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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicant' s amendment and response filed 6/17/2026 has been entered and made record. This application contains 10 pending claims.
Claims 1-2 have been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 6/17/2026 regarding claims rejections under 35 U.S.C. 101 in claim 1-10 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant argues on pages 8-12 of the remark filed on 6/17/2026 that “… Applicants respectfully traverse the rejection of Claims 1-10 under 35 U.S.C. § 101. In view of the concurrent amendments, independent Claim 1 and dependent Claim 2 have been amended to recite a concrete, hardware-integrated backup energy storage system that utilizes physical measurement feedback loops and automated hardware control. The amended claims 1-2 do not merely recite an abstract mathematical algorithm or a mental process; instead, they are directed to a specific technical solution rooted in a tangible technological environment to solve a practical engineering problem in battery health monitoring. … Accordingly, when viewed as a whole, the amended claims are directed to a concrete technological system solving an engineering problem, rather than an abstract idea or a mere mathematical concept.”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees applicant’s argument. The step of “executing a battery state of health estimation procedure when the processor determine that a current discharge of depth of the battery is less than or equal to a depth of discharge of a first detection point” is a mathematical concept, therefore, it is considered to be an abstract idea. The steps of “determining a voltage difference between the current battery voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery”; and “determining the state of health of the battery based on the accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances” are a combination of mathematical concept and mental process, therefore, they are considered to be an abstract idea. Thus, the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The applicant argues on page 12 of the remark filed that “The combination of features in Claims 1 and 2 establishes a specific technical solution to a specific problem: how to achieve real-time, highly accurate, and reliable battery health assessment under the active operating constraints of a backup energy storage system. … This specific combination improves the operation of the backup energy storage system itself, enhancing its utility, accuracy, and operational reliability. Because the amended claims are directed to a tangible hardware-controlled system that integrates any alleged abstract concept into a practical application, and because they recite a specific combination of features that improve battery monitoring technology.”
The Examiner respectfully disagrees applicant’s argument. The additional elements “establishing an initial open circuit voltage curve of the battery in advance”; “executing, by the processor, a recharging to the battery by the charger when the processor determines that a current battery voltage of the battery by the voltage measurement circuit is lower than a threshold voltage, and a connection between the battery and the charger is conducted by a controlling of the processor”; “wherein the data storage device stores the battery state of health estimation procedure”; “wherein the battery state of health estimation procedure including: obtaining, by the processor, an initial open circuit voltage according to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage curve”; “obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of current sampled voltage differences according to the voltage differences between the depth of discharge of the first detection point and a depth of discharge of a second detection point, wherein the depth of discharge of the first detection point is greater than the depth of discharge of a second detection point”; “obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances according to the accumulation of current sampled voltage differences” are not sufficient to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. The alleged improvement of the operation of the backup energy storage system itself, enhancing its utility, accuracy, and operational reliability relates to improvement to the abstract idea itself. Therefore, the current claims do not recite additional elements that are indicative of integration of an abstract idea into a practical application.
Dependent claims 2-10 provide additional features/steps which are considered part of an expanded abstract idea of the independent claim 1, and does not integrate the abstract ideas into a practical application.
Hence, the Examiner submits that the rejections of claims 1-10 are proper.
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
As to claim 1, the claim recites “An estimation method applied to a state of health of a battery within a backup energy storage system, the backup energy storage system including processor, a data storage device, and a voltage measurement circuit, the processor is connected to the battery, the data storage device, and the voltage measuring circuit, the battery is connected to a charger, the estimation method executed by the processor including:
establishing an initial open circuit voltage curve of the battery in advance;
executing, by the processor, a recharging to the battery by the charger when the processor determines that a current battery voltage of the battery by the voltage measurement circuit is lower than a threshold voltage, and a connection between the battery and the charger is conducted by a controlling of the processor; and
executing, by the processor, a battery state of health estimation procedure when the processor determined that a current discharge of depth of the battery is less than or equal to a depth of discharge of a first detection point, wherein the data storage device stores the battery state of health estimation procedure;
wherein the battery state of health estimation procedure including:
obtaining, by the processor, an initial open circuit voltage according to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage curve;
determining, by the processor, a voltage difference between the current battery voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery;
obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of current sampled voltage differences according to the voltage differences between the depth of discharge of the first detection point and a depth of discharge of a second detection point, wherein the depth of discharge of the first detection point is greater than the depth of discharge of a second detection point;
obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances according to the accumulation of current sampled voltage differences; and
determining, by the processor, the state of health of the battery based on the accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances.”
Under the Step 1 of the eligibility analysis, we determine whether the claim is directed to a statutory category by considering whether the claimed subject matter falls within the four statutory categories of patentable subject matter identified by 35 U.S.C. 101: Process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. The above claim is considered to be in a statutory category (process for claim 1).
Under the Step 2A, Prong One, we consider whether the claim recites a judicial exception (abstract idea). In the above claim, the bold type portion constitutes an abstract idea because, under a broadest reasonable interpretation, it recites limitations that fall into/recite an abstract idea exceptions. Specifically, under the 2019 Revised Patent Subject matter Eligibility Guidance, it falls into the grouping of subject matter when recited as such in a claim that covers mathematical concepts (mathematical relationships, mathematical formulas or equations, mathematical calculations) and mental processes (concepts performed in the human mind, and examples of mental processes include observations, evaluations, judgments, and opinions).
In claim 1, the step of “executing a battery state of health estimation procedure when the processor determine that a current discharge of depth of the battery is less than or equal to a depth of discharge of a first detection point” is a mathematical concept, therefore, it is considered to be an abstract idea.
The steps of “determining a voltage difference between the current battery voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery”; and “determining the state of health of the battery based on the accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances” are a combination of mathematical concept and mental process, therefore, they are considered to be an abstract idea.
Next, under the Step 2A, Prong Two, we consider whether the claim that recites a judicial exception is integrated into a practical application.
In this step, we evaluate whether the claim recites additional elements that integrate the exception into a practical application of that exception.
The claim comprises the following additional elements:
establishing an initial open circuit voltage curve of the battery in advance; executing, by the processor, a recharging to the battery by the charger when the processor determines that a current battery voltage of the battery by the voltage measurement circuit is lower than a threshold voltage, and a connection between the battery and the charger is conducted by a controlling of the processor; wherein the data storage device stores the battery state of health estimation procedure; wherein the battery state of health estimation procedure including: obtaining, by the processor, an initial open circuit voltage according to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage curve; obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of current sampled voltage differences according to the voltage differences between the depth of discharge of the first detection point and a depth of discharge of a second detection point, wherein the depth of discharge of the first detection point is greater than the depth of discharge of a second detection point; obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances according to the accumulation of current sampled voltage differences.
The additional elements “establishing an initial open circuit voltage curve of the battery in advance”; “executing, by the processor, a recharging to the battery by the charger when the processor determines that a current battery voltage of the battery by the voltage measurement circuit is lower than a threshold voltage, and a connection between the battery and the charger is conducted by a controlling of the processor”; “wherein the data storage device stores the battery state of health estimation procedure”; “wherein the battery state of health estimation procedure including: obtaining, by the processor, an initial open circuit voltage according to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage curve”; “obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of current sampled voltage differences according to the voltage differences between the depth of discharge of the first detection point and a depth of discharge of a second detection point, wherein the depth of discharge of the first detection point is greater than the depth of discharge of a second detection point”; “obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances according to the accumulation of current sampled voltage differences” are not sufficient to integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because they only add insignificant extra-solution activities to the judicial exception. In addition, a generic processor is generally recited and therefore, not qualified as a particular machine.
In conclusion, the above additional elements, considered individually and in combination with the other claims elements do not reflect an improvement to other technology or technical field, do not reflect improvements to the functioning of the computer itself, do not recite a particular machine, do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing, and, therefore, do not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. Therefore, the claim is directed to a judicial exception and require further analysis under the Step 2B.
The above claim, does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because they are generically recited and are well-understood/conventional in a relevant art as evidenced by the prior art of record (Step 2B analysis).
For example, obtaining an initial open circuit voltage according to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage curve is disclosed by “Hatano US 20210405120”, [0040]; FIG. 15, #151; and “Barsoukov US 20040128089”, [0039], [0067], Claim 8.
For example, obtaining an accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances according to the accumulation of current sampled voltage differences is disclosed by “Paryani US 20190283617”, Claim 7, Claim 14; and “Lim US 20210083295”, [0142].
The claim, therefore, is not patent eligible.
With regards to the dependent claims, claims 2-10 provide additional features/steps which are considered part of an expanded abstract idea of the independent claims, and do not integrate the abstract ideas into a practical application.
The dependent claims are, therefore, also not patent eligible.
Examiner' s Note
Regarding Claims 1-10, the most pertinent prior arts are “Akao US 20200107581”, “Hatano US 20210405120”, “Arai US 20150253389”, “Paryani US 20190283617”, “Lim US 20210083295”, “Rice US 20220357405”, “Park US 20170205468”, “Li CN 108761343A”, and “Barsoukov US 20040128089”.
As to claim 1, Akao teaches establishing an initial open circuit voltage curve of the battery in advance (Akao, FIG. 3, #50; FIG. 21; [0034], [0233]);
executing, by the processor, a recharging to the battery by the charger when the processor determines that a current battery voltage of the battery by the voltage measurement circuit is lower than a threshold voltage, and a connection between the battery and the charger is conducted by a controlling of the processor (Akao, [0203], [0204]; FIG. 3, #50; FIG. 8, #200); and
wherein the data storage device stores the battery state of health estimation procedure (Akao, [0188]).
Hatano teaches wherein the battery state of health estimation procedure including: obtaining, by the processor, an initial open circuit voltage according to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage curve (Hatano, [0040]; FIG. 15, #151).
Parynai teaches obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances according to by the accumulation of current sampled voltage differences (Parynai, Claim 7, [0039], [0044], Claim 14).
Rise teaches determining by the processor, the state of health of the battery based on the accumulation of estimated DC internal resistances (Rise, Abstract, [0004], [0024], FIG. 1, #114).
However, the prior arts of record, alone or in combination, do not fairly teach or suggest “executing, by the processor, a battery state of health estimation procedure by a battery state of health estimation program when the processor determine that a current discharge of depth of the battery is less than or equal to the depth of discharge of the first detection point”;
“determining, by the processor, a voltage difference between the current battery voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery and the initial open circuit voltage corresponding to the current discharge of depth of the battery”;
“obtaining, by the processor, an accumulation of current sampled voltage differences according to the voltage differences between the depth of discharge of the first detection point and a depth of discharge of a second detection point, wherein the depth of discharge of the first detection point is greater than the depth of discharge of a second detection point” including all limitations as claimed.
Dependent claims 2-10 are also distinguish over the prior art for at least the same reason as claim 1.
Examiner notes, however, that claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101, and therefore, not patent eligible.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
“Barsoukov US 20220163592” teaches “From a current measurement circuit, digital samples are received of a current signal that flows through a battery cell within a measurement period. From a voltage measurement circuit, digital samples are received of a voltage signal across the battery cell within the measurement period. First voltage spectral components are generated based on performing a first transform operation on the digital samples of the voltage signal. A current spectrum is generated based on performing a second transform operation on the digital samples of the current signal. Second voltage spectral components are generated based on a first condition of the battery cell before the measurement period and a second condition of the battery cell after the measurement period. A voltage spectrum is including the first voltage spectrum and the second voltage spectrum is generated. An impedance spectrum of the battery cell is generated based on the voltage spectrum and the current spectrum.”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAL CE MANG whose telephone number is (571)272-0370. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday- 8:30-12:00, 1:00-5:30 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Catherine T Rastovski can be reached at (571) 270-0349. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAL CE MANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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