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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 50-76 and 84-95 in the reply filed on 06/17/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(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 50- 58, 64-66, 69-70, 73-75, 84- 87, and 92-84 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’
Regarding Claim 50,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system for controlling a temperature of a battery of a portable electronic device prior to and/or during charging of the battery (Satoh, “One aspect of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle charging device for converting, in a charging circuit, electric power supplied from an external power source, and supplying the electric power to a battery and a battery temperature adjustment device in parallel, the in-vehicle charging device comprising:”, see [0011]), the battery temperature control system comprising: a heating component network comprising a heat-dissipating component (Satoh, “ PTC heater 43 is a battery temperature adjustment device that converts power supplied from charging circuit 31 or battery 41 into heat to heat battery 41.”, see [0035]); and a heating controller, wherein the heating controller is configured to: receive an indication of a temperature of the battery; and output a control signal to control operation of a heat dissipating component of the heating component network so as to dissipate heat to at least a portion of the battery (Satoh, “Heater controller 22b controls the operating state of PTC heater 43 based on the information related to the temperature of battery 41 acquired by battery state acquirer 22a.”, see [0089]).
Regarding Claim 51,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, further comprising: a temperature sensor network comprising a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor network being configured to supply the indication of the temperature of the battery to the heating controller (Satoh, “Temperature sensor 45 according to the present embodiment is used as a means for detecting the temperature of battery 41 and is also used as a means for estimating the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0071]).
Regarding Claim 52,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 51, wherein the temperature sensor network comprises a temperature sensor of a component or subsystem of the electronic device (Satoh, “Temperature sensor 45 according to the present embodiment is used as a means for detecting the temperature of battery 41 and is also used as a means for estimating the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0071]).
Regarding Claim 53,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 52, wherein the component or subsystem is one of a digital signal processor (DSP), central processing unit (CPU), applications processor (AP), audio amplifier or memory subsystem (Satoh, “As battery ECU 42, charger ECU 32, and relay ECU 22, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit),”, see [0055]).
Regarding Claim 54,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 52, wherein the temperature sensor network comprises a dedicated temperature sensor of the battery temperature control system (Satoh, “Temperature sensor 45 according to the present embodiment is used as a means for detecting the temperature of battery 41 and is also used as a means for estimating the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0071]).
Regarding Claim 55,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the heating component network comprises a component or subsystem of the electronic device (Satoh, “As battery ECU 42, charger ECU 32, and relay ECU 22, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit),”, see [0055]).
Regarding Claim 56,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 55, wherein the component or subsystem is one of a digital signal processor (DSP), central processing unit (CPU), applications processor (AP), audio amplifier or memory subsystem (Satoh, “As battery ECU 42, charger ECU 32, and relay ECU 22, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit),”, see [0055]).
Regarding Claim 57,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 55, wherein the control signal causes the component or subsystem to dissipate heat by performing unnecessary work or by operating in a low efficiency mode or by operating at a higher voltage than is necessary (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is a battery temperature adjustment device that converts power supplied from charging circuit 31 or battery 41 into heat to heat battery 41. ”, see [0035]).
Regarding Claim 58,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the heating component network comprises a dedicated heating device of the battery temperature control system (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is a battery temperature adjustment device that converts power supplied from charging circuit 31 or battery 41 into heat to heat battery 41. ”, see [0035]).
Regarding Claim 64,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 51, wherein the heating component network and the temperature sensor sensing and heating modules (Satoh, “When charging of battery 41 is executed, heater controller 22b according to the present embodiment supplies the output power of charging circuit 31 to PTC heater 43 by turning on switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 is equal to or lower than the threshold temperature”, see [0090]).
Regarding Claim 65,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 51, wherein the heating controller is configured to: receive a plurality of sense signals from the temperature sensor network; based on the received plurality of sense signals, generate a temperature profile of the battery (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096])(The examiner notes that storing and calculating is analogous to generating a temperature profile); and based on the temperature profile, output one or more control signals to a switch network for controlling the heating component network (Satoh, “When charging of battery 41 is executed, heater controller 22b according to the present embodiment supplies the output power of charging circuit 31 to PTC heater 43 by turning on switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 is equal to or lower than the threshold temperature”, see [0090]). to dissipate heat to the battery or to one or more portions of the battery to at least partially equalise a temperature of the battery (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is disposed adjacent to battery 41 so that heat transfer to battery 41 is executed well.”, see [0035]).
Regarding Claim 66
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the heating controller is configured to determine an amount of heat required to at least partially equalise a temperature of the battery based on a heat dissipation model and the received indication of the temperature of the battery (Satoh, “Meanwhile, heater controller 22b stops the operation of PTC heater 43 by turning off switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 exceeds the threshold temperature that allows good charging of battery 41 (hereinafter, also referred to as “high-temperature side threshold temperature”, for example, 30° C.), which is set in advance.”, see [0090]).
Regarding Claim 69,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the indication of the temperature of the battery is based on a voltage and/or a current of the battery (Satoh, “As a method in which relay ECU 22 (output adjustor 22c) determines the current consumption of PTC heater 43, for example, separately, a sensor detecting the temperature information of PTC heater 43 and the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 directly may be used.”, see [0111]) .
Regarding Claim 70,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the heating controller is configured to output one or more control signals to a switch network for controlling the heating component network to dissipate heat to the battery to a target battery temperature or to a temperature within a target range of battery temperatures (Satoh, “Meanwhile, heater controller 22b stops the operation of PTC heater 43 by turning off switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 exceeds the threshold temperature that allows good charging of battery 41 (hereinafter, also referred to as “high-temperature side threshold temperature”, for example, 30° C.), which is set in advance.”, see [0090]).
Regarding Claim 73,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the battery is a single cell battery (Satoh, “ Battery 41 is typically a lithium ion secondary battery, but may be any battery such as, for example, a nickel metal hydride secondary battery or an electric double layer capacitor.”, see [0034]).
Regarding Claim 74,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system for controlling a temperature of a battery of a portable electronic device prior to and/or during charging of the battery, the battery temperature control system (Satoh, “One aspect of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle charging device for converting, in a charging circuit, electric power supplied from an external power source, and supplying the electric power to a battery and a battery temperature adjustment device in parallel, the in-vehicle charging device comprising:”, see [0011]), comprising: a heating controller; and a combined heating and temperature sensing device, wherein the heating controller (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096]) is configured to: receive an indication of a temperature of the battery; and output a control signal to control operation of the combined heating and sensing device so as to dissipate heat to at least a portion of the battery (Satoh, “Heater controller 22b controls the operating state of PTC heater 43 based on the information related to the temperature of battery 41 acquired by battery state acquirer 22a.”, see [0089])..
Regarding Claim 75,
Satoh teaches a heating controller for a battery temperature control system according to claim 50, wherein the heating controller is configured to: receive an indication of a temperature of the battery; and output at least one control signal to a switch network to control operation of a heat dissipating components of the heating component network so as to dissipate heat to at least a portion of the battery (Satoh, “Heater controller 22b controls the operating state of PTC heater 43 based on the information related to the temperature of battery 41 acquired by battery state acquirer 22a.”, see [0089]).
Regarding Claim 84,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system (Satoh, “One aspect of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle charging device for converting, in a charging circuit, electric power supplied from an external power source, and supplying the electric power to a battery and a battery temperature adjustment device in parallel, the in-vehicle charging device comprising:”, see [0011]) comprising: one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module and a sensing and/or heating module configured to equalise a temperature of a battery to a target temperature or to a temperature within a target temperature range (Satoh, “Heater controller 22b controls the operating state of PTC heater 43 based on the information related to the temperature of battery 41 acquired by battery state acquirer 22a.”, see [0089]) (Satoh, “Meanwhile, heater controller 22b stops the operation of PTC heater 43 by turning off switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 exceeds the threshold temperature that allows good charging of battery 41 (hereinafter, also referred to as “high-temperature side threshold temperature”, for example, 30° C.), which is set in advance.”, see [0090]).
Regarding Claim 85,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 84, further comprising a heating controller configured to control the operation of the one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module, and/or a sensing and heating module (Satoh, “Meanwhile, heater controller 22b stops the operation of PTC heater 43 by turning off switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 exceeds the threshold temperature that allows good charging of battery 41 (hereinafter, also referred to as “high-temperature side threshold temperature”, for example, 30° C.), which is set in advance.”, see [0090]).
Regarding Claim 86,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 84, wherein the heating controller is configured to turn the one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module, and/or a sensing and heating module on or off (Satoh, “Meanwhile, heater controller 22b stops the operation of PTC heater 43 by turning off switch 43a in the case that the temperature of battery 41 exceeds the threshold temperature that allows good charging of battery 41 (hereinafter, also referred to as “high-temperature side threshold temperature”, for example, 30° C.), which is set in advance.”, see [0090]).
Regarding Claim 87,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 84, wherein the one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module, and/or a sensing and heating module comprises a PTC material (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is disposed adjacent to battery 41 so that heat transfer to battery 41 is executed well.”, see [0035]).
Regarding Claim 92,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 84, wherein the one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module, and/or a sensing and heating module comprises a heating device (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is disposed adjacent to battery 41 so that heat transfer to battery 41 is executed well.”, see [0035]).
Regarding Claim 93,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 92, wherein the heating device comprises a resistive element (Satoh, “Against this background, conventionally, the charging device of an electric vehicle controls, when charging the battery under a low temperature environment, supplying of power to the battery by supplying power to a battery temperature adjustment device (e.g., a resistive heater, or PTC heater or the like)”, see [0004]).
Regarding Claim 94,
Satoh teaches a host device comprising a battery temperature control system according to claim 50 (Satoh, “Provided is a vehicle-mounted charging device in which a charging circuit subjects power supplied from an external power supply to power conversion and supplies power to a battery and a PTC heater in parallel.”, see Abstract).
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 59-63, 72, 76, and 90-91 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’ in view of (US-20220344732-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Beuning’
Regarding Claim 59,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 58, wherein the temperature sensor network comprises a dedicated temperature sensor of the battery temperature control system, and wherein the dedicated temperature sensor and the dedicated heating device are integrated into a combined sensing and heating module (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096]).
Satoh does not teach an array of combined sensing and heating modules.
Beuning teaches an array of combined sensing and heating modules(Beuning, “The internal battery heating system of claim 1, wherein the pair of switches comprise one or more of a relay, a transistor, or a diode.”, see Claim 8).
Beuning teaches that the system of switches allows for proper heating of the battery cell (Beuning, “Alternatively, a battery module may be electrically coupled to electrochemical sub-cells via pairs of switches to form a heating circuit. The pairs of switches are adapted for switching the heating circuit alternately between a parallel arrangement and a series arrangement to alternate charging and discharging of the battery module which results in internal heating of the battery module.”, see Abstract).
Satoh and Beuning are analogous as they are both of the same field of heating battery cells.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating system as taught in Satoh to have the system of switch as taught in Beuning in order to improve the heating of the battery module.
Regarding Claim 60,
Modified Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 59, wherein the dedicated temperature sensor comprises a device with a temperature dependent current-voltage characteristic and the dedicated heating device comprises a resistive device (Satoh, “The heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in FIG. 4 represents the current consumption of PTC heater 43 in the case assuming that the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 is constant. However, the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 becomes a voltage corresponding to the voltage between the terminals of battery 41”, see [0099]).
Regarding Claim 61,
Modified Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 59, wherein the dedicated temperature sensor and the dedicated heating device are the same component (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096]).
Regarding Claim 62,
Modified Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 61, wherein the component is of a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) material such as PTC rubber (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is a battery temperature adjustment device that converts power supplied from charging circuit 31 or battery 41 into heat to heat battery 41. ”, see [0035]).
Regarding Claim 63,
Modified Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 59, wherein the combined sensing and heating module is a bidirectional combined sensing (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096]) and heating module (Satoh, “PTC heater 43 is a battery temperature adjustment device that converts power supplied from charging circuit 31 or battery 41 into heat to heat battery 41. ”, see [0035]) comprising: a first series combination of a first device with a temperature dependent current- voltage characteristic and a first resistive device (Satoh, “supplying of power to the battery by supplying power to a battery temperature adjustment device (e.g., a resistive heater, or PTC heater or the like”, see [0004]);
Modified Satoh teaches a second series combination of a second device with a temperature dependent current- voltage characteristic and a second resistive device, wherein the first and second series combinations are coupled in anti-parallel (Beuning, “Alternatively, a battery module may be electrically coupled to electrochemical sub-cells via pairs of switches to form a heating circuit. The pairs of switches are adapted for switching the heating circuit alternately between a parallel arrangement and a series arrangement to alternate charging and discharging of the battery module which results in internal heating of the battery module.”, see Abstract).
Regarding Claim 72,
Satoh does not teach wherein the heating controller and/or a switch network is implemented in integrated circuitry .
Beuning teaches wherein the heating controller and/or a switch network is implemented in integrated circuitry (Beuning, “Controller 110 provides control of all components of system 100, including a heating circuit 101 and a timer/indicator circuit 102. Controller 110 may include programmable memory, a processor, and electronics for carrying out automated control of system 100 components, such as an integrated circuit or a printed circuit board including a microcontroller,”, see [0024]).
Beuning teaches that the system of switches allows for proper heating of the battery cell (Beuning, “Alternatively, a battery module may be electrically coupled to electrochemical sub-cells via pairs of switches to form a heating circuit. The pairs of switches are adapted for switching the heating circuit alternately between a parallel arrangement and a series arrangement to alternate charging and discharging of the battery module which results in internal heating of the battery module.”, see Abstract).
Satoh and Beuning are analogous as they are both of the same field of heating battery cells.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating system as taught in Satoh to have the system of switch as taught in Beuning in order to improve the heating of the battery module.
Regarding Claim 76,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system for controlling a temperature of a battery of an electronic device, the battery temperature control system (Satoh, “One aspect of the present disclosure is an in-vehicle charging device for converting, in a charging circuit, electric power supplied from an external power source, and supplying the electric power to a battery and a battery temperature adjustment device in parallel, the in-vehicle charging device comprising:”, see [0011]) comprising: and based on the received at least one sense signal, output at least one control signal to the array of combined sensing and heating modules (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096]) to cause heat dissipation to the battery to at least partially equalize a temperature of the battery and/or to raise a temperature of the battery to a target temperature or to a temperature within a target temperature range (Satoh, “Heater controller 22b controls the operating state of PTC heater 43 based on the information related to the temperature of battery 41 acquired by battery state acquirer 22a.”, see [0089]).
Satoh does not teach an array of combined sensing and heating modules; and a heating controller, wherein the heating controller is configured to: receive at least one sense signal indicative of a temperature of the battery from the array of combined sensing and heating modules.
Beuning teaches an array of combined sensing and heating modules; and a heating controller, wherein the heating controller is configured to: receive at least one sense signal indicative of a temperature of the battery from the array of combined sensing and heating modules (Beuning, “The internal battery heating system of claim 1, wherein the pair of switches comprise one or more of a relay, a transistor, or a diode.”, see Claim 8).
Beuning teaches that the system of switches allows for proper heating of the battery cell (Beuning, “Alternatively, a battery module may be electrically coupled to electrochemical sub-cells via pairs of switches to form a heating circuit. The pairs of switches are adapted for switching the heating circuit alternately between a parallel arrangement and a series arrangement to alternate charging and discharging of the battery module which results in internal heating of the battery module.”, see Abstract).
Satoh and Beuning are analogous as they are both of the same field of heating battery cells.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating system as taught in Satoh to have the system of switch as taught in Beuning in order to improve the heating of the battery module.
Regarding Claim 90,
Satoh does not teach a battery temperature control system according to claim 84, wherein the one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module, and/or a sensing and heating module comprises a diode.
Beuning teaches , wherein the one or more of a self-regulating heater, a PTC heater, a heat transfer sensor, a heating module, and/or a sensing and heating module comprises a diode (Beuning, “The internal battery heating system of claim 1, wherein the pair of switches comprise one or more of a relay, a transistor, or a diode.”, see Claim 8).
Beuning teaches that the system of switches allows for proper heating of the battery cell (Beuning, “Alternatively, a battery module may be electrically coupled to electrochemical sub-cells via pairs of switches to form a heating circuit. The pairs of switches are adapted for switching the heating circuit alternately between a parallel arrangement and a series arrangement to alternate charging and discharging of the battery module which results in internal heating of the battery module.”, see Abstract).
Satoh and Beuning are analogous as they are both of the same field of heating battery cells.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating system as taught in Satoh to have the system of switch as taught in Beuning in order to improve the heating of the battery module.
Regarding Claim 91,
Modified Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 90, wherein the diode comprises a diode connected transistor (Beuning, “The internal battery heating system of claim 1, wherein the pair of switches comprise one or more of a relay, a transistor, or a diode.”, see Claim 8).
Claim 67 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’ in view of (US-20200185792-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Wampler’
Regarding Claim 67,
Satoh does not teach wherein the heating controller is configured to perform a Kalman filtering operation to periodically update the model.
Wampler teaches wherein the heating controller is configured to perform a Kalman filtering operation to periodically update the heat dissipation model (Wampler, “The controller may periodically update the PET model, and the collective model set of which the PET model is an integral part, based on a difference between the estimated and actual voltages, e.g., using a Kalman filter or a variant thereof.”, see [0016]) .
Wampler teaches that the Kalman Filter allows for more accurate state of change in the electrode (Wampler, “therefore the method 100 outlined above may be used to more accurately account for states of charge distributions within an electrode relative to methodologies that effectively treat an electrode as a homogenous layer.”, see [0057]).
Satoh and Wampler are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery controllers.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the controller as taught in Satoh with the Kalman filter as taught in Wampler in order to increase the accuracy of the controller.
Claim 68 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’ in view of (US-20220077712-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Surampudi’
Regarding Claim 68,
Satoh does not teach wherein the at least one control signal comprises a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal.
Surampudi teaches wherein the at least one control signal comprises a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal (Surampudi, “A method of charging a lithium-ion battery. It is assumed that the battery has a cooling system. A desired temperature profile for the battery during charging is determined. The charge current is pulse width modulated (PWM)”, see Abstract).
Surampudi teaches that the PWM signal allows for the maintenance of a desired temperature profile (Surampudi, “During charging, various parameters of either or both of the PWM signals are adjusted such that the desired temperature profile is maintained.” See Abstract).
Satoh and Surampudi are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery temperature profiles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the signal system as taught in Satoh to that as taught in Surampudi in order to improve the maintenance of the temperature profile.
Claim 71 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’ in view of (US-20210151813-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Shimamura’
Regarding Claim 71,
Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 70, wherein the heating controller is configured to adjust the target battery temperature or target range of battery temperatures based on one or more of: one or more device sensor outputs indicative of whether the device is in use (Satoh, “Relay ECU 22 stores the heater characteristic information of PTC heater 43 in advance in its own ROM and the like, in order to calculate the current consumption corresponding to the voltage applied to PTC heater 43 and the temperature of PTC heater 43”, see [0096]);
Satoh does not teach one or more device sensor outputs indicative of whether the device is being held by a user; and one or more device sensor outputs indicative of whether the device is at rest on a surface.
Shimamura teaches one or more device sensor outputs indicative of whether the device is being held by a user; and one or more device sensor outputs indicative of whether the device is at rest on a surface (Shimamura, “With this configuration, when the user holds the instrument 5 with a hand to use the instrument 5, vibration of the instrument 5 is detected by the acceleration sensor 14 of the terminal 10. When the vibration exceeds a threshold level, it is determined by the use state determination circuit 15 that the instrument 5 is being used”, see [0145])(The examiner notes that the acceleration sensor would also detect a rest state where acceleration was 0).
Shimamura teaches that this sensor allows for stable operation of the cell (Shimamura, “that the instrument 5 is not being used, and the switch SW is opened to stop power supply from the battery BAT to the load circuit L of the instrument 5. In the stopping of power supply, the switch SW may be opened when a certain time has elapsed since it is determined that the instrument 5 is not being used, which can ensure stable operation of the instrument 5.”, see [0145]).
Satoh and Shimamura are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery system as taught in Satoh to have an acceleration sensor as taught in Shimamura in order to ensure stable operation of the battery cell.
Claims 88 and 89 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’ in view of (US-20220393262-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Rosenberger’
Regarding Claim 88,
Satoh does not teach wherein the PTC material is PTC rubber or a laminate material comprising copper.
Rosenberger teaches wherein the PTC material is PTC rubber or a laminate material comprising copper (Rosenberger, “ A PTC heating element can comprise a conductive rubber and/or polymer that is printed onto the heating pad substrate 412, wherein the conductive rubber and/or conductive polymer is associated with a positive thermal coefficient that causes the resistivity of the PTC heating element to increase as the temperature of the heating pad 108 increases”, see [0055]).
Rosenberger teaches that PTC with this design can self-regulate in relationship to temperature (Rosenberger, “ Accordingly, the PTC heating element can self-regulate such that as the battery temperature associated with the one or more battery cells 104 increase (e.g., causing a heating element temperature to increase), the PTC heating element (e.g., the first heating element 408 and/or the second heating element 410) becomes increasingly resistive to electrical currents until a switching temperature where the PTC heating element substantially prevents electrical current between the first heating lead 402 and the second heating lead 404 and substantially ceases producing thermal energy.”, see [0055])
Satoh and Rosenberger are analogous as they are both of the same field of battery control systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified PTC as taught in Satoh to be made of the material as taught in Rosenberger in order to allow for the temperature self-regulation of the PTC material.
Regarding Claim 89,
Modified Satoh teaches a battery temperature control system according to claim 88, wherein the laminate material further comprises an insulating material (Rosenberger, “ A PTC heating element can comprise a conductive rubber and/or polymer that is printed onto the heating pad substrate 412, wherein the conductive rubber and/or conductive polymer is associated with a positive thermal coefficient that causes the resistivity of the PTC heating element to increase as the temperature of the heating pad 108 increases”, see [0055])(The examiner notes that the rubber is the insulating material)
Claim 95 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over (US-20200361333-A1) hereinafter referred to as ‘Satoh’
Regarding Claim 95,
Satoh does not teach the host device according to claim 94, wherein the host device comprises a laptop, notebook, netbook or tablet computer, a gaming device, a games console, a controller for a games console, a virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) device, a mobile telephone, a portable audio player, a portable device, an accessory device for use with a laptop
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have applied the battery to one of these devices as an obvious to try solution from a finite number of applications of a battery (see MPEP 2143 (I)(E))
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEAMUS PATRICK MCNULTY whose telephone number is (703)756-1909. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday 8:00am to 5pm.
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, Nicholas A. Smith can be reached at (571) 272-8760. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/S.P.M./Examiner, Art Unit 1752
/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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