DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, 5, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ueki et al. (US 2023/0311640).
Regarding claim 1, Ueki discloses an estimating unit for gas inside secondary battery and vehicle comprising:
if it is found in step S41B that the cumulative amount of gas exceeds the second predetermined amount, the gas estimating unit 10 takes safety measures in step S44C (para 0076).
For example, the gas estimating unit 10 blocks the gas which leaks from the secondary battery 20 (para 0076), which is a venting mitigation action.
Regarding claim 5, blocking the gas release would occur before releasing the gas.
Regarding claim 15, Ueki discloses the secondary battery is a lithium-ion battery (para 0044). NMC batteries are commonly known a lithium-ion batteries.
Regarding claim 16, similarly to claim 15, pouch-type cells are commonplace in the battery arts including prismatic and cylindrical cells.
Claims 1-4, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US 2024/0266859).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a battery management apparatus and method comprising:
a profiling obtaining step S110 (Fig. 1).
The profile obtaining unit 110 may be configured to obtain a gas amount profile indicating a correspondence relationship between the gas generation amount of the battery and the change amount of the peak (para 0045); using the gas amount profile, the total gas amount can be accurately estimated based on the change amount of the peak (para 0059). The control unit 130 may set the usage condition of the battery based on a result of comparing the determined change amount of the target peak and a control criterion preset for the gas amount profile. For example, the control unit 130 may adjust the C-rate for the battery (para 0071). Adjusting the C-rate is viewed as a venting mitigation action based on at least one battery cell within a traction battery pack (para 0088).
Regarding claim 2, Kim discloses the control unit 130 can lower the upper limits of temperature and SOC of the battery. Also, the control unit 130 can reduce the charging C-rate of the battery (para 0081). Lowering the limits the SOC adjusts an upper state of charge of the battery pack.
Regarding claim 3, Kim discloses the control unit 130 can lower the upper limits of temperature and SOC of the battery. Also, the control unit 130 can reduce the charging C-rate of the battery (para 0081). Lowering the limits the SOC derates a maximum power capacity of the battery pack.
Regarding claim 4, Kim discloses the control unit 130 can lower the upper limits of temperature and SOC of the battery. Also, the control unit 130 can reduce the charging C-rate of the battery (para 0081). Reducing the charging of the C-rate derates a charging of the battery pack.
Regarding claim 15, Kim discloses lithium-ion batteries (para 0046). NMC batteries are commonly known a lithium-ion batteries.
Regarding claim 16, similarly to claim 15, pouch-type cells are commonplace in the battery arts including prismatic and cylindrical cells.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-12 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARLOS BARCENA whose telephone number is (571)270-5780. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8-5 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Tong Guo can be reached at (571)272-3066. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CARLOS BARCENA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1723
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