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
The objections of claims 4, 12 and 18 are withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed June 12th, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The Applicant argues that Iida et al. teaches the sensor TS1 is attached to battery B6 having the highest temperature and TS2 is attached to the sensor having the lowest temperature which is the opposite configuration of the current application (Remarks, pages 12-13). However, independent claims 1, 9 and 17 do not specify any limitation regarding the temperature being higher or lower at a given location. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Thus, the Examiner respectfully contends that Iida et al. still meets the new limitations of claims 1, 9 and 17 and the argument is not persuasive.
The Applicant further argue that “although the other references may teach detecting temperature of batteries, they do not teach measuring temperatures at a first point and second point in a way that corresponds to the current application. Additionally, because the references do not teach detecting the temperature at the two specific points like in the current application, the references must also be silent regarding a controller using temperatures of the battery cells at the specific first point and second point to perform a predefined control operation like in the current application” (Remarks, page 14). Again, it is noted limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, supra. Again, the Examiner respectfully contends that Iida et al. discloses detecting the temperature at two specific points (at least TS1 and TS2). Thus, the argument is not persuasive.
Applicant’s other arguments with respect to claims 1-22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 9 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (Applicant provided JP 2012080598A) in view of Yoshida (US 20140370940).
Regarding claim 1, Iida et al. discloses a battery control system outlined below:
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Iida et al. discloses the battery control system comprises: a temperature measuring device (temperature sensors TS0, TS1, TS2) configured to measure a temperature of a first battery cell disposed at a first point (temperature sensor TS2 is attached to cell B14, para. [0081]) among a plurality of battery cells (B1-B14 may be secondary batteries or individual cells, para. [0049]) included in a battery assembly (assembled battery 11, Fig. 1), and a temperature of a second battery cell (temperature sensor TS1 is attached to cell B6, para. [0080]) disposed at a second point among the plurality of battery cells, wherein the second point is spaced apart from the first point (Fig. 1, shown above); and
a controller (control unit 12) configured to: monitor the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell (para. [0109]), and perform a predefined control operation for preventing state degradation (para. [0003]) due to temperature imbalance among the plurality of battery cells based on at least one of the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell (both temperatures are used in determining a temperature difference between the cells, pars. [0021]-[0022] and [0027]; where new power limit values are set in response to a temperature difference between the two sensors, pars. [0104], [0106] and [0109]); wherein the first battery cell is an outermost battery cell of the plurality of battery cells (cell B14 is the outermost cell, shown above) and wherein the plurality of battery cells includes: the first battery cell located on a first side of the second battery cell (as oriented in Fig. 1 and shown above, the first cell B14 is located on a bottom side of the second cell, B6) and a third battery cell located on a second side of the second battery cell (as oriented in Fig. 1 and shown above, a third cell, any of cells B1-B5, is located on an upper side of the second cell, B6).
Assuming, arguendo, that the temperature sensors do not comprises a temperature measuring device; Yoshida discloses a battery control system (having control unit 400) and further teaches a temperature measuring device (temperature measurement unit 300 with temperature sensors 321-323, Fig. 1, para. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system comprises a temperature measuring device.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include a temperature measuring device in order to measure temperature using multiple sensors and to send temperature data to a control unit (Yoshida, para. [0048]).
Regarding claim 9, Iida et al. discloses a battery control apparatus connected with a temperature measuring device (temperature sensors TS0, TS1, TS2) configured to measure a temperature of a first battery cell disposed at a first point (temperature sensor TS2 is attached to cell B14, para. [0081], shown above for claim 1) among a plurality of battery cells (B1-B14, Fig. 1, para. [0049]) included in a battery assembly (assembled battery 11) and a temperature of a second battery cell (temperature sensor TS1 is attached to cell B6, para. [0080]) disposed at a second point (Fig. 1, shown above for claim 1) among the plurality of battery cells (B1-B14, para. [0049], Fig. 1), wherein the second point is apart from the first point (Fig. 1), the battery control apparatus comprising: at least one processor (CPU, para. [0082]); and a non-transitory memory (such as non-volatile ROM, para. [0082]) configured to store at least one instruction executed (para. [0082]) by the at least one processor (CPU. para. [0082]), wherein the at least one instruction includes: an instruction to monitor the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell (para. [0109]); and an instruction to perform a predefined control operation for preventing state degradation (para. [0003]) due to temperature imbalance between the plurality of battery cells based on at least one of the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell (pars. [0021]-[0022] and [0027]; where new power limit values are set in response to a temperature difference between the two sensors, pars. [0104], [0106] and [0109]); wherein the first battery cell is an outermost battery cell of the plurality of battery cells (cell B14 is the outermost cell, shown above) and wherein the plurality of battery cells includes: the first battery cell located on a first side of the second battery cell (as oriented in Fig. 1 and shown above, the first cell B14 is located on a bottom side of the second cell, B6) and a third battery cell located on a second side of the second battery cell (as oriented in Fig. 1 and shown above, a third cell, any of cells B1-B5, is located on an upper side of the second cell, B6).
Assuming, arguendo, that the temperature sensors do not comprise a temperature measuring device; Yoshida discloses a battery control apparatus (having control unit 400) and further teaches a temperature measuring device (temperature measurement unit 300 with temperature sensors 321-323, Fig. 1, para. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the apparatus comprises a temperature measuring device.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include a temperature measuring device in order to measure temperature using multiple sensors and sending the data to a control unit (Yoshida, para. [0048]).
Regarding claim 17, Iida et al. discloses a control method of a battery control system including a temperature measuring device (temperature sensors TS0, TS1, TS2) configured to measure a temperature of a first battery cell disposed at a first point (temperature sensor TS2 is attached to cell B14, para. [0081], shown above for claim 1) among a plurality of battery cells (B1-B14, para. [0049], Fig. 1) included in a battery assembly and a temperature of a second battery cell (cell B6 using temperature sensor TS1, para. [0080], shown above for claim 1) disposed at a second point (Fig. 1, shown above for claim 1) among the plurality of battery cells (B1-B14, para. [0049], Fig. 1), wherein the second point is spaced apart from the first point (Fig. 1), and a control apparatus (control unit 12) configured to perform a predefined control operation based on the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell, the control method comprising: monitoring the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell; and performing a predefined control operation for preventing state degradation (para. [0003]) due to temperature imbalance between the plurality of battery cells based on at least one of the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell (pars. [0021]-[0022] and [0027]; where new power limit values are set in response to a temperature difference between the two temperature sensors, pars. [0104], [0106] and [0109]); wherein the first battery cell is an outermost battery cell of the plurality of battery cells (cell B14 is the outermost cell, shown above) and wherein the plurality of battery cells includes: the first battery cell located on a first side of the second battery cell (as oriented in Fig. 1 and shown above, the first cell B14 is located on a bottom side of the second cell, B6) and a third battery cell located on a second side of the second battery cell (as oriented in Fig. 1 and shown above, a third cell, any of cells B1-B5, is located on an upper side of the second cell, B6).
Assuming, arguendo, that the temperature sensors do not comprise a temperature measuring device; Yoshida discloses a battery control method (using control unit 400) and further teaches a temperature measuring device (temperature measurement unit 300 with temperature sensors 321-323, Fig. 1, para. [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the method uses a temperature measuring device.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to include a temperature measuring device in order to measure temperature using multiple sensors and sending the data to a control unit (Yoshida, para. [0048]).
Claims 2-4, 10-12 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (Applicant provided JP 2012080598A) in view of Yoshida (US 20140370940) as applied to claim 1 above and in further view of Fujikawa et al. (US 20210273270), Lee (US 20200251921) and Okuda et al. (US 20140356685).
Regarding claim 2, in the example disclosed by Iida et al. the second point (TS1, cell B6) corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the first point (pars. [0080]-[0081]) and Iida et al. does not appear to explicitly disclose an example where the first point has a higher instantaneous temperature.
However, Iida et al. does appear to suggest that the highest temperature may be detected regardless of location (“temperature detection unit detects a highest temperature among temperatures of the plurality of secondary batteries”, para. [0018] and also see para. [0020]) and Iida et al. states “the temperature sensor TS1 may be attached to a cell having the highest temperature” (para. [0080]) and also states “temperature sensors TS1 may be attached to a cell having the lowest temperature” (para. [0081]) and thus Iida’s system could be applied to a battery where the highest temperature cell is the outermost cell and Fujikawa et al. teaches a battery module having a plurality of cells (para. [0001]) where the outermost cell (cell En, Fig. 3A) is the cell with the highest temperature (pars. [0056]-[0057]) and where the cell with the lowest temperature would be the cell closest to the cooling inlet (the cell closest to inlet 13i would be the lowest temperature cell because it is in contact with the lowest temperature cooling liquid, pars. [0056]-[0057]) as shown below:
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As shown above, in the arrangement of Fujikawa et al. the first battery cell is an outermost cell which is located on a first side (the right side when facing the cells) of the second battery cell and a third battery cell is located on a second side of the second battery cell (such as one of the cells behind/on the back side of the second cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method are applied to a battery wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the second point.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Further, Lee teaches a battery having a plurality of cells (cells 11-14, Fig. 7) and Lee teaches the battery cells may have temperatures which are not based on being located at a specific location (in that internal cell 12 may be the highest temperature, para. [0059] or the lowest temperature cell, para. [0060]) and Okuda et al. discloses a battery having a plurality of cells (Fig. 4) and teaches that if the thermal conductivity of a heat transfer member is high the temperatures of the unit cells in the middle part may become lower than the temperatures of the unit cells at the ends (para. [0052])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method is used on batteries where the cell temperatures may fluctuate such that the highest temperature is an outermost cell (e.g., Fujikawa et al., En) and the lowest temperature is an inner cell (Lee, cell 12 para. [0060]) to meet the limitations or where an inner cell has a lower temperature than an outer cell (Okuda et al., para. [0052]) to meet the limitations.
Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Regarding claim 3, the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 2 discloses wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a highest instantaneous temperature value or a highest average temperature value in the battery assembly (Fujikawa et al., cell En, Fig. 3A), and wherein the second point corresponds to a location having a lowest instantaneous temperature value or a lowest average temperature value within the battery assembly (Fujikawa et al., cell at cooling inlet 13i, Fig. 3A).
Regarding claim 4, in the example disclosed by Iida et al. the second point (TS1, cell B6) corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the first point (pars. [0080]-[0081]) and Iida et al. does not appear to explicitly disclose an example where the first point has a higher instantaneous temperature.
However, Iida et al. does appear to suggest that the highest temperature may be detected regardless of location (“temperature detection unit detects a highest temperature among temperatures of the plurality of secondary batteries”, para. [0018] and also see para. [0020]) and Iida et al. states “the temperature sensor TS1 may be attached to a cell having the highest temperature” (para. [0080]) and also states “temperature sensors TS1 may be attached to a cell having the lowest temperature” (para. [0081]) and thus Iida’s system could be applied to a battery where the highest temperature cell is the outermost cell and Fujikawa et al. teaches a battery module having a plurality of cells (para. [0001]) where the outermost cell (cell En, Fig. 3A) is the cell with the highest temperature (pars. [0056]-[0057]) and where the cell with the lowest temperature would be the cell closest to the cooling inlet (the cell closest to inlet 13i would be the lowest temperature cell because it is in contact with the lowest temperature cooling liquid, pars. [0056]-[0057]) as shown above for claim 2.
As shown above for claim 2, in the arrangement of Fujikawa et al. the first battery cell is an outermost cell which is located on a first side (the right side when facing the cells) of the second battery cell and a third battery cell is located on a second side of the second battery cell (such as one of the cells behind/on the back side of the second cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method are applied to a battery wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value (Fujikawa et al., cell En, Fig. 3A) than that of the second point such that the controller is configured to perform the predefined control operation according to whether or not at least one of a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, wherein the first condition is the temperature of the first battery cell exceeding a predefined upper temperature limit, and wherein the second condition is a difference between the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell exceeding a predetermined reference difference value (Iida et al. discloses at least the second condition: difference in temperatures larger than a “preset reference temperature value”, pars. [0022], [0027], [0104] and [0106]).
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Further, Lee teaches a battery having a plurality of cells (cells 11-14, Fig. 7) and Lee teaches the battery cells may have temperatures which are not based on being located at a specific location (in that internal cell 12 may be the highest temperature, para. [0059] or the lowest temperature cell, para. [0060]) and Okuda et al. discloses a battery having a plurality of cells (Fig. 4) and teaches that if the thermal conductivity of a heat transfer member is high the temperatures of the unit cells in the middle part may become lower than the temperatures of the unit cells at the ends (para. [0052]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method is used on batteries where the cell temperatures may fluctuate such that the highest temperature is an outermost cell (e.g., Fujikawa et al., En) and the lowest temperature is an inner cell (Lee, cell 12, para. [0060]) to meet the limitations or where an inner cell has a lower temperature than an outer cell (Okuda et al., para. [0052]) to meet the limitations.
Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Regarding claim 10, in the example disclosed by Iida et al. the second point (TS1, cell B6) corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the first point (pars. [0080]-[0081]) and Iida et al. does not appear to explicitly disclose an example where the first point has a higher instantaneous temperature.
However, Iida et al. does appear to suggest that the highest temperature may be detected regardless of location (“temperature detection unit detects a highest temperature among temperatures of the plurality of secondary batteries”, para. [0018] and also see para. [0020]) and Iida et al. states “the temperature sensor TS1 may be attached to a cell having the highest temperature” (para. [0080]) and also states “temperature sensors TS1 may be attached to a cell having the lowest temperature” (para. [0081]) and thus Iida’s system could be applied to a battery where the highest temperature cell is the outermost cell and Fujikawa et al. teaches a battery module having a plurality of cells (para. [0001]) where the outermost cell (cell En, Fig. 3A) is the cell with the highest temperature (pars. [0056]-[0057]) and where the cell with the lowest temperature would be the cell closest to the cooling inlet (the cell closest to inlet 13i would be the lowest temperature cell because it is in contact with the lowest temperature cooling liquid, pars. [0056]-[0057]) as shown above for claim 2.
As shown above for claim 2, in the arrangement of Fujikawa et al. the first battery cell is an outermost cell which is located on a first side (the right side when facing the cells) of the second battery cell and a third battery cell is located on a second side of the second battery cell (such as one of the cells behind/on the back side of the second cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method are applied to a battery wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the second point.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Further, Lee teaches a battery having a plurality of cells (cells 11-14, Fig. 7) and Lee teaches the battery cells may have temperatures which are not based on being located at a specific location (in that internal cell 12 may be the highest temperature, para. [0059] or the lowest temperature cell, para. [0060]) and Okuda et al. discloses a battery having a plurality of cells (Fig. 4) and teaches that if the thermal conductivity of a heat transfer member is high the temperatures of the unit cells in the middle part may become lower than the temperatures of the unit cells at the ends (para. [0052]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method is used on batteries where the cell temperatures may fluctuate such that the highest temperature is an outermost cell (e.g., Fujikawa et al., En) and the lowest temperature is an inner cell (Lee, cell 12 para. [0060]) to meet the limitations or where an inner cell has a lower temperature than an outer cell (Okuda et al., para. [0052]) to meet the limitations.
Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Regarding claim 11, the combined teaching of the above-cited references for claim 10 discloses wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a highest instantaneous temperature value or a highest average temperature value in the battery assembly (Fujikawa et al., cell En, Fig. 3A), and wherein the second point corresponds to a location having a lowest instantaneous temperature value or a lowest average temperature value within the battery assembly (Fujikawa et al., cell at cooling inlet 13i, Fig. 3A).
Regarding claim 12, in the example disclosed by Iida et al. the second point (TS1, cell B6) corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the first point (pars. [0080]-[0081]) and Iida et al. does not appear to explicitly disclose an example where the first point has a higher instantaneous temperature.
However, Iida et al. does appear to suggest that the highest temperature may be detected regardless of location (“temperature detection unit detects a highest temperature among temperatures of the plurality of secondary batteries”, para. [0018] and also see para. [0020]) and Iida et al. states “the temperature sensor TS1 may be attached to a cell having the highest temperature” (para. [0080]) and also states “temperature sensors TS1 may be attached to a cell having the lowest temperature” (para. [0081]) and thus Iida’s system could be applied to a battery where the highest temperature cell is the outermost cell and Fujikawa et al. teaches a battery module having a plurality of cells (para. [0001]) where the outermost cell (cell En, Fig. 3A) is the cell with the highest temperature (pars. [0056]-[0057]) and where the cell with the lowest temperature would be the cell closest to the cooling inlet (the cell closest to inlet 13i would be the lowest temperature cell because it is in contact with the lowest temperature cooling liquid, pars. [0056]-[0057]) as shown above for claim 2.
As shown above for claim 2, in the arrangement of Fujikawa et al. the first battery cell is an outermost cell which is located on a first side (the right side when facing the cells) of the second battery cell and a third battery cell is located on a second side of the second battery cell (such as one of the cells behind/on the back side of the second cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method are applied to a battery wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value (Fujikawa et al., cell En, Fig. 3A) than that of the second point such that wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: perform the predefined control operation according to whether or not at least one of a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, wherein the first condition is the temperature of the first battery cell exceeding a predefined upper temperature limit, and wherein the second condition is a difference between the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell exceeding a predetermined reference difference value (Iida et al. discloses at least the second condition: difference in temperatures larger than a “preset reference temperature value”, pars. [0022], [0027], [0104] and [0106]).
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Further, Lee teaches a battery having a plurality of cells (cells 11-14, Fig. 7) and Lee teaches the battery cells may have temperatures which are not based on being located at a specific location (in that internal cell 12 may be the highest temperature, para. [0059] or the lowest temperature cell, para. [0060]) and Okuda et al. discloses a battery having a plurality of cells (Fig. 4) and teaches that if the thermal conductivity of a heat transfer member is high the temperatures of the unit cells in the middle part may become lower than the temperatures of the unit cells at the ends (para. [0052]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method is used on batteries where the cell temperatures may fluctuate such that the highest temperature is an outermost cell (e.g., Fujikawa et al., En) and the lowest temperature is an inner cell (Lee, cell 12 para. [0060]) to meet the limitations or where an inner cell has a lower temperature than an outer cell (Okuda et al., para. [0052]) to meet the limitations.
Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Regarding claim 18, in the example disclosed by Iida et al. the second point (TS1, cell B6) corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the first point (pars. [0080]-[0081]) and Iida et al. does not appear to explicitly disclose an example where the first point has a higher instantaneous temperature.
However, Iida et al. does appear to suggest that the highest temperature may be detected regardless of location (“temperature detection unit detects a highest temperature among temperatures of the plurality of secondary batteries”, para. [0018] and also see para. [0020]) and Iida et al. states “the temperature sensor TS1 may be attached to a cell having the highest temperature” (para. [0080]) and also states “ temperature sensors TS1 may be attached to a cell having the lowest temperature” (para. [0081]) and thus Iida’s system could be applied to a battery where the highest temperature cell is the outermost cell and Fujikawa et al. teaches a battery module having a plurality of cells (para. [0001]) where the outermost cell (cell En, Fig. 3A) is the cell with the highest temperature (pars. [0056]-[0057]) and where the cell with the lowest temperature would be the cell closest to the cooling inlet (the cell closest to inlet 13i would be the lowest temperature cell because it is in contact with the lowest temperature cooling liquid, pars. [0056]-[0057]) as shown above for claim 2.
As shown above for claim 2, in the arrangement of Fujikawa et al. the first battery cell is an outermost cell which is located on a first side (the right side when facing the cells) of the second battery cell and a third battery cell is located on a second side of the second battery cell (such as one of the cells behind/on the back side of the second cell).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method are applied to a battery wherein the first point corresponds to a location having a higher instantaneous temperature value or a higher average temperature value than that of the second point such that wherein the performing the predefined control operation includes: performing the predefined control operation according to whether or not at least one of a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, wherein the first condition is the temperature of the first battery cell (Fujikawa et al., cell En, Fig. 3A) exceeding a predefined upper temperature limit and the second condition is a difference between the temperature of the first battery cell and the temperature of the second battery cell exceeding a predetermined reference difference value (Iida et al. discloses at least the second condition: “preset reference temperature value”, pars. [0022], [0027], [0104] and [0106]).
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Further, Lee teaches a battery having a plurality of cells (cells 11-14, Fig. 7) and Lee teaches the battery cells may have temperatures which are not based on being located at a specific location (in that internal cell 12 may be the highest temperature, para. [0059] or the lowest temperature cell, para. [0060]) and Okuda et al. discloses a battery having a plurality of cells (Fig. 4) and teaches that if the thermal conductivity of a heat transfer member is high the temperatures of the unit cells in the middle part may become lower than the temperatures of the unit cells at the ends (para. [0052]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the system and method is used on batteries where the cell temperatures may fluctuate such that the highest temperature is an outermost cell (e.g., Fujikawa et al., En) and the lowest temperature is an inner cell (Lee, cell 12 para. [0060]) to meet the limitations or where an inner cell has a lower temperature than an outer cell (Okuda et al., para. [0052]) to meet the limitations.
Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to use the disclosure of Iida et al. for batteries having different configurations for the location of the highest and lowest temperature cells and thereby achieve the predictable result of reducing variations in degradation (Iida et al., Overview section).
Claims 5, 13 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (Applicant provided JP 2012080598A) in view of Yoshida (US 20140370940), Fujikawa et al. (US 20210273270), Lee (US 20200251921) and Okuda et al. (US 20140356685) as applied to claim 4, claim 9 or claim 18 above and in further view of Misawa (Applicant provided JP 2012227986A) and Kinoshita (Applicant provided JP 2009059504A).
Regarding claim 5, Iida et al. discloses that the voltage may be adjusted as a control operation (the output voltage or the output current is decreased to limit charging power, para. [0070]).
Insomuch as Iida et al. does not expressly disclose lowering a full charge voltage of the plurality of battery cells to a first predetermined voltage value; Misawa discloses a battery control system (with control unit, para. [0011]) where temperature of cells is measured (page 3, Overview) and Misawa teaches charge voltage is lowered according to cell temperature (pars. [0007] and [0036]-[0037]).
Further, Kinoshita discloses a battery control system (having a control unit, claim 1) which monitors temperature for preventing degradation/deterioration (para. [0004]) where a second condition (temperature difference threshold, pars. [0010]-[0011]) is used to lower the full charge voltage (charge stop voltage, pars. [0010] and [0012]) to a first predetermined voltage value (where predetermined values are shown by the function of Fig. 12A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the controller is configured to: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs during charging of the plurality of battery cells, perform a first control operation of lowering a full charge voltage of the plurality of battery cells to a first predetermined voltage value.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to lower the full charge voltage in order to prevent deterioration (Kinoshita, para. [0029]).
Regarding claim 13, Iida et al. discloses that the voltage may be adjusted as a control operation (the output voltage or the output current is decreased to limit charging power, para. [0070]).
Insomuch as Iida et al. does not expressly disclose lowering a full charge voltage of the plurality of battery cells to a first predetermined voltage value; Misawa discloses a battery control system (with control unit, para. [0011]) where the temperature of cells is measured (page 3, Overview) and Misawa teaches the charge voltage is lowered according to cell temperature (pars. [0007] and [0036]-[0037]).
Further, Kinoshita discloses a battery control system (having a control unit, claim 1) which monitors temperature for preventing degradation/deterioration (para. [0004]) where a second condition (temperature difference threshold, pars. [0010]-[0011]) is used to lower the full charge voltage (charge stop voltage, pars. [0010] and [0012]) to a first predetermined voltage value (where predetermined values are shown by the function of Fig. 12A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs during charging of the plurality of battery cells, perform a first control operation of lowering a full charge voltage of the plurality of battery cells to a first predetermined voltage value.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to lower the full charge voltage in order to prevent deterioration (Kinoshita, para. [0029]).
Regarding claim 19, Iida et al. discloses that the voltage may be adjusted as a control operation (the output voltage or the output current is decreased to limit charging power, para. [0070]).
Insomuch as Iida et al. does not expressly disclose lowering a full charge voltage of the plurality of battery cells to a first predetermined voltage value; Misawa discloses a battery control system (with control unit, para. [0011]) where temperature of cells is measured (page 3, Overview) and Misawa teaches charge voltage is lowered according to cell temperature (pars. [0007] and [0036]-[0037]).
Further, Kinoshita discloses a battery control system (having a control unit, claim 1) which monitors temperature for preventing degradation/deterioration (para. [0004]) where a second condition (temperature difference threshold, pars. [0010]-[0011]) is used to lower the full charge voltage (charge stop voltage, pars. [0010] and [0012]) to a first predetermined voltage value (where predetermined values are shown by the function of Fig. 12A).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the performing the predefined control operation includes: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs during charging of the plurality of battery cells, performing a first control operation of lowering a full charge voltage of the plurality of battery cells to a first predetermined voltage value.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to lower the full charge voltage in order to prevent deterioration (Kinoshita, para. [0029]).
Claims 6, 14 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (Applicant provided JP 2012080598A) in view of Yoshida (US 20140370940), Fujikawa et al. (US 20210273270), Lee (US 20200251921), Okuda et al. (US 20140356685), Misawa (Applicant provided JP 2012227986A) and Kinoshita (Applicant provided JP 2009059504A) as applied to claim 5, claim 14 or claim 19 above and in further view of Eto (US 20090121685).
Regarding claim 6, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose the controller is configured to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs after the first control operation, increase the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value.
However, Kinoshita further teaches wherein the controller is configured to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs after the first control operation, increase the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value (as indicated in Fig. 12A, when the temperature difference is decreased, the voltage increases) as shown annotated below (such as arriving at point 1 after the satisfied condition and then moving to point 2 after the temperature difference decreases):
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Similarly, Eto discloses a battery control system where charging voltage is controlled based on temperature (Abstract) and Eto teaches using different voltage levels depending on temperature (Fig. 6b) where voltage decreases as the temperature level increases (Fig. 6b) and Eto further teaches multiple voltage levels may be used depending on the temperature (multiple stages, pars. [0093]-[0094]) which would increase the voltage as the temperature value decreases.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the controller is configured to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs after the first control operation, increase the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use a voltage function (Kinoshita, Fig. 12a) or multiple voltage stages (Eto, pars. [0093]-[0094]) depending on the temperature value to thereby achieve more efficient control of the charging voltage based on the temperature such that as a temperature value increases, the voltage value decreases, and as the temperature value decreases the voltage value increases.
Regarding claim 14, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs, after the first control operation, increase the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value.
However, Kinoshita further teaches when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs, after the first control operation, increase the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value (as indicated in Fig. 12A, when the temperature difference is decreased, the voltage increases) as shown annotated above for claim 6 (such as arriving at point 1 after the satisfied condition and then moving to point 2 after the temperature difference decreases).
Similarly, Eto discloses a battery control apparatus where charging voltage is controlled based on temperature (Abstract) and Eto teaches using different voltage levels depending on temperature (Fig. 6b) where voltage decreases as the temperature level increases (Fig. 6b) and Eto further teaches multiple voltage levels may be used depending on the temperature (multiple stages, pars. [0093]-[0094]) which would increase the voltage as the temperature value decreases.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs, after the first control operation, increase the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use a voltage function (Kinoshita, Fig. 12a) or multiple voltage stages (Eto, pars. [0093]-[0094]) depending on the temperature value to thereby achieve more efficient control of the charging voltage based on the temperature such that as a temperature value increases, the voltage value decreases, and as the temperature value decreases the voltage value increases.
Regarding claim 20, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the performing the predefined control operation further includes: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs, after the first control operation, increasing the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value.
However, Kinoshita further teaches when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs, after the first control operation, increasing the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value (as indicated in Fig. 12A, when the temperature difference is decreased, the voltage increases) as shown annotated above for claim 6 (such as arriving at point 1 after the satisfied condition and then moving to point 2 after the temperature difference decreases).
Similarly, Eto discloses a battery control method where charging voltage is controlled based on temperature (Abstract) and Eto teaches using different voltage levels depending on temperature (Fig. 6b) where voltage decreases as the temperature level increases (Fig. 6b) and Eto further teaches multiple voltage levels may be used depending on the temperature (multiple stages, pars. [0093]-[0094]) which would increase the voltage as the temperature value decreases.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the performing the predefined control operation further includes: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions during charging of the plurality of battery cells is released occurs, after the first control operation, increasing the lowered full charge voltage value to a second predefined voltage value.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to use a voltage function (Kinoshita, Fig. 12a) or multiple voltage stages (Eto, pars. [0093]-[0094]) depending on the temperature value to thereby achieve more efficient control of the charging voltage based on the temperature such that as a temperature value increases, the voltage value decreases, and as the temperature value decreases the voltage value increases.
Claims 7-8, 15-16 and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iida et al. (Applicant provided JP 2012080598A) in view of Yoshida (US 20140370940), Fujikawa et al. (US 20210273270), Lee (US 20200251921) and Okuda et al. (US 20140356685) as applied to claim 4, claim 12 or claim 18 above and in further view of Fukushima et al. (Applicant provided JP 2003134687A).
Regarding claim 7, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the controller is configured to:
when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs in a fully charged state of the plurality of battery cells, perform a second control operation to block trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
However, Fukushima et al. discloses a battery control system (system for a charge control method, para. [0001]) for controlling charging based on detected temperature (para. [0001]) and Fukushima et al. teaches that temperature may rise during trickle charging (para. [0006]) which is conducted after the battery is charged using quick charging (para. [0003]) and further teaches blocking trickle charging when the temperature exceeds a predetermined value (para. [0022]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the controller is configured to: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs in a fully charged state of the plurality of battery cells, perform a second control operation to block trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to block trickle charging in order to prevent overheating.
Regarding claim 8, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose trickle charging.
However, Fukushima et al. further teaches the controller is configured to: after the trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells is blocked, after the second control operation, allow trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells (in that Fukushima et al. teaches the trickle charge may occur intermittently, para. [0028], is blocked when temperature exceeds a predetermined value, para. [0022], and occurs again after cooling such as to 35⁰ C, pars. [0028] and [0034]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the controller is configured to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions is released occurs in a state in which the trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells is blocked, after the second control operation, allow trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
The person of ordinary skill would have found it obvious to allow trickle charging when the battery cools in order to maintain the battery in a fully charged state.
Regarding claim 15, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs in a fully charged state of the plurality of battery cells, perform a second control operation to block trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
However, Fukushima et al. discloses a battery control apparatus (system for a charge control method, para. [0001]) for controlling charging based on detected temperature (para. [0001]) and Fukushima et al. teaches that temperature may rise during trickle charging (para. [0006]) which is conducted after the battery is charged using quick charging (para. [0003]) and further teaches blocking trickle charging when the temperature exceeds a predetermined value (para. [0022]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs in a fully charged state of the plurality of battery cells, perform a second control operation to block trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to block trickle charging in order to prevent overheating.
Regarding claim 16, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose trickle charging.
However, Fukushima et al. further teaches wherein when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions is released occurs in a state in which the trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells is blocked, after the second control operation, allow trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells (in that Fukushima et al. teaches the trickle charge may occur intermittently, para. [0028], is blocked when temperature exceeds a predetermined value, para. [0022], and occurs again after cooling such as to 35⁰ C, pars. [0028] and [0034]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the instruction to perform the predefined control operation includes an instruction to: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions is released occurs in a state in which the trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells is blocked, after the second control operation, allow trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
The person of ordinary skill would have found it obvious to allow trickle charging when the battery cools in order to maintain the battery in a fully charged state.
Regarding claim 21, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose wherein the performing the predefined control operation includes: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs in a fully charged state of the plurality of battery cells, performing a second control operation to block trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
However, Fukushima et al. discloses a battery control method (a charge control method, para. [0001]) for controlling charging based on detected temperature (para. [0001]) and Fukushima et al. teaches that temperature may rise during trickle charging (para. [0006]) which is conducted after the battery is charged using quick charging (para. [0003]) and further teaches blocking trickle charging when the temperature exceeds a predetermined value (para. [0022]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the performing the predefined control operation includes: when an event satisfying at least one of the first condition and the second condition occurs in a fully charged state of the plurality of battery cells, performing a second control operation to block trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
The person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to block trickle charging in order to prevent overheating.
Regarding claim 22, Iida et al. does not expressly disclose trickle charging.
However, Fukushima et al. further teaches wherein when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions is released occurs in a state in which the trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells is blocked, after the second control operation, allowing trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells (in that Fukushima et al. teaches the trickle charge may occur intermittently, para. [0028], is blocked when temperature exceeds a predetermined value, para. [0022], and occurs again after cooling such as to 35⁰ C, pars. [0028] and [0034]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Iida et al. wherein the performing the predefined control operation includes: when an event in which at least one of the satisfied conditions is released occurs in a state in which the trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells is blocked, after the second control operation, allowing trickle charging for the plurality of battery cells.
The person of ordinary skill would have found it obvious to allow trickle charging when the battery cools in order to maintain the battery in a fully charged state.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Yoshida (US 20150035495) discloses a method and system for monitoring battery temperature where balance control is blocked when a temperature difference exceeds a threshold.
Karner et al (US 20190036178) discloses a method and system for monitoring battery temperature where a power system may be configured to adjust its charging voltage, based on the temperature of the battery (para. [0119]).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PATRICK M MCCARTY whose telephone number is (571)272-4398. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Claire Wang can be reached at 571-270-1051. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/P.M.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1774
/CLAIRE X WANG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1774
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