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 .
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 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.
Examiner’s Note
This Office Action is in response to amendment filed on 3/13/2026, where claims 1-15 and 17-20 are amended; claim 16 is canceled; claim 21 is added; claims 1-15 and 17-21 are currently pending.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 12-14, filed on 3/13/2026, are persuasive in view of the amendment. As such, the cite prior art do not teach each and every limitation as currently presented.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 10, filed on 3/13/2026, with respect to previous rejections of claims 12 and 17-20 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. § 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of the amendment. As such, the rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 10-11, with respect to previous interpretation of claims 1 and 10 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) or 35 U.S.C. § 112 (pre-AIA ), sixth paragraph, have been fully considered. As such, the interpretation is maintained.
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 11-12, with respect to previous rejections of independent claims 1 and 10 under 35 U.S.C. § 1102, have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of the amendment. As such, the claims are currently rejected under new grounds.
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 12-14, with respect to previous rejection of independent claim 17 under 35 U.S.C. § 103, have been fully considered and are persuasive in view of the amendment. As such, the rejection has been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 12 and 14, that dependent claims 2-9 and 11-15 are patentably distinguished over the cited prior art at least in view of the dependency from their respective independent claims, and requests that the rejections for all dependent claims be reconsidered and withdrew for the reasons argued above. However, their respective independent claims are now rejected under new grounds in view of the amendment and thus the dependent claims are likewise rejected.
Applicant’s arguments, see pg. 14, that dependent claims 18-21 are patentably distinguished over the cited prior art at least in view of the dependency from their respective independent claim, and requests that the rejections for all dependent claims be reconsidered and withdrew for the reasons argued above. The arguments are persuasive in view of the amendment. As such, the rejections have been withdrawn.
Remarks 35 USC § 112(f)
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action sent on 12/23/2025.
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 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Melendez et al., (US 20170088008 A1) (hereinafter Melendez).
Referring to claim 10, Melendez teaches a first thermal management system (¶ [0005], auxiliary thermal management system) for a battery system of a machine, comprising:
one or more thermal management components configured to facilitate thermal management of the battery system (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is configured to provide supplemental cooling to the battery pack during battery pack charging and is comprised of (i) a refrigerant-based thermal control loop, where the refrigerant-based thermal control loop includes a refrigerant, a compressor and a condenser; (ii) a refrigerant-air heat exchanger thermally coupled to the refrigerant-based thermal control loop; (iii) a duct configured to couple an output surface of the refrigerant-air heat exchanger to an input surface of the radiator when the EV is parked proximate to the condenser and proximate to the auxiliary thermal management system; and (iv) a blower fan configured to force air through the refrigerant-air heat exchanger”); and
a first controller (¶ [0009], auxiliary thermal management system controller) configured to:
receive, from a second controller of the machine (¶ [0009], BMS controller), control information for controlling the one or more thermal management components; and
control, based on the control information, the one or more thermal management components (¶ [0053], “the BMS controller (e.g., BMS controller 205) controls operation of the auxiliary thermal management system 703.”),
wherein the first thermal management system is separate from the machine (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is external to and independent of the EV.”)
Referring to 11, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 10, wherein the one or more thermal management components are configured to facilitate at least one of:
an active thermal management of the battery system, or
a passive thermal management of the battery system (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is configured to provide supplemental cooling to the battery pack during battery pack charging”).
Referring to claim 12, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 10, wherein at least one thermal management component, of the one or more thermal management components, is configured to connect to a second thermal management system for the battery system (¶ [0005], on-board thermal management system),
wherein the first thermal management system connecting to the second thermal management system allows a thermal transfer fluid to circulate between the first thermal management system and the second thermal management system (¶ [0051], fig. 8, “Coolant line 717 is preferably coupled to the cooling conduits within battery pack 719 via quick disconnect couplings 723, thus simplifying their use by the EV's operator. Preferably and as illustrated in FIG. 8, quick disconnect couplings 723 allow the coolant lines 717 to be coupled to the same set of battery pack cooling conduits 801 used by the on-board thermal management system 803.”), and
wherein the second thermal management system is included in the machine (¶ [0005], “the EV comprising a battery pack electrically connected to a propulsion motor and an on-board thermal management system thermally coupled to the battery pack.”)
Referring to claim 13, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 10, further comprising a power connector that is configured to provide power to the first thermal management system from a power source external to the machine (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is co-located with a battery pack charging system.” ¶ [0038], “Charging system 209…may be external to the vehicle. Charging system 209 is configured to be electrically connected to an external source 217, such as a municipal power grid, typically by using a power cord 219.”)
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 of this title, 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 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Melendez as applied to claim 10 above, and in view of Guerra et al., (US 20190341661 A1) (hereinafter Guerra).
Referring to claim 14, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 10, wherein the first controller is further configured to:
determine that the first thermal management system is thermally connected to at least one of the battery system or a second thermal management system for the battery system (¶ [0053], “the auxiliary thermal management system's controller may utilize battery pack information (e.g., battery temperature) obtained from the EV's BMS controller to operate the auxiliary cooling system. The auxiliary thermal management system's controller 1001 may be plugged into the EV's BMS controller”.), wherein the second thermal management system is included in the machine (¶ [0005], “the EV comprising a battery pack electrically connected to a propulsion motor and an on-board thermal management system thermally coupled to the battery pack.”)
Melendez teaches the limitations above. However, Melendez does not explicitly teach send, to the second controller and based on determining that the first thermal management system is thermally connected to the at least one of the battery system or the second thermal management system, connection information.
Guerra teaches send, to the second controller (¶ [0021], BMS) and based on determining that the first thermal management system is thermally connected to the at least one of the battery system or the second thermal management system, connection information (¶ [0021], “The battery thermal controller may transmit a response to the request that indicates an expected amount of coolant, an expected temperature of the coolant, and/or an expected temperature of the battery(ies) after providing the coolant over a certain period. The communication between the battery thermal controller and the BMS may be provided through a data communication connection between the EVSE and the electric vehicle.”)
Melendez and Guerra are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for thermal management of batteries (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Melendez and Guerra before them to modify the auxiliary thermal management controller of Melendez to incorporate the function of transmitting connection information to BMS as taught by Guerra. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Guerra (¶ [0020]-[0022]), because the function of transmitting connection information to BMS does not depend on the auxiliary thermal management controller. That is the function of transmitting connection information to BMS performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to provide improved communication between the auxiliary thermal management system and the on-board BMS of the machine.
Referring to claim 15, Melendez teaches the first thermal management system of claim 10. However, Melendez does not explicitly teach the first controller is further configured to:
receive, from the second controller, enablement information; and
cause, based on the enablement information, the one or more thermal management components to be enabled.
Guerra teaches the first controller (¶ [0037], battery thermal controller 135) is further configured to:
receive, from the second controller (¶ [0037], BMS 154), enablement information (¶ [0037], “the battery thermal controller 135 may receive a request from the BMS 154 that indicates the current temperature of the battery 152 and/or the desired temperature of the battery 152.”); and
cause, based on the enablement information, the one or more thermal management components to be enabled (¶ [0037], “The battery thermal controller 135 determines whether the request can be granted. If it can, the battery thermal controller 135 causes the control valves 231 and/or 236 to open to a set point to meet the request.”)
Melendez and Guerra are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for thermal management of batteries (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Melendez and Guerra before them to modify the auxiliary thermal management controller of Melendez to incorporate the function of transmitting enablement information to battery thermal controller as taught by Guerra. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Guerra (¶ [0035]-[0040]), because the function of transmitting enablement information to battery thermal controller does not depend on the auxiliary thermal management controller. That is the function of transmitting enablement information to battery thermal controller performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to provide improved communication between the auxiliary thermal management system and the on-board BMS of the machine.
Claims 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Melendez et al., (US 20170088008 A1) (hereinafter Melendez) in view of Guerra et al., (US 20190341661 A1) (hereinafter Guerra).
Referring to claim 1, Melendez teaches a first thermal management system (v) for a battery system of a machine, comprising:
one or more thermal management components configured to facilitate thermal management of the battery system (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is configured to provide supplemental cooling to the battery pack during battery pack charging and is comprised of (i) a refrigerant-based thermal control loop, where the refrigerant-based thermal control loop includes a refrigerant, a compressor and a condenser; (ii) a refrigerant-air heat exchanger thermally coupled to the refrigerant-based thermal control loop; (iii) a duct configured to couple an output surface of the refrigerant-air heat exchanger to an input surface of the radiator when the EV is parked proximate to the condenser and proximate to the auxiliary thermal management system; and (iv) a blower fan configured to force air through the refrigerant-air heat exchanger”);
a power connector configured to provide power to the first thermal management system from a power source external to the machine (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is co-located with a battery pack charging system.” ¶ [0038], “Charging system 209…may be external to the vehicle. Charging system 209 is configured to be electrically connected to an external source 217, such as a municipal power grid, typically by using a power cord 219.”); and
a first controller configured to:
determine that at least one thermal management component, of the one or more thermal management components, is thermally connected to at least one of:
the battery system, or
a second thermal management system for the battery system (¶ [0053], “the auxiliary thermal management system's controller may utilize battery pack information (e.g., battery temperature) obtained from the EV's BMS controller to operate the auxiliary cooling system. The auxiliary thermal management system's controller 1001 may be plugged into the EV's BMS controller”.); and
wherein at least one of first the thermal management system is separate from the machine, or the second thermal management system is included in the machine (¶ [0005], “the EV comprising a battery pack electrically connected to a propulsion motor and an on-board thermal management system thermally coupled to the battery pack.”).
Melendez teaches the limitations above. However, Melendez does not explicitly teach send, to a second controller of the machine and based on determining that the at least one thermal management component is thermally connected, connection information indicating that the first thermal management system is able to facilitate thermal management of the battery system of the machine.
Guerra teaches send, to a second controller of the machine (¶ [0037], BMS) and based on determining that the at least one thermal management component is thermally connected, connection information indicating that the first thermal management system is able to facilitate thermal management of the battery system of the machine (¶ [0037], “The battery thermal controller 135 may transmit a response to the request that indicates an expected amount of coolant, an expected temperature of the coolant, and/or an expected temperature of the battery 152 after providing the external coolant over a certain period. If the battery thermal controller 135 determines that the request cannot be granted, the battery thermal controller 135 may transmit a response to the request that indicates an expected amount of coolant, an expected temperature of the coolant, and/or an expected temperature of the battery 152 after providing the external coolant over a certain period in which can be fulfilled.”)
Melendez and Guerra are analogous art to the claimed invention because they are concerning with interface for thermal management of batteries (i.e., same field of endeavor).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention having Melendez and Guerra before them to modify the auxiliary thermal management controller of Melendez to incorporate the function of transmitting connection information to BMS as taught by Guerra. One of ordinary skill in the art would have combined the elements as claimed by known methods as disclosed by Guerra (¶ [0035]-[0040]), because the function of transmitting connection information to BMS does not depend on the auxiliary thermal management controller. That is the function of transmitting connection information to BMS performs the same function independent on which interface it is incorporated onto, and therefore, the result of the combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. The motivation to combine would have been to provide improved communication between the auxiliary thermal management system and the on-board BMS of the machine.
Referring to 2, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more thermal management components include at least one of:
one or more active thermal management components, or
one or more passive thermal management components (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is configured to provide supplemental cooling to the battery pack during battery pack charging and is comprised of (i) a refrigerant-based thermal control loop, where the refrigerant-based thermal control loop includes a refrigerant, a compressor and a condenser; (ii) a refrigerant-air heat exchanger…(iii) a duct…and (iv) a blower fan”).
Referring to claim 3, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the at least one thermal management component is determined to thermally connected to the battery system (¶ [0049], fig. 7, “co-located with a charging station 701 is an auxiliary thermal management system 703. At a minimum, thermal management system 703 includes a cooling system.” ¶ [0050], fig. 7, “A coolant line 717 couples heat exchanger 711 to the cooling conduits within battery pack 719 of EV 721. A coolant pump 725 circulates the coolant through thermal control loop 727, more specifically through cooling conduits 717, heat exchanger 711 and the cooling conduits within battery pack 719.”)
Referring to claim 4, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more thermal management components are configured to facilitate thermal management of the battery system in association with the second thermal management system (¶ [0051], fig. 8, “Coolant line 717 is preferably coupled to the cooling conduits within battery pack 719 via quick disconnect couplings 723, thus simplifying their use by the EV's operator. Preferably and as illustrated in FIG. 8, quick disconnect couplings 723 allow the coolant lines 717 to be coupled to the same set of battery pack cooling conduits 801 used by the on-board thermal management system 803.”)
Referring to claim 5, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the one or more thermal management components are configured to facilitate thermal management of the battery system independently of the second thermal management system (¶ [0055], “While the embodiments described above provide an efficient means of cooling, and/or heating, the battery pack of an EV with an auxiliary thermal management system, these embodiments require the EV to be fitted with means to connect the EV's battery pack to the auxiliary thermal management system, e.g., couplings 723, and utilize either the cooling conduits employed by the on-board thermal management system or utilize a second set of cooling conduits that are configured to be coupled to the auxiliary thermal management system. In order to overcome this limitation, in a second set of embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 15-20 the auxiliary thermal management system is not coupled to cooling conduits within the EV's battery pack. Rather, in these embodiments the auxiliary system is used to cool, or heat, air that is then forced through the radiator of the on-board thermal management system.”)
Referring to claim 6, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the power connector is configured to couple to an alternating current power source or a direct current power source that is not used to charge the battery system of the machine (¶ [0005], “The auxiliary thermal management system is co-located with a battery pack charging system.” ¶ [0038], “Charging system 209…may be external to the vehicle. Charging system 209 is configured to be electrically connected to an external source 217, such as a municipal power grid”).
Referring to claim 7, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the at least one thermal management component is determined to be thermally connected to the second thermal management system (¶ [0051], fig. 8, “Coolant line 717 is preferably coupled to the cooling conduits within battery pack 719 via quick disconnect couplings 723, thus simplifying their use by the EV's operator. Preferably and as illustrated in FIG. 8, quick disconnect couplings 723 allow the coolant lines 717 to be coupled to the same set of battery pack cooling conduits 801 used by the on-board thermal management system 803.”)
Referring to claim 8, Melendez teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1. However, Melendez does not explicitly teach the first controller is further configured to:
receive, from the second controller, enablement information; and
cause, based on the enablement information, the one or more thermal management components to be enabled.
Guerra further teaches the first controller (¶ [0037], battery thermal controller 135) is further configured to:
receive, from the second controller (¶ [0037], BMS 154), enablement information (¶ [0037], “the battery thermal controller 135 may receive a request from the BMS 154 that indicates the current temperature of the battery 152 and/or the desired temperature of the battery 152.”); and
cause, based on the enablement information, the one or more thermal management components to be enabled (¶ [0037], “The battery thermal controller 135 determines whether the request can be granted. If it can, the battery thermal controller 135 causes the control valves 231 and/or 236 to open to a set point to meet the request.”)
Referring to claim 9, Melendez further teaches the first thermal management system of claim 1, wherein the first controller (¶ [0009], auxiliary thermal management system controller) is further configured to:
receive, from the second controller (¶ [0009], BMS controller), control information; and
control, based on the control information, the one or more thermal management components (¶ [0053], “the BMS controller (e.g., BMS controller 205) controls operation of the auxiliary thermal management system 703.”)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
US 20170088007 (Melendez) – discloses external thermal management system for an electric vehicle.
CN 107946689 (Obasih) – discloses battery system with external heat management system.
CN 108448198 (Wang) – discloses external type battery thermal management system.
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.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott Baderman, can be reached at telephone number (571)270-5817. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MONG-SHUNE CHUNG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2118
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