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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Nagano (WO2022113918A1)
Nagano discloses
1. A method for operating a multi-string coordinator, comprising:
receiving, via the multi-string coordinator (ECU 96), battery data from a first battery power management unit (BSM 86) and a second battery power management unit (i.e. BSM 88) in a battery system (par. 36, 60-61, 79: voltages are measured and received at the ECU for comparison);
determining, via the multi-string coordinator, whether a string imbalance between the first battery power management unit and the second battery power management unit exceeds a string imbalance threshold (Fig. 8-11, par. 60) ; and
commanding, via the multi-string coordinator and through a commanding step, the first battery power management unit to charge a first string of battery modules (i.e. a battery pack) of the first battery power management unit from a first voltage to a second voltage in response to the string imbalance exceeding the string imbalance threshold (Fig. 8, 11, par. 60, 70-71: the battery pack 92 is first charged so that the voltage of the battery pack 92 becomes equal to the voltage of the battery pack 88 … when |V2-V3| < a threshold, battery pack E3 is charged … when a determination in step 212 is negative, charging of E1, E2 and E3 is started).
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) 2-6, 8-22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagano (WO2022113918A1) in view of Verbridge (US 20190126761 )
2.1, further comprising: receiving, via the multi-string coordinator, a charger identification associated with a charger electrically coupled to the multi-string coordinator; transmitting, via the multi-string coordinator, the charger identification to the first battery power management unit and the second battery power management unit; and modifying, via the multi-string coordinator, charge limits of the battery system based on the charger identification
(Nagano discloses that ECU 96 acquires the charging status (voltage, etc.) of the battery packs 84, 88, and 92 from the BMS 86, 90, and 94, and controls switching between the contactor 80 and the switch box 82 by communicating with the quick charger 70, 72, or 74.
Nagano is silent to transmitting the charger ID or capacity to the first BMS and to the second BMS;
Verbridge discloses [0057] FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of illustrative control circuitry 310, electrical components, and sensors 350, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, battery management module 302 may include control circuitry 310 and sensors 350. Battery management module 302 may be used to, for example, control the switches of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, battery management module 302, or control circuitry 310 thereof, may be incorporated in the arrangement 200 of FIG. 2, or charging arrangement 100 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments, battery management module 302 may include switches 250, 252, 254, 256, 260, and 262. As shown illustratively in arrangement 300, control circuitry 310 may be configured to control switches 250, 252, 254, 256, 260, and 262. For example, control circuitry 310 may place either, or both, of switches 260 and 262 in an OFF position or an ON position. In a further example, control circuitry 310 may place any of switches 250, 252, 254, and 256 into one of two ON positions, or an OFF position.
[0108] Step 1304 may include a battery management module determining whether the battery charging system is capable of fast charging based on the capability information. In some embodiments, the battery management module may receive capability information corresponding to a charging voltage. For example, the battery management module may receive capability information including 900 V as a maximum charging voltage. Accordingly, the battery management module may determine that the battery charger is capable of fast charging (e.g., charging at 900 V). In some embodiments, the battery management module may receive capability information corresponding to available states of the battery charger. For example, the battery management module may receive a signal corresponding to fast charge capable (e.g., an alphanumeric code, alphanumeric identifier, flag value, or other identifier).
Verbridge further discloses the charger provides charging capability to the OBC and to the BMS (par. 107-108, 135)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Verbridge so that the control unit and the battery management units may control and manage the charging of battery packs more effectively)
3.2, wherein the first battery power management unit is charged based on a charging protocol associated with the charger identification (Nagano, par. 67-68; Verbridge, par. 107-108, 135, 139).
4.2, further comprising transmitting, via the multi-string coordinator, a capacity value of the battery system to the first battery power management unit and the second battery power management unit based on the charger identification (Nagano, par. 67-68; Verbridge, par. 107-108, 135, 139; the feature is considered obvious over the prior art’s teachings).
5.1, wherein in response to the commanding step, the first battery power management unit, the first string of battery modules are charged via the first battery power management unit from the first voltage to the second voltage (Nagano, Fig. 8-12, Verbridge, Fig. 2-3, par. 129).
6.4, further comprising commanding, via the multi-string coordinator, the first battery power management unit and the second battery power management unit to charge the first string of battery modules of the first battery power management unit and a second string of battery modules of the second battery power management unit together in response to the string imbalance falling below the string imbalance threshold (Nagano, Fig. 8-12, Verbridge, Fig. 2-3, par. 129).
8. A multi-string coordinator (ECU 96), comprising:
a tangible, non-transitory device configured to communicate with a processor; the tangible, non-transitory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving, via the processor, a charger identification associated with a charger electrically coupled to the multi-string coordinator (par. 67-68, 73: a master charger is determined by coordinator 96)
transmitting, via the processor, one of the charger identification and a capacity of the charger to a first battery power management unit and a second battery power management unit of a battery system of an electric vehicle (par. 68: “This program further includes step 192 of receiving charger information (maximum voltage, maximum current, and compatibility determination value or higher) from the master charger;
Nagano discloses that ECU 96 acquires the charging status (voltage, etc.) of the battery packs 84, 88, and 92 from the BMS 86, 90, and 94, and controls switching between the contactor 80 and the switch box 82 by communicating with the quick charger 70, 72, or 74.
Nagano is silent to transmitting the charger ID or capacity to the first BMS and to the second BMS;
Verbridge discloses [0057] FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of illustrative control circuitry 310, electrical components, and sensors 350, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, battery management module 302 may include control circuitry 310 and sensors 350. Battery management module 302 may be used to, for example, control the switches of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, battery management module 302, or control circuitry 310 thereof, may be incorporated in the arrangement 200 of FIG. 2, or charging arrangement 100 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments, battery management module 302 may include switches 250, 252, 254, 256, 260, and 262. As shown illustratively in arrangement 300, control circuitry 310 may be configured to control switches 250, 252, 254, 256, 260, and 262. For example, control circuitry 310 may place either, or both, of switches 260 and 262 in an OFF position or an ON position. In a further example, control circuitry 310 may place any of switches 250, 252, 254, and 256 into one of two ON positions, or an OFF position.
[0108] Step 1304 may include a battery management module determining whether the battery charging system is capable of fast charging based on the capability information. In some embodiments, the battery management module may receive capability information corresponding to a charging voltage. For example, the battery management module may receive capability information including 900 V as a maximum charging voltage. Accordingly, the battery management module may determine that the battery charger is capable of fast charging (e.g., charging at 900 V). In some embodiments, the battery management module may receive capability information corresponding to available states of the battery charger. For example, the battery management module may receive a signal corresponding to fast charge capable (e.g., an alphanumeric code, alphanumeric identifier, flag value, or other identifier).
Verbridge further discloses the charger provides charging capability to the OBC and to the BMS (par. 107-108, 135)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Verbridge so that the control unit and the battery management units may control and manage the charging of battery packs more effectively.
9.8, wherein in response to the transmitting, charging a first string of battery modules of the first battery power management unit and a second string of battery modules of the second battery power management unit based on the capacity (Nagano, Fig. 5, 8, par. 12; Verbridge, Fig. 11-15).
10.9, wherein the operations further comprise commanding the first battery power management unit to charge the first string of battery modules from a first voltage to a second voltage to correcting a string imbalance between the first string of battery modules and the second string of battery modules (Nagano, Fig. 5, 8, par. 12; Verbridge, Fig. 11-15).
11.10, wherein the string imbalance comprises a voltage difference percentage that is greater than a voltage difference percentage threshold (this is an obvious extension of the prior art’s teachings as percentage in difference is merely a representation in known format).
12.8, further comprising an indicator, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, via the processor and from the first battery power management unit, a fault indicator; commanding, via the processor, the indicator to provide an indication that the first battery power management unit is faulty; and transmitting, via the processor, the fault indicator to the charger (Verbridge, par. 44-45, 82, 129, 136).
13.8, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, via the processor and from the first battery power management unit, operational data of the first battery power management unit; storing, via the processor, the operational data; and transmitting, via the processor, the operational data off-board in response to the multi-string coordinator being coupled to a charger (Nagano, Fig. 16; Verbridge, par. 45, 58, 82, 129, 136)
14.8, wherein the operations further comprise: determining, via the processor, whether a string imbalance between the first battery power management unit and the second battery power management unit exceeds a string imbalance threshold; and commanding, via the processor, the first battery power management unit to charge a first string of battery modules of the first battery power management unit from a first voltage to a second voltage in response to the string imbalance exceeding the string imbalance threshold (Nagano, Figs. 6-8).
15.8, further comprising a charging interface, wherein the charging interface comprises a discrete pin compatibility and a modular interface configured to support various chargers (Nagano, Fig. 8, par. 60).
Nagano discloses
16. An energy storage system, comprising:
a battery system comprising a plurality of battery power management units, each of the plurality of battery power management units comprising a string of battery modules (84 , 88, 92) and a battery management system (86, 88, 94) configured to control a discharge of the string of battery modules (Nagano discloses each BSM and battery module are to provide power during a discharge to external loads, Fig. 16; Nagano is silent to power management unit; Verbridge discloses a power management module 138, 300, 1050 that manage battery power in charging from a source and discharging to a load, par. 78-79, 85; A battery management module may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. A battery management module may be a standalone module, a module distributed among processing equipment, a module integrated into an existing electric vehicle system, or be a combination thereof; par. 51; it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective date the invention was made to incorporate the teachings of Verbridge so that the power in each of the battery packs can be controlled by a power management module that includes a battery pack and sensors) and
a multi-string coordinator (ECU 96) electrically coupled to the battery management system of each of the plurality of battery power management units, the multi-string coordinator configured to communicate with the battery management system of each of the plurality of battery power management units (i.e. Nagano, Figs. 2).
Re claims 17-21, see discussion regarding claims above.
22.16, wherein the battery system is configured to power an electric vehicle with the multi-string coordinator in a powered off state (Nagano, Fig. 16: the battery system is capable of providing power to external loads which would have been obvious to include an EV).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nagano (WO2022113918A1)
Re claim 7.1, Nagano is silent to a percentage voltage difference
However, this is an obvious extension of the prior art’s teachings as percentage in difference is merely a representation in known format.
Conclusion
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/THIEN T MAI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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