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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/29/2023 and 09/05/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-19 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.
Regarding claims 1, 6, 13 and 18, the phrase "output/outputting the bidirectional alternating current to the power unit" renders the claim indefinite because the claimed unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit is able to output the bidirectional alternating current to the power unit, the phrase “output/outputting” interprets as “generating or transmitting.” In light of this interpretation, the claimed unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit can only transmit/output the unidirectional alternating current to the power unit. For purpose of continued examination, the Office takes position to interpret this phrase as “the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit is able to output the alternating current to the power unit, and the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit is capable of receiving alternating current from the power unit based on the control signal”
The dependent claims are rejected for the reasons as the independent claims from which they depend.
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) 1-3, 9-10, 12-15, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xie (CN111029667A).
Regarding claim 1, Xie teaches a charging and heating apparatus, comprising:
a power unit (fig. 2, element 130) configured to be connected to a battery (30) to be charged/discharged and perform voltage conversion on a received voltage and current (page 13, lines 2-3 form the bottom; the voltage and current is converted by an AC/DC conversion unit) and output a converted voltage to the battery (page 16, lines 2-4 from the bottom of this page: the voltage conversion unit performs charge and discharge processing on the battery to be heated according to the control signal);
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a unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit (fig. 2, element 20 and page 13, lines 2-3 from the bottom: the power source 20 can be a DC power source obtained after the AC power source undergoes AC/DC conversion) connected to the power unit (see fig. 2 above, element 130) and configured to output a bidirectional alternating current or a preset current to the power unit (page 14, lines 13-15, 24-26 and page 15, lines 23-26: the power source 20 is in a discharged state, and the battery 30 to be heated is in a charged state (current flows to a first direction); in second period of time, the battery 30 to be heated is in a discharged state (current flows to a second direction)); and
a control unit (120) connected to the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit (see fig. 2; element 120 is connected to element 20) and configured to:
in response to the battery being in a heating mode, control the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to output the bidirectional alternating current to the power unit, such that the battery self-heats under excitation of the bidirectional alternating current (page 16: by charging and discharging a certain frequency of AC pulse current to the battery, the battery can be charged and discharged within a short period of time, and the Joule heat generated by the internal resistance of the battery); and
in response to the battery being in a charge/discharge mode, control the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to output the preset current to the power unit, such that the battery is charged/discharged (page 14, lines 13-15, 24-26 and page 15, lines 23-26: the power source 20 is in a discharged state, and the battery 30 to be heated is in a charged state; in second period of time, the battery 30 to be heated is in a discharged state).
Regarding claim 2, Xie teaches wherein:
the control unit is further configured to be communicatively connected to a battery management system of the battery, to respond to a request from the battery management system for the heating mode or the charge/discharge mode (page 13, lines 3-7, 12-14; monitoring the real-time temperature of the battery 30); and
the battery management system sets a mode of the battery as the heating mode or the charge/discharge mode based on at least one of a real-time temperature or a state of X (SOX) parameter of the battery (page 13, lines 19-21; the control unit can determine the operating mode of the battery heating system 100 according to the level of the temperature indicated by the received temperature monitoring signal).
Regarding claim 3, Xie teaches wherein the control unit is configured to, in response to the real-time temperature of the battery being lower than a preset value and the SOX parameter of the battery meeting a preset condition, control the battery to enter the heating mode (page 16, lines 25-30; the control unit is specifically configured to: output the control signal when the temperature monitoring signal indicates that the temperature of the battery 30 to be heated is lower than a preset threshold).
Regarding claim 9, Xie teaches wherein in one period of the bidirectional alternating current, a duration during which a current direction of the bidirectional alternating current is from the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to the power unit is greater than or equal to a duration during which the current direction is from the power unit to the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit (page 19, lines 13-15; adjustable charging and discharging frequency).
Regarding claim 10, Xie teaches wherein in one period of the bidirectional alternating current, a duration during which a current direction of the bidirectional alternating current is from the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to the power unit is greater than or less than a duration during which the current direction is from the power unit to the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit (page 19, lines 13-15; based on the charging and discharging frequency).
Regarding claim 12, Xie teaches the charging and heating apparatus further comprising: a first switch unit connected to the power unit and the control unit, the first switch unit being configured to be switched on or off under control of a battery management system; and a second switch unit connecting the power unit to the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit; wherein the control unit is connected to the second switch unit, to connect or disconnect the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to or from the power unit.
Regarding claim 13, Xie teaches a method for controlling a charging and heating apparatus, comprising:
obtaining a state parameter of a battery read by a battery management system (page 13, lines 3-7; monitoring the battery temperature);
outputting a bidirectional alternating current to the battery in response to the state parameter being within a first preset range, such that the battery self-heats under driving of the bidirectional alternating current (page 16, lines 25-30; the control unit is specifically configured to: output the control signal when the temperature monitoring signal indicates that the temperature of the battery 30 to be heated is lower than a preset threshold; and/or when the temperature monitoring signal indicates that the temperature of the battery to be heated is higher than or equal to the preset threshold, the output of the control signal is stopped); and
outputting a preset current to the battery in response to the state parameter being within a second preset range (the first preset range is the same as the second preset range), such that the battery is charged (page 13, lines 32-35; the battery to be heated receives a charging current from the power supply through the voltage conversion unit within a first time period).
Regarding claim 14, Xie teaches wherein the state parameter comprises at least one of a real-time temperature or a state of X (SOX) parameter of the battery (page 13, lines 19-21; the control unit can determine the operating mode of the battery heating system 100 according to the level of the temperature indicated by the received temperature monitoring signal).
Regarding claim 15, Xie teaches wherein outputting the bidirectional alternating current to the battery in response to the state parameter being within the first preset range comprises:
outputting the bidirectional alternating current to the battery in response to the real-time temperature of the battery being lower than a preset value and the SOX parameter of the battery meeting a preset condition (page 16, lines 25-30; the control unit is specifically configured to: output the control signal when the temperature monitoring signal indicates that the temperature of the battery 30 to be heated is lower than a preset threshold).
Regarding claim 17, Xie teaches wherein: the bidirectional alternating current is a first bidirectional alternating current; and the preset current comprises: a unidirectional direct current; or a plurality of segments of second bidirectional alternating currents and a plurality of segments of unidirectional direct currents, the plurality of segments of second bidirectional alternating currents and the plurality of segments of unidirectional direct currents being distributed alternately at intervals (page 14, lines 17-21; alternately charged and discharged).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 5, 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xie in view of Lin (CN108621829).
Regarding claim 5, Xie fails to teach wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive a state parameter, collected by the battery management system, of the battery in the charge/discharge mode, the state parameter indicating that a charge/discharge rate of the battery reaches a preset threshold; and upload the state parameter and identification information of the battery to a cloud.
However, Lin further discloses wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive a state parameter, collected by the battery management system, of the battery in the charge/discharge mode, the state parameter indicating that a charge/discharge rate of the battery reaches a preset threshold (page 15, lines 8-11); and upload the state parameter and identification information of the battery to a cloud (page 25, line 33 to page 26, line 3).
It would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Xie to incorporate with the teaching of Lin by uploading data to the cloud server, because it would be advantageous to reduce costs for servers and establish real-time monitoring of devices.
Regarding claim 8, Xie fails to teach the charging and heating apparatus further comprising: a display panel connected to the control unit and configured to display the real-time temperature and a state parameter of the battery.
However, Lin further discloses the charging and heating apparatus further comprising: a display panel connected to the control unit and configured to display the real-time temperature and a state parameter of the battery (page 14, line 45 to page 15, line 11).
It would have been obvious to one skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Xie to incorporate with the teaching of Lin by allowing mobile device to access the data from the cloud server, because it would be advantageous to remotely monitor the real-time parameter of the battery device and make real-time decision regarding the displayed data.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 6-7, 11, 16, 18-19 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, Xie in view of Lin fails to teach wherein the control unit is configured to, in response to the real-time temperature of the battery being greater than or equal to a preset value and the SOX parameter of the battery meeting a preset condition, control the battery to enter the charge/discharge mode.
Regarding claim 6, Xie in view of Lin fails to teach wherein the control unit is further configured to upload the SOX parameter, a real-time voltage, and the real-time temperature of the battery to a cloud, such that the cloud determines, based on the SOX parameter, the real-time voltage, the real-time temperature, and historical charge/discharge record information, whether the battery meets a heating condition, and, in response to the battery meeting the heating condition, control the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to output the bidirectional alternating current to the power unit.
Regarding claim 7, in view of Lin Xie teaches wherein the control unit is further configured to upload the SOX parameter, a real-time voltage, and the real-time temperature of the battery to a cloud, such that the cloud determines, based on the SOX parameter, the real-time voltage, the real-time temperature, and historical charge/discharge record information, whether the battery meets a charge/discharge condition, and, in response to the battery meeting the charge/discharge condition, control the unidirectional/bidirectional conversion unit to output the preset current to the power unit.
Regarding claim 11, Xie in view of Lin teaches wherein: the bidirectional alternating current is a first bidirectional alternating current; and the preset current comprises a plurality of segments of second bidirectional alternating currents and a plurality of segments of unidirectional direct currents, and the plurality of segments of second bidirectional alternating currents and the plurality of segments of unidirectional direct currents are distributed alternately at intervals.
Regarding claim 16, Xie in view of Lin teaches wherein outputting the preset current to the battery in response to the state parameter being within the second preset range comprises:
outputting the preset current to the battery in response to the real-time temperature of the battery being greater than or equal to a preset value and the SOX parameter of the battery meeting a preset condition.
Regarding claim 18, Xie in view of Lin teaches wherein outputting the bidirectional alternating current to the battery in response to the state parameter being within the first preset range comprises: uploading the SOX parameter, a real-time voltage, and the real-time temperature of the battery to a cloud, such that the cloud determines, based on the SOX parameter, the real-time temperature, and historical charge record information, whether the battery meets a heating condition, and under a condition that the battery meets the heating condition, outputting the first bidirectional alternating current to the battery to heat the battery.
Regarding claim 19, Xie in view of Lin teaches wherein the outputting a preset current to the battery under a condition that the state parameter is within a second preset range, such that the battery is charged comprises: uploading the SOX parameter, a real-time voltage, and the real-time temperature of the battery to a cloud, such that the cloud determines, based on the SOX parameter, the real-time voltage, the real-time temperature, and historical charge record information, whether the battery meets a charge/discharge condition; and in response to the battery meeting the charge/discharge condition, outputting the preset current to the battery to charge the battery.
Conclusion
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/ZIXUAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 01/09/2026