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 Objections
Claims 1-8 are objected to because the processing circuit being “configured to control the bidirectional power C to charge the second battery module with the first battery module” is not sufficiently clear. It can be interpreted as the processing circuit controls the bidirectional power converter to charge the second battery module and the first battery module.
Claims 2 and 6 are objected to because of the informalities in claim terminology. Claims 2 and 6, which depend on apparatus Claim 1, mention “the step of” controlling or determining, which refer to a method. It is suggested that both claims are amended to recite “wherein, the processing circuit is further configured to”.
Claim 10 is objected to because of the informalities in claim terminology. Claim 10, which depend on method Claim 9, mention “the step of” controlling or determining. It is suggested that it is amended to recite “further configuring the processing circuit to”.
Claim 5 is objected to because of the upper limit of the third voltage change rate “1 x 10-5 V/s” is lower than its lower limit change rate “1.8 x 10-5 V/s”. It is suggested to swap the upper and lower limit voltage change rate to make it consistent with the first and second change rate range.
Claim 8 is objected to because it recites “charge the second battery” which should be amended to “charge the second battery module” as to be consistent with the rest of the terminology.
Claim 9, 10 and 11 are objected to because it recites “the dual-battery power management method” which lacks antecedent basis.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6, 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (CN 114977407 B) in view of Miles (U.S. 20210384740), Moussaoui et al. (U.S. 20110149609) and Okada et al. (U.S. 20010054879), as evidenced by Luo et al. (U.S. 20140125270) and Du et al. (U.S. 20200174081).
Independent Claims 1 and 9, Zhao teaches of the following:
A dual-battery power management system capable of performing charging and discharging protection, (Human translated and marked up Fig. 1 – structural block diagram 100; (abstract), ¶’s[1, 3, 4])
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the dual-battery power management system comprising:
a first battery module (Translated and marked up Fig. 1 - 101; (abstract), ¶’s[4-6]);
a second battery module (Translated and marked up Fig. 1 - 102; (abstract), ¶’s[4, 7]);
a bidirectional power charger/discharger electrically connected between the first battery module and the second battery module (charging and discharging module in ¶’s[13, 14, 16-17] with ¶[13] explicitly mentioning that “the charging and discharging module includes a first charging and discharging unit and a second charging and discharging unit…The first charging and discharging unit is connected to the first battery module, and the second charging and discharging unit is connected to the second battery module”);
a voltage detection circuit configured to detect voltages of the first battery module and the second battery module (Fig. 1 – judgement control module 103, get/acquisition module 104; ¶’s[42, 50-52]. ¶[51] mentions that “the judgement control module can obtain the power information …. voltage information of the first battery module and the second battery module in real time, and …. it can send … charging current and charging voltage to the first charging and discharging unit and the second charging and discharging unit”. ¶[52] explicitly mentions that the acquisition module is used to receive the output information…to obtain the power status {being interpreted as voltage status} of the first or second battery module);
and a processing circuit electrically connected to the bidirectional power charger/discharger and the voltage detection circuit (Fig. 5 – judgement/control module, ¶’s[8, 11, 12] with ¶[8] explicitly mentioning that the judgement control module is connected to the charging and discharging module and ¶[11] mentioning that the acquisition module is connected to the judgment/control module);
wherein the processing circuit is configured to:
fully discharge the second battery module (¶[31, 69, 81, 83] with ¶[31, 83] mentioning that “when the charge of the first battery module is less than the lower discharge limit voltage and the charge of the second battery module is greater than the lower discharge limit voltage, the judgment/control module “controls” {being interpreted as discharges} “the second battery module to provide power to the system device”);
control the bidirectional power charger/discharger to charge the second battery module and the first battery module according to a predetermined battery charging rate related to the battery capacity (¶’s[48, 63] with ¶[63] explicitly mentioning that “the judgment/control module controls the charging and discharging module to charge the first battery module and the second battery module according to the preset ratio of charging current based on the power status”);
and simultaneously control the voltage detection circuit to detect the voltage of the second battery module (¶’s[69-71] mentioning that when the charge of the first battery module is greater than the lower discharge limit voltage and the charge of the second battery module is less than the lower discharge limit voltage and vice/versa, the judgment/control module controls the acquisition module to acquire the charge status {being interpreted as charging voltage status} of the first and the second battery module);
and control the bidirectional power charger/discharger to control charging and discharging of the second battery module with a corresponding charging and discharging mechanism (¶’s[9, 48, 63] with ¶[63] explicitly mentioning that “if it is determined that charging is to be performed, the judgment/control module controls the charging and discharging module to charge the second battery module according to the preset ratio of charging current based on the power status”).
Zhao is silent to the battery power management system having a converter with a processing circuit configured to discharging the second battery module while charging the first battery module, so as to obtain a battery capacity of the second battery module, controlling the voltage detection circuit to obtain a first change rate of a charging voltage, having a comparison table to match the voltage change in order to determine the battery types.
Miles teaches of the following:
A battery power management system with a converter (¶[3] uses charger and converter interchangeably {being interpreted as functionally similar} which can be read on Zhao’s bidirectional power charger/discharger system) and a processing circuit (Fig. 3 – processor 314) configured to
obtaining a comparison table corresponding relationships respectively between a plurality of change rate ranges of the charging voltage and a plurality of battery types (Fig. 4 – 412, 416, 418; charge profile mentioned in (abstract), ¶’s[5-7, 34] with ¶’s[5, 34] explicitly mentioning that the processor manages a charging profile, for example, the charge voltage, current thresholds for different battery types {being interpreted as equivalent to having a comparison data-table});
determines the battery type, according to the comparison table and the first voltage change rate (Fig. 4 – 420, 422, 424; ¶’s[abs, 2, 7-10, 45] with ¶[8, 9, 10] explicitly mentioning that the processor identifies a battery type to be charged as a function of a time-related behavior of a charge current and/or a charge voltage profile {being interpreted as comparison table} of the battery. ¶[45] explicitly mentions that the battery type of the battery to be charged is determined based on the rate at which the charge voltage changes);
Miles teaches that such processing system can enhance the user experience by automatically setting and using the correct charging profile without the inconvenience of manually setting a switch or going through the tedious and expensive process of changing chargers for a specific battery type ¶[7].
As Miles makes an equivalence statement between a charger and a converter (¶[3]), it would have been prima facie obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified Zhao with Miles to substitute the charger/discharger for the converter with predictable results.
It also would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified Zhao with Miles, to invent such a dual battery management system with a processing unit which can determine the battery types automatically based on the data collected in a comparison table in order to improve the user experience and reduce the maintenance cost.
Zhao is silent to processing circuit configured to discharging the second battery module while charging the first battery module, so as to obtain a battery capacity of the second battery module.
Moussaoui teaches of processing circuit (Fig. 1 – controller 30, (abstract), ¶’s[4, 22, 23]) configured to discharging the second battery module while charging the first battery module (¶[20] explicitly mentions that the first and second batteries can both act as power sources while charging the other battery as well as act as a load while receiving charging current from the other battery). Moussaoui teaches that such an embodiment has improved conversion efficiency and a smaller size and lower component count as compared to a conventional multidirectional converter (abstract, ¶[5, 19]). Moreover, Luo provides evidence that charging one battery while simultaneously discharging one or more different batteries recovers energy which would otherwise be wasted, reduces conversion loses and heat dissipation, shortens charging/discharging time and increasing the overall efficiency of the battery management system ¶’s[7,8, 54].
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified the combination with Moussaoui, to improve the overall efficiency of the battery management system.
Zhao is silent to obtaining battery capacity of the second module.
Okada teaches of determining the battery capacity of a battery module (¶[26] mentions that the remaining capacity is determined by subtracting discharge capacity from fully charged capacity). Okada explains that the conventional methods for obtaining battery capacity in both current and power units required separate devices and calculations, resulting in increased system complexities, heavy workloads and costs ¶’s[4,5] which is overcome by Okada’s technique.
It would have been obvious to have modified Zhao in view of Miles and Moussaoui (especially Moussaoui’s bidirectional converter) with the teaching of Okada’s discharge capacity test for increased system simplicity. Moreover, Du provides evidence that inaccurate display of the remaining battery capacity can result in unexpected loss of power and affect people’s daily lives ¶[2] which is why, accurately determining battery capacity of a battery module is a necessity.
Dependent Claims 2 and 10, Zhao teaches of the following:
The dual-battery power management system (Fig. 1; (abstract), ¶’s[1, 3, 4]) wherein
the step of controlling the charging and discharging of the second battery module with the corresponding charging and discharging mechanism includes (¶’s[9, 48, 63] with ¶[9] explicitly mentioning that the charging and discharging module is controlled to charge the second battery module):
controlling the bidirectional power converter, in view of Miles as described above, (charging and discharging module in ¶’s[13, 14, 16-17])
to adjust an output voltage and an output current of the first battery module (¶’s[23, 51, 52] mentions that the charging/discharging module receives output information to obtain the power status {being interpreted as adjusting output voltage and output current} of the first or second battery module; ¶[51] mentions that the charging/discharging module can send commands such as charging current and charging voltage to the first charging and discharging unit and the second charging and discharging unit)
Zhao doesn’t explicitly teach the battery power management system obtaining safe charging and discharging information with a safe voltage and current range, corresponding to the battery type of the second battery module.
Miles teaches of a battery management system which can obtain safe charging and discharging information, corresponding to the battery type of the second battery module, wherein the safe charging and discharging information defines a safe voltage range and a safe current range (¶’s[abs, 19, 42] with (abstract) explicitly mentioning that the battery charger identifies the type of battery that is connected in order to provide the optimum voltage-current-time profile {being interpreted as safe current and safe voltage range} that is needed to safely and optimally charge and maintain the battery);
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified Zhao with Miles, to invent such a dual battery management system which can determine the battery types automatically and adjust the operating voltage and current to charge and discharge the batteries safely and efficiently.
Dependent Claims 3 and 11, Zhao teaches of a dual-battery power management system, wherein the predetermined battery charging rate related to the battery capacity ranges from 0.2 C to 0.3 C (¶[64] explicitly mentioning that charging current range….can be set from 0.1C to 1C (which encompasses the charging rate range of 0.2C – 0.3C)).
Dependent Claim 4, Miles teaches battery types including a lead-acid battery, a lithium-ion battery and a lithium iron phosphate battery (¶’s[26, 27]), which correspond to a first change rate range, a second change rate range and a third change rate range of the charging voltage, respectively (different battery types, including a lead-acid battery, a lithium-ion battery and a lithium iron phosphate battery, inherently possess different charging curves leading to different change rate of the charging voltage).
Dependent Claim 6, Miles teaches of determining the battery type of second battery module by comparing the voltage change rate with the comparison table (Fig. 1,2 – voltage change rate of different battery types; ¶’s [10, 29, 30]; ¶[29] mentions that “a battery charger can measure the time it takes for its output current to drop by proportional and/or preset levels, and use that time measurement, corresponding to the slope over a time period, to determine the type of battery that is connected.” ¶[30] mentions that a time period between two fixed voltage levels could be used (instead of current change) to distinguish between battery types. ¶[34] mentions that the charging profile {interpreted as comparison table} may contain multiple voltage and time thresholds or limits to identify the battery types.)
Miles further teaches that in response to the first change rate being not within any of the change rate ranges, the battery type, corresponding to the second battery module, is determined having one among the change rate ranges that is closest to the first change rate (¶’s [35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 64, 65] where ¶’s[64,65] mentions of establishing a plurality of charging profiles {being interpreted as the comparison table} corresponding with one or more of charging voltage characteristics … for a plurality of battery types, wherein setting the charging profile comprises selecting a charging profile from the plurality of charging profiles that most closely matches the charging voltage characteristics … based on the rate at which the charging voltage increases. ¶[40] mentions that if the voltage-time profile difference between two points is above the battery type threshold, a battery type is identified (such as lead-acid battery) and one or more parameters of a charge profile corresponding to the first battery type is set. If the difference is below the battery type threshold, a second battery type is identified (such as lithium battery), and one or more parameters of a charge profile corresponding to the second battery type is set.)
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (CN 114977407 B) in view of Miles (U.S. 20210384740), Moussaoui et al. (U.S. 20110149609) and Okada et al. (U.S. 20010054879), further in view of Hutchings (U.S. 5049804)
Dependent Claim 5, Zhao is silent to the dual-battery power management system having plurality of optimum charging rates corresponding to their respective battery types.
Hutchings discloses in Col. 2, lines 3-12, that the optimum charge rate varies for each battery type. Different battery types have different optimum voltage, current and time range applied to them in order to recharge them efficiently (Col. 2, lines13-16). Obtaining the optimum charge voltage for a battery was well within the ordinary skill in the art.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhao with Hutchings, to use the claimed charging rates, so as to obtain an optimum charge voltage rate range, suitable to their corresponding battery types.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhao et al. (CN 114977407 B) in view of Miles (U.S. 20210384740), Moussaoui et al. (U.S. 20110149609) and Okada et al. (U.S. 20010054879), as applied above and further in view of Leppo et al. (U.S. 5365160)
Dependent Claim 7, Zhao teaches of the processing circuit being configured to:
controlling the voltage detection circuit to detect the voltage of the second battery module and determine whether or not the detected voltages drop (¶’s[70, 71] mentions that the judgment/control module controls the acquisition module to acquire the charge status {being interpreted as charging voltage status} of the first and second battery module while determining how the charge of the battery compare with the lower discharge limit {being interpreted as whether or not the detected voltages drop});
Zhao is also silent to teaching a voltage reading before the drop as the initial voltage and the bidirectional power converter maintaining the voltage of the second battery module at the initial voltage by discharging the first battery module.
Miles teaches of an initial voltage reading before the drop (¶[30] mentions that voltage changes can be used instead of current change to determine the battery types; ¶[36] mentions of an initial battery current (or voltage) reading taken by the processor 314 which is stored in the memory and can be compared with the new current (or voltage) reading when the current (or voltage) decreases(drops)). Miles teaches of such initial voltage reading to obtain the voltage drop difference needed to determine the corresponding battery types ¶’s[39, 40].
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified Zhao with Miles, to have a processor take an initial voltage reading of the battery module to obtain a voltage difference which can help accurately identify the battery type.
Zhao is silent to a bidirectional power converter maintaining the voltage of the second battery module at the initial voltage by discharging the first battery module.
Moussaoui teaches of a bidirectional power converter that can maintain the (discharge) voltage of the second battery module at its initial value, from the output voltage and output current of the first battery module (¶’s[17, 20, 31] mentions that the bidirectional converter provides power from the higher-voltage battery to maintain a charge on the lower-voltage battery with ¶[31] explicitly mentioning that the discharge current from the first battery is converted into a charging current as to maintain the discharge voltage of the 2nd battery at its regulated value {being interpreted as initial value} by replenishing the second battery with an amount of charge that approximately equals to the discharge charge of the second battery (Vt0)). Moussaoui teaches that such power converter can be used to in applications where power is needed to be transferred back and forth between multiple loads, such as, an automotive system (¶[17]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified the combination with Moussaoui, to have a processor control a bidirectional power converter to make the device more versatile in use and efficient in power consumption.
Zhao doesn’t explicitly teach of the processing circuit periodically detecting the voltage of the second battery module.
Leppo teaches a charging system which monitors the changes in battery voltage periodically (abstract, Col 2, lines 43-50 which explicitly discloses that the sequence of battery voltage changes is observed by periodically making a series of battery voltage measurements). Leppo teaches that monitoring voltage change periodically can alert the system of voltage fluctuations which can result in premature completion of charging, often resulting in an uncharged condition (Col. 2, lines 1-15).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhao with Leppo, to periodically detect the voltage of the second battery, so as to alert the system of any voltage fluctuations which can lead to premature completion of charging.
Dependent Claim 8, Zhao is silent to a comparison table corresponding relationship between battery types and their respective battery charging rates and determining, accordingly, whether or not the change rate exceeds the change rate range corresponding to the battery type of the second battery module.
Miles teaches of obtaining a comparison table corresponding relationship between battery types and their respective plurality of battery charging rates (Fig. 4 – 412, 416, 418; charge profile (or comparison table) mentioned in (abstract), ¶’s[5-7, 34] explicitly mentions that the processor manages a charging profile, for example, the charge voltage, current thresholds {being interpreted as battery charging rates} for different battery types);
Miles teaches in ¶[54-57] of a battery charger with a controlled voltage source {or voltage detection circuit} comparing a rate at which the current charge voltage changes with previously established data correlating battery type with an approximate change in voltage {being interpreted as obtaining a second change rate of the charging voltage}.
Miles further teaches, according to the comparison table and the second change rate, of determining whether or not the second change rate exceeds the change rate range corresponding to the battery type of the second battery module (¶’s[48,49] discloses of establishing a plurality of charging profiles {or comparison table} corresponding with a plurality of battery types, wherein … the plurality of charging profiles are associated with a threshold rate {interpreted as second change rate} at which the charge voltage changes).
Miles teaches that such processing system can enhance the user experience by automatically setting and using the correct charging profile without the inconvenience of manually setting a switch or going through the tedious and expensive process of changing chargers for a specific battery type ¶[7].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Zhao with Miles to enhance the user experience as mentioned by Miles in ¶[7].
Zhao is silent to teaching the bidirectional converter charging the second battery at the corresponding battery charging rate according to its battery type.
Moussaoui teaches of processing circuit (Fig. 1 – controller 30, (abstract)) configured to controlling the bidirectional power converter to charge the second battery at the corresponding battery charging rate according to the battery type of the second battery module (¶[23] mentions that the controller 30 controls the bidirectional power converter stages 20 and 22 to transfer power from source/load 12 {first battery} to source/load 14 {second battery}. Moreover, the controller 30 can control the charging of the batteries according to at least one of their charging parameters {or battery charging rate} ¶[26,27]). Moussaoui teaches that such an embodiment has improved conversion efficiency with a smaller size and lower component parts as compared to a conventional multidirectional converter (abstract, ¶[5, 19]). Moreover, Luo provides evidence that charging one battery from one or more different batteries recovers energy which would otherwise be wasted, reduces conversion loses and heat dissipation, shortens charging/discharging time and increasing the overall efficiency of the battery management system ¶’s[7,8, 54].
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified Zhao and Miles with Moussaoui, to improve the energy consumption of the battery management system.
The combination is silent to adjusting the battery charging rate based on whether the second battery module is in a state of abnormal battery capacity or normal battery capacity.
Leppo teaches of a charging system with a controller 20 (processing circuit) that monitors the rate of change in battery voltage, adjusts the rate of charging, and checks the changes in battery voltage following adjustments in the rate of charging to observe a predetermined sequence of voltage changes that signifies when a battery is fully charged (abstract). Col 4, lines 35-41 discloses that the battery enters into a state of overcharging (Col 1, lines 24-25 mentions of overcharging as damaging to the battery i.e. state of abnormal battery capacity) when the battery voltage reaches a peak voltage value or full charging capacity {interpreted as the voltage change rate exceeding the change rate range corresponding to the battery type}. When the voltage slope is negative (when a battery is fully charged as mentioned in abstract), the charging system reduces the rate of charging over a charging interval (Col. 2, lines 67- Col. 3, lines 4). The controller increases the charging rate when the voltage slope is positive (not fully charged) till it detects a shift in its slope to a negative value (i.e. it reaches its full or normal battery capacity) (Col. 4, lines 57- Col. 5, lines 7). Leppo teaches that such a charging process helps in preventing overcharging or undercharging of the battery, resulting in improved safety and longer battery cycle life (Col. 1, lines 23-42).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date to have modified the combination with Leppo, to achieve an improved battery life cycle.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Shen et al (U.S. 20120286736) teaches a battery module with a battery, a processing circuit, and a thermal sensing circuit. The module can determine a battery type based on the charging curve and collect thermal information of the battery module
Huff et al. (U.S. 20200176830) teaches of a battery management system including at least one bi-directional balancing circuit, a first battery module and a second battery module, each having at least one battery cell. The balancing circuit can transfer excess charge from one or more battery cells of the first battery module to one or more battery cells of the second battery module. By redistributing the level of charge within one or more battery cells, the balancing circuit can cause the overall charge of a power supply to last longer by taking advantage of excess charge found within one or more battery cells.
Sun et al. (CN 110429673 A) teaches of a power supply system comprising a battery pack including at least two batteries, a bypass circuit, reduction voltage circuit and controller which can automatically switch between a series mode and a parallel mode according to actual situation, and improve the stability and endurance of the terminal device. Hsiao et al. (U.S. 20230275448) teaches of a power supply controlling system comprising a first power supply device having a first outputting voltage and current to the load, a second power supply device having a second outputting voltage and current to the load, and a buck converter. The buck converter is selectively connected to the power supply device with a higher voltage, and controls the output voltage to make it conform to the voltage of the other power supply device.
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/TAWHID M PRANTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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