Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/392,337

BATTERY PACK, METHOD OF MEASURING CHARGE CURRENT OF THE SAME, AND CHARGE CURRENT MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Dec 21, 2023
Examiner
PREVIL, DANIEL
Art Unit
2685
Tech Center
2600 — Communications
Assignee
Samsung Electronics
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
86%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 4m
To Grant
98%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 86% — above average
86%
Career Allow Rate
1326 granted / 1547 resolved
+23.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +13% lift
Without
With
+12.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 4m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1585
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
55.6%
+15.6% vs TC avg
§102
11.0%
-29.0% vs TC avg
§112
14.6%
-25.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1547 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 1-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakabe et al. (US 2009/0087722) in view of Mengelt et al. (US 5,579,197) . Regarding claim s 1, 7, 13, Sakabe discloses a battery pack (fig. 1) comprising: a battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells (page 6, [0063]) ; a current measurement module measuring a charge current supplied to the battery module (page 21, [0203]) ; and a processor (fig. 2) , wherein, upon detecting connection of a charger to the battery pack (fig. 13 ; page 1, [0013-0014]). Sakabe discloses all the limitations set forth above but fails to explicitly disclose the processor sets a frequency of a sinusoidal waveform charge current supplied from the charger to the battery module to a first frequency, recognizes the frequency of the charge current based on a charge current value measured through a current measurement module according to a first number of sampling times for one cycle set to the first frequency, and adjusts the number of sampling times for one cycle based on the recognized frequency of the charge current. However, Mengelt discloses the processor sets a frequency of a sinusoidal waveform charge current supplied from the charger to the battery module to a first frequency, recognizes the frequency of the charge current based on a charge current value measured through a current measurement module according to a first number of sampling times for one cycle set to the first frequency, and adjusts the number of sampling times for one cycle based on the recognized frequency of the charge current ( col. 8, lines 12-67; col. 9, lines 1-32) . Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was first filed to incorporate the features of Mengelt within the system of Sakabe in order to measure terminal voltage at the battery cells upon determining the abnormality diagnosis circuit thereby increasing the reliability of the system. Regarding claim s 2 , 8, Sakabe discloses wherein the processor detects that the charger is connected to the battery pack, upon detecting a charger interlock or upon receiving a charger connection signal from the charger (fig. 13, page 1, [0013-0014]) . Regarding claim s 3 , 9, 14, Sakabe and Mengelt disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Mengelt further discloses wherein the processor recognizes the frequency of the charge current based on a difference between the first measured charge current value and the last measured charge current value among charge current values measured for the one cycle (col. 8, lines 11-67; col. 9, lines 1-30) . Regarding claim s 4 , 10, 15, Sakabe and Mengelt disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Mengelt further discloses wherein the processor determines that the frequency of the charge current is the first frequency when the difference between the first measured charge current value and the last measured charge current value is less than a preset threshold, and determines that the frequency of the charge current is a second frequency when a case where the difference between the first measured charge current value and the last measured charge current value is greater than or equal to the preset threshold is detected a preset number of times or more (col. 8, lines 12-67; col. 9, lines 1-30) . Regarding claim s 5 , 11, 16, Sakabe and Mengelt disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Mengelt further discloses wherein the processor adjusts the number of sampling times for one cycle to a second number of sampling times set to the second frequency, upon determining that the frequency of the charge current is the second frequency (col. 8, lines 12-67; col. 9, lines 1-30) . Regarding claim s 6 , 12, Sakabe and Mengelt disclose all the limitations set forth in claim 1 and Mengelt further discloses wherein the processor calculates an average of the charge current values measured for the one cycle through the current measurement module according to the adjusted number of sampling times, and determines the average as the charge current of the battery module (col. 8, lines 12-67; col. 9, lines 1-30) . Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lee et al. (US 2012/0176082) discloses battery pack ….. resistance of cell. Sung (US 2019/0356140) discloses apparatus…equalization. Loncarevic (US 10,862,317) discloses battery management ….. battery cells. Rodriguez et al. (US 7,091,676) discloses ABC ….. form monitor. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT DANIEL PREVIL whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-2971 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday from 9:30 AM -6:00 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Wang Quan-Zhen can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571 272 3114 . 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. DP March 9, 2026 /DANIEL PREVIL/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2685
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 21, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 10, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
86%
Grant Probability
98%
With Interview (+12.6%)
2y 4m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1547 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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