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
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manabe et al (U.S. PGPub # 2009/0226770) in view of Land et al (Land, Raul, et al. "Improvements in design of spectra of multisine and binary excitation signals for multi-frequency bioimpedance measurement." 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE, 2011.).
Regarding Independent claim 1, Manabe teaches:
An on-line measurement system of an alternating current impedance of a vehicle-mounted fuel cell, comprising an impedance measuring group; wherein the impedance measuring group comprises:
an alternating current exciting unit (Fig. 1 Element 38. See paragraphs 0048-0049.);
a current sensor (Fig. 1 Element 47. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051 & 0064.), arranged on an output trunk of the fuel cell stack and configured to collect an output current of the fuel cell stack or a single fuel cell (Fig. 1 Elements 47 & 100. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051 & 0064.);
an impedance inspecting unit (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051 & 0064.), connected with the fuel cell stack and the current sensor (Fig. 1 Elements 35, 47, & 100. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051 & 0064.), respectively, and configured to collect an output voltage of the fuel cell stack (Fig. 1 Element 48. See paragraph 0051.) or the single fuel cell (Fig. 1 Element 48. See paragraph 0051. Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051 & 0064.), calculate a fuel cell impedance according to the output voltage and the output current (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051-0052 & 0064.), and identify a parameter of a pre-constructed fuel cell equivalent circuit model based on the calculated fuel cell impedance (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0075 & 0099.), wherein the fuel cell equivalent circuit model after parameter identification is configured to fit the fuel cell impedance (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0075 & 0099.).
Manabe does not explicitly teach:
configured to apply a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal to a fuel cell stack, wherein the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal is obtained by performing phase optimization and synthesis on sine wave signals with different frequencies;
Land teaches:
configured to apply a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal to a fuel cell stack, wherein the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal is obtained by performing phase optimization and synthesis on sine wave signals with different frequencies (See Abstract and page 3 column 1 Section II Synthesis of the excitation signal.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to apply the teachings of Land to the teachings of Manabe such that one would use a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal to a fuel cell stack, wherein the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal is obtained by performing phase optimization and synthesis on sine wave signals with different frequencies because Multi-frequency simultaneous excitation enables the measurement time to be dramatically reduced through the measurement of impedance spectrum at all the frequency components in parallel.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manabe et al (U.S. PGPub # 2009/0226770) in view of Land et al (Land, Raul, et al. "Improvements in design of spectra of multisine and binary excitation signals for multi-frequency bioimpedance measurement." 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE, 2011.) & Wang et al (U.S. Pat. # 9,989,595.).
Regarding claim 2, Manabe & Land teach all elements of claim 1, upon which this claim depends.
Manabe teaches how to receive and store the parameter of the fuel cell equivalent circuit model and the fitted fuel cell impedance, and evaluate a health status of the fuel cell and diagnose a fault of the fuel cell by using a clustering algorithm based on the fitted fuel cell impedance (Paragraphs 0042, 0060, 0084, 0086, & 0089.).
Manabe & Land do not explicitly teach a cloud computing platform in wireless communication with the impedance measuring group, wherein the cloud computing platform.
Wang teaches a cloud computing platform (Column 14 lines 28-38 & 51-59. Column 15 lines 11-20.) in wireless communication with the impedance measuring group, wherein the cloud computing platform (Column 14 lines 28-38 & 51-59. Column 15 lines 11-20.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to apply the teachings of Wang to the teachings of Manabe & Land such one would have a cloud computing platform in wireless communication with the impedance measuring group because this allows one to remotely observe a battery system for faults or states of charge.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manabe et al (U.S. PGPub # 2009/0226770) in view of Land et al (Land, Raul, et al. "Improvements in design of spectra of multisine and binary excitation signals for multi-frequency bioimpedance measurement." 2011 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE, 2011.) & Wang et al (U.S. PGPub # 2014/0372054), henceforth referred to as Wang 2.
Regarding claim 5, Manabe & Land teach all elements of claim 1, upon which this claim depends.
Manabe teaches on-line measurement method of an alternating current impedance of a vehicle-mounted fuel cell, wherein the method is applied to the on-line measurement system of the alternating current impedance of the vehicle-mounted fuel cell according to claim 1, and the method comprises:
applying the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal to a fuel cell stack (Fig. 1 Element 38. See paragraphs 0048-0049.), and collecting an output voltage and an output current of the fuel cell stack or a single fuel cell (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051-0052 & 0064.);
calculating a fuel cell impedance based on the output voltage and the output current (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0040, 0046, 0051-0052 & 0064.);
identifying a parameter of the fuel cell equivalent circuit model based on the calculated fuel cell impedance (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0075 & 0099.); and
fitting the fuel cell impedance by the fuel cell equivalent circuit model after parameter identification (Fig. 1 Element 35. See paragraphs 0075 & 0099.).
Manabe does not explicitly teach:
constructing a fuel cell equivalent circuit model;
performing synthesis and phase optimization on sine wave signals with different frequencies to obtain a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal;
Land teaches:
performing synthesis and phase optimization on sine wave signals with different frequencies to obtain a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal (See Abstract and page 3 column 1 Section II Synthesis of the excitation signal.);
Wang 2 teaches:
constructing a fuel cell equivalent circuit model (Paragraph 0004.);
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to apply the teachings of Land to the teachings of Manabe such that one would perform synthesis and phase optimization on sine wave signals with different frequencies to obtain a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal because Multi-frequency simultaneous excitation enables the measurement time to be dramatically reduced through the measurement of impedance spectrum at all the frequency components in parallel. Multi-frequency simultaneous excitation requires synthesis and phase optimization on sine wave signals with different frequencies to obtain a multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective time of filing to apply the teachings of Wang 2 to the teachings of Manabe & Land such one would constructing a fuel cell equivalent circuit model because equivalent circuit models are most appropriate in many applications where stringent real-time requirements and limiting computing powers need to be considered. See paragraph 0004 of Wang 2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 & 6-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art listed does not anticipate alone or combine in an obvious manner to teach the invention claimed by applicant.
Regarding claim 3, Manabe & Land teach all elements of claim 1, upon which this claim depends.
Manabe & Land do not explicitly teach the alternating current exciting unit comprises: a Flash memory, configured to store the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal; a sine pulse width modulation unit, connected with the Flash memory and configured to control an output of the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal; and a full-bridge topology circuit, connected with the sine pulse width modulation unit and configured to apply the output multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal to the fuel cell stack.
Regarding claim 4,
The system according to claim 1, wherein the impedance inspecting unit comprises: a relay switch, connected with the fuel cell stack and configured to select an inspecting channel and collect the output voltage of the fuel cell stack or the single fuel cell; a first differential amplifier, connected with an output end of the relay switch and configured to eliminate a common-mode voltage; a second differential amplifier, connected with an output end of the current sensor and configured to eliminate a common-mode current; an analog-to-digital converter, connected with an output end of the first differential amplifier and an output end of the second differential amplifier, respectively, and configured to convert an analog signal into a digital signal; and a digital signal processor, connected with an output end of the analog-to-digital converter and configured to calculate the fuel cell impedance according to the converted output voltage and output current, and identify the parameter of the pre-constructed fuel cell equivalent circuit model based on the calculated fuel cell impedance.
Regarding claim 6,
The method according to claim 5, wherein after fitting the fuel cell impedance by the fuel cell equivalent circuit model after parameter identification, the method further comprises: storing the parameter of the fuel cell equivalent circuit model and the fitted fuel cell impedance; and based on the fitted fuel cell impedance, evaluating a health status of the fuel cell and diagnosing a fault of the fuel cell by using a clustering algorithm.
Regarding claim 7,
The method according to claim 5, wherein performing synthesis and phase optimization on sine wave signals with different frequencies to obtain the multi-frequency composite sine wave excitation signal comprises: performing a composite process on the sine wave signals with different frequencies; and for the composite sine wave signals, iteratively optimizing an initial phase by a global search algorithm, and determining a phase value of each frequency point that minimizes a crest factor CF as a final optimized phase value.
Regarding claim 8,
The method according to claim5, wherein the fuel cell equivalent circuit model is a second-order RC model, and consists of an ohmic resistor and two RC links connected in series.
Regarding claim 9,
The method according to claim 5, wherein calculating the fuel cell impedance based on the output voltage and the output current comprises: calculating the output voltage and the output current in real time by an orthogonal digital phase-lock amplifier, respectively, converting a time domain signal into a frequency domain signal, and obtaining a current amplitude and a current phase corresponding to the output current at different frequencies and a voltage amplitude and a voltage phase corresponding to the output voltage at different frequencies; and calculating fuel cell impedances at different frequencies based on the current amplitude, the current phase, the voltage amplitude and the voltage phase.
Regarding claim 10,
The method according to claim 5, wherein identifying the parameter of the fuel cell equivalent circuit model based on the calculated fuel cell impedance comprises: based on the calculated fuel cell impedance, calculating an initial value of the parameter of the fuel cell equivalent circuit model by an arc characteristic of an impedance spectrum curve; and based on the initial value of the parameter, identifying the parameter of the fuel cell equivalent circuit model by using a Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The prior art listed but not cited represents the previous state of the art and analogous art that teaches some of the limitations claimed by applicant.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER P MCANDREW whose telephone number is (469)295-9025. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 6-4:30.
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/CHRISTOPHER P MCANDREW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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