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 § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fry in view of Lu et al. (US 2023/0238814)
Re Claims 1, 11 and 18; Fry discloses A portable power supply comprising:
an internal power source (battery 14) configured to provide power to a device connected to the portable power supply; (Par 0033)
a thermal management system configured to control a temperature of the internal power source; (Par 0055)
a power input unit (16) configured to charge the internal power source (Par 0051);
a power output unit (18) configured to provide power output by the internal power source; (Par 0033)
a first sensing circuit configured to detect the temperature of the internal power source; (Par 0055)
a secondary power source (par 0050) (Fig. 13); and
a controller (234) including a processor and a memory, (Par 0077)
the controller configured to:
receive a first signal from the first sensing circuit related to the temperature of the internal power source, enable the thermal management system based on the temperature of the internal power source, and enable charging of the internal power source based on the temperature of the internal power source. (Par 0055; the first charging circuit 242 varies a charging current based on the temperature of the battery pack 86, 90,
in order to vary the changing based on the temperature, the controller would have to receive the signal to determine the temp of the internal components)
Fry does not necessarily disclose when the temperature of the internal power source exceeds a temperature threshold, enable the thermal management system based on the temperature of the internal power source, and after enabling the thermal management system and when the temperature of the internal power source does not exceed the temperature threshold, enable charging of the internal power source based on the temperature of the internal power source.
However, Lu discloses when the temperature of the internal power source exceeds a temperature threshold, enable the thermal management system based on the temperature of the internal power source, and after enabling the thermal management system and when the temperature of the internal power source does not exceed the temperature threshold, enable charging of the internal power source based on the temperature of the internal power source (Par 0170)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to regulate charging based on the temperature management in order to protect the battery from damages and also extend the life of the battery.
Re Claims 2, 12 and 18; Fry discloses wherein the secondary power source includes a rebound power of the internal power source after the internal power source reaches an end of discharge threshold.
(rebound" in the context of power supplies refers to a specific, often unwanted, transient behavior during the shutdown process, known as a Class B waveform, where voltages rise again after an initial drop. This effect is caused by dielectric absorption in the input capacitor. When the input discharge current is large and suddenly drops to 0A, the capacitor releases previously absorbed charges, causing VOUT to "rebound".
Rebound in Class B shutdowns can last up to tens of milliseconds, whereas Class R shutdowns (due to line inductance) typically happen in microseconds.
This excess energy with the combination of energy provided by the second power supply is used )
Re Claims 4 and 14; Fry discloses wherein the portable power supply includes a second sensing circuit configured to detect a state of charge (“SOC”) of the internal power source, and wherein the controller is further configured to: receive a second signal from the second sensing circuit related to the SOC of the internal power source, power, in response to determining that the SOC of the internal power source exceeds a SOC threshold, the thermal management system using the internal power source. (Par 0068)
Re Claims 5 and 15; Fry discloses wherein the portable power supply includes a second sensing circuit configured to detect a state of charge (“SOC”) of the internal power source, and wherein the controller is further configured to: receive a second signal from the second sensing circuit related to the SOC of the internal power source, power, in response to determining that the SOC of the internal power source is less than a SOC threshold, the thermal management system using the secondary power source. (Par 0068)
Re Claim 3, 13 and 19; Fry’s disclosure has been discussed above.
Fry does not disclose wherein the controller is further configured to: power the thermal management system using the secondary power source.
However, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary stilled in the art before the effective filing to have used the secondary power source to power the thermal management system in order to reduce the consumption of power of the first power source.
Re Claim 8; Fry discloses wherein the secondary power source of the portable power supply is a renewable energy source. (Fig. 1)
Re Claim 9; Fry discloses wherein the secondary power source of the portable power supply is provided by the power input unit from an external power source. (Fig. 8)
Re Claim 10; Fry discloses wherein the secondary power source of the portable power supply is provided by a peripheral device connected to the power output unit. (Par 0050)
Claim(s) 6, 7, 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fry in view of Lu and further in view of Srinivasan et al. (US 2017/0149256).
Re Claims 6, 7 16 and 17; Fry discloses wherein the controller
Fry does not disclose is further configured to: select a charge rate for the internal power source based on the temperature of the internal power source and one or more temperature thresholds, wherein each of the one or more temperature thresholds is associated with a different charge rate.
wherein the controller is further configured to: control operation of the thermal management system using the secondary power source based on the selected charge rate and temperature of the internal power source.
However, Srinivasan discloses select a charge rate for the internal power source based on the temperature of the internal power source and one or more temperature thresholds, wherein each of the one or more temperature thresholds is associated with a different charge rate.
wherein the controller is further configured to: control operation of the thermal management system using the secondary power source based on the selected charge rate and temperature of the internal power source. (Par 0039)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have used a temperature-based monitoring system to control the state and charging of the battery as shown by Srinivasan, motivated by the desire to effectively charge the battery to extend the longevity of the battery.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-9, filed 07/11/2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-20 under 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Lu.
Conclusion
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/DANIEL KESSIE/
01/18/26
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836