DETAILED ACTION 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 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. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale , or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim s 1- 2, 5-6 and 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being FILLIN "Insert either—clearly anticipated—or—anticipated—with an explanation at the end of the paragraph." \d "[ 3 ]" anticipated by Link et al. US PGPUB 2019/0176729 . Regarding claim 1, Link discloses an electric vehicle [abs.; par. 1; fig. 1] comprising: a battery system split into first and second sectors substantially equal to each other [fig. 1; battery system 12 has two substantially equal HV battery units 14/16 which each have cells “20” (thus substantially equal); par. 30]; a first bidirectional DC/DC converter, the first bidirectional DC/DC converter being galvanically isolated and coupled to the first sector [fig. 1; pars. 16 & 40; DC/DC converters 32/34 are galvanically isolated (par. 16) and can be used to balance charge between the two battery sectors, thus are bidirectional (can both discharge a respective battery and charge a respective battery sector 14/16]; and a second bidirectional DC/DC converter, the second bidirectional DC/DC converter being galvanically isolated and coupled to the second sector [fig. 1; pars. 16 & 40; DC/DC converters 32/34 are galvanically isolated (par. 16) and can be used to balance charge between the two battery sectors, thus are bidirectional (can both discharge a respective battery and charge a respective battery]; wherein the first and second bidirectional DC/DC converters balance respective states of charge of the first and second sectors before the first and second sectors are connected in parallel [fig. 2; par. 40-41 & 43; the batteries 14/16 can be connected in parallel, in particular for charging, and prior to charging the battery with a lower SOC can be balanced using converters 32/34 (par. 41, “In the case of different states of charge, the HV battery units 14, 16 can be connected to the higher state of charge only with a time delay”) ]. Regarding claim 2, Link discloses further comprising an onboard charger, wherein the first and second bidirectional DC/DC converters are part of the onboard charger [pars. 16, 30, 40-41 & 43; the converters 32/34 are part of the onboard charging network which allows for charging via an external source, the motor or exchanging charge between the two batteries]. Regarding claim 5, Link discloses further comprising a load for the battery system [fig. 2, LE1/LE2; par. 30], the load comprising a first load coupled to the first bidirectional DC/DC converter [fig. 1, LE1 connected to 32; par. 30], and a second load coupled to the second bidirectional DC/DC converter [fig. 1, LE2 connected to 34; par. 30]. Regarding claim 6, Link discloses wherein the first and second sectors are connected in parallel at least for charging of the battery system [par. 10, 30 & 37]. Regarding claim 8, Link discloses further comprising a first busbar that connects: a positive terminal of the first bidirectional DC/DC converter, a positive terminal of the first sector, and a positive terminal of the second sector through a first contactor between the positive terminal of the first sector and the positive terminal of the second sector [fig. 1; positive (lower-left) terminal of 32 is connected via node at LE1 to positive terminal of first sector (14, at the node above H1+) and a positive terminal of second sector through contactors D1+/D2+ at the node above H2+)]. Regarding claim 9, Link discloses further comprising a second busbar that connects: a negative terminal of the second bidirectional DC/DC converter, a negative terminal of the second sector, and a negative terminal of the first sector through a second contactor between the negative terminal of the second sector and the negative terminal of the first sector [fig. 1; negative (upper-left) terminal of 32 is connected via node at LE1 to negative terminal of first sector (14, at the node above H1-) and a negative terminal of second sector through contactors D1-/D2- at the node above H2-)]. Regarding claim 10, Link discloses further comprising a third busbar that connects the negative terminal of the first sector and the positive terminal of the second sector through a third contactor between the negative terminal of the first sector and the positive terminal of the second sector [fig. 1, a bus par connects HV- of 14 to HV+ of 16 via contactor S]. Regarding claim 11, Link discloses wherein the first and second contactors are opened, and the third contactor is closed, to connect the first and second sectors in series [fig. 3]. Regarding claim 12, Link discloses wherein the first and second contactors are closed, and the third contactor is opened, to connect the first and second sectors in parallel [fig. 2]. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention. 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 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Link et al. US PGPUB 2019/0176729 in view of Kessler et al. WIPO Publication WO 2012/089361 A2. Regarding claim 3, Link does not explicitly disclose wherein the onboard charger has a multistage architecture that further includes a power factor correction stage. However, Kessler discloses an onboard charger which allows for series and parallel connections of various sections of a battery [fig. 1], wherein the onboard charger has a multistage architecture that further includes a power factor correction stage [pars. 118 and 121; fig. 3, PFC circuit 34 downstream from the entire system, and thus all the converters]. Regarding claim 4, Link discloses the first and second bidirectional DC/DC converters . Link does not explicitly disclose wherein the power factor correction stage is common to the first and second sections. However, Kessler as applied in claim 3 discloses wherein the power factor correction stage is common to the first and second sections [fig. 3; pars. 118 & 121; the PFC circuit 34 downstream from the entire system, and thus all the converters (7-311:7-31X) ]. Claim 7 is are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Link et al. US PGPUB 2019/0176729 i n view of Lee et al. US PGPUB 2018/0345806. Regarding claim 7, Link does not explicitly disclose wherein the first and second sectors are connected in series at least for driving an inverter of the electric vehicle. However, Lee discloses a vehicle battery system using series/parallel connections wherein the first and second sectors are connected in series at least for driving an inverter of the electric vehicle [abs.; fig. 1; pars. 7 & 30; during driving the batteries are connected in series to power a motor (via inverter)]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Link to further include wherein the first and second sectors are connected in series at least for driving an inverter of the electric vehicle for the purpose of increasing efficiency and allowing for reduced size, weight and cost , as taught by Lee (pars. 7 & 48). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Garnier et al. US PGPUB 2014/0035531 discloses a vehicle battery balancing system using galvanic isolation. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT DAVID V HENZE whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-3317 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M to F, 9am to 7pm . Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Julian Huffman can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-2147 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DAVID V HENZE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859