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 § 101
2. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more.
In view of the new 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (Federal Register Vol. 84, No. 4, January 7, 2019), the Examiner has considered the claims and has determined that under step 1, claims 1-8 are to a process, claims 9-16 are to a machine, and claims 17-20 are to a machine.
Next under the new step 2A prong 1 analysis, the claims are considered to determine if they recite an abstract idea (judicial exception) under the following groupings: (a) mathematical concepts, (b) certain methods of organizing human activity, or (c) mental processes. The independent claims contain at least the following bolded limitations (see representative independent claims) that fall into the grouping of mathematical concepts and/or mental processes:
1. A method of evaluating a low voltage (LV) battery system, comprising:
collecting parameters of the LV battery system, the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC);
determining a health of the LV battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators; and
based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identifying a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators, wherein determining the health of the LV battery system includes:
identifying an enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the LV battery system;
selecting the set of health indicators from the plurality of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition, and estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators; and
determining whether the LV battery system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators.
9. A system for evaluating a low voltage (LV) battery system, comprising:
a processing device configured to collect parameters of the LV battery system, the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC), the processing device configured to determine a health of the LV battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators, and based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identify a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators, wherein the processing device is configured to determine the health by:
identifying an enabling condition of the battery system, the enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the battery system;
selecting the set of the health indicators based on the identified enabling condition, and estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators; and
determining whether the LV battery system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators.
17. A vehicle system, comprising:
a low voltage (LV) battery system configured to power LV components of a vehicle; and
a processing device configured to collect parameters of the LV battery system, the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC), the processing device configured to determine a health of the LV battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators, and based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identify a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators, wherein the processing device is configured to determine the health by:
identifying an enabling condition of the battery system, the enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the battery system;
selecting the set of the health indicators based on the identified enabling condition, and estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators; and determining whether the LV battery system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators.
It is important to note that a mathematical concept need not be expressed in mathematical symbols, because "[w]ords used in a claim operating on data to solve a problem can serve the same purpose as a formula."(see MPEP 2106.04(a)(2) I.). Thus the “determining a health of the LV battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators" amounts to a description in words of solving for a health condition of the LV battery system based on the inputs of one or more health indicators, and are considered as words serving the same purpose as a formula. The limitations of "based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identifying a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators" amount to a mental process to evaluate data and form an observation, in order to correlate a cause and effect. The limitations of "identifying an enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the LV battery system" amounts to a mental process to identify or recognize relevant data that is related to charging or discharging. The limitations of "selecting the set of health indicators from the plurality of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition" amounts to a mental process to recognize and organize data, in order to perform a selection grouping of a set of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition. The limitations of "estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators" amounts to a mathematical process to perform a numerical calculation of the value of each of the set of health indicators. The limitations of "determining whether the LV system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators" amounts to a mental process to classify an informational-based of a healthy or unhealthy condition based on a comparison of the collected parameters and value of each of the set of health indicators to a criteria, or a mathematical calculation when the analysis of the collected parameters and numerical values of each of the set of health indicators requires a more complex formula to solve for a healthy or unhealthy condition indicator output. Taken together, the bolded limitations describe a series of mental process data analysis steps and mathematical calculations to relate measured variables and health indicators into solving for a health condition of a low voltage (LV) battery system.
Next in step 2A prong 2, the independent claims are analyzed to determine whether there are additional elements or combination of elements that apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception such that it is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception, in order to integrate the judicial exception into a practical application. These limitations have been identified and underlined above, and are not indicative of integration into a practical application because: (1) the limitations of "collecting parameters of the LV battery system, the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC)" amount to adding insignificant extra-solution data gathering activity to the judicial exception (see MPEP 2106.05(g)); (2) the limitations of "the system," "a processing device," or "a vehicle system" amount to mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer or merely using a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea (see MPEP 2106.05(f)); (3) the limitations of "a low voltage (LV) battery system configured to power LV components of a vehicle" merely describe the environment in which the evaluations/calculations take place, and amount to generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (see MPEP 2106.05(h)).
Next in step 2B, the independent claims are considered to determine if they recite additional elements that amount to an inventive concept (“significantly more”) than the recited judicial exception. The recitations of collecting parameters of the LV battery system including voltage, current, temperature, and state of charge (SOC) do not add something significantly more because such limitations amount to adding insignificant extra-solution data gathering activity to the judicial exception (see MPEP 2106.05(g)), and do not describe any gathering of data using an unconventional measurement arrangement. The recitations for a system, processing device, and/or vehicle system do not add something significantly more because they amount to mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer or merely using a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea (see MPEP 2106.05(f)). The recitations describing a low voltage (LV) battery system configured to power LV components of a vehicle merely describe the environment in which the evaluations/calculations take place, and amount to generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (see MPEP 2106.05(h)), without providing any change or transformation in such an environment.
Dependent claims 2-7, 10-15, and 18-20 contain additional limitations that fall under the abstract idea groupings of a mental process or mathematical concepts, as they describe further variable definitions, data comparison steps, and mathematical calculation steps. Dependent claims 8 and 16 describe the general environment of a vehicle without affecting any further change to such an environment, and amount to generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use (see MPEP 2106.05(h)).
3. An invention is not rendered ineligible for patent simply because it involves an abstract concept. Applications of such concepts "to a new and useful end" remain eligible for patent protection (see Alice Corp., 134 S. Ct. at 2354 (quoting Benson, 409 U.S. at 67)). However, "a claim for a new abstract idea is still an abstract idea" (see Synopsys v. Mentor Graphics Corp. _F.3d_, 120 U.S.P.Q. 2d1473 (Fed. Cir. 2016)). There needs to be additional elements or combination of additional elements in the claim to apply, rely on, or use the judicial exception in a manner that imposes a meaningful limit on the judicial exception or render the claim as a whole to be significantly more than the exception itself in order to demonstrate “integration into a practical application” or an “inventive concept.” For instance, particular physical arrangements for actively obtaining the sensor data, or further physical applications using the calculated determination of a healthy condition or unhealthy condition of the LV battery system to drive a physical change in operation, transformation, or repair/maintenance of a physical component or process could provide integration into a practical application to demonstrate an improvement to the technology or technical field.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Claims 1, 8-9, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2009/0027056, hereinafter "Huang") as modified by Frost et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2016/0363631, hereinafter "Frost").
In regards to claim 1, Huang teaches a method of evaluating a battery system (Huang abstract and paragraph [0002] teach a method of evaluating a condition of a battery system of a vehicle), comprising:
collecting parameters of the battery system, the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC) (Huang paragraph [0094] teaches collecting parameters including at least voltage, current, and temperature);
determining a health of the battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators (Huang paragraphs and [0017] and [0099] teach determining a state of health (SOH) of the battery system based on one or more health indicators, including effective capability Ce and maximum capability Cm, where the relationship of Ce to Cm is indicative of SOH); and
based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identifying a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators (Huang paragraph [0100] teaches repeatedly evaluating Ce/Cm based on a selected set of health indicators, such as a selected maximum value of Ce over the lifetime of the battery to form the value of Cm, in order to predict and thus avoid incipient battery failure (including at an unhealthy condition in order to avoid worsening conditions that lead to failure), and subsequently determining causes such as an inoperative charging system, a presence of a load at an inappropriate point in the vehicle's operating cycle, a short circuit or the like, etc.), wherein determining the health of the battery system (Huang paragraph [0002] teaches determining the health of the battery system) includes:
identifying an enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the battery system (Huang paragraph [0121] teaches determining the value of an available capacity (Ca) in comparison to the effective capability Ce as an enabling condition to determine whether the battery is in a fully charged state, or whether it has been discharged to a predetermined level to enable a charging cycle);
selecting the set of health indicators from the plurality of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition, and estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators (Huang paragraph [0099] teaches selecting the set of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition in order to obtain battery parameters repetitively as the battery is repetitively discharged and recharged, and determining values for each of the set of health indicators including Ce and Cm); and determining whether the battery system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators (Huang paragraphs [0094] and [0099]-[0100] teach determining the state of the health of the battery, including a healthy condition or unhealthy condition where the battery is reaching the end of its useful life, based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators derived from the collected parameters).
Huang fails to expressly teach a "low voltage (LV)" battery system.
Frost abstract teaches systems and methods for estimating a capacity of a battery system in a vehicle, and Frost paragraph [0023] teaches providing information including state of health ("SOH"). Frost paragraph [0020] teaches where the battery system may be a low voltage battery (e.g., a lead-acid 12V automotive battery) in a vehicle and may be configured to supply electric energy to a variety of vehicle systems.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the teachings of Frost because multiple types of battery systems, including low voltage (LV) battery systems, may be commonly found in vehicles. Therefore, since Huang is directed to testing for conditions of a battery system in a vehicle, it would be well within the level of ordinary skill to specify the testing of a low voltage battery system in order to comprehensively diagnose any battery issues for low voltage applications in a vehicle.
In regards to claim 8, Huang teaches the method as explained in the rejection of claim 1 above. Huang fails to expressly teach wherein the LV battery system is part a vehicle, the vehicle including a high voltage battery system configured to power an electric motor. Frost abstract teaches systems and methods for estimating a capacity of a battery system in a vehicle, and Frost paragraph [0023] teaches providing information including state of health ("SOH"). Frost paragraph [0020] teaches where the battery system may be a low voltage battery (e.g., a lead-acid 12V automotive battery) in a vehicle and may be configured to supply electric energy to a variety of vehicle systems. Frost paragraphs [0002] and [0019] teach where the vehicle may include an HV (high voltage) battery system to power electric drivetrain components, such as electric drive motors and the like, in an electric, hybrid, or FC power system.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the teachings of Frost because multiple types of battery systems, including low voltage (LV) battery systems and high voltage (HV) battery systems, may be commonly found in vehicles. Therefore, since Huang is directed to testing for conditions of a battery system in a vehicle, it would be well within the level of ordinary skill to specify that the testing of a low voltage battery system may occur in a vehicle that also has a high voltage battery system, such as vehicles having an electric, hybrid, or FC power system.
In regards to claim 9, Huang teaches a system for evaluating a battery system (Huang abstract and paragraph [0002] teach a system for evaluating a condition of a battery system of a vehicle), comprising:
a processing device configured to collect parameters of the battery system (Huang paragraph [0081] teaches a microprocessor connected to a sampling circuit for collecting parameters of the battery system), the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC) (Huang paragraph [0094] teaches collecting parameters including at least voltage, current, and temperature), the processing device configured to determine a health of the battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators (Huang paragraphs and [0017] and [0099] teach determining a state of health (SOH) of the battery system based on one or more health indicators, including effective capability Ce and maximum capability Cm, where the relationship of Ce to Cm is indicative of SOH), and based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identify a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators (Huang paragraph [0100] teaches repeatedly evaluating Ce/Cm based on a selected set of health indicators, such as a selected maximum value of Ce over the lifetime of the battery to form the value of Cm, in order to predict and thus avoid incipient battery failure (including at an unhealthy condition in order to avoid worsening conditions that lead to failure), and subsequently determining causes such as an inoperative charging system, a presence of a load at an inappropriate point in the vehicle's operating cycle, a short circuit or the like, etc.), wherein the processing device is configured to determine the health (Huang paragraph [0002] teaches determining the health of the battery system) by:
identifying an enabling condition of the battery system, the enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the battery system (Huang paragraph [0121] teaches determining the value of an available capacity (Ca) in comparison to the effective capability Ce as an enabling condition to determine whether the battery is in a fully charged state, or whether it has been discharged to a predetermined level to enable a charging cycle);
selecting the set of the health indicators based on the identified enabling condition, and estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators (Huang paragraph [0099] teaches selecting the set of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition in order to obtain battery parameters repetitively as the battery is repetitively discharged and recharged, and determining values for each of the set of health indicators including Ce and Cm); and
determining whether the battery system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators (Huang paragraphs [0094] and [0099]-[0100] teach determining the state of the health of the battery, including a healthy condition or unhealthy condition where the battery is reaching the end of its useful life, based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators derived from the collected parameters).
Huang fails to expressly teach a "low voltage (LV)" battery system.
Frost abstract teaches systems and methods for estimating a capacity of a battery system in a vehicle, and Frost paragraph [0023] teaches providing information including state of health ("SOH"). Frost paragraph [0020] teaches where the battery system may be a low voltage battery (e.g., a lead-acid 12V automotive battery) in a vehicle and may be configured to supply electric energy to a variety of vehicle systems.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the teachings of Frost because multiple types of battery systems, including low voltage (LV) battery systems, may be commonly found in vehicles. Therefore, since Huang is directed to testing for conditions of a battery system in a vehicle, it would be well within the level of ordinary skill to specify the testing of a low voltage battery system in order to comprehensively diagnose any battery issues for low voltage applications in a vehicle.
In regards to claim 16, Huang teaches the system as explained in the rejection of claim 9 above. Huang fails to expressly teach wherein the LV battery system is part a vehicle, the vehicle including a high voltage battery system configured to power an electric motor. Frost abstract teaches systems and methods for estimating a capacity of a battery system in a vehicle, and Frost paragraph [0023] teaches providing information including state of health ("SOH"). Frost paragraph [0020] teaches where the battery system may be a low voltage battery (e.g., a lead-acid 12V automotive battery) in a vehicle and may be configured to supply electric energy to a variety of vehicle systems. Frost paragraphs [0002] and [0019] teach where the vehicle may include an HV (high voltage) battery system to power electric drivetrain components, such as electric drive motors and the like, in an electric, hybrid, or FC power system.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the teachings of Frost because multiple types of battery systems, including low voltage (LV) battery systems and high voltage (HV) battery systems, may be commonly found in vehicles. Therefore, since Huang is directed to testing for conditions of a battery system in a vehicle, it would be well within the level of ordinary skill to specify that the testing of a low voltage battery system may occur in a vehicle that also has a high voltage battery system, such as vehicles having an electric, hybrid, or FC power system.
In regards to claim 17, Huang teaches a vehicle system (Huang abstract and paragraph [0002] teaches a vehicle operating system in a motor vehicle application), comprising:
a battery system configured to power components of a vehicle; (Huang Fig. 4 and paragraph [0129] teaches a battery system configured to power multiple loads of components of a vehicle) and
a processing device configured to collect parameters of the battery system (Huang paragraph [0081] teaches a microprocessor connected to a sampling circuit for collecting parameters of the battery system), the parameters including at least one of a voltage, a current, a temperature and a state of charge (SOC) (Huang paragraph [0094] teaches collecting parameters including at least voltage, current, and temperature), the processing device configured to determine a health of the battery system based on one or more health indicators of a plurality of health indicators (Huang paragraphs and [0017] and [0099] teach determining a state of health (SOH) of the battery system based on one or more health indicators, including effective capability Ce and maximum capability Cm, where the relationship of Ce to Cm is indicative of SOH), and based on determining that the battery system is in an unhealthy condition, identify a cause of the unhealthy condition based on a selection of a set of health indicators (Huang paragraph [0100] teaches repeatedly evaluating Ce/Cm based on a selected set of health indicators, such as a selected maximum value of Ce over the lifetime of the battery to form the value of Cm, in order to predict and thus avoid incipient battery failure (including at an unhealthy condition in order to avoid worsening conditions that lead to failure), and subsequently determining causes such as an inoperative charging system, a presence of a load at an inappropriate point in the vehicle's operating cycle, a short circuit or the like, etc.), wherein the processing device is configured to determine the health (Huang paragraph [0002] teaches determining the health of the battery system) by:
identifying an enabling condition of the battery system, the enabling condition related to charging or discharging of the battery system (Huang paragraph [0121] teaches determining the value of an available capacity (Ca) in comparison to the effective capability Ce as an enabling condition to determine whether the battery is in a fully charged state, or whether it has been discharged to a predetermined level to enable a charging cycle);
selecting the set of the health indicators based on the identified enabling condition, and estimating a value of each of the set of health indicators (Huang paragraph [0099] teaches selecting the set of health indicators based on the identified enabling condition in order to obtain battery parameters repetitively as the battery is repetitively discharged and recharged, and determining values for each of the set of health indicators including Ce and Cm); and
determining whether the battery system is in a healthy condition or the unhealthy condition based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators (Huang paragraphs [0094] and [0099]-[0100] teach determining the state of the health of the battery, including a healthy condition or unhealthy condition where the battery is reaching the end of its useful life, based on the collected parameters and the value of each of the set of health indicators derived from the collected parameters).
Huang fails to expressly teach a "low voltage (LV)" battery system.
Frost abstract teaches systems and methods for estimating a capacity of a battery system in a vehicle, and Frost paragraph [0023] teaches providing information including state of health ("SOH"). Frost paragraph [0020] teaches where the battery system may be a low voltage battery (e.g., a lead-acid 12V automotive battery) in a vehicle and may be configured to supply electric energy to a variety of vehicle systems.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further combine the teachings of Frost because multiple types of battery systems, including low voltage (LV) battery systems, may be commonly found in vehicles. Therefore, since Huang is directed to testing for conditions of a battery system in a vehicle, it would be well within the level of ordinary skill to specify the testing of a low voltage battery system in order to comprehensively diagnose any battery issues for low voltage applications in a vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 2-7, 10-15, and 18-20 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 101, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 2 contains allowable subject matter because the closest prior art, Huang et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2009/0027056) fails to anticipate or render obvious the method wherein the plurality of health indicators include a charging resistance, a ripple resistance, a dynamic discharging resistance and a capacity ratio, the capacity ratio being a ratio of a change in capacity to a change in voltage, in combination with the rest of the claim limitations as claimed and defined by the Applicant. The prior art does not explicitly teach the use of all of these specific types of health indicators in combination for determining a health of the LV system, as the conjunctive "and" is used.
Similarly, claim 10 contains allowable subject matter because the closest prior art, Huang et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2009/0027056) fails to anticipate or render obvious the system wherein the plurality of health indicators include a charging resistance, a ripple resistance, a dynamic discharging resistance and a capacity ratio, the capacity ratio being a ratio of a change in capacity to a change in voltage, in combination with the rest of the claim limitations as claimed and defined by the Applicant.
Similarly, claim 18 contains allowable subject matter because the closest prior art, Huang et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2009/0027056) fails to anticipate or render obvious the vehicle system wherein the plurality of health indicators include a charging resistance, a ripple resistance, a dynamic discharging resistance and a capacity ratio, the capacity ratio being a ratio of a change in capacity to a change in voltage, in combination with the rest of the claim limitations as claimed and defined by the Applicant.
8. Dependent claims 3-7 depend from claim 2 and contain allowable subject matter for at least the same reasons as given for claim 2. Dependent claims 11-15 depend from claim 10 and contain allowable subject matter for at least the same reasons as given for claim 10. Dependent claims 19-20 depend from claim 18 and contain allowable subject matter for at least the same reasons as given for claim 18.
Pertinent Art
9. Applicants are directed to consider additional pertinent prior art included on the Notice of References Cited (PTOL 892) attached herewith. The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply. Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
C. Eaves (US Pat. Pub. 2008/0071483) discloses Battery Health Monitor. D. Baughman et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2015/0239364) discloses System and Method of Monitoring a Performance Level of a Battery. E. Kim et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0123185) discloses Method for Predicting Battery Health in Consideration of Temperature of Battery Management System.
F. Sankavaram et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0196106) discloses Method and Apparatus for Isolating Root Cause of Low State of Charge of a DC Power Source.
G. Tang et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2018/0348304) discloses Method and Apparatus for Estimating State of Health of a Battery Pack and Computer-Readable Medium.
H. Kondo (US Pat. Pub. 2022/0283239) discloses Battery System for Battery Degradation Estimation.
I. Andreasen et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2024/0351471) discloses High Voltage Battery State of Health.
J. Zhang et al. (US Pat. Pub. 2025/0321289) discloses Method For Estimation State of Health of a Battery.
K. Jin et al. (US Pat. No. 10,300,807) discloses Systems and Methods for State of Charge and Capacity Estimation of a Rechargeable Battery.
Conclusion
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAUL D LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1598. The examiner can normally be reached on M to F, 9:30 am to 6 pm.
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, Arleen Vazquez can be reached at 571-272-2619. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/PAUL D LEE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857 1/20/2026