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.
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) 1-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kristjansson (US 2019/0214837).
Regarding claims 1, 7 and 13, Krisjansson discloses a battery charging method, comprising:
obtaining an external charging power supply (fig. 1, element 108; charger);
charging a main battery according to a reference strategy based on the external charging power supply (¶ 0017; the charger control circuitry can dynamically identify a charge rate that is optimal for the first battery at a given point in time and alter settings of the adjustable constant current limiter and/or the charger 108 to ensure that the first battery 104 is provided a constant level of charge at the identified charge rate); and
charging a backup battery according to a follow strategy based on the external charging power supply to maintain a target parameter of the backup battery in a charging process based on the external charging power supply (¶ 0017; the charge control circuitry also adjusts a total output setting of the charger 108 when altering the reference setting of the adjustable constant current limiter 114. This ensures that the charge output of the charger 109 remains the sum of a predetermined charge rate for the second battery 106 and the updated charge rate for the first battery) and a target parameter of the main battery in the charging process (by sampling the information form the first battery, and… ensure the first battery is provided a constant level of charge at the identified charge rate) based on the external charging power supply in a target range (¶¶ 0017-0018),
the backup battery and the main battery being connected in parallel (¶ 0013; 1st battery and 2nd battery arranged in parallel), and the target parameter (¶¶ 0017-0020; charging the battery at an identified charge rate) representing battery power (C-rate = Current/Capacity; where Current = Power/Voltage).
Regarding claims 2, 8 and 14, Krisjansson discloses wherein charging the backup battery according to the follow strategy based on the external charging power supply includes:
obtaining a target charging current (fig. 5, step 502 and ¶ 0050; determines target charge rates for the first battery and the second battery);
in response to a current value of the target charging current being larger than zero, charging the backup battery with the current value of the target charging current (¶ 0018; the charge output of the charger 108 remains the sum of a predetermined charge rate for the second battery 106); and
in response to the current value of the target charging current being equal to zero, stopping charging the backup battery with the current value of the target charging current (¶ 0028; the adjustable constant current limiter 230 limits current flows to the second battery).
Regarding claims 3, 9 and 15, Krisjansson discloses wherein obtaining the target charging current includes:
obtaining a first target charging current and a second target charging current (fig. 5, step 502); and
determining a minimum value of the first target charging current and the second target charging current as the target charging current to satisfy a charging balance of the main battery and the backup battery (¶ 0024 and claim 16; enabling battery charge-balancing).
Regarding claims 4, 10 and 16, Krisjansson discloses wherein obtaining the target charging current includes:
obtaining a first target charging current and a second target charging current (fig. 5, step 502); and
determining a maximum value of the first target charging current and the second target charging current as the target charging current to satisfy charging efficiency of the backup battery (¶ 0018; remains the sum of a predetermined charge rate for the second battery 106 and the updated charge rate for the first battery).
Regarding claims 5, 11 and 17, Krisjansson discloses the battery charging method further comprising:
periodically obtaining power and voltage of the main battery and power and voltage of the backup battery (¶ 0017; dynamically-assess battery parameters and use such parameters for dynamically adjusting the charge rate of the first battery);
wherein:
the first target charging current is a charging current determined based on a difference between the power of the backup battery and the power of the main battery in a same period (¶ 0023; facilitating independent charging of the two batteries at different charge rates);
the second target charging current is a charging current determined based on a difference between the voltage of the backup battery and the voltage of the main battery in the same period (¶ 0018; the charge control electronics can identify and select a new charge rate that corresponds to the changed battery parameters); and
the first target charging current and the second target charging current belong to the same period (¶ 0018; a predetermined charge rate for the second battery and the updated charge rate for the first battery).
Regarding claims 6, 12 and 18, Krisjansson discloses wherein:
the difference between the power of the backup battery and the power of the main battery corresponds to different power difference ranges, and the different power difference ranges correspond to different charging currents (¶ 0026; different capacities); and
the difference between the voltage of the backup battery and the voltage of the main battery corresponds to different voltage difference ranges (¶ 0029; different SOC), and the different voltage difference ranges correspond to the different charging currents (¶ 0050; different charge rates).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kabasawa et al.
US 2012/0038320
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/ZIXUAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 01/04/2026