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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I and species A in the reply filed on 06/05/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Naruke et. al. (US20200313257A1).
Naruke discloses a temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit, the method being applied to a battery management system in a battery pack, wherein the battery energy distribution unit(i.e. battery temperature controllers 10) is provided with a battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system(i.e. temperature control plate 54, Fig. 5, ¶[0041], see cooling medium is circulated) and the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system is connected in series with a battery pack liquid cooling system(i.e. first doors 31); and
the temperature control method for the battery energy distribution unit comprises:
detecting target data of the battery energy distribution unit, wherein the target data comprises a first temperature(i.e. detection of upper end of usable temperature range, ¶[0041])) ; and
generating a control command according to the target data and sending the control command to the battery pack liquid cooling system so that the battery pack liquid cooling system starts to operate(i.e. cooling medium is circulated when temperature is higher than usable temperature range, ¶[0041]) according to the control command, thereby controlling a temperature of the battery energy distribution unit.
Regarding claim 2, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 1, wherein the target data comprises the first temperature(¶[0064, see average temperature measured), and the control command comprises a first control command(circulating the cooling fluid through the temperature control plate, ¶[0064]) and a second control command(door is opened to release heat when temp is below 35 C, ¶[0063]); and
generating the control command according to the target data and sending the control command to the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system so that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system starts to operate according to the control command comprises:
determining whether the first temperature is greater than or equal to a first temperature threshold(i.e. 35° C);
in response to a determination result that the first temperature is greater than or equal to the first temperature threshold, generating the first control command(circulating the cooling fluid through the temperature control plate, ¶[0064]) and sending the first control command to the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system so that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system starts to operate according to the first control command; and
in response to a determination result that the first temperature is less than the first temperature threshold, generating the second control command and sending the second control command to the battery pack liquid cooling system so that the battery pack liquid cooling system starts to operate according to the second control command(door is opened to release heat when temp is below 35 C, ¶[0063]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 4-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Naruke et. al. (US20200313257A1).
Regarding claim 4, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 2, wherein the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system starts to operate according to the control command in one of the following manners:
in a case where the first control command is generated, the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system according to the first control command circulates cooling fluids such as water( ¶[0041]) but does not explicitly say the circulation is done by controlling a pump. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize a standard method of circulating cooling fluid uses a pump, therefore it would have been obvious to have used a pump to circulate the cooling fluid.
The use of a known technique to improve similar devices (methods or products) in the same way is likely to be obvious. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (see MPEP § 2143, C.).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 4, after the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system controls the operation of the water pump according to the first control command, the temperature control method further comprises:
acquiring a second temperature of the battery energy distribution unit(checking the temperature again to maintain desired temperature);
determining whether the battery energy distribution unit satisfies a cooling condition according to the second temperature(in this case is the temperature above or below 35° C);
in response to a determination result that the battery energy distribution unit satisfies the cooling condition, generating the second control command and sending the second control command to the battery pack liquid cooling system so that the battery pack liquid cooling system controls the operation of the water pump according to the second control command, thereby controlling the temperature of the battery energy distribution unit(when the temperature is below 35° C the unit operates according to the second command described in the rejection of claim 2, ¶[0063] and ¶[0076] and performing temperature leveling including controlling the circulation pump thereby controlling the temperature) ;
in response to a determination result that the battery energy distribution unit does not satisfy the cooling condition, determining whether the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system fails to operate according to the second temperature(if the second temperature is above 50° C the unit has failed cool to normal condition and failed to operate, Fig. 6, ¶[0068]-[0070]);
in response to a determination result that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system fails to operate, determining a fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system according to the second temperature and performing fault processing on the battery energy distribution unit according to the fault type(determining the fault type, if the temp is between 50° and 55° C or above 55° C defines two fault conditions and determines the type of fault, ¶[0068]-[0070]); and
in response to a determination result that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system does not fail to operate(i.e. is below 50° C), generating the first control command and sending the first control command to the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system so that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system controls the operation of the water pump according to the first control command, thereby controlling the temperature of the battery energy distribution unit(the battery remains in normal cooling mode with cooling fluid circulation if under 50° C, ¶[0068], Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 7, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system fails to operate according to the second temperature comprises:
determining whether the second temperature is greater than or equal to a third temperature threshold(i.e. 50° C);
in response to a determination result that the second temperature is greater than or equal to the third temperature threshold, determining that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system fails to operate(when the temperature is above 50° C it has failed to operate, ¶[0069]); and
in response to a determination result that the second temperature is less than the third temperature threshold, determining that the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system operates normally(under 50° C the system uses normal cooling operations, ¶[0068]).
Regarding claim 8, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 1, wherein the fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system comprises insufficient cooling(50-55° C) and a cooling failure(above 55° C); and
determining the fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system according to the second temperature comprises:
determining whether the second temperature is less than a fourth temperature threshold(55° C);
in response to a determination result that the second temperature is less than the fourth temperature threshold, determining that the fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system is the insufficient cooling(unit operates under insufficient cooling conditions if below 55° C , ¶[0069]; and
in response to a determination result that the second temperature is greater than or equal to the fourth temperature threshold(55° C), determining that the fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system is the cooling failure(unit operates under failure conditions if above 55° C, ¶[0070]).
Regarding claim 9, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system is the insufficient cooling, performing the fault processing on the battery energy distribution unit according to the fault type comprises:
sending a power reduction command to a charging pile and reducing power of an engine by the vehicle controller according to the power reduction command according to the power reduction command(¶[0069], see restricts power output of the battery).
Regarding claim 10, Naruke discloses the temperature control method for a battery energy distribution unit according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the fault type of the battery energy distribution unit liquid cooling system is the cooling failure, performing the fault processing on the battery energy distribution unit according to the fault type comprises:
controlling the battery energy distribution unit to be powered off(¶[0070], see discharge of the battery and ignition is prohibited).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KAREN J. ARMSTRONG whose telephone number is (703)756-1243. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm EST.
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, Jeffrey Barton can be reached at (571) 272-1307. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/K.J.A./Examiner, Art Unit 1726
/JEFFREY T BARTON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1726 1 July 2026
Prosecution Insights