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 .
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, claims 1-16 in the reply filed on 7/16/26 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that search of all groups would require the same search as for Group I. Applicant’s Remarks dated 7/16/26, page 7. This is found persuasive. The claims will be grouped as Applicant noted. Accordingly, the restriction requirement is withdrawn. Claims 1-20 will be examined as follows.
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.
Claims 1, 3-7, 9, 11, 17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hu, et al. (US 2014/0088896, herein Hu).1 Regarding claims 1, 17, and 20 Hu teaches a charging health monitoring device and method for monitoring health of a charging component for an electric vehicle (paragraph 0005), the charging health monitoring device comprising: a charging terminal configured to be mated with a mating charging terminal to perform a charging operation for charging the electric vehicle (see Fig. 6: the connection between the battery and detection module 10); a testing sensor held by the charging terminal, the testing sensor including a testing probe, the testing probe being electrically isolated from the charging terminal, the testing probe including a sensing interface configured to interface with a mating charging terminal (paragraph 0041: measuring unit 11); a control circuit for the charging component (paragraph 0041: charge/discharge control unit 12), the control circuit being operably coupled to the charging terminal to control the charging operation using the charging terminal (see arrangement in Fig. 6), the control circuit being operably coupled to the testing sensor to control a testing operation using the testing sensor (paragraph 0041), the control circuit measuring a terminal voltage of the charging terminal (paragraph 0041: charge/discharge control unit 12), the control circuit measuring a sensor voltage of the testing sensor (paragraph 0041), the control circuit determining resistance of the charging terminal and the mating charging terminal based on the measured terminal voltage and the measured sensor voltage, the control circuit providing a test signal based on the measured resistance (paragraph 0036), the control circuit including an electrically isolated switch receiving the test signal, the electrically isolated switch generating a control signal based on the test signal (paragraph 0041), the control circuit being operably coupled to the charging component to control a charging operation of the charging component based on the control signal (paragraph 0041); wherein both the testing sensor and the charging terminal are configured to be mated with the mating charging terminal, the control circuit performing the testing operation simultaneously with the charging operation vehicle (see Fig. 6: the connection between the battery and detection module 10). Regarding claim 3, Hu teaches wherein the testing probe is movable relative to the charging terminal to mate with the mating charging terminal (Fig. 6). Regarding claim 4, Hu teaches the testing operation occurs during the charging operation (paragraph 0041). Regarding claim 5, Hu teaches the control circuit controls the charging operation by stopping the charging operation if the measured resistance is above a threshold resistance (paragraph 0036). Regarding claim 6, Hu teaches the charging terminal is a pin terminal and the mating charging terminal is a socket terminal, the testing probe is received in the socket terminal with the pin terminal to mate with the socket terminal (Fig. 6). Regarding claim 8, Hu teaches wherein the charging terminal has a mating interface, the control circuit measuring the resistance of the mating interface (Fig. 6). Regarding claim 9, Hu teaches the control circuit measures a charging current of the charging terminal, the resistance determined as the voltage difference divided by the charging current (paragraph 0036). Regarding claim 11, Hu teaches the control circuit includes an operation amplifier receiving the sensor voltage from the testing sensor and receiving the terminal voltage from the charging terminal, the operational amplifier providing the test signal as an output (paragraph 0041).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 7, 10, 12-16, and 18-19 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.2
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW MIKELS whose telephone number is (571)270-5470. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 7:30 AM ET - 5:00 PM ET, Friday 7:30 AM ET - 9:30 AM ET, the Examiner is on central time.3
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/MATTHEW MIKELS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
1 In addition to the cited paragraphs, please see also the associated figures.
2 A full discussion of reasons for allowance will be given once all claims are disposed.
3 The Examiner can also be reached at matthew.mikels@uspto.gov.
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