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 Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 5 of the remarks, filed 12/17/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of reconsideration is previously cited reference HONG (US Pub. No. 2011/0163604), which is relied upon to teach the limitation “the second charging source configured to power the load when the battery is being charged by the first charging source”. This action is made non-final in order to present the new grounds of rejection.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WALLEY (US PG Pub 2018/0041060; previously cited) in view of LIM (US PG Pub 2017/0279284; cited on IDS with date 3/21/2024) and HONG (US Pub. No. 2011/0163604; cited on IDS with date 3/21/2024).
Regarding claim 1, WALLEY discloses a system (120, Fig. 2) for charging of a battery (133, Fig. 1; battery is shown in Fig. 2 without a reference number), the system comprising:
a first charging source coupled to an input node of the battery (charging source comprises a switch controlled by controller 122 in Fig. 2), the first charging source configured to charge the battery through the input node of the battery (¶ 0034: charging architecture 200 provides two conduction paths to the battery 133 that may be selected individually in a dual-mode operation of the charger 120….The second conduction path traverses the controller 122 to provide a fast charge path);
a second charging source, parallel with the first charging source (121, Fig. 2: ¶ 0034: charging architecture 200 provides two conduction paths to the battery 133 that may be selected individually in a dual-mode operation of the charger 120. The first conduction path traverses the inductive buck converter 121 to provide a slow charge path. Given that inductors have small height restrictions, the inductors may not store a large amount of power in an x-y footprint, thereby limiting the amount of current that can run through the first conduction path), coupled to an input node of a load (¶ 0061: output system voltage Vsys may be tapped from a node located between the inductor and the pass gate 124; as shown in Fig. 2, the output of charging source 121 is connected to “Vsys” which provides power to the system load as disclosed in ¶ 0060-0061 and 0063), and the first charging source has a first charge rate that differs from a second charge rate of the second charging source (¶ 0034: The first conduction path traverses the inductive buck converter 121 to provide a slow charge path.… The second conduction path traverses the controller 122 to provide a fast charge path; ¶ 0037: To obtain at least 98% efficiency from the charging architecture 200, a bypass mode for a fast charge is provided by traversing the second conduction path. In this path, the inductive buck converter 121 is bypassed to support a high current transmission to the battery 133 and, thereby charge the battery 133 in less time. In this implementation, the adapter output 115 may be configured to match (or at least correspond to) the operational voltage needed to charge the battery 133. Otherwise, for a normal charge (or slow charge), the inductive buck converter 121 can be traversed over the first conduction path); and
a switch (124, Fig. 2) having a first node coupled to the input node of the battery and a second node on an opposite side of the switch, the second node coupled to the input node of the load (as shown in Figure 2, switch 12 has a first node directly connected to the battery at Vbat and a second node directly connected to the load at Vsys), wherein the switch is configured to switch from the second charging source to the first charging source for charging the battery (¶ 0034: charging architecture 200 provides two conduction paths to the battery 133 that may be selected individually in a dual-mode operation of the charger 120. The first conduction path traverses the inductive buck converter 121 to provide a slow charge path. Given that inductors have small height restrictions, the inductors may not store a large amount of power in an x-y footprint, thereby limiting the amount of current that can run through the first conduction path. The second conduction path traverses the controller 122 to provide a fast charge path; ¶ 0035: the total path resistance Rdrop for each of the two conduction paths is measured. In this respect, the path with the least amount of conduction loss is selected; ¶ 0037: see above; ¶ 0039: charger controller 122 may be configured to control the second conduction path such that the charge current is provided to the battery 133 as a periodic pulse signal; the “switch from the second charging source to the first charging source” is implied in the selection of one of the charging sources, in that if the first charging source is active, then the switch 124 must be closed in order that, e.g., the pulse charging of the first charging source as disclosed in ¶ 0039 does not affect the load connected at Vsys at the output of charging source 121) by isolating the battery from the load (¶ 0031: charger 120 may include one or more pass gates (e.g., 123, 124); ¶ 0060: the pass gate 124 is coupled in series between the output system voltage Vsys and the load (e.g., the battery 133); switch 124 is located between load connected at Vsys and battery connected at Vbat and is operable to isolate the battery from the load) such that an electrical current from the second charging source is configured to enter the load at a point between the input node of the load and the second node of the switch (¶ 0061: output system voltage Vsys may be tapped from a node located between the inductor and the pass gate 124), and wherein the battery is different from the load (¶ 0060 discloses, as an example, that battery voltage Vbat and the output system voltage Vsys are different, which shows that the battery is different from the load).
WALLEY fails to disclose the first charging source is coupled to a first power source to power the first charging source; and the second charging source is coupled to a second power source to power the second charging source, the second power source different from the first power source.
LIM discloses the first charging source (102a, Fig. 1A) is coupled to a first power source (at 104a, Fig. 1A) to power the first charging source (¶ 0013: first battery charger 102a is configured to receive a first input voltage, Vin 1, at a first input terminal 104a); and the second charging source (112a, Fig. 1A) is coupled to a second power source (at 114a, Fig. 1A) to power the second charging source (¶ 0015: second battery charger 112a is configured to receive a second input voltage, Vin 2, at a second input terminal 114a), the second power source different from the first power source (¶ 0011: if each input source could be connected to a different battery charger and the multiple chargers utilized together to charge the battery, then that capability would negate the need for complicated input power selection circuitry, and also significantly increase the battery charging speed. As described below, the present invention provides such a capability with a multiple input, multiple battery charger configuration for each single system involved; ¶ 0012: FIG. 1A is a schematic circuit diagram of a multiple charger configuration 100a, which can be utilized to implement one exemplary embodiment of the present invention).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the first power source and the second power source of LIM into the system for charging of WALLEY to produce an expected result of a system for charging including a first power source and a second power source. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to provide multiple power sources utilized together, therefore significantly increasing the charging speed (LIM, ¶ 0011) and/or in order to provide enhanced redundancy such that should one power source fail, the system can continue operating with the other power source.
WALLEY fails to disclose the second charging source configured to power the load when the battery is being charged by the first charging source.
HONG discloses the second charging source (20, Figs. 1 & 4) configured to power the load (40) when the battery (60) is being charged by the first charging source (50; ¶ 0048: an adapter 10 connects with a power interface 90 of a power supply circuit 100. Accordingly, the adapter 10 may supply power to a DC-DC converter 20 and a charging IC 50, respectively. At this time, the DC-DC converter 20 converts power provided from the adapter 10 into an appropriate level. For example, power supplied from the adapter 10 may be regulated to a level of 4.2V/3 A and provided to the system 40 through the first switch 30; ¶ 0050: Meanwhile, power provided from the adapter 10 is also transferred to a charger IC 50, and the charger IC 50 may control power provided from the adapter 10 and provide it to the battery 60).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention was made to incorporate the second charging source powering the load when the battery is being charged by the first charging source as disclosed in HONG into the system for charging of WALLEY to produce an expected result of a system for charging including a second charging source powering a load when a battery is being charged by a first charging source. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve system efficiency by reducing load on the battery, ensuring faster charging times, and/or extending the battery's lifespan.
Regarding claim 2, WALLEY discloses the first charging source comprises one of a pulse current charger, a buck charger, or a buck/boost charger (¶ 0039).
Regarding claim 3, WALLEY discloses when the battery is charged by the first charging source, the switch is configured to decouple the battery from the load (¶ 0034-0035: this is implied in the selection of one of the charging sources, in that if the first charging source is active, then the switch 124 must be closed in order that, e.g., the pulse charging as disclosed in ¶ 0039 does not affect the load connected at Vsys at the output of charging source 121).
Regarding claim 4, WALLEY discloses a protection circuit module (PCM) configurable to monitor a state of the battery and determine data relevant for managing the battery (¶ 0031, 0033).
Regarding claim 5, WALLEY discloses the PCM is configured to monitor the battery by measuring one or more of voltage, temperature, state of charge, depth of discharge, health, air flow, and current (¶ 0031, 0033).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL HERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9a-5p ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at (571) 272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Manuel Hernandez/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 4/9/2026
/TAELOR KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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