DETAILED ACTION
The office action is in response to application filed on 10-10-25. Claims 1-20 are pending in the application and have been examined.
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 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 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by US 7,258,183 to Leonardi et al. (“Leonardi”).
Regarding claim 15, Leonardi disclose a vehicle (fig. 1) comprising: an electrical bus (accessory load bus 18); an alternator (alternator 16) configured to provide power to the electrical bus; a battery (22); a DC/DC converter (24) configured to transfer power between the battery and electrical bus; and one or more controllers (34) programmed to, responsive to a state of charge of the battery falling below a predefined threshold (Col. 3, lines 29-32, Step 50 includes checking the battery state of charge and determining whether the state of charge is "low," "ok," or "high." The preferred battery state of charge range is 60-70%), reduce a setpoint of the DC/DC converter to less than that of the alternator such that loads on the electrical bus are powered by the alternator and not the battery (Col. 4, lines 24-28, raised alternator set-point increases the alternator voltage to produce more electric energy. At the same time, the DC/DC converter 64 permits the electric energy to flow from the accessory load bus 18 to the electric assist bus 26 to charge the ultracapacitor).
Regarding claim 16, Leonardi disclose the one or more controllers are further programmed to, responsive to the state of charge exceeding the predefined threshold, increase the setpoint to greater than that of the alternator such that loads on the electrical bus are powered by the battery and not the alternator (Col. 3, lines 37-40, The battery state of charge is maintained if the battery state of charge is determined by step to be "ok." "High" corresponds with a battery state of charge greater than the preferred battery state of charge range).
Regarding claim 17, Leonardi disclose the one or more controllers are further programmed to, responsive to a magnitude of current associated with the loads exceeding a predefined value (Col. 3, lines 37-40, The battery state of charge is maintained if the battery state of charge is determined by step to be "ok." "High" corresponds with a battery state of charge greater than the preferred battery state of charge range), reducing the setpoint to equal that of the alternator such that the loads are powered by the alternator and battery (Col. 3, lines 46-52, A step 52 raises an alternator set-point if the battery state of charge is "low." The set-point refers to a logic command received by the alternator which can be used to controllably raising or lower the voltage produced by the alternator, i.e., the alternator set-point. Increasing the set-point increases the alternator voltage to increase the amount of current flowing into the battery and consequently the battery state of charge).
Regarding claim 18, Leonardi disclose the one or more controllers are further programmed to alter relative amounts of power provided by the alternator and battery according to the magnitude (Col. 3, lines 29-32, Step 50 includes checking the battery state of charge and determining whether the state of charge is "low," "ok," or "high." The preferred battery state of charge range is 60-70%).
Regarding claim 19, Leonardi disclose the one or more controllers are further programmed to alter relative amounts of power provided by the alternator and battery according to a temperature (Col. 3, lines 29-32, Step 50 includes checking the battery state of charge and determining whether the state of charge is "low," "ok," or "high." The preferred battery state of charge range is 60-70%,).
Regarding claim 20, Leonardi disclose the one or more controllers (34) are further programmed to alter relative amounts of power provided by the alternator and battery according to the state of charge (Col. 5, lines 1-34the energy management controller 34 controls the DC/DC converter 24 to permit energy flow to the electric
motor/generator 32. The energy flow can come from one of or both the battery 22 and the alternator 16).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to independent claim 1, the closest prior art reference Leonardi et al. (7,258,183) discloses “a stabilized electric distribution system for use in a vehicle
having electric assist. The system electrically couples an electric assist bus to an accessory load bus while protecting the first electrical bus from electric assist and regenerative braking induced voltage variations. An energy management controller selectively controls each of a electric motor/ generator, a DC/DC converter, and an alternator to affect electric energy distribution within the system. Preferably,
the electric energy distribution is controlled to maintain the first electrical bus voltage within a predefined voltage range”, and the prior art of record, singularly or in combination, does not disclose the claimed combination of components, which include, inter alia, a second DC/DC converter configured to transfer power between a supplemental battery and the electrical bus; and one or more controllers programmed to, responsive to a state of charge of the supplemental battery falling below a predefined threshold, reduce a setpoint of the second DC/DC converter to less than that of the first DC/DC converter such that loads on the electrical bus are powered by the traction battery and not the supplemental battery.
With respect to independent claim 10, the closest prior art reference Leonardi et al. (7,258,183) discloses “a stabilized electric distribution system for use in a vehicle
having electric assist. The system electrically couples an electric assist bus to an accessory load bus while protecting the first electrical bus from electric assist and regenerative braking induced voltage variations. An energy management controller selectively controls each of an electric motor/ generator, a DC/DC converter, and an alternator to affect electric energy distribution within the system. Preferably,
the electric energy distribution is controlled to maintain the first electrical bus voltage within a predefined voltage range”, and the prior art of record, singularly or in combination, does not disclose the claimed combination of components, which include, inter alia, a second DC/DC converter, that is configured to transfer power between the electrical bus and a traction battery, such that the loads are powered by the supplemental and traction batteries.
Response to argument
Applicants' arguments filed 10-10-25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
The applicant stated that “Leonardi, however, does not disclose one or more controllers programmed to, responsive to a state of charge of the battery falling below a predefined threshold, reduce a setpoint of the DC/DC converter to less than that of the alternator such that loads on the electrical bus are powered by the alternator and not the battery.”
The examiner respectfully disagrees. Leonardi disclose an energy management controller selectively controls each of an electric motor/generator, a DC/DC converter, and an alternator to affect electric energy distribution within the system. Preferably, the electric energy distribution is controlled to maintain the first electrical bus voltage within a predefined voltage range. The ultracapacitor voltage increases with the increase of alternator voltage. The method doublechecks the battery state of charge by repeating steps. Raise an alternator set-point if the battery state of charge is "low." The set-point refers to a logic command received by the alternator which can be used to controllably raising or lower the voltage produced by the alternator, i.e., the alternator set-point. Increasing the set-point increases the alternator voltage to increase the amount of current flowing into the battery and consequently the battery state of charge. (See col. 3 and Col. 4).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ESAYAS G YESHAW whose telephone number is (571)270-1959. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Sat 9AM-7PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rexford Barine can be reached at 5712722391. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ESAYAS G YESHAW/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/DANIEL CAVALLARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836