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 .
Responses to Amendments and Arguments
The amendments filed 06/26/2026 have been entered. Claims 1, 10, 14 and 18 are amended. Claims 1-20 remain pending in the application.
Applicant’s amendments and arguments filed 06/26/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
On pages 8-10 of the Remarks, Applicant alleges that the applied references do not disclose each and every feature of the independent claims. For example, the applied references, whether taken alone or in any reasonable combination, do not disclose at least "wherein the battery is configured to power the one or more controllers in both the connected state and the disconnected state to facilitate continuous monitoring of the energy storage unit," as recited in claim 1, as amended, or "a low-voltage system, comprising a battery and one or more controllers powered by the battery, wherein the battery is low-voltage relative to the energy storage unit, … none of the cited references teach or suggest an energy storage unit, and a separate low-voltage system comprising a battery and one or more controllers powered by the battery, "wherein the battery is configured to power the one or more controllers in both the connected state and the disconnected state to facilitate continuous monitoring of the energy storage unit," as recited in amended claims 1 and 10, or "wherein the battery is low-voltage relative to the energy storage unit," as recited in amended claim 14".
Examiner respectfully disagrees.
At least Fig. 1 and paragraphs 0050, 0061 and 0099-0101 of TANAKA teach a battery (Fig. 1, a low-voltage battery 33) comprised in a low-voltage system (Fig. 1, DC-DC converter 40 and a low-voltage battery 33), where the battery is independently disposed from an energy storage unit (Fig. 1, battery unit 30) and the low-voltage battery 33 is configured to provide an electric power to the controller 7. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, since the controller 7 is independently powered by the low-voltage battery 33, the controller 7 may be involved with operations to continuously monitor or detect voltages, currents, temperatures or the like of the battery packs 31 and 32 regardless of conditions where the battery packs 31 and 32 are in both a connected state of the power unit and a disconnected state of the power unit.
A clarified rejection of Claims 1-20 over TANAKA in view of Yamada is provided below.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKAKI (US 20230322124 A1, hereinafter referred to as “TAKAKI”), in view of Yamada et al. (US 20220248600 A1, hereinafter referred to as “Yamada” cited in IDS dated 12/21/2023).
Regarding Claim 1, TAKAKI teaches a power unit (Fig. 1; electric working machine 1), comprising:
an energy storage unit (Fig. 1, battery unit 30);
a thermal management system (Fig. 1, electric heater 42 and the electric cooler 46) configured to provide at least one of cooling or heating of the energy storage unit (Para 0066-0067, “The electric heater 42 and the electric cooler 46 are air-conditioners that perform air-conditioning inside the protection mechanism 6”);
a low-voltage system (Fig. 1, DC-DC converter 40 and a low-voltage battery 33), comprising:
a battery (Fig. 1, a low-voltage battery 33); and
one or more controllers (Fig. 1, controller 7), powered by the battery, configured to monitor and control the energy storage unit in both a connected state of the power unit and a disconnected state of the power unit, wherein the battery is configured to power the one or more controllers in both the connected state and the disconnected state to facilitate continuous monitoring of the energy storage unit (At least paragraphs 0050 and 0061 teach a low-voltage battery 33 configured to provide an electrical power to electrical components such as a controller 7, “The DC-DC converter supplies electric power to a low-voltage battery 33 after voltage conversion. The electrical components include, for example, the controller 7, fan motors 35a, 37a, and 42b”; At least paragraphs 0099-0101 teach the controller 7 associated with BMUs 31 b, 32b configured to monitor and control presence or absence of abnormality of the battery packs 31 and 32, “the controller 7 compares results of monitoring the battery packs 31 and 32 obtained by the BMUs 31b and 32b (FIG. 1) (S1 in FIG. 4A). Then, the controller 7 checks the presence or absence of abnormality (error) of all of the battery packs 31 and 32 from the comparison result. The presence or absence of abnormality of the battery packs 31 and 32 is determined by, for example, the BMUs 31b and 32b, based on the results of detection of the voltages, the currents, the terminal voltages of the internal cells, the temperatures, or the like of the battery packs 31 and 32, and is notified to the controller 7. … the remaining power levels of the battery packs 31 and 32, which are monitored by the BMUs 31b and 32b”; Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, since the controller 7 is independently powered by the low-voltage battery 33, the controller 7 may be involved with operations to continuously monitor or detect voltages, currents, temperatures or the like of the battery packs 31 and 32 regardless of conditions where the battery packs 31 and 32 are in both a connected state of the power unit and a disconnected state of the power unit.).
TAKAKI fails to explicitly disclose a power unit housing containing the energy storage unit, the thermal management system, and the low-voltage system, the power unit housing configured for removable connection to a frame of a machine. However, Yamada teaches a power unit housing (Fig. 1 battery housing unit 30, housing unit 27) containing the energy storage unit, the thermal management system, and the low-voltage system, the power unit housing configured for removable connection (Para 0041, “the battery housing unit 30 is constituted by a battery case. The battery case includes a case body 30a that detachably houses the battery 17”; Para 0056, “an electric work machine having a battery mounting unit on which a battery is to be mounted attachably and detachably”) to a frame (Fig. 1, body frame 1) of a machine (Fig. 1; electric work machine A) (Para 0034-0037, “the battery mounting unit 10 is provided between left and right longitudinal frames 1a provided in the body frame 1 in a state extending in the front-back direction of the traveling body 4, and has a mounting space 20 in which the battery housing unit 30 is loaded … a housing unit 27 for housing wheels 31 and 32 of the battery carrier C).
TAKAKI and Yamada are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of an electric working machine and battery. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, in case of whichever the energy storage unit (i.e., battery packs) is in a connected state of the power unit or a disconnected state of the power unit, the energy storage in both states may be continuously monitored by the controller powered by an independent electric power of the battery (i.e., low voltage battery) as taught by TAKAKI. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified TAKAKI to incorporate the teachings of Yamada by providing the power unit housing attachable to the body frame of the electric work machine as taught by Yamada at least at Fig. 1, paragraphs 0034-0037, 0041 and 0056.
Regarding Claim 2, TAKAKI teaches further comprising a power interface connector configured to electrically connect the power unit to an external load or an external power source (Para 0051, “the charging port 41 includes a connector (not illustrated) into which a charging cable (not illustrated) is fitted, and a connection detection sensor 41a. An external power supply (such as a commercial power supply) is connected to the charging port 41 via the charging cable”).
Regarding Claim 3, TAKAKI teaches wherein the one or more controllers are configured to obtain monitoring data from a control system (Fig. 1, BMUs 31b, 32b) of the energy storage unit in both the connected state of the power unit and the disconnected state of the power unit (At least paragraphs 0099-0101 teach the controller 7 receives monitoring data (i.e., the voltages, the currents, the terminal voltages of the internal cells, the temperatures, or the like of the battery packs 31 and 32) detected from the BMUs of the battery unit with which the controller confirms presence or absence of abnormality of the battery packs 31 and 32).
Regarding Claim 4, TAKAKI teaches wherein the one or more controllers are configured to output information, derived using the monitoring data, offboard the power unit in both the connected state of the power unit and the disconnected state of the power unit (At least paragraphs 0099-0112 teach that the controller 7 confirms presence or absence of abnormality of the battery packs 31 and 32 based on the monitoring data (i.e., the voltages, the currents, the terminal voltages of the internal cells, the temperatures, or the like of the battery packs 31 and 32) detected from the BMUs of the battery unit, and do operations to select, discharge one of the battery packs and/or set up charged/discharged mode of the battery packs).
Regarding Claim 5, TAKAKI fails to explicitly disclose, but Yamada teaches wherein the one or more controllers are configured to control the thermal management system responsive to the monitoring data (Abstract, “the battery thermal management system … a control unit connected to the communication unit. The control unit is configured to retrieve vehicle diagnostic data from a plurality of electric vehicles, the data comprising a battery temperature … The thermal management scheme comprising instructions for controlling heating and/or cooling of the traction battery pack of the first vehicle”; Para 0040).
It would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified TAKAKI to incorporate the teachings of Yamada by providing operations for controlling the thermal management system responsive to the monitoring data, taught by Yamada at least at Abstract and paragraph 0040.
Regarding Claim 6, TAKAKI teaches wherein the one or more controllers are configured to cause the energy storage unit to turn on in the connected state of the power unit (Para 0046, “the starter switch 8 is turned on, thereby allowing the controller 7 to start the components included in the electric working machine 1. The starter switch 8 is turned off, thereby allowing the controller 7 to stop the components included in the electric working machine 1”; Para 0051, “the charging port 41 includes a connector (not illustrated) into which a charging cable (not illustrated) is fitted, and a connection detection sensor 41a. An external power supply (such as a commercial power supply) is connected to the charging port 41 via the charging cable”).
Regarding Claim 7, TAKAKI teaches wherein the one or more controllers are configured to cause the energy storage unit to charge the battery in the connected state of the power unit (Para 0114, “the controller 7 controls the DC-DC converter 40 to supply electric power from the DC-DC converter 40 to the low-voltage battery 33 (FIG. 1) to charge the low-voltage battery 33 at any time (S14). As a result, electric power for driving the electrical components included in the electric working machine 1 is ensured in the low-voltage battery 33”).
Regarding Claim 8, TAKAKI teaches further comprising a power distribution unit (the controller 7 controls the DC-DC converter 40), contained in the power unit housing, configured to distribute power among the thermal management system, the low-voltage system, and the energy storage unit (Para 0050, “The DC-DC converter supplies electric power to a low-voltage battery 33 after voltage conversion”; Para 0114, “the controller 7 controls the DC-DC converter 40 to supply electric power from the DC-DC converter 40 to the low-voltage battery 33”).
Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, the controller 7 teaches a power distribution unit because the controller is configured to distribute a power by controlling the converter 40.
Regarding Claim 9, TAKAKI wherein the power distribution unit is configured to distribute power to the low-voltage system via a voltage converter contained in the power unit housing (Para 0050, “The DC-DC converter 40 is a voltage converter that converts a DC voltage input from the battery unit 30 through the junction box 39 into a different voltage. In the present embodiment, the DC-DC converter 40 is a step-down converter that converts a high voltage of the battery unit 30 into a predetermined low voltage corresponding to electrical components included in the electric working machine”).
Regarding Claim 10, it is a machine type claim and has similar limitations as of a part of claim 1 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 1 above.
Regarding Claim 11, it is dependent on claim 10 and has similar limitations as of claim 3 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 3 above.
Regarding Claim 12, it is dependent on claim 11 and has similar limitations as of claim 4 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 4 above.
Regarding Claim 13, it is dependent on claim 11 and has similar limitations as of claim 5 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 5 above.
Regarding Claim 14, it is an apparatus type claim having similar limitations as of a part of claim 1 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 1 above.
Regarding Claim 15, TAKAKI wherein the thermal management system comprises one or more of a condenser, a compressor, a coolant tank, a coolant pump, a chiller, an evaporator, or a dryer (Para 0064-0065, 0067, “A cooling pump 36 is disposed in a cooling water passage (not illustrated) provided in the machine body 2, together with the radiator 35 and the high-heat-generating electric devices described above. The cooling pump 36 delivers and circulates cooling water through the cooling water passage … An oil cooler 37 cools hydraulic fluid that has passed through hydraulic devices … The electric heater 42 and the electric cooler 46 are air-conditioners that perform air-conditioning inside the protection mechanism 6”).
Regarding Claim 16, TAKAKI wherein the thermal management system comprises a heater (Para 0066-0067, “An electric heater 42 is driven by the electric power of the low-voltage battery 33 to heat the inside of the protection mechanism 6. The electric heater 42 is an electrical heater and includes a heating wire 42a, a fan motor 42b, and a heating fan… The electric heater 42 and the electric cooler 46 are air-conditioners that perform air-conditioning inside the protection mechanism 6”).
Regarding Claim 17, it is dependent on claim 14 and has similar limitations as of claim 2 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 2 above.
Regarding Claim 18, it is dependent on claim 14 and has similar limitations as of a part of claim 1 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 1 above.
Regarding Claim 19, it is dependent on claim 18 and has similar limitations as of claim 3 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claim 3 above.
Regarding Claim 20, it is dependent on claim 18 and has similar limitations as of claims 8 and 9 above. Therefore, it is rejected under the same rationale as of claims 8 and 9 above.
Citation of Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Zhang et al. (US 20170225586 A1) teaches a battery system includes a battery module, a thermal management system, and a battery system controller. The controller is configured to receive data indicative of first operational conditions of the battery module and of second operational conditions of the thermal management system, determine a desired change to the first operational conditions of the battery module by determining an amount of power available to the thermal management system and to the battery module from one or more power sources, and to enable, to effect the desired change to the first operational conditions, the one or more power sources to provide a first quantity of power to the thermal management system and a second quantity of power to the battery module, and the thermal management system to heat or to cool the battery module to a calculated extent.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 BYUNG RO LEE whose telephone number is (571)272-3707. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Lee Rodak can be reached on (571) 270-5628. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-2555.
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/BYUNG RO LEE/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/CHRISTOPHER P MCANDREW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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