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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I without traverse in the reply filed 05/21/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 8-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/21/2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 07/27/2023 and 03/11/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Status
Claims 8-20 have been withdrawn in view of the restriction requirement.
Claims 1-7 are currently pending and have been examined on the merits in this office action.
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 (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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Neligan (EP 3838654 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Neligan discloses a portable power supply comprising ([0021] transportable charging station):
a housing (housing 2a; Figure 3; [0059]);
a control area network bus disposed in the housing (Figure 3; [0029,0061] internal communication bus may comprise a CAN bus);
a battery core disposed in the housing (Figure 3; battery pack 2D) and configured to be charged by a battery core charger (figures 3-4; battery loading circuit 2N; [0075]);
a battery pack charger (Figure 3, 2F DC/DC converter to control the different charging processes [0061]) connected to the battery core via a power line ([0031,0075] powerline) and to the CAN bus via a galvanically isolated barrier and including one or more charging modules ([0046], [0085], [0088] transportable charging station can comprise several battery strings with corresponding converters 2F ensuring a galvanic isolation and thus reads as the galvanically isolated barrier);
a battery management system connected to the battery pack charger via the CAN bus and the power line and configured to control an operation of the battery pack charger and the battery core charger (Figure 3; battery management system 31; [0029,0061]; BMS 2I is between the battery pack 2D and the control units 2E, 2H, 2F and 2G; [0092] DC/Dc converts 2F of the charging station can convert the battery voltage into correct output voltage to charge a battery); and
a human machine interface connected to the battery management system via the CAN bus and configured to allow a user to generate one or more control commands or information requests on the CAN bus for execution by one or more of the battery management system, battery core charger, or battery pack charger (Figure 3; User interface 2J; [0043,0067,0074] control unit can be connected to a user interface that displays information and can receive user input commands).
Regarding claim 2, Neligan discloses all the claim limitations of claim 1. Neligan further discloses wherein the galvanically isolated barrier is a DC/DC converter that voltage isolates the battery pack charger from the CAN bus, the battery pack charger configured to charge a battery pack (Figure 3; DC/DC converter; [0046], [0085], [0088] galvanic isolation can occur between the charging connectors 2E and the CAN bus and battery pack and thus Neligan broadly reads on the claim 2).
Regarding claim 3, Neligan discloses all the claim limitations of claim 1. Neligan further discloses wherein the battery management system is configured to communicate with both the battery pack charger and the human machine interface using CAN protocol (Figure 3; user interface 2J; [0043,0067,0074]).
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 factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 4-7 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Neligan (EP 3838654 A1) in view of Cooper et al. (US 2021/0213851 A1).
Regarding claim 4, Neligan discloses all the claim limitations of claim 1. Neligan discloses wherein the battery management system is connected to the battery pack charger (Figure 3; [0092] BMS connected to the battery pack and charging station and converter). Neligan is silent with respect to a galvanically isolated CAN transceiver.
Cooper discloses a battery management system for a vehicle and is analogous with the instant invention as being within the same field of endeavor of batteries. Cooper further discloses wherein the battery management system comprises a controller area network transceiver for connecting and charging the battery and to eliminate the need for a BMS to modify/translate the CAN messages (abstract; [0003]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious in view of a skilled artisan to incorporate the CAN transceiver into the charging station such that the battery management system is connected to the battery pack charger via a galvanically isolated CAN transceiver to eliminate the need for a BMS to modify/translate the CAN messages and simplify the charging mechanism. Thus all the claim limitations of claim 4 are taught in view of the combination as a CAN transceiver is a known piece of equipment used in charging apparatuses that can be used to simplify the BMS.
Regarding claim 5, modified Neligan discloses all the claim limitations of claim 4. Modified Neligan further discloses an electronic controller disposed in the battery pack charger (Neligan [0096] controller of the control unit is adapted to control the switches for charging the first and second battery packs) and connected to the CAN transceiver (see modification of claim 4, as the CAN transceiver can be connected to the battery pack and thus the controller), the electronic controller configured to determined that a charging port of the one or more charging modules is being used (Neligan [0096] controller of the control unit is adapted to control the switches for charging the first and second battery packs).
Regarding claim 6, modified Neligan discloses all the claim limitations of claim 5. Modified Neligan further discloses wherein the electronic controller is further configured to determine a type of a battery pack connected to the charging port (Neligan Figures 2-3; [0061,0070] battery cells can be determined to the connected to the charging port and a number of battery types can be used and thus would render obvious all the claim limitations of claim 6).
Regarding claim 7, modified Neligan discloses all the claim limitations of claim 6. Modified Neligan wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:
Determine a charging state of a battery pack connected to the charging port ([0090,0096] the battery management system 2I may provide features of state of charge SOC control, precise cell voltage monitoring, state of health monitoring, balancing, state of function, battery cell failure detection, thermal modeling and management as well as charge management); and
Communicate with the charging state to the human machine interface using CAN protocol ([0067]; [0090], [0097]),
Wherein the charging state is at least one of no pack present, initializing, flat pack recovery, normal rate bulk charge, taper charge, fully charged, maintenance charge, waiting to charge, charge faulted, pack faulted, pack too hot/cold, charger too hot/cold, or balancing pack cells ([0090,0096] the battery management system 2I may provide features of state of charge SOC control, precise cell voltage monitoring, state of health monitoring, balancing, state of function, battery cell failure detection, thermal modeling and management as well as charge management).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Palatov (US 2011/0234165 A1)- discloses a charging system for multi-cell series connected battery packs and is analogous with the instant invention as being directed towards charging systems for batteries.
Schmidt (DE 102019209072 A1)- discloses a battery control assembly and procedure having a CAN bus transceiver connected to a CAN bus and control device of a battery and is analogous with the instant invention as being within the same field of endeavor of batteries and management systems.
Stellnert (US 2021/0305838 A1)- discloses a multi-module portable power station having a battery management system and a battery charger that can charge battery modules and is analogous with the instant invention as being within the same field of endeavor of portable charging systems such as for batteries.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Adam J Francis whose telephone number is (571)272-1021. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 7 am-4 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew Martin can be reached at (571)270-7871. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ADAM J FRANCIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1728
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