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
Claims 9-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/10/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-8) in the reply filed on 08/10/2026 is acknowledged.
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 10/06/2023, 11/07/2024, 10/10/2025 and 05/08/2026 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 § 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, 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shih et al. US 2019/0207398 (hereinafter Shih).
Regarding claim 1, Shih discloses a battery charging apparatus comprising:
a communication unit configured to communicate with a battery management server (¶¶ 0046-0047, 0078 and abstract: the battery exchange station 107 can communicate with the server 103 via a wired or wireless communication network 109; the battery exchange station includes a wired or wireless communication device); and
a controller configured to:
compare a charge state of a battery being charged (¶¶ 0021, 0036; comparing the analysis results (e.g., as reference information) with the characteristics of a battery (i.e., the above described types of battery information that this battery may be) to be charged, the present system can better understand the battery to be charged, and therefore is able to generate a detailed, customized charging rule for that battery);
transmit state information of the battery to the battery management server (¶¶ 0046-0047, 0088; the server 103 is configured to (1) collect battery information from the battery memory 113A through the battery exchange station 107 via the network 109 the collected battery information includes battery charging information (e.g., SOC information, a current battery temperature, a current cell temperature, a current circuit temperature, an error status, a suggested battery charging temperature, a suggested battery charging current, a suggested battery charging voltage, a suggested battery charging cycle, a suggested battery charging speed, a suggested battery charging time, etc.);
receive a charge profile of the battery from the battery management server (¶¶ 0015-0016, 0046-0047; the system (e.g., a server) can generate a corresponding set of "charging commands" and then transmit these charging commands to the battery-exchange station for implementation); and
control the battery based on the received charge profile of the battery (¶¶ 0015-0016, 0018-0019, 0021, 0026-0028; The charging commands can be updated periodically (e.g., by the server) based on the charging rules selected for each of the exchangeable energy storage devices and be sent to the multiple device-exchange stations).
Regarding claim 5, Shih discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising: wherein the battery has identification information configured therein (¶¶ 0021-0022, 0088; a unique battery identity serial number).
Regarding claim 6, Shih discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising:
wherein the controller is further configured to:
transmit (¶ 0069; Such reference information can be stored locally ( e.g., in the battery exchange station 107) or can be transmitted or uploaded to the server 103) a state of the battery to the battery management server based on the identification information of the battery (¶¶ 0034, 0042, 0069; the battery exchange station 107 can analyze the collected battery information to determine or identify battery characteristics or patterns that can be used as reference information for generating customized battery charging rules); and
receive the charge profile of the battery from the battery management server based on the identification information of the battery (¶ 0047; After collecting
the battery information, the server 103 can analyze the collected battery information to determine or identify battery characteristics or patterns that can be used as reference
information to select charging rules from the database 105 or generate customized battery charging rules).
Regarding claim 7, Shih discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising:
wherein the charge profile of the battery is generated based on at least one of state information of the battery during charging of the battery (¶¶ 0024-0025, 0046-0047, 0088; SOC information) and state information of the battery during regenerative braking of an apparatus including the battery.
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) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shih in view of Lindemann et al. US 2017/0267116 (hereinafter Lindemann).
Regarding claim 2, Shih fails to disclose the battery charging apparatus comprising: wherein the controller is further configured to predict a state of charge (SOC) of the battery based on the charge profile of the battery and predict a distance to empty and a failure based on the predicted SOC.
Lindemann further discloses the battery charging apparatus (¶ 0002) comprising: wherein the controller is further configured to predict a state of charge (SOC) of the battery (¶ 0018; the controller 50 uses the collected battery performance parameters in the execution of the battery degradation monitoring logic 30 to thereby determine or estimate the amount of electrical energy remaining in the battery pack 12 and also estimate a remaining electric vehicle range) based on the charge profile of the battery and predict a distance to empty (¶ 0021; range predications) and a failure (0%) based on the predicted SOC (¶¶ 0026, 0039; Such SOC breakpoints may be embodied as the SOC data bins noted above, i.e., calibrated bands or SOC ranges from 0% to 100% SOC).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Shih to incorporate with the teaching of Lindemann by including the battery degradation monitoring logic to estimate the remaining electric vehicle operating range of the vehicle, because it would be advantageous to understand a quantifiable state of health of the battery pack and further increase resale value of the vehicle.
Regarding claim 3, Shih discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising: wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether the battery is rentable (¶ 0014; the predicted exchange demands are calculated/derived for each of the device-exchange stations by the server based on the empirical information regarding exchange information and predicted exchange information in the past).
Lindemann further discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising: wherein the controller is further configured to determine whether the battery is rentable, based on the distance to empty (¶ 0021; battery degradation monitoring logic 30 in providing the most accurate estimations and electric range predictions) and the failure of the battery (¶¶ 0026, 0039; Such SOC breakpoints may be embodied as the SOC data bins noted above, i.e., calibrated bands or SOC ranges from 0% to 100% SOC).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Shih to incorporate with the teaching of Lindemann by including a controller to quantify the SOH of the battery pack, because it would be advantageous to prevent dead battery and further prolong the service life of the whole system.
Regarding claim 4, Shih in view of Lindemann discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising:
wherein the controller is further configured to: predict a lifespan of the battery based on the charge profile of the battery (Shih, ¶¶ 0015, 0020-0025), and determine whether the battery is rentable (Shih, ¶¶ 0015, 0117-0122) based on the predicted lifespan (Lindemann, ¶ 0054).
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shih in view of Ambrosio et al. US 2009/0096424 (hereinafter Ambrosio).
Regarding claim 8, Shih fails to disclose the battery charging apparatus comprising: wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the charge profile of the battery from a battery management apparatus included in the battery.
Ambrosio further discloses the battery charging apparatus comprising: wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the charge profile of the battery from a battery management apparatus (¶ 0020; a battery management system which provides for accumulation and analysis of historical data relating to battery use) included in the battery (Abstract, a battery management system (BMS) located on the battery or battery pack).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Shih to incorporate with the teaching of Ambrosio by including the BMS in the battery, because it would be advantageous to determine appropriate charge current based on battery chemistry and state, therefore prevent overcharging the battery pack and avoid reducing the service life.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZIXUAN ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)272-6739. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/ZIXUAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 08/22/2026
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