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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 3-4, 6-17, and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tenorio (USPUB 2022/0302719).
As to Claim 1, Tenorio discloses a battery pack assembly, comprising: a battery pack, comprising: a housing receiving a plurality of rechargeable battery cells (Paragraph 65); a battery management system (BMS) in communication with the rechargeable battery cells and configured to monitor one or more operating characteristics of the rechargeable battery cells; a plurality of terminals extending outward from the housing and in electrical communication with the rechargeable battery cells to transmit electrical power between the rechargeable battery cells and a piece of equipment coupled with the plurality of terminals (Figure 1); a communication interface in communication with BMS and configured to transmit the operating characteristics of the rechargeable battery cells over a communication protocol and receive information from the piece of equipment coupled with the plurality of terminals over the communication protocol (Paragraph 67); and wherein the BMS is configured to determine a current limit of the battery pack based upon a maximum cell voltage of the rechargeable battery cells and adjust an input current of electrical power through the plurality of terminals to the rechargeable battery cells to adjust a current received by the battery pack toward the current limit (Paragraph 259, 342).
As to Claim 3, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 1, wherein the operating characteristics of the rechargeable battery cells include at least one of a rechargeable battery cell temperature, a rechargeable battery cell voltage, a rechargeable battery cell voltage limit, and a cell current limit look up table (Paragraph 78).
As to Claim 4, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 1, wherein the piece of equipment is a battery charger, and wherein the BMS is configured to communicate the current limit of the battery pack to the battery charger over the communication protocol to adjust an output parameter of the battery charger, wherein the output parameter is configured to adjust the current received by the battery pack toward the current limit (Paragraph 62).
As to Claim 6, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 1, wherein the BMS is a first BMS, and wherein the battery pack assembly further comprises a second battery pack having a second BMS, wherein the first BMS is configured to transmit operational characteristics from the second battery to the piece of equipment over the communication protocol (Figure 1).
As to Claim 7, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 6, wherein the second BMS is configured to transmit operational characteristics from the first battery to the piece of equipment over the communication protocol (Paragraph 70).
As to Claim 8, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 1, wherein the BMS is configured to output an identification number of the battery pack over the communication protocol (Paragraph 102).
As to Claim 9, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 1, wherein the communication protocol is controller area network bus (CANbus) (Paragraph 67).
As to Claim 10, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 1, wherein the communication protocol is an over-the-air protocol (Paragraph 67).
As to Claim 11, Tenorio discloses a battery pack assembly, comprising: a battery charger having a controller configured to adjust an output of the battery charger; a battery pack comprising: a plurality of rechargeable battery cells (Paragraph 65); a battery management system (BMS) in communication with the plurality of rechargeable battery cells and configured to monitor one or more operating characteristics of the plurality of rechargeable battery cells; a plurality of terminals in electrical communication with the plurality of rechargeable battery cells and configured to couple with the battery charger to receive and supply electrical power from the charger to the plurality of rechargeable battery cells (Figure 1); and a communication interface in communication with the BMS and configured to communicate with the controller over a communication protocol (Paragraph 67); wherein the controller is configured to adjust the output of the battery charger upon receiving an indication from the BMS, over the communication protocol, that an input current from the battery charger is less than an input current limit of the battery pack (Paragraph 259, 342).
As to Claim 12, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 11, wherein the battery charger includes a battery bus configured to electrically couple with the battery pack and another battery pack in a parallel configuration (Figure 1).
As to Claim 13, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to adjust an operational mode of the battery charger in response to receiving a signal from the battery pack that the input current limit of the battery pack is equal to zero (Paragraph 303).
As to Claim 14, Tenorio discloses the battery pack assembly of claim 11, wherein the battery pack is configured to communicate operational characteristics of a second battery pack coupled to the battery charger using the communication protocol, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the output of the battery charger upon receiving an indication of the operational characteristics of the second battery pack from the first battery pack (Paragraph 62).
As to Claim 15, Tenorio discloses the battery pack of claim 11, wherein the BMS is configured to determine the input current limit of the battery pack using a maximum cell voltage of the rechargeable battery cells (Paragraph 342).
As to Claim 16, Tenorio discloses the battery pack of claim 11, wherein the communication protocol is an over-the-air protocol (Paragraph 67).
As to Claim 17, Tenorio discloses the battery pack of claim 11, wherein the BMS is configured to monitor a temperature of the rechargeable battery cells, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the output of the battery charger upon receiving an indication from the BMS, over the communication protocol, that the temperature of the rechargeable battery cells exceeds a threshold temperature (Paragraph 76).
As to Claim 21, Tenorio discloses a battery system, comprising: a battery charger electrically connected to a battery busbar; a first battery pack; a second battery pack; and a battery management system (BMS) in communication with the battery charger, the first battery pack, and the second battery pack, the BMS being configured to (Figure 1): assign a battery ID to the first battery pack and the second battery pack when the first battery pack and the second battery pack attempt to join the battery busbar; determine, based on the battery ID of the first battery pack and the second battery pack, if the first battery pack or the second battery pack is a primary battery pack; receive, from the primary battery pack, charge data from the first battery pack and the second battery pack; calculate limit data for the first battery pack and the second battery pack (Paragraphs 51-55); and control, based on comparing the limit data to the charge data, an output of the battery charger to the battery busbar (Paragraph 1117).
As to Claim 22, Tenorio discloses the battery system of claim 21, wherein the battery management system is configured to store the charge data and the battery ID of the first battery pack and the second battery pack in a charge data table (Paragraph 138).
As to Claim 23, Tenorio discloses the battery system of claim 22, wherein the battery management system is configured to reassign, in response to determining that the charge data for the first battery pack or the second battery pack does not match the battery ID associated with the first battery pack or the second battery pack, the battery ID of the first battery pack and the second battery pack (Paragraph 127).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 5 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ROBERT J GRANT whose telephone number is (571)270-5820. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9am - 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at (571)272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ROBERT GRANT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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