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 .
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.
Claims 1 – 7 are pending.
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.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter.
The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim drawn to a computer program or storage media comprising instructions typically covers forms of non-transitory tangible media and transitory propagating signals per se in view of the ordinary and customary meaning of computer readable media or storage media, particularly when the specification is silent.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “a battery abnormality detection program causing a computer to execute the processes…”, which covers both transitory and non-transitory limitation, the limitation “program” is considered as an abstract idea, because the program is not physical “things” and/or are not “acts” being performed, thus “program” is non-statutory subject matter.
Adding the limitation “non-transitory” storage… in any way considered by the Applicant to store the “program” with support in the original specification to the claim can avoid a rejection under 35 USC 101.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 6, and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/102(a0(2) as being anticipated by Tsutsui et al. (US 2021/0288356 A1; hereinafter Tsutsui).
Regarding Claim 1, Tsutsui discloses a battery abnormality detection system (Fig. 2, item 6) comprising:
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an acquisition unit (Fig. 1 and 2, item 4) that acquires voltage (para[0020]; voltage values of the battery cells 2 measured by the plurality of voltage value sensors 4) of each of a plurality of cells (Fig. 1, items 2) or a plurality of parallel cell blocks (Fig. 1, items 3) in a battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1) and temperatures at a plurality of observation points respectively (para[0022]; atmospheric temperature sensors 7 that measure an atmospheric temperature inside the battery pack 1) measured by a plurality of temperature sensors (Fig. 2, items 7) provided in the battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1); and
a determination unit (Fig. 2, item 51) that determines whether a specific cell (Fig. 1, items 2) or a specific parallel cellblock (Fig. 1, items 3) is an abnormality (para[0041]; the abnormality determination unit 51 determines that there is no abnormality), based on a transition of a voltage of the each of the specific cell (para[0041]; the voltage values of all the battery cells 2 are greater than the voltage threshold value a, the abnormality determination unit 51 determines that there is no abnormality) or the specific parallel cell block (Fig. 1, items 3) in a predetermined period in the battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1) and on a difference between a temperature change at a first observation point and a temperature change at a second observation point in the predetermined period in the battery pack (para[0042]; the abnormality determination unit 51 compares the acquired atmospheric temperature value with the atmospheric temperature threshold value b; specifically, the abnormality determination unit 51 determines whether all the atmospheric temperature values are less than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b or at least one atmospheric temperature value is equal to or greater than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b and para [0043]; all the atmospheric temperature values are less than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b).
Regarding Claim 3, Tsutsui discloses the battery abnormality detection system according to claim 1, wherein the temperature at the first observation point is a maximum temperature among the plurality of temperatures measured by the plurality of temperature sensors provided in the battery pack (para[0026]; a condition that the atmospheric temperature value is equal to or greater than the predetermined atmospheric temperature threshold value is set as a condition for establishing the abnormality determination, but a condition that a degree of change in the atmospheric temperature value per unit time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value may be set as the condition for establishing the abnormality determination), and the temperature at the second observation point is a minimum temperature among the plurality of temperatures measured by the plurality of temperature sensors provided in the battery pack (para[0026]; both the condition that the atmospheric temperature value is equal to or greater than the predetermined atmospheric temperature threshold value and the condition that the degree of change in the atmospheric temperature value per unit time is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value may be set as the condition for establishing the abnormality determination).
Regarding Claim 6, Tsutsui discloses a battery abnormality detection method (Fig. 2, by item 6) comprising:
acquiring voltage (para[0020]; voltage values of the battery cells 2 measured by the plurality of voltage value sensors 4) of each of a plurality of cells (Fig. 1, items 2) or a plurality of parallel cell blocks (Fig. 1, items 3) in a battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1) and temperatures at a plurality of observation points respectively (para[0022]; atmospheric temperature sensors 7 that measure an atmospheric temperature inside the battery pack 1) measured by a plurality of temperature sensors (Fig. 2, items 7) provided in the battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1); and
determining (Fig. 2, by item 51) whether a specific cell (Fig. 1, items 2) or a specific parallel cell block (Fig. 1, items 3) is an abnormality (para[0041]; the abnormality determination unit 51 determines that there is no abnormality), based on a transition of a voltage of the specific cell (para[0041]; the voltage values of all the battery cells 2 are greater than the voltage threshold value a, the abnormality determination unit 51 determines that there is no abnormality) or the specific parallel cell block (Fig. 1, items 3) in a predetermined period in the battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1) and on a difference between a temperature change at a first observation point and a temperature change at a second observation point in the predetermined period in the battery pack (para[0042]; the abnormality determination unit 51 compares the acquired atmospheric temperature value with the atmospheric temperature threshold value b; specifically, the abnormality determination unit 51 determines whether all the atmospheric temperature values are less than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b or at least one atmospheric temperature value is equal to or greater than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b and para [0043]; all the atmospheric temperature values are less than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b).
Regarding Claim 7, Tsutsui discloses a battery abnormality detection program causing a computer to execute the processes (para[0024]; ECU 5 includes an abnormality determination unit 51 that determines an abnormality of the battery pack 1 as a functional configuration implemented by cooperation of hardware and software) of:
acquiring voltage (para[0020]; voltage values of the battery cells 2 measured by the plurality of voltage value sensors 4) of each of a plurality of cells (Fig. 1, items 2) or a plurality of parallel cell blocks (Fig. 1, items 3) in a battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1) and temperatures at a plurality of observation points respectively (para[0022]; atmospheric temperature sensors 7 that measure an atmospheric temperature inside the battery pack 1) measured by a plurality of temperature sensors (Fig. 2, items 7) provided in the battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1); and
determining (Fig. 2, by item 51) whether a specific cell (Fig. 1, items 2) or a specific parallel cell block (Fig. 1, items 3) is an abnormality (para[0041]; the abnormality determination unit 51 determines that there is no abnormality), based on a transition of a voltage of the specific cell (para[0041]; the voltage values of all the battery cells 2 are greater than the voltage threshold value a, the abnormality determination unit 51 determines that there is no abnormality) or the specific parallel cell block (Fig. 1, items 3) in a predetermined period in the battery pack (Fig. 1, item 1) and on a difference between a temperature change at a first observation point and a temperature change at a second observation point in the predetermined period in the battery pack (para[0042]; the abnormality determination unit 51 compares the acquired atmospheric temperature value with the atmospheric temperature threshold value b; specifically, the abnormality determination unit 51 determines whether all the atmospheric temperature values are less than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b or at least one atmospheric temperature value is equal to or greater than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b and para [0043]; all the atmospheric temperature values are less than the atmospheric temperature threshold value b).
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.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsutsui in view of Lai et al. (US 10,862,319 B2; hereinafter Lai).
Regarding Claim 5, Tsutsui discloses the battery abnormality detection system according to claim 1. But Tsutsui does not specifically disclose wherein the determination unit determines whether the specific cell or the specific parallel cell block is an abnormality while the battery pack is charged or non- operational.
However, Lai suggests wherein the determination unit determines whether the specific cell or the specific parallel cell block is an abnormality while the battery pack is charged or non-operational (column 3, lines 28 – 35; the indication element of at least one disconnected protection unit is not enabled if the at least one protection unit is disconnected so that the voltage difference value of the at least one disconnected protection unit is less than or equal to the voltage difference value after the charging module completes charging the four or more than four battery assemblies).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Tsutsui in view of Lai in order to provide information to the system operator of any abnormality during charging or not charging (column 11, lines 20 – 24).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 4 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.
Regarding Claim 2, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “wherein the determination unit determines whether an internal short-circuit is in the specific cell or the specific parallel cell block by estimating an internal short-circuit resistance value of the specific cell or the specific parallel cell block based on an integrated value of squares of voltages of the specific cell or the specific parallel cell block in the predetermined period in the battery pack and on a calorific value corresponding to a difference between a rise temperature at a first observation point and a rise temperature at a second observation point in the predetermined period in the battery pack” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 2.
Regarding Claim 4, the prior art of record does not teach claimed limitation: “further comprising an external heat quantity estimation unit that estimates a heat quantity due to an external factor external to the battery pack, the heat quantity being applied to each of the first observation point and the second observation point, respectively, wherein the external heat quantity estimation unit estimates the heat quantity to be applied to each of the first observation point and the second observation point based on one of a map and a function defining a relationship between a heat quantity to be applied to each of a plurality of observation points in the battery pack and an external condition and on measurement data of the external condition, and the determination unit removes an influence of the heat quantity due to the external factor individually from the temperature change at the first observation point and the temperature change at the second observation point” in combination with all other claimed limitations of claim 4.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Sim (US 2025/0279488 A1) suggests a battery management system comprising: a plurality of slave managers corresponding to a plurality of battery modules, and configured to uniformly adjust cell voltages of a plurality of battery cells of respective battery modules; a master manager configured to detect a battery module among the battery modules having a contact defect therein as a defective module using a voltage deviation being a difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of the cell voltages (see claim 1).
Ko et al. (US 2023/0408591 A1) discloses a battery management system comprising: a state information calculation unit that calculates state information of at least one of a plurality of battery cells; and a cell selection unit that selects at least one battery cell of a high-risk group using the state information, wherein the at least one battery cell of the high-risk group includes a battery cell having a terminal voltage that is out of an operating voltage during a charge or a discharge (see claim 1).
Chiba et al. (US 12,111,362 B2) teaches a battery unit comprising: a battery module including battery cells, the battery module including m battery cell groups connected in series, each of the m battery cell groups including n battery cells among the battery cells, the n battery cells being connected in parallel in each of the m battery cell groups (see claim 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GIOVANNI ASTACIO-OQUENDO whose telephone number is (571)270-5724. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm.
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/GIOVANNI ASTACIO-OQUENDO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 2/21/2026