BATTERY PACK
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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 3/21/2024 and 4/14/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-5, 7, 8, 10-11, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US 2022/0069363 A1) and further in view of Jiang et al. (CN 216488350 U).
Regarding claim 1, Hwang et al. teach a battery pack (Abstract) comprising:
battery modules arranged along rows and columns (Figs. 2-10 show a battery module, element 1, comprising battery cells, element 10.);
slave battery management systems (BMSs) respectively between adjacent ones of the battery modules in the rows of the battery modules (Figs. 2-10, element 200), configured to detect status information of the adjacent ones of the battery modules and a master BMS configured to receive status information of the battery modules through wireless optical communication with the slave BMSs (Paragraph 0062 discloses the communication module, element 300, may be provided in an area separate from the master BMS, element 100, and the slave BMS, element 200, inside the battery pack. That is, the communication module, element 300, may be electrically connected to the master BMS, element 100, and the slave BMS, element 200, through a wiring inside the battery pack or a separate input line or the like. Further, paragraph 0139 discloses the master BMS, element 100, may be configured to determine whether each of the plurality of slave BMSs, element 200, is in a faulty state depending on whether the second signal is input to each of the plurality of connected master light receiving units, element 330.).
However, Hwang et al. do not teach wherein the slave battery management system is configured at different respective heights.
Jiang et al. teach a BMS master-slave board fixing bracket of this embodiment can use the bracket main body (Figs. 1, 2, and 4, element 1) in the fixing bracket to fix the ends of the BMS master board (Figs. 1, 2, and 4, element 3) and the BMS slave board (Figs. 1,2, and 4, element 2) on the corresponding mounting parts. Furthermore, since multiple mounting plates are located at different heights, multiple BMS master and slave boards can be arranged along the vertical direction (Paragraph 0036).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Hwang with Jiang in order to reduce the weight of the product and save space.
Regarding claims 2 and 11, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack of claims 1 and 9. Further, Hwang et al. teach wherein the slave BMSs and the master BMS each comprise: an optical transmitter configured to transmit a wireless optical signal (; and an optical receiver configured to receive a wireless optical signal (Paragraphs 0054-0061; Figs. 5-8 disclose a master light emitting unit, element 310 and a slave light receiving unit, element 320. Paragraph 0127 discloses a master light receiving unit, element 330, and a slave light emitting unit, element 340.).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack of claim 2. Further, Hwang et al. teach the optical transmitters and optical receivers (Paragraphs 0054-0061; Figs. 5-8 disclose a master light emitting unit, element 310 and a slave light receiving unit, element 320. Paragraph 0127 discloses a master light receiving unit, element 330, and a slave light emitting unit, element 340.). However, they do not disclose they are different heights from a reference plane or wherein the slave BMSs are at different respective heights with respect to uppermost or lowermost surfaces of the battery modules.
Jiang et al. teach a BMS master-slave board fixing bracket of this embodiment can use the bracket main body (Figs. 1, 2, and 4, element 1) in the fixing bracket to fix the ends of the BMS master board (Figs. 1, 2, and 4, element 3) and the BMS slave board (Figs. 1,2, and 4, element 2) on the corresponding mounting parts. Furthermore, since multiple mounting plates are located at different heights, multiple BMS master and slave boards can be arranged along the vertical direction (Paragraph 0036).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Hwang with Jiang in order to reduce the weight of the product and save space.
Regarding claims 5 and 15, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack of claims 2 and 10. Further, Hwang et al. teach further comprising a reflector configured to reflect a wireless optical signal from the optical transmitter of the slave BMSs to the optical receiver of the master BMS, and from the optical transmitter of the master BMS to the optical receiver of the slave BMSs (Paragraph 0156; Fig. 8 discloses a reflection member, element 360, is further included in the communication module, element 300, the first signal (light) output from the master light emitting unit, element 310, may be reflected by the reflection member, element 360, and input to the corresponding slave light receiving unit, element 320. In addition, the second signal (light) output from the slave light emitting unit, element 340, may be reflected by the reflection member, element 360, and input to the corresponding master light receiving unit, element 330. That is, since the reflection member, element 360, is provided to the communication module, element 300, the light-receiving rates of the slave light receiving unit, element 320, and the master light receiving unit, element 330, may be improved, and eventually the communication efficiency between the master BMS, element 100, and the plurality of slave BMSs, element 200, may be improved.).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack of claim 2. Further, Hwang et al. teach wherein the slave BMSs are respectively fixed to side surfaces of the adjacent ones of the battery modules facing others of the adjacent ones of the battery modules (Fig. 3.).
Regarding claims 8 and 14, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack of claims 2 and 10. Further, Hwang et al. teach comprising a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) connecting one of the slave BMSs to a corresponding one of the adjacent ones of the battery modules (Paragraph 0068 discloses the electric plate of the battery pack is formed as a printed circuit board. The slave BMS, element 200, is coupled onto the printed circuit board and connected to the communication module, element 300.).
Regarding claim 10, Hwang et al. teach a battery pack (Abstract) comprising:
battery modules arranged along rows and columns such that there are pairs of battery modules respectively in the rows (Figs. 2-10 shows multiple battery modules, element 1, comprising battery cells, element 10 arranged in rows.);
slave battery management systems (BMSs) respectively on side surfaces of ones of the battery modules of the pairs of battery modules (Figs. 2-10, element 200), the side surfaces facing others of the battery modules of the pairs of battery modules; and a Master BMS configured to communicate with the slave BMSs (Paragraph 0062 discloses the communication module, element 300, may be provided in an area separate from the master BMS, element 100, and the slave BMS, element 200, inside the battery pack. That is, the communication module, element 300, may be electrically connected to the master BMS, element 100, and the slave BMS, element 200, through a wiring inside the battery pack or a separate input line or the like. Further, paragraph 0139 discloses the master BMS, element 100, may be configured to determine whether each of the plurality of slave BMSs, element 200, is in a faulty state depending on whether the second signal is input to each of the plurality of connected master light receiving units, element 330.).
However, Hwang et al. do not disclose ones of the slave BMSs in a same one of the columns being at different respective heights.
Jiang et al. teach a BMS master-slave board fixing bracket of this embodiment can use the bracket main body (Figs. 1, 2, and 4, element 1) in the fixing bracket to fix the ends of the BMS master board (Figs. 1, 2, and 4, element 3) and the BMS slave board (Figs. 1,2, and 4, element 2) on the corresponding mounting parts. Furthermore, since multiple mounting plates are located at different heights, multiple BMS master and slave boards can be arranged along the vertical direction (Paragraph 0036).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Hwang with Jiang in order to reduce the weight of the product and save space.
Claims 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US 2022/0069363 A1) and Jiang et al. (CN 216488350 U) as applied to claims 2 and 11 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2019/0265304 A1).
Regarding claims 6 and 12, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack as claimed in claim 2. However, they do not teach wherein the slave BMSs further comprise: a first analog front end integrated circuit (AFE IC) configured to measure status information of one of the adjacent ones of the battery modules; and a second AFE IC configured to measure status information of the other one of the adjacent ones of the battery modules.
Kim et al. teach a slave sensing unit (Fig. 3, element 130) which provides detected state information of the battery module (Fig. 3, element 20). The slave sensing unit may include at least one application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having a voltage detection circuit and a temperature detection circuit embedded therein (Paragraph 0053).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Hwang and Jiang with Kim in order to monitor the battery environment.
Claims 9 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US 2022/0069363 A1) and Jiang et al. (CN 216488350 U) as applied to claims 2 and 11 above, and further in view of Hofer et al. (US 2021/0306078 A1).
Regarding claims 9 and 13, the combination of Hwang and Jiang et al. teach the battery pack as claimed in claim 2. However, they do not teach wherein the wireless optical communication uses an infrared transmission medium.
Hofer et al. disclose an optical communication system for a battery system is configured to operate with infrared light; for example, the optical transmitters are infrared transmitters and the optical receivers are infrared receivers (Paragraph 0035).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Hwang and Jiang with Hofer so that the degrees of freedom in placing (or arranging) the transmitters/receivers can be further increased.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL S GATEWOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-7958. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-5:30.
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Daniel S. Gatewood, Ph.D.
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1729
/DANIEL S GATEWOOD, Ph. D/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1729 July 14th, 2026
Prosecution Insights