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 .
Claim Objections
Claim(s) 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recite a phrase “the one or more processors to” in line 5. Examiner suggests amending the phrase to recite “the one or more processors to:” to restore clarity.
Claim 11 recites a term “the voltage” in line 6. Examiner suggests amending the term to recite “the voltages” to restore clarity.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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 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, 5-6, 10-13, 15-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tsenter et al. (US 20100039116; hereinafter Tsenter).
Regarding claim 1, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 a battery diagnostic device, comprising:
a battery (108; fig. 1) including at least one cell;
one or more processors (106); and
a non-transitory storage medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors (para. 32 – programmed microprocessor and associated circuitry - implies storage of instructions), enable the one or more processors to
store voltages of the at least one cell, the voltages being obtained at a plurality of time points (obtain battery voltage data along predefined load profile step 306 in fig. 3; para. 44 - examine the battery response voltages at the various times indicated by the channels in figs. 4-6), and pieces of information (matrix of parameters acquisition in figs. 2,7) associated with times when the battery is driven (battery load 104), the pieces of information being obtained at the plurality of time points, in the storage medium, obtain states of charge (SOCs) corresponding to the voltages of the at least one cell (para. 73 - Q is the current SOC expressed in Ah; SOCs in figs 8-11; paras. 61-62 - utilize the matrix of parameter data to determine the state of charge based on the battery type …determine the actual state of charge of a battery by comparing the current matrix of parameters for the battery to the state of charge profile), based on converting the voltages of the at least one cell, the voltages being obtained at the plurality of time points (voltage vs time fig. 6; para. 66 - state of charge for a NiMH battery is a function of the battery specific electrical double layer capacity and the battery unstationary open circuit voltage), identify an amount of discharge current of the at least one cell (para. 73 - battery operation time by given discharging current … I.sub.ds is the maximum discharging current) and a discharge rate of the at least one cell, based on obtaining the SOCs of the at least one cell (para. 73 - useful battery discharge time as a function of the current battery discharge rate),
identify a state of the at least one cell (determine state of health SOH 310; fig. 3), based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate, and store the state of the at least one cell in the storage medium (clms. 6-8 :- battery management module predicts the remaining useful life after a plurality of charging-discharging cycles - implies SOC/SOH storage).
Regarding claim 11, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 a battery diagnostic method, comprising:
storing voltages of at least one cell (108; fig. 1), the voltages being obtained at a plurality of time points (obtain battery voltage data along predefined load profile step 306 in fig. 3; para. 44 - examine the battery response voltages at the various times indicated by the channels in figs. 4-6);
obtaining states of charge (SOCs) corresponding to the voltages of the at least one cell (para. 73 - Q is the current SOC expressed in Ah; SOCs in figs 8-11; paras. 61-62 - utilize the matrix of parameter data to determine the state of charge based on the battery type …determine the actual state of charge of a battery by comparing the current matrix of parameters for the battery to the state of charge profile), based on converting the voltages of the at least one cell, the voltage being obtained at the plurality of time points cell (voltage vs time fig. 6; para. 66 - state of charge for a NiMH battery is a function of the battery specific electrical double layer capacity and the battery unstationary open circuit voltage);
identifying an amount of discharge current of the at least one cell (para. 73 - battery operation time by given discharging current … I.sub.ds is the maximum discharging current) and a discharge rate of the at least one cell, based on obtaining the SOCs of the at least one cell (para. 73 - useful battery discharge time as a function of the current battery discharge rate);
identifying a state of the at least one cell (determine state of health SOH 310; fig. 3), based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate; and
storing the state of the at least one cell (clms. 6-8 :- battery management module predicts the remaining useful life after a plurality of charging-discharging cycles - implies SOC/SOH storage).
Regarding claim 2, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors to convert the voltages of the at least one cell based on an open circuit voltage (OCV) into the SOCs (para. 60 - Rows 708 and 710 include the battery OCV results; fig. 7), based on a table stored in the storage medium.
Regarding claim 3, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors
to:
identify a first SOC by a first voltage of the at least one cell, the first voltage being
measured at a first time point, and a second SOC by a second voltage of the at least one cell, the second voltage being measured at a second time point subsequent to the first time point (voltage vs time figs. 4-6; para. 45 - time interval for sampling the battery response voltage difference can be in the range of about 1-20 ms. Specific ohm resistance can also be measured in discharging mode as the battery response voltage difference between the open circuit voltage and the discharging pulse);
identify a first difference between the first time point and the second time point (para. 44 - battery response voltage readings are collected by the battery management and control module 106 at designated intervals and analyzed) and a second difference between the first SOC and the second SOC (para. 66 - at each level of state of charge can be determined empirically and recorded, as illustrated in graph 900); and
convert the first difference and the second difference in units of a specified duration (para. 73 - conversion dimensionless SOC value in SOC with Ah dimension).
Regarding claim 5, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors
to:
obtain a first statistical value for the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell (para. 73 - battery operation time by given discharging current using equation);
obtain a second statistical value for the discharge rate of the at least one cell (para. 73 - useful battery discharge time as a function of the current battery discharge rate);
obtain a specified range, based on the first statistical value and the second statistical value (para. 45 - specific ohm resistance is obtained from the battery response voltage difference between the voltage prior to depolarization and after 1-20 ms of the beginning of the depolarization pulse referred to depolarization current and battery rated capacity); and
identify the state of the at least one cell, based on the first statistical value, the second statistical value, and the specified range (310; fig. 3).
Regarding claim 6, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the device of claim 5, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors
to:
identify that the state of the at least one cell is a normal state, based on that the first statistical value and the second statistical value are within the specified range (para. 34 - performing battery diagnostic operations to determine the battery's state of health; para. 8 - real-time battery State of Health detection); and
identify that the state of the at least one cell is an abnormal state, based on that at least one of the first statistical value or the second statistical value is out of the specified range (para. 12 - when a sharp rise occurs in the battery chemical resistance while the battery state of charge is about 0%, and/or when a sharp rise occurs in the battery electrical double layer capacity of a lead-acid battery while the battery state of charge is about 100%, the battery management module can predict imminent battery failure).
Regarding claim(s) 10 and 20, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13
the device of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors being included and
the method of claim 11, wherein the method is performed on one or more processors included, respectively,
in at least one of or any combination of a battery management unit (BMU) (bmu 106), a battery management system (BMS), and a server.
Regarding claim 12, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the method of claim 11, further comprising converting the voltages of the at least one cell based on an open circuit voltage (OCV) into the SOCs (para. 60 - Rows 708 and 710 include the battery OCV results; fig. 7), based on a stored table.
Regarding claim 13, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the method of claim 11, further comprising:
identifying a first SOC by a first voltage of the at least one cell, the first voltage being measured at a first time point, and a second SOC by a second voltage of the at least one cell, the second voltage being measured at a second time point subsequent to the first time point (voltage vs time figs. 4-6; para. 45 - time interval for sampling the battery response voltage difference can be in the range of about 1-20 ms. Specific ohm resistance can also be measured in discharging mode as the battery response voltage difference between the open circuit voltage and the discharging pulse);
identifying a first difference between the first time point and the second time point (para. 44 - battery response voltage readings are collected by the battery management and control module 106 at designated intervals and analyzed) and a second difference between the first SOC and the second SOC (para. 66 - at each level of state of charge can be determined empirically and recorded, as illustrated in graph 900); and
converting the first difference and the second difference in units of a specified duration (para. 73 - conversion dimensionless SOC value in SOC with Ah dimension).
Regarding claim 15, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the method of claim 11, further comprising:
obtaining a first statistical value for the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell (para. 73 - battery operation time by given discharging current using equation);
obtaining a second statistical value for the discharge rate of the at least one cell (para. 73 - useful battery discharge time as a function of the current battery discharge rate);
obtaining a specified range, based on the first statistical value and the second statistical value (para. 45 - specific ohm resistance is obtained from the battery response voltage difference between the voltage prior to depolarization and after 1-20 ms of the beginning of the depolarization pulse referred to depolarization current and battery rated capacity); and
identifying the state of the at least one cell, based on the first statistical value, the second statistical value, and the specified range (310; fig. 3).
Regarding claim 16, Tsenter discloses in figure(s) 1-13 the method of claim 15, further comprising:
identifying that the state of the at least one cell is a normal state, based on that the first statistical value and the second statistical value are within the specified range (para. 34 - performing battery diagnostic operations to determine the battery's state of health; para. 8 - real-time battery State of Health detection); and
identifying that the state of the at least one cell is an abnormal state, based on that at least one of the first statistical value or the second statistical value is out of the specified range (para. 12 - when a sharp rise occurs in the battery chemical resistance while the battery state of charge is about 0%, and/or when a sharp rise occurs in the battery electrical double layer capacity of a lead-acid battery while the battery state of charge is about 100%, the battery management module can predict imminent battery failure).
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 of this title, 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) 4 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsenter in view of NISHIGAKI et al. (US 2015036987).
Regarding claim 4, Tsenter teaches in figure(s) 1-13 the device of claim 3,
Tsenter does not teach explicitly wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors
to:
identify the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell and the discharge rate of the at least one cell, based on the first difference converted in units of the specified duration and the second difference converted in units of the specified duration; and
identify the state of the at least one cell, based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate.
However, NISHIGAKI teaches in figure(s) 1-6 wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors
to:
identify the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell (abs. - a transition estimation unit, when a transition from a charge mode to a discharge mode starts, which starts current integration by use of a measured current) and the discharge rate of the at least one cell (para. 60 - The discharge rate may be obtained by use of a predetermined time period, a current integration value obtained for the predetermined time period, and a full capacity of the battery 2), based on the first difference converted in units of the specified duration and the second difference converted in units of the specified duration (∆SOC for discharge during predetermined time periods 304in fig. 2); and
identify the state of the at least one cell, based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate (target/second SOC step S604-605; fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tsenter by having identify the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell and the discharge rate of the at least one cell, based on the first difference converted in units of the specified duration and the second difference converted in units of the specified duration; and identify the state of the at least one cell, based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate as taught by NISHIGAKI in order to provide some teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art that would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention as evidenced by "A state-of-charge estimation device includes a transition estimation unit, when a transition from a charge mode to a discharge mode starts, which starts current integration by use of a measured current and obtains a second state of charge by use of a first state of charge at the start of the transition and a current integration value" (abstract of NISHIGAKI).
Regarding claim 14, Tsenter teaches in figure(s) 1-13 the method of claim 13,
Tsenter does not teach explicitly further comprising:
identifying the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell and the discharge rate of the at least one cell, based on the first difference converted in units of the specified duration and the second difference converted in units of the specified duration; and
identifying the state of the at least one cell, based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate.
However, NISHIGAKI teaches in figure(s) 1-6 further comprising: identifying the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell (abs. - a transition estimation unit, when a transition from a charge mode to a discharge mode starts, which starts current integration by use of a measured current) and the discharge rate of the at least one cell (para. 60 - The discharge rate may be obtained by use of a predetermined time period, a current integration value obtained for the predetermined time period, and a full capacity of the battery 2), based on the first difference converted in units of the specified duration and the second difference converted in units of the specified duration (∆SOC for discharge during predetermined time periods 304in fig. 2); and
identifying the state of the at least one cell, based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate (target/second SOC step S604-605; fig. 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tsenter by having identifying the amount of discharge current of the at least one cell and the discharge rate of the at least one cell, based on the first difference converted in units of the specified duration and the second difference converted in units of the specified duration; and identifying the state of the at least one cell, based on the amount of discharge current and the discharge rate as taught by NISHIGAKI in order to provide "A state-of-charge estimation device includes a transition estimation unit, when a transition from a charge mode to a discharge mode starts, which starts current integration by use of a measured current and obtains a second state of charge by use of a first state of charge at the start of the transition and a current integration value" (abstract of NISHIGAKI).
Claim(s) 7 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsenter in view of Sakakibara et al. (US 20050017686).
Regarding claim(s) 7 and 17, Tsenter teaches in figure(s) 1-13
the device of claim 5, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors to: and
the method of claim 15, further comprising:, respectively.
Tsenter does not teach explicitly identify/ing a risk of the at least one cell, based on that the state of the at least one cell is an abnormal state;
Identify/ing that the risk is a first level, based on that one of the first statistical value or the second statistical value is out of the specified range obtained by the first statistical value and the second statistical value; and
Identify/ing that the risk is a second level higher than the first level, based on that the first statistical value and the second statistical value are out of the specified range.
However, Sakakibara teaches in figure(s) 1-22
Identify/ing a risk of the at least one cell, based on that the state of the at least one cell is an abnormal state (128; figs. 7,9);
Identify/ing that the risk is a first level (124; fig. 7), based on that one of the first statistical value or the second statistical value is out of the specified range obtained by the first statistical value and the second statistical value; and
Identify/ing that the risk is a second level (128) higher than the first level, based on that the first statistical value and the second statistical value are out of the specified range.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tsenter by having identify a risk of the at least one cell, based on that the state of the at least one cell is an abnormal state; identify that the risk is a first level, based on that one of the first statistical value or the second statistical value is out of the specified range obtained by the first statistical value and the second statistical value; and identify that the risk is a second level higher than the first level, based on that the first statistical value and the second statistical value are out of the specified range as taught by Sakakibara in order to provide combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results as evidenced by "the degree of degradation is estimated" (para. 183 of Sakakibara).
Claim(s) 8 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsenter in view of NISHIOKA et al. (US 20220111757).
Regarding claim(s) 8 and 18, Tsenter teaches in figure(s) 1-13
the device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors to: and
the method of claim 11, further comprising:, respectively.
Tsenter does not teach explicitly Identify/ing a third time point when the battery is ignition (lg) on;
Identify/ing a fifth time point for which a specified duration elapses from a fourth time point at which the battery is lg off; and
Identify/ing a driven time for which the battery is driven, based on the third time point and the fifth time point.
However, NISHIOKA teaches in figure(s) 1-4
Identify/ing a third time point when the battery is ignition (lg) on;
Identify/ing a fifth time point for which a specified duration elapses from a fourth time point at which the battery is lg off (para. 24 - voltage instruction value of the DC-to-DC converter 33, based on vehicle information (ignition ON/OFF state; fig. 1); and
Identify/ing a driven time for which the battery is driven, based on the third time point and the fifth time point (time between ignition on/off).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tsenter by having identify a third time point when the battery is ignition (lg) on; identify a fifth time point for which a specified duration elapses from a fourth time point at which the battery is lg off; and identify a driven time for which the battery is driven, based on the third time point and the fifth time point as taught by NISHIOKA in order to provide "diagnostic discharge is performed again during a period in which the current requested by the in-vehicle device does not exceed the discharge current. Therefore, it is possible to improve diagnostic accuracy of the battery" (para. 7 of NISHIOKA).
Claim(s) 9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsenter in view of Aoyama et al. (US 20200247268).
Regarding claim(s) 9 and 19, Tsenter teaches in figure(s) 1-13
the device of claim 1, wherein the instructions further enable the one or more processors to: and
the method of claim 11, further comprising:, respectively.
Tsenter does not teach explicitly display/ing a screen indicating the state of the at least one cell on a display included in one of or both of the battery diagnostic device and a portable device; or
Cause/ing an external electronic device to display the state of the at least one cell, based on transmitting information indicating the state of the at least one cell to the external electronic device through a communication circuit.
However, Aoyama teaches in figure(s) 1-4
Display/ing a screen indicating the state of the at least one cell on a display included in one of or both of the battery diagnostic device (para. 20 - display 60 arranged to a place visible from a driver such as an instrument panel or the like as a present full-charge capacity, or used for charge-discharge control; 60 fig. 1) and a portable device; or
Cause/ing an external electronic device to display the state of the at least one cell, based on transmitting information indicating the state of the at least one cell to the external electronic device through a communication circuit.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Tsenter by having display a screen indicating the state of the at least one cell on a display included in one of or both of the battery diagnostic device and a portable device; or cause an external electronic device to display the state of the at least one cell, based on transmitting information indicating the state of the at least one cell to the external electronic device through a communication circuit as taught by Aoyama in order to provide "visible from a driver such as an instrument panel" (para. 20 of Aoyama).
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
See the List of References cited in the US PT0-892.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AKM ZAKARIA whose telephone number is (571)270-0664. The examiner can normally be reached on 8-5 PM (PST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Judy Nguyen can be reached on (571) 272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/AKM ZAKARIA/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858