DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains more than 150 words. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim recites “calculation consistency ratio CR,” but it is not clear what this term is, and the specification does not provide any explanation what it is and does not provide how to derive it. Further explaining, pages 3-4 describe sorting the characteristic parameters C’s, calculating the weight coefficient of characteristic parameters P’s, to ensure calculation consistency ratio CR is less than 0.1, but there is lack of clear support as to what this CR term is or how to even calculate to arrive at CR that is less than 0.1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim recites “calculation consistency ratio CR,” but it is not clear what this term is, as it is not a known term, and the specification does not provide any explanation what it is and does not provide how to derive it.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
7. Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without being integrated into a practical application and do not include additional elements that amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Utilizing the two step process adopted by the Supreme Court (Alice Corp vs CLS Bank Int'l, US Supreme Court, 110 USPQ2d 1976 (2014) and the recent 101 guideline, Federal Register Vol. 84, No., Jan 2019)), determination of the subject matter eligibility under the 35 USC 101 is as follows: Specifically, the Step 1 requires claim belongs to one of the four statutory categories (process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter). If Step 1 is satisfied, then in the first part of Step 2A (Prong one), identification of any judicial recognized exceptions in the claim is made. If any limitation in the claim is identified as judicial recognized exception, then proceeding to the second part of Step 2A (Prong two), determination is made whether the identified judicial exception is being integrated into practical application. If the identified judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application, then in Step 2B, the claim is further evaluated to see if the additional elements, individually and in combination, provide “inventive concept” that would amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. If the element and combination of elements do not amount to significantly more than the judicial recognized exception itself, then the claim is ineligible under the 35 USC 101.
Looking at the claims, the claims satisfy the first part of the test 1A, namely the claims are directed to one of the four statutory class, apparatus and method. In Step 2A Prong one, we next identify any judicial exceptions in the claims. In Claim 1 (as a representative example), we recognize that the limitations “setting range of threshold for each parameter, sorting the parameters according to an order of the abnormal value occurrence time, and selecting partial parameters as characteristic parameters, calculating a weight coefficient of each characteristic parameter through the
abnormal value occurrence time and analytical hierarchy process to ensure
calculation consistency ratio CR is less than 0.1, collecting data of parameters of the battery during operation, if a certain judgement characteristic parameter exceeds the set threshold, a risk coefficient of the characteristic parameter is calculated, a risk value of the internal short circuit of the battery is calculated according to the weight coefficient and the risk coefficient, if the risk value continues to rise or rises stepwise, it is determined that the battery has internal short circuit,” are abstract ideas, as they recite limitation that involves mental process. Similar rejections are made for other dependent claims. Additionally, the claims 5-10 are abstract ideas, as the limitations further recite mathematical concept. With the identification of abstract ideas, we proceed to Step 2A, Prong two, where with additional elements and taken as a whole, we evaluate whether the identified abstract idea is being integrated into a practical application.
In Step 2A, Prong two, the claims additionally recite “simulating a triggered internal short circuit fault during operation process of the battery, recording changes of various parameters before and after the internal short circuit is triggered, recording
time when each parameter reaches the threshold after the internal short circuit is
triggered as abnormal value occurrence time,” but said limitations, recited at high level of generality, are merely directed to insignificant data collection activity. The claims do not improve any machines and do not improve other technology. At most, the claims are an improvement in the abstract idea of detecting internal short circuit. However, improved or new abstract idea is still an abstract idea and not eligible under the 101. In short, the claims do not provide sufficient evidence to show that they are more than a drafting effort to monopolize the abstract idea. As such, the abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application. Consequently, with the identified abstract idea not being integrated into a practical application, we proceed to Step 2B and evaluate whether the additional elements provide “inventive concept” that would amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
In step 2B, the claims additionally recite “simulating a triggered internal short circuit fault during operation process of the battery, recording changes of various parameters before and after the internal short circuit is triggered, recording
time when each parameter reaches the threshold after the internal short circuit is
triggered as abnormal value occurrence time,” but said limitations, recited at high level of generality, are merely directed to insignificant data collection activity, that is well-understood, routine and conventional. As such, the claims do not provide additional elements that would amount to significantly more than the abstract idea
In Summary, the claims recite abstract idea without being integrated into a practical application, and do not provide additional elements that would amount to significantly more than the abstract idea. As such, taken as a whole, the claims are ineligible under the 35 USC 101.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Niroumand et al., US-PGPUB 2020/0328439
Dalstein, US Pat No. 5,724,247
Fraisse et al., US Pat No. 4,761,704
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/HYUN D PARK/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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