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(s) 1-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2023/0077926 to Li ("Li", having an earliest effective filing date of June 1,
2020) in view of U.S. Patent No. 10,121,997 to Blanco ("Blanco"). Regarding claims 1, 2, 7, and 8, Li
discloses both prior art battery systems and novel battery systems for electric vehicles that include
balancing modules. Li at Abstract and paragraphs [0003]-[0005]. Each of those systems includes a
plurality of battery cells connected in series, and the balancing module monitors the voltage of the cells
such that when a cell has a voltage that is above a set voltage the cell is discharged while the remaining
cells continue to charge until all cells have reached the desired set voltage. Because certain battery cells
can have a high voltage above this set voltage, and other cells can not be charged up to that set voltage,
the set voltage is necessarily between nominal voltage and a maximum voltage of the cell units. The
cells in each battery module are identical and thus have a same nominal voltage. Li describes a simple
prior art system where the high voltage batteries have their excess charge dissipated via power
resistors. Id. at paragraph [0005]. The inventive systems discharge the high voltage batteries into a
storage capacitor through a network that includes driving resistors. Id. at paragraph [0040].
Li does not expressly disclose that the battery cells of its battery modules are housed in a case.
However, it was commonly known to provide a plurality of cells of an electric vehicle battery module in
a housing with an aperture (vent) in the housing as a means of mounting the battery modules in the
vehicle. See Blanco at Abstract and Background. Such cases also include a space necessarily free of a battery for storing of protection/control circuitry.
Finally, Li discloses lithium-ion batteries for its vehicle battery system rather than sodium-ion. However, sodium-ion batteries were known alternative batteries for use in vehicle battery systems. See, e.g., Yamauchi at paragraph [0002].
Further regarding claims 3 and 4, the Office finds that the choice of the number of cells to include in a module is an obvious engineering design choice to be made for a given application depending on required voltage.
Further regarding claim 5, the Office finds that any common battery shape, including cylindrical, may be used by the person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention as nothing more than an obvious use of a commonly known structure for its intended purpose in implementing the teachings of Li and Yamauchi. See Bianchi at col. 2, lines 31-37.
Further regarding claim 6, vehicles and their batteries as taught in Li/Yamauchi are operated at common atmospheric temperatures.
Further regarding claims 9-16, the arrangement of batteries in series or parallel is a design choice, based on whether the pack needs higher voltage output, or higher charge capacity. Thus, the Office finds adapting the structure of Li to one having the battery cells connected in parallel rather than series is nothing more than an obvious adaption made based on the needs of a given application using a commonly known technique.
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/WYATT P MCCONNELL/Examiner, Art Unit 1727
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