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.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 7, and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fong et al, US Pub. 2020/0269710, in view of Arndt et al, DE102020202468.
Regarding claims 1, 7, and 11, Fong et al disclose a pre-charging for direct current fast charging comprising: a traction battery 24, high-voltage electrical buses, and a battery energy control module 33; controlling the electrical connection between the traction battery and the vehicle's electrical system; including a bussed electric center 104 and a traction bus 130 (see figs. 1-2; par. 0012-0021); a high-voltage electrical system comprising: the traction battery 24, the traction bus 130, DC charging bus 120, a charging port 34, a charging station connector 40, and a DC charging contactors 124; the charging port permits connection to an external charging station; a traction-bus contactors 134, including positive contactor 136 and negative contactor 138; these contactors selectively disconnect and connect traction battery 24 to traction bus 130; Fong et al teach pre-charge the contactor 140; the vehicle controller commands an external charging station to increase the voltage on the vehicle's DC bus; the controller configured to command the charging station to increase bus voltage before closing the pre-charge contactor and subsequently closing the main contractor. (See Figs. 1-2; par. 0012-0021).
Fong et al fail to disclose identifying the intermediate-circuit capacitor in the same configuration.
Arndt et al disclose a method for operating an On-board network for and electric vehicle comprising: an electric vehicle having a high-voltage electrical network 12, an intermediate circuit 18, a high-voltage battery 8, and a DC/DC converter 10; pre-charging the intermediate-circuit capacitance before connecting the high-voltage battery; disconnecting the high-voltage battery from the intermediate circuit during pre-charging; stating that pre-charging the intermediate circuit capacitance is necessary before connecting the high voltage battery. ( Figs. 1–4 and the English translation).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the external charging-station pre-charging technique taught by Fong et al in an electric-vehicle electrical system having an intermediate-circuit capacitor as taught by Arndt et al in order to increase the voltage of a vehicle's high-voltage bus before connecting the traction battery, to control the electrical startup, and to provide an alternative to pre-charging that capacitor using the vehicle's DC/DC converter. Therefore, it would have been an obvious extension as taught by the prior art.
Regarding claim 4, (wherein the charging means (160) for charging the intermediate circuit capacitor (140) is connected to an external energy source (162)) in addition to the limitation of claim 1, Fong et al further teach an external power source 36, a charging station 38, a charging connector 40 and a charging port 34 (fig. 1), the charging station supplies electrical energy from the external source to the vehicle. And Arndt et al further disclose an intermediate circuit pre-charging using DC/DC converter. Fong et al and view of Arndt et al render the claim obvious.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 5, and 6 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The applicant teaches a method for operating an electrically driven vehicle which includes a high-voltage grid having an intermediate circuit capacitor and high-voltage ports for connecting a charging circuit for charging the traction battery via the high-voltage grid, and at least one switch for electrically disconnecting and connecting the traction battery to the high-voltage grid, including emitting a signal for controlling the connectable charging circuit to charge the intermediate circuit capacitor, emitting a signal for closing the at least one switch or switches to connect the traction battery to the high-voltage grid as a function of the determined voltage or charge, wherein the vehicle further comprises a low-voltage grid and a bidirectional DC-DC converter for supplying the low-voltage grid from the high-voltage grid and vice versa, wherein the method further comprises determining an error message from the DC-DC converter before emitting a signal for controlling the connectable charging circuit to charge the intermediate circuit. These limitations in conjunction with other limitations in the claims were not shown by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Scheucher, US Pub. 2008/0053716, discloses a refuellable battery power electric vehicle. Le et al, US Pub. 2009/0145674, disclose a hybrid electric vehicle.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL ST CYR whose telephone number is (571)272-2407. The examiner can normally be reached M to F 8:00-8:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Pham Thomas can be reached at 571-272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DANIEL ST CYR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2876
/DANIEL ST CYR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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