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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 9/29/2023. Claims 1-6 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/29/2023 and 11/19/024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ogura (JP 2014090635).
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As to claim 1, Ogura discloses a battery management device (Fig. 2) comprising:
a battery (Fig. 2, assembled battery 10);
a substrate (monitoring unit 40);
a switch (SW1);
a first wiring that connects the battery and the substrate (Fig. 2 above);
a first resistance element disposed on the first wiring (Fig. 2 above); and a second resistance element disposed on the substrate (Fig. 2 above), wherein when the switch is in a conductive state, power of the battery is consumed by the first resistance element and the second resistance element (Fig. 3 and [0045]-[0046][0051] when switch SW1 is turned on, the discharge current of a specific cell 11 can be passed through resistors R21 and R22, thereby lowering the voltage value of that specific cell 11..).
As to claim 2, Ogura discloses the battery management device according to claim 1, wherein a ratio of an amount of heat generated in the first wiring and an amount of heat generated in the substrate is the same as a ratio of a resistance value of the first resistance element and a resistance value of the second resistance element (This is an inherent feature based on engineering physics the ratio of heat generated by a specific resistor or node within the network).
As to claim 3, Ogura discloses the battery management device according to claim 1, further comprising a first sensor ([0058] part of sensor 41/42 that detects ‘second detection path” shown in Fig. 3 that does not go through the discharge circuit SW1 ) , a second sensor (part of sensor 41/42 that detects ‘first detection path” of Fig.2 that goes through the discharge circuit SW1), and a controller that receives an input of a detection value of each of the first sensor and the second sensor (controller 30 [0073] After voltage detection is performed in the first voltage detection path and the second voltage detection path, the controller 30 uses the current values Ia and Ib at the time of voltage detection in each voltage detection path to determine whether or not to continue the leakage abnormality determination process (S105)), wherein when the switch is in the conductive state ([0054] leakage current flowing through SW1), the first sensor outputs a first voltage value of the battery having been decreased in voltage by the first resistance element (Fig. 3 and [0072] the controller 30 detects the voltage Vb of the same single cell 11 that is to be detected using the second voltage detection path (S103)), when the switch is in the conductive state (i.e. leakage), the second sensor outputs a second voltage value of the battery having been decreased in voltage by the first resistance element and the second resistance element ([0071] The controller 30 detects the voltage value Va of the cell 11 to be detected via the first voltage detection path (S101)), and the controller detects an abnormality based on a difference value between the first voltage value and the second voltage value ([0074] [0077] if the voltage difference between voltage Va and voltage Vb is larger than a predetermined threshold, it determines that there is a leakage abnormality in the discharge circuit (S107).. The leak abnormality detection process shown in Figure 4 …can detect leak abnormalities in the discharge circuit provided in each individual cell 11).
As to claim 5, Ogura discloses the battery management device according to claim 1, wherein the first wiring is connected to a positive electrode of the battery (Fig. 2 above), the battery management device further comprising: one first terminal that connects the first wiring and the substrate (Fig. 2 above); a second wiring connected to a negative electrode of the battery (Fig. 2 above); and one second terminal that connects the second wiring and the substrate (Fig. 2 above).
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 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Baughman US 20140266222 in view of Ogura (JP 2014090635).
As to claim 1, Baughman discloses a battery management device (Fig. 2) comprising:
a battery (Fig. 2, assembled battery 26);
a substrate (battery control module 30);
a switch (36);
a first wiring that connects the battery and the substrate (Fig. 2 above);
a first resistance element disposed on the first wiring (Fig. 2 44); and a second resistance element (Fig. 2 38), wherein when the switch is in a conductive state, power of the battery is consumed by the first resistance element and the second resistance element (Fig. 4 and [0044] [0053].. It will be appreciated that when the balancing switch is "closed" (i.e., time t=t.sub.1 in step 104, for example), the voltage applied across the combination of balancing switch 36.sub.1 and resistive element 38.sub.1 drops due to the operation of the voltage divider)
Baughman does not disclose/teach the second resistance element disposed on the substrate.
However Ogura a second resistance element disposed on the substrate (Fig. 2 above).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the second resistance element of Baughman to be disposed on the substrate in order to have less parts allowing ease in handling and manufacturing .
Claim 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ogura (JP 2014090635).
As to claim 6, Ogura discloses the battery management device according to claim 5, further comprising a third resistance element disposed on the second wiring (Fig. 2 above, R11 on the negative terminal of cell 11).
Ogura does not disclose/teach wherein the resistance value of the first resistance element is more than or equal to a value obtained by dividing, by a rated power value of the first resistance element, a square value of a value obtained by prorating a maximum voltage value of the battery at a ratio of the resistance value of the first resistance element and a resistance value of the third resistance element.
However, choosing or selecting the optimal resistance value is a circuit in order to control power dissipation and prevent circuit damage and heat is old and well known. It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art by design choice for the first resistance value to be more than or equal to a value obtained by dividing, by a rated power value of the first resistance element, a square value of a value obtained by prorating a maximum voltage value of the battery at a ratio of the resistance value of the first resistance element and a resistance value of the third resistance element in order to prevent damage to the circuit.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding dependent claim 4, Although the prior art discloses a battery management device comprising: a battery; a substrate; a switch; a first wiring that connects the battery and the substrate; a first resistance element disposed on the first wiring; and a second resistance element disposed on the substrate, wherein when the switch is in a conductive state, power of the battery is consumed by the first resistance element and the second resistance element, a first sensor, a second sensor, and a controller that receives an input of a detection value of each of the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein when the switch is in the conductive state, the first sensor outputs a first voltage value of the battery having been decreased in voltage by the first resistance element, when the switch is in the conductive state, the second sensor outputs a second voltage value of the battery having been decreased in voltage by the first resistance element and the second resistance element, and the controller detects an abnormality based on a difference value between the first voltage value and the second voltage value, the prior art of record does not disclose or teach the combination of:
“wherein when the switch is in a non-conductive state, the controller detects the abnormality if the difference value is larger than a threshold value, and a ratio of a permissible error of the first sensor and the threshold value is the same as a ratio of the resistance value of the first resistance element and the resistance value of the second resistance element.”
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYNESE V MCDANIEL whose telephone number is (313)446-6579. The examiner can normally be reached on M to F, 9am to 530pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TYNESE V MCDANIEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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