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 Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1 and 8, “a battery system” (in line 4) should be changed to - -the battery system- -.
Claims 2-7 and 9-10, “A” (first letter in the first line) should be changed to - -The - -.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 8, the phrase "such as" (in line 2) renders the claims indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claims 2-7 and 9-10 are also rejected because they are depended on claims 1 and 8 respectively.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "the nominal voltage" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Interview
Examiner invites the applicant for an interview to clarify/resolve all the issues, and discuss the potential allowable subject matter to place the case in condition for allowance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-10 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the claim objections and the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20200122596 discloses “FIGS. 6 and 7 show the two coupling states of the switch 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the switch 6 may in one switching state be positioned to form an electrical path from the battery inlet line 8 through the electrical circuit element 5 and to the battery outlet line 9, thus switching the battery 2 in a passive state. Thereby the battery 2 is bypassed. As shown in FIG. 7, the switch 6 may alternatively in another switching state be positioned to form an electrical path from the battery inlet line 8 through the battery cell 2 and to the battery outlet line 9, thus switching the battery 2 in an active state. Thereby the battery 2 may be used to contribute to the electrical output of the charging station 20 delivered to the electrical vehicle 100 or the battery 2 may be charged, depending on whether the battery pack 30 is coupled to the electrical vehicle 100 or the external power source 200, i.e. in the embodiment show depending on the position of the switches 70 and 80”. (see [0066])
US 20200361340 suggests “the respective first and second battery packs 12A and 12B each have a corresponding string of battery cells, with the number of such battery cells being application-specific. For instance, ninety-six such battery cells may be used in an example embodiment, with a cell voltage for each battery cell being about 4.0V to 4.5V. Each battery cell may have a corresponding cell balancing circuit such that a given battery cell may be selectively bypassed to enable excess energy to be drained from the first or second battery pack 12A or 12B, whichever has the higher pack voltage.” (see [0030])
US 20220029431 shows “a battery system comprises: a plurality of battery modules arranged in series to define a battery string, each of the plurality of battery modules comprising a supervisory circuit, one or more cell packs, and one or more switches to electrically connect the one or more cell packs to the battery string; and a battery management system to selectively switch, for each of the plurality of battery modules, the one or more switches between a first position that electrically places the one or more cell packs in series with the battery string and a second position that electrically bypasses the one or more cell packs from the battery string, wherein the battery management system is configured to electrically couple the battery string with a battery bus via a string switch, and wherein the battery management system is configured to: identify a first battery module from the plurality of battery modules to bypass from the battery string, identify a second battery module from the plurality of battery modules to place in series with the battery string, switch the one or more switches of the first battery module to the second position, and switch the one or more switches of the second battery module to the first position.” (see [0018])
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUY Q PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-7924. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-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, Kiesha Bryant can be reached at (571)272-3606. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HUY Q PHAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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