell.
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.
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.
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/Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 April 13, 2026
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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