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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to show every feature of the subject matter specified in the claims, as required by 37 CFR 1.83(a). Claim 1 recites a charging and discharging device comprising a plurality of units, the units including a plurality of chambers, the chambers including a plurality of channels, and the channels charging or discharging secondary batteries. However, the figures (Figs. 1-11B) depict only method flowcharts and do not include any structural drawing illustrating the claimed plurality of units, the plurality of chambers accommodated within the units, the plurality of channels accommodated within the chambers, or the secondary batteries being charged/discharged via those channels.
Applicant is required to submit a drawing showing this claimed structure. No new matter should be introduced
Specification
The specification is objected to because of the following informalities:
¶[0002] recites "The present relates to a controlling method" which should be amended to read "The present disclosure relates to...";
¶[0003] recites "lithium ions at a cathode anode migrate to an anode" which should be amended to "lithium ions at a cathode migrate to an anode".
¶[0005] recites "Processes such as … is carried out" which should be amended to "Processes such as … are carried out".
¶[0037] recites "the charging-and-discharging S20 may be carried out at a constant current (CC)” followed by a reason which only talks about “discharging performed under constant conditions.” It should be made clear whether the step S20 concerns the first discharging state, all stages or only a discharging current mode.
¶[0047] recites "the first charging 21” which should be amended to "the first charging S21”.
¶[0049] recites "the second charging 25” which should be amended to "the second charging S25”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities.
The preamble recites "A controlling method of a charging and discharging device, using a charging and discharging device including a plurality of units"; the second recitation should read "using the charging and discharging device" to avoid double inclusion of the same device. Claim 1 further recites "wherein the selecting a plurality of channels includes selecting the plurality of channels in a same unit" which is grammatically incorrect and should be amended to read "wherein the selecting of the plurality of channels includes...".
Claim 1 recites “the units include a plurality of chambers accommodated in the units” and “the chambers include a plurality of channels accommodated in the chambers”. It is unclear whether: (i) each individual unit must include a plurality of chambers, or whether the plurality of units collectively include a plurality of chambers such that an individual unit may include only one chamber; (ii) each individual chamber must include a plurality of channels, or whether the plurality of chambers collectively includes a plurality of channels such that an individual chamber may include only one channel. Neither the claim nor the specification clearly establishes whether the plurality requirement applies distributively to every unit and every chamber or collectively to the apparatus as a whole. Applicant may consider amending the limitation to recite, for example, “each of the plurality of units includes a plurality of chambers, and each of the plurality of chambers includes a plurality of channels,” if that is the intended scope.
Claim 1 further recites “wherein each step of the charging-and-discharging is simultaneously initiated in the plurality of channels.” Where the term “simultaneously initiated” is unclear because the claim does not provide an objective boundary for determining when initiation is sufficiently simultaneous. ¶[0034] states that simultaneous initiation “does not mean that each step…is initiated first in only one of the plurality of channels”, which fails to establish an objective timing boundary.
Claims 2-12 are objected to for reciting "The controlling method of a charging and discharging device according to claim" which should be amended to "The controlling method of the charging and discharging device".
Claim 2 is further objected to for the same grammatically incorrect phrase "the selecting a plurality of channels".
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
The Specification does not disclose what constitutes the charging and discharging device, as claimed. This language invokes 112(f), but no structure is disclosed in the Specification.
The units, chambers, and channels are not adequately described in the Specification. They are not illustrated, and no explanation is provided.
The Specification does not explain how the batteries are maintained at the first, second, or third temperatures. The claims require standing at a temperature, but one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention would understand that temperatures fluctuate. The Specification does not describe how the invention provides for maintaining the set temperatures. No temperature regulating device/structure is disclosed, and the claims require multiple secondary batteries at set temperatures.
The first, second, and third temperatures are not disclosed in the specification. No specific ranges or values are provided. The Specification states that the temperatures may be the same or different. The Specification therefore does not adequately disclose the first, second, and third temperatures.
This is also an enablement issue since the Specification, by not disclosing any temperature values, does not enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make or use the invention without undue experimentation. The inventive concept is tied to the first, second, and third temperatures, which are not disclosed, and which would require extensive experimentation to discover the desired temperatures that enable the device to function as intended to prevent the performance of the secondary battery to be affected by other channels. The Specification therefore does not enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without undue experimentation.
Dependent are rejected since they inherit and fail to cure the deficiencies of claim 1.
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 1–12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out the subject matter which the inventor regards as the invention.
The terms charging discharging device, units, chambers and channels are indefinite as they are not described in the disclosure and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be able to determine the metes and bounds of the terms.
“A same unit” is indefinite. It is not clear what constitutes a unit.
The claim language references “the plurality of channels” in the charging, standing, and discharging steps, however, the claims also recite selecting a plurality of channels. It is unclear if “the plurality of channels” recited in the context of the charging, standing, and discharging, is referring to the channels, or the selected channels.
Dependent claims are rejected since they inherit and fail to cure the deficiencies of claim 1.
Claim 6 recites "determining a temperature change step for determining whether the first temperature and the second temperature are the same and whether the second temperature and the third temperature are the same in the charging-and-discharging by analyzing the temperature at which each step of the charging-and-discharging is carried out." It is unclear in at least two different ways: (i) “determining a temperature change” is itself a method step in which the temperature relationships are analyzed; (ii) the method determines or identifies a separate charging, discharging, or standing step as being a “temperature change step.” Under the second interpretation, the claim does not specify which process step is identified, what output results from the determination, or how the identified temperature-change step affects the subsequent charging-and-discharging operation.
For purposes of examination, and consistent with the specification, the limitation is interpreted as a determining step performed with respect to the temperatures assigned to the respective steps of the charging-and-discharging, which determines whether the first and second temperatures are the same and whether the second and third temperatures are the same.
Claim 11 recites the phrase “the second charging ends at different times in the plurality of channels” which does not clearly establish the required temporal relationship among the channels.
It is unclear whether: (i) every selected channel must end second charging at a unique time different from every other selected channel; (ii) at least two of the selected channels must end at different times while other channels may end together; or (iii) the channels are merely permitted to end independently and therefore are capable of ending at different times.
The claim also fails to provide a timing resolution or other standard for determining when two ending times are “different.” Moreover, ¶[0056] discloses that independently controlled channels “may end simultaneously in some cases.” It is therefore unclear whether actual different ending times are required in every performance of claim 11 or whether the claim encompasses a control mode that merely permits different ending times. For purposes of examination, the limitation is interpreted as the channels being permitted to end independently and therefore are capable of ending at different times.
Claim 12 recites that "the second charging is independently carried out in the plurality of channels." Claim 1, from which claim 12 ultimately depends, requires that "each step of the charging-and-discharging is simultaneously initiated in the plurality of channels." It is unclear whether "independently carried out" is intended to encompass independent initiation of the second charging in each channel, which would be inconsistent with the simultaneous initiation required by claim 1, or whether it is limited to independent execution and termination following a common initiation. For purposes of examination, claim 12 is interpreted as requiring independent execution and termination of the second charging in each channel following the simultaneous initiation required by claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (US 20220385097 A1) in view of Xu (US 20150060290 A1).
Regarding independent Claim 1, Lim teaches the following:
A controlling method of a charging and discharging device, using a charging and discharging device (Fig. 1 - a battery charging-discharging device 100, Fig. 2 - battery charging/discharging system 10 including battery charging-discharging device 200; ¶[3, 16-17, 27-28])
including unit (Fig. 2 - battery charging-discharging device 200)
wherein the units include a plurality of chambers accommodated in the units (first group GROUP1 and second group GROUP2 of channels within device 200, Fig. 2; ¶s[28-29]),
wherein the chambers include a plurality of channels accommodated in the chambers (each channel is a DC-DC converter 220-i with its charging-discharging controller 230-i, Fig. 2; ¶[28]; GROUP1 holds channels 1 to k and GROUP2 holds channels k+1 to n, where n > k, ¶[29]); and wherein the channels charge or discharge secondary batteries (each converter 220-i supplies charging voltage to, and receives discharged energy from, it’s a plurality of battery cells 210-1 to 210-n for each group, ¶s[28, 43, 48]) {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret the plurality (1 to k and k to n) of converter/ controller/ battery cells to be inclusive of 8+ chambers/channels and would consider such connection as constituting an individually controllable charging/discharging path or channel};
The specification describes no structure for a unit, chamber or channel (see the § 112 rejections above). Under BRI, a channel is read as an individually controlled charge/discharge path to one battery, and a chamber as a group of such channels within a unit.
comprising:
selecting a plurality of channels, each of which is connected to a secondary battery (device 200 groups the cells and processes one group at a time; the GROUP1 channels 220-1/230-1 to 220-k/230-k, connected to cells 210-1 to 210-k, are selected by the MES 250 charging initiation command for GROUP1, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 – S114; ¶s[28-29, 40]) {selecting one disclosed group therefore selects the corresponding plurality of channels connected to the batteries of that group);
and charging-and-discharging each of the secondary batteries connected to the selected plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S110, S120; ¶s[38, 44]);
wherein selecting a plurality of channels (Fig. 2; ¶s[28-30] disclose that all GROUP1 channels are within the single device 200)
and wherein the charging-and-discharging includes:
first charging for fully charging all secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S110; ¶s[38, 40-43] disclose a charging initiation command for notifying a start of a charging process for the battery cells of the first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n (S114));
a first discharging for fully discharging all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120; ¶[44])
wherein each step of the charging-and-discharging is simultaneously initiated in the plurality of channels (Fig. 4 – S114, S115, Fig. 5 – S122, S123; ¶s[40-41. 46-47] disclose that the MES 250 transmits a charging initiation command notifying the start of the charging process for the battery cells of the selected group to the plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n at operation S114, and those controllers control the plurality of DC-DC converters 220-1 to 220-n to initiate charging of the group in response at operation S115; the MES 250 likewise transmits a discharging initiation command at operation S122, in response to which the controllers initiate discharging of the group at operation S123).
The first, second and third temperature, associated with the first charging, first standing and second standing of the charging/discharging process respectively, are not claimed to be measured. It is only claimed that the charging/discharging process have these temperatures at their respective steps. Hence, the temperature limitations are inherent to the first charging, first standing and second standing process for all secondary batteries, and therefore, can be interpreted as inherently taught by Lim.
Lim is silent to a plurality of units, a first standing for allowing all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels that have completed the first charging to stand at a second temperature; a second standing for allowing all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels that have completed the first discharging to stand at a third temperature; and a second charging for fully charging all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels that have completed the second standing, at the third temperature.
As to plurality of units, Fig. 2 of Lim shows one unit (device 200) with two chambers (GROUP1, GROUP2), each containing a plurality of channels. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lim by duplicating device 200, each duplicate having its own groups of converter/controller channels, because each additional unit would perform the same known function in the same manner, predictably providing the capability of charging/discharging multiple battery cells at once. Such a modification would have amounted to mere duplication of a known part to obtain a predictable result. Mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance absent a new or unexpected result. In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 671, 124 USPQ 378, 380 (CCPA 1960); MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B). {Duplicating device 200 once yields at least two units, four chambers and eight channels; the disclosed ranges 1 to k and k+1 to n are inclusive of any larger number of channels.}
Xu teaches a first standing for allowing all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels that have completed the first charging to stand (¶[67, 68] discloses resting the fully charged cell for two hours immediately following the first full charge at 4.2 V while maintaining a constant 45°C cell temperature during the rest periods of the formation process, disclosed in ¶[39])
a second standing for allowing all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels that have completed the first discharging to stand (¶[70] discloses a second two-hour rest immediately following the discharge to 3.0 V, while the cell temperature remains at 45°C disclosed in ¶[39])
and a second charging for fully charging all the secondary batteries connected to the plurality of channels that have completed the second standing, at the third temperature (¶[71] discloses charging the cell after the second rest back to 4.2 V and holding that voltage until the charging current decreases to 78 mA, while the cell temperature remains at 45°C, disclosed in ¶[39]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Xu, as to incorporate repeated charging, standing and discharging cycles, so as to provide optimized formation efficiency, in terms of minimizing formation time and maintain quality attributes, such as high Coulombic Efficiency, high static discharge capacity, and low degradation rate (Xu; ¶[76]).
Regarding dependent Claim 2, Lim further teaches wherein the selecting a plurality of channels further includes selecting the plurality of channels in a same chamber (the selected channels 220-1/230-1 to 220-k/230-k all belong to GROUP1, Fig. 2; ¶s[29, 40]).
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (US 20220385097 A1) in view of Xu (US 20150060290 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 20140340044 A1).
Regarding dependent Claim 3, Lim as modified is silent to the charging and discharging device, wherein the first charging ends simultaneously in the plurality of channels.
Kim discloses of first charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 6; ¶[16, 74, 80, 88] disclose that the charge/discharge control module … may simultaneously charge and discharge a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series within a single tray {of a plurality of channels}, and may terminate charging and discharging, using a relay or a switching circuit, when all the plurality of secondary batteries have the same current values at a maximum voltage when charging and discharging are performed; {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as first charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Lim with Kim, as to incorporate simultaneous ending of first charging in the plurality of channels, so as to avoid overcharging and battery degradation due to excess of a maximum charging voltage (Kim; ¶s[73-74]).
Regarding dependent Claim 4, Lim as modified by Xu discloses the first discharging process being carried out simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120, S122; ¶[44] disclose that the battery charging-discharging device may perform full discharging of the battery cells GROUP1 of the first group; ¶s[46] further disclose that the MES 250 may transmit a discharging initiation command for notifying a start of a discharge process for battery cells of a first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n; {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as first discharging being done simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
Lim as modified by Xu doesn’t explicitly teach the first discharging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels.
Kim discloses of first discharging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 6; ¶[16, 74, 80, 88] disclose that the charge/discharge control module … may simultaneously charge and discharge a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series within a single tray {of a plurality of channels}, and may terminate charging and discharging, using a relay or a switching circuit, when all the plurality of secondary batteries have the same current values at a maximum voltage when charging and discharging are performed; {one of ordinary skill in the art would interpret this setup as first discharging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Lim with Kim, as to incorporate simultaneous ending of first discharging in the plurality of channels, so as to avoid battery degradation (Kim; ¶s[73-74]).
Regarding dependent Claim 5, Lim teaches charging in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S110; ¶s[38, 40-43] disclose a charging initiation command for notifying a start of a charging process for the battery cells of the first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n (S114));
Lim is silent to a second charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels.
Xu discloses a second charging (¶[71] discloses charging the cell after the second rest back to 4.2 V with a current cutoff condition).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Xu, as to incorporate repeated charging, so as to provide optimized formation efficiency, in terms of minimizing formation time and maintain quality attributes, such as high Coulombic Efficiency, high static discharge capacity, and low degradation rate (Xu; ¶[76]).
Lim as modified doesn’t explicitly teach the second charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels.
Kim discloses charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 6; ¶[16, 74, 80, 88] disclose that the charge/discharge control module … may simultaneously charge and discharge a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series within a single tray {of a plurality of channels}, and may terminate charging {or second charging}, using a relay or a switching circuit, when all the plurality of secondary batteries have the same current values at a maximum voltage when charging and discharging are performed; {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as second charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Kim, as to incorporate simultaneous ending of second charging in the plurality of channels, so as to avoid overcharging and battery degradation due to excess of a maximum charging voltage (¶s[73-74]).
Claims 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (US 20220385097 A1) in view of Xu (US 20150060290 A1), Kim et al. (US 20140340044 A1), further in view of Wang et al. (CN 102981127 A).
Regarding dependent Claim 7, Lim discloses initiating each step of charging-discharging sequence simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120, S122; ¶s[40-41, 46-47] disclose that the MES 250 may transmit a charging/ discharging initiation command for notifying the start of a charge/discharge process for battery cells of a first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n which would start the step through the plurality of DC-DC converters 220-1 to 220-n in response; {it would be obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to interpret that group command to be applied to each steps of the sequence simultaneously, including the first standing step in the plurality of channels}).
The temperatures being different is natural, esp. as the applicant has not claimed they are controlled to be different, or the control strategy changes to address different temperatures or the applicant limits the temperature to different temperatures. Hence, having different temperatures [which can occur naturally] is not naturally limiting and one with ordinary skilled in the art would consider this to be inherent to the charging/discharging process where the first temperature at first charging is different from second temperature at first standing.
Regarding dependent Claim 9, Lim discloses initiating each step of charging-discharging sequence simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120, S122; ¶s[40-41, 46-47] disclose that the MES 250 may transmit a charging/ discharging initiation command for notifying the start of a charge/discharge process for battery cells of a first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n which would start the step through the plurality of DC-DC converters 220-1 to 220-n in response; {it would be obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to interpret that group command to be applied to each steps of the sequence simultaneously, including the second standing step in the plurality of channels}).
The temperatures being different is natural, esp. as the applicant has not claimed they are controlled to be different, or the control strategy changes to address different temperatures or the applicant limits the temperature to different temperatures. Hence, having different temperatures [which can occur naturally] is not naturally limiting and one with ordinary skilled in the art would consider this to be inherent to the charging/discharging process where the second temperature at first standing is different from the third temperature at second standing.
Claims 6-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim et al. (US 20220385097 A1) in view of Xu (US 20150060290 A1), Kim et al. (US 20140340044 A1), further in view of Wang et al. (CN 102981127 A).
Regarding dependent Claim 6, Lim teaches the controlling method of a charging and discharging device (Fig. 2 – battery charging/discharging system 10, battery charging-discharging device 200).
Lim is silent to determining a temperature change step for determining whether the first temperature and the second temperature are the same and whether the second temperature and the third temperature are the same in the charging-and-discharging by analyzing the temperature at which each step of the charging-and-discharging is carried out.
Wang teaches successive steps of fully charging, standing, discharging, and recharging lithium-ion batteries in a high-and-low temperature chamber (¶s[30–31, 43–49]). Wang discloses various examples where the charging temperature, the standing temperature and the discharging temperature are either the same or different (¶[43] discloses a charging temperature {or first temperature} at 25°C where the battery is fully charged. Then the battery is left to stand at 25°C for 1 hour {or second temperature}, then is discharged to 3.0V; ¶[44] discloses the discharging temperature {or second temperature} was adjusted to 45°C where the chamber was left to stand for 1 hour. Next, the charging temperature was adjusted to 25°C {or third temperature} where the battery was fully charged; ¶s[14-15, 30-31] discloses a preset temperature environment for a preset time where the battery undergoes the charging, standing and discharging sequence);
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Wang to incorporate a temperature change step. The reason for performing the modification would have been to monitor the temperature charge discharge characteristics of the battery cells in order to evaluate key performance indicator such as the reliability of the cells (Wang; ¶s[4-6])
Regarding dependent Claim 7, Lim discloses starting each step of charging-discharging sequence simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120, S122; ¶s[40-41, 46-47] disclose that the MES 250 may transmit a charging/ discharging initiation command for notifying the start of a charge/discharge process for battery cells of a first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n which would start the step through the plurality of DC-DC converters 220-1 to 220-n in response; {it would be obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to interpret that group command to be applied to each steps of the sequence, including the first standing step. Thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as first standing being done simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
Lim is silent to the first temperature being different from the second temperature.
Wang teaches successive steps of fully charging, standing, discharging, and recharging lithium-ion batteries where the first temperature is different from the second temperature (¶[43-49, esp. 45, 46] discloses the battery was discharged at a 60°C temperature after being left to stand for 1 hour at the same temperature {or second temperature}. Next, the charging temperature was adjusted back to 25°C {or first temperature} where the battery was fully charged. And data was collected).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Wang to incorporate a variable temperature change step. The reason for performing the modification would have been to monitor the temperature dependent charge/ discharge characteristics of the battery cells in order to evaluate key performance indicator such as the reliability of the cells (Wang; ¶s[4-6])
Regarding dependent Claim 8, Lim is silent to the charging and discharging device, wherein the first charging ends simultaneously in the plurality of channels.
Kim discloses of first charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 6; ¶[16, 74, 80, 88] disclose that the charge/discharge control module … may simultaneously charge and discharge a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series within a single tray {of a plurality of channels}, and may terminate charging and discharging, using a relay or a switching circuit, when all the plurality of secondary batteries have the same current values at a maximum voltage when charging and discharging are performed; {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as first charging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Kim, as to incorporate simultaneous ending of first charging in the plurality of channels, so as to avoid overcharging and battery degradation due to excess of a maximum charging voltage (¶s[73-74]).
Regarding dependent Claim 9, Lim discloses starting each step of charging-discharging sequence simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120, S122; ¶s[40-41, 46-47] disclose that the MES 250 may transmit a charging/ discharging initiation command for notifying the start of a charge/discharge process for battery cells of a first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n which would start the step through the plurality of DC-DC converters 220-1 to 220-n in response; {it would be obvious to one of ordinary skilled in the art to interpret that group command to be applied to each steps of the sequence, including the second standing step. Thus, one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as second standing being done simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
Lim is silent to the second temperature being different from the third temperature.
Wang teaches successive steps of fully charging, standing, discharging, and recharging lithium-ion batteries where the second temperature is different from the third temperature (¶[43-49, esp. 46] discloses the battery was discharged at a 0°C temperature after being left to stand for 1 hour at the same temperature {or second temperature}. Next, the charging temperature was adjusted back to 25°C {or third temperature} where the battery was fully charged. And data was collected).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Wang to incorporate a variable temperature change step. The reason for performing the modification would have been to monitor the temperature dependent charge/ discharge characteristics of the battery cells in order to evaluate key performance indicator such as the reliability of the cells (Wang; ¶s[4-6])
Regarding dependent Claim 10, Lim discloses the first discharging process being carried out simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 3 – S120, S122; ¶[44] disclose that the battery charging-discharging device may perform full discharging of the battery cells GROUP1 of the first group; ¶s[46] further disclose that the MES 250 may transmit a discharging initiation command for notifying a start of a discharge process for battery cells of a first group GROUP1 to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n; {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as first discharging being done simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
Lim doesn’t explicitly teach the first discharging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels.
Kim discloses of first discharging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels (Fig. 6; ¶[16, 74, 80, 88] disclose that the charge/discharge control module … may simultaneously charge and discharge a plurality of secondary batteries connected in series within a single tray {of a plurality of channels}, and may terminate charging and discharging, using a relay or a switching circuit, when all the plurality of secondary batteries have the same current values at a maximum voltage when charging and discharging are performed; {one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this setup as first discharging ending simultaneously in the plurality of channels}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Kim, as to incorporate simultaneous ending of first discharging in the plurality of channels, so as to avoid battery degradation (Kim; ¶s[73-74]).
Regarding dependent Claim 11, Lim discloses the controlling method of a charging and discharging device, wherein the charging ends at different times in the plurality of channels (¶s[28, 30] disclose that the battery charging-discharging device 200 may group the plurality of battery cells 210-1 to 210-n connected to a plurality of charging-discharging controllers 230-1 to 230-n and a plurality of DC-DC converters 220-1 to 220-n respectively, and perform a charging process of the plurality of battery cells 210-1 to 210-n for each group, {such that one of ordinary skilled in the art would interpret this as charging of each channel being controlled/terminated individually through those plurality of controllers}).
Lim doesn’t explicitly mention a second charging.
Xu discloses a second charging (¶s[71] disclose charging the cell after the second rest back to 4.2 V until the current drops to 78 mA; ¶s[77, 81] disclose of using faster or slower charging C-rate, depending on the target voltage and formation window, which would be interpreted by one of ordinary skilled in the art as second charging ending at a different times).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lim with Xu, as to incorporate different charging ending times, so as to provide optimized formation efficiency, in terms of minimizing formation time and maintain quality attributes, such as high Coulombic Efficiency, high static discharge capacity, and low degradation rate (Xu; ¶[76]).
Regarding dependent Claim 12, Lim discloses charging being independently carried out in the plurality of channels (Fig. 2; ¶s[28, 30, 41, 43] disclose a respective DC-DC converters and a respective charging-discharging controllers provided for each of the plurality of battery cells where each controller controls its own converter to supply the converted low voltage to its own connected battery cells of first group).
Lim doesn’t explicitly mention second charging.
Xu discloses a second charging (¶s[71] disclose charging the cell after the second rest back to 4.2 V until the current drops to 78 mA).
With regards to claim 12, Lim as modified by Xu teaches second charging being independently carried out in the plurality of channels.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Park et al. (US 20200139168 A1) discloses secondary battery activation process device in which a plurality of box-shaped chargers/dischargers 20 are arranged side by side in a single process chamber 10 (Figs. 4-5; ¶[60]). Each charger/discharger receives a tray loaded with a plurality of battery cells, whose electrode leads contact charge/discharge terminals 24a, 24b that apply current to the cells (Figs. 6-7; ¶[70, 72]). Park also provides an air conditioning line 21 to each charger/discharger so that its internal temperature is controlled individually (Abstract, ¶[62, 65]).
Cha et al. (US 20210210802 A1) discloses a method of activating a secondary battery. The method comprises a primary charging step, a room-temperature aging step of storing the charged battery at room temperature, and a high-temperature aging step of storing the battery at 40 °C to 80 °C for 12 to 36 hours (¶s[14, 18, 51]). A secondary charging step follows the high-temperature aging step (¶[19, 52]), so successive standing steps are carried out at different temperatures.
Zhang (US 20220268852 A1) discloses a system for forming and testing a plurality of batteries in parallel. A parallel test management device is connected to each battery and includes a main relay and current transducer in series with the battery and an auxiliary relay with a current-limiting resistor. Each battery can therefore be individually connected, monitored, and disconnected while the batteries are formed as a group (Abstract).
Lee et al. (US 20220149344 A1) discloses a secondary battery formation method. It comprises pre-aging at room temperature, primary charging at room temperature to 60% SOC or more, high-temperature aging at 60 °C or higher, and room-temperature aging that includes a resetting charge to the SOC of the primary charging step (Abstract). The ambient temperature thus changes between the charging and standing steps and between successive standing steps.
Ichikawa et al. (US 20180183091 A1) discloses a method of manufacturing a lithium-ion secondary battery. An initial charging step is carried out at −20 °C to 15 °C, followed by an aging step of leaving the battery at 30 °C to 80 °C (Abstract; ¶[9]). The difference between the aging temperature T2 and the charging temperature T1 is preferably 30 °C or more (¶[43]), and no charging or discharging is performed during the aging step (¶[45]).
Ma et al. (CN 113009360 A) discloses a lithium battery test method comprising five steps (¶s[5-9, 70–74]): fully charging the battery at room temperature; leaving it to stand at a test temperature such as −20 °C; discharging it to the cut-off voltage at the test temperature; leaving it to stand at room temperature until it reaches a steady state; charging it a second time to full at room temperature.
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/TAWHID M PRANTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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