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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Status of the Claims
In the communication dated March 8, 2024, claims 1-5 are pending.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the boxes in FIGS. 2-9 should include labels within the empty boxes. For instance, box 15 should be labeled “battery” and box 31 should be labeled as “DC converter”.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yamagishi et al. JP2018129205A.
Regarding claim 1. Yamagishi discloses a vehicle (100), comprising:
a battery (12);
a coil (11);
a metal body (metal main body 141) located at a position that is affected by a magnetic field generated in the coil (11) (page 3, ¶4 - “The heat generating member 13 generates heat due to a current generated by receiving a magnetic flux (leakage magnetic flux) around the receiving coil 11, and the heat propagates to the high voltage battery 12 through a main body 141”);
a charger (16) configured to convert alternating-current power supplied from outside the vehicle into direct-current power and supply the direct-current power to the battery (page 3, ¶1 - “The AC / DC converter 16 converts the AC power from the receiving coil 11 into DC power that can be charged by the high voltage battery 12”); and
processing circuitry (ECU 15) configured to control the charger (page 3, ¶8 - “ECU 15 controls the operation of the AC / DC converter 16”), wherein
the charger (16) is configured to receive supply of direct-current power from the battery (page 3, ¶1 - “AC converts DC power charged in the high voltage battery 12 into the receiving coil 11”), and
the processing circuitry (ECU 15) is further configured to control the charger (16) so that the charger modulates the direct-current power, which is supplied from the battery, over time and supplies the power to the coil (page 3, ¶8 - “The ECU 15 controls the operation of each part of the temperature control device 10. Specifically, the ECU 15 controls the operation of the AC / DC converter 16 to control charging / discharging of the high voltage battery 12”).
Regarding claim 5. Yamagishi discloses a method for controlling a vehicle (100), the vehicle including a battery (12); a coil (11); a metal body (metal main body 141) located at a position that is affected by a magnetic field generated in the coil (11) ( page 3, ¶4 - “The heat generating member 13 generates heat due to a current generated by receiving a magnetic flux (leakage magnetic flux) around the receiving coil 11, and the heat propagates to the high voltage battery 12 through a main body 141”); a charger (16) configured to convert alternating-current power supplied from outside the vehicle into direct-current power and supply the direct-current power to the battery (page 3, ¶1 - “The AC / DC converter 16 converts the AC power from the receiving coil 11 into DC power that can be charged by the high voltage battery 12”);
the method comprising:
causing the charger to receive supply of direct-current power from the battery (page 3, ¶1 - “The AC / DC converter 16 converts . . . DC power charged in the high voltage battery 12 into the receiving coil 11”); and
causing the charger to modulate the direct-current power, which is supplied from the battery, over time and supply the power to the coil (page 3, ¶1 - “The AC / DC converter 16 converts . . . DC power charged in the high voltage battery 12 into the receiving coil 11” – the charging occurs inherently over a length of time rather than a single point in time).
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 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamagishi et al. JP2018129205A in view of Yan et al. CN111446520A.
Regarding claim 2. Yamagishi does not explicitly disclose a fluid pipe through which fluid circulates, wherein the fluid pipe is configured so that the fluid exchanges heat with the battery, and the metal body is arranged to be in contact with the fluid.
Yan discloses a fluid pipe through which fluid circulates (FIG. 2 – pipeline of the cold and hot circulation water path), wherein the fluid pipe is configured so that the fluid exchanges heat with the battery, and the metal body (510) is arranged to be in contact with the fluid (page 2, last paragraph - “a water cooling plate connected with the power battery pack, the water cooling plate is connected with a cold and hot circulating waterway”; “the electromagnetic induction heating device 500 comprises a metal charging barrel 510 arranged in the pipeline of the cold and hot circulation water path”).
It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide the heating transfer of Yan to the system of Yamagashi in order to reduce the heating time of the battery and improve heating efficiency (Yan; abstract).
Regarding claim 3. Yamagishi does not explicitly disclose that the metal body is arranged inside the fluid pipe.
Yan discloses that the metal body is arranged inside the fluid pipe (page 3, first paragraph - “the electromagnetic induction heating device comprises a metal cylinder set in the pipeline”).
It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide the heating transfer of Yan to the system of Yamagashi in order to reduce the heating time of the battery and improve heating efficiency (Yan; abstract).
Regarding claim 4. Yamagishi does not explicitly disclose that the fluid pipe is configured so that the fluid exchanges heat with the charger (page 4, last paragraph - “a metal charging barrel 510 arranged in the pipeline of the cold and hot circulation water path . . . the metal cylinder 10 is placed in the pipeline; the magnetic field magnetic line makes the metal cylinder 510 itself heat”).
It would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide the heating transfer of Yan to the system of Yamagashi in order to reduce the heating time of the battery and improve heating efficiency (Yan; abstract).
Related Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Laemmle et al. WO2019149849A1 shows a charging coil fixed on a fluid pipe that is used to cool/heat the circuit.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAMELA JEPPSON whose telephone number is (571)272-4094. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM..
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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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/PAMELA J JEPPSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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