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 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 (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 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.
Claims 1-5, 10-12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chung et al. (US 2021/0333328 A1).
As to claim 1, Chung et al. discloses in Fig. 1, an EIS measuring device comprising:
an electrical energy storage circuit (SESD 108 as shown in Fig. 1, e.g., capacitor or ultracapacitor as disclosed in para. [0025], [0042]-[0044]);
an electronic circuit coupled to the electrical energy storage circuit and configured to be coupled to a battery whose impedance is intended to be measured by the EIS measuring device (power converter circuit 102 as shown in Fig. 1, bidirectional DC-DC converter 302 with synchronous switches 408A/408B and inductor 406 as shown in Figs. 3-4, coupled to SESD 108 and battery cells 112A-E as disclosed in para. [0024], [0033]-[0037], [0045]-[0050]);
a characterization circuit configured at least to measure an alternative current intended to circulate between the battery and the electronic circuit and to measure a voltage at terminals of the battery (measurement circuit 104 as shown in Fig. 1, which measures alternating current and voltage at battery terminals as disclosed in para. [0066]-[0070], Figs. 9-10, calculating impedance Z = V/I as in para. [0020]-[0022]); and
wherein the electronic circuit is alternately configured in a first mode to pull out electrical energy of the battery and to store the electrical energy from the battery in the electrical energy storage circuit, and in a second mode to pull out stored electrical energy from the electrical energy storage circuit and to re-inject the electrical energy from the electrical energy storage circuit in the battery (bidirectional converter alternates discharge/boost mode to pull from battery (DUT) to store in SESD and charge/buck mode to re-inject from SESD to battery, creating alternating perturbation current for EIS as disclosed in para. [0019]-[0023], [0033]-[0039], [0052]-[0053], Fig. 4).
As to claim 2, Chung et al. discloses in Figs. 3-4, the EIS measuring device of claim 1,
wherein the electronic circuit is configured to circulate, in the first mode, a charge current from the battery to the electrical energy storage circuit, and to circulate, in the second mode, a discharge current from the electrical energy storage circuit to the battery, the charge current and the discharge current together forming the alternative current (circulates charge current from battery to SESD in discharge/boost and discharge current from SESD to battery in charge/buck, forming alternating perturbation as disclosed in para. [0019], [0033]-[0039], Fig. 4).
As to claim 3, Chung et al. discloses in Figs. 7-8, the EIS measuring device of claim 2,
wherein the alternative current corresponds to a modulated signal having a sinusoidal envelope (sinusoidal perturbation as disclosed in para. [0019], [0033], Figs. 7-8).
As to claim 4, Chung et al. discloses in Figs. 9-10, the EIS measuring device of claim 1,
wherein the characterization circuit comprises a calculator configured to calculate an impedance value at a frequency of the alternative current of the battery corresponding to a ratio between a measured voltage at terminals of the battery and a measured current intended to circulate between the battery and the electronic circuit (impedance calculator 906 computing Z = V/I at frequencies as disclosed in para. [0066]-[0070], Figs. 9-10).
As to claim 5, Chung et al. discloses the EIS measuring device of claim 4,
wherein the calculator of the characterization circuit is also configured to determine a state of charge and/or a state of health of the battery from the calculated impedance value of the battery (determines SOC/SOH from impedance as disclosed in para. [0023], [0063]).
As to claim 10, Chung et al. discloses the EIS measuring device of claim 1,
wherein the electrical energy storage circuit comprises at least one capacitor (SESD as capacitor/ultracapacitor as disclosed in para. [0025], [0042]-[0044]).
As to claim 11, Chung et al. discloses in Fig. 5, the EIS measuring device of claim 1,
wherein the characterization circuit comprises a shunt resistor having a first terminal coupled to the electronic circuit and a second terminal configured to be coupled to the battery (shunt resistor 502 with first terminal coupled to power converter 102 and second to battery/DUT as disclosed in para. [0067], Fig. 5).
As to claim 12, Chung et al. discloses the EIS measuring method comprising:
coupling at least one cell of a battery to the EIS measuring device of claim 1 (couples battery cells via multiplexer 110 as disclosed in para. [0024]);
configuring the electronic circuit of the EIS measuring device alternately in the first and second modes (alternates pull/store/re-inject modes as disclosed in para. [0037]-[0039]); and
measuring a current circulating between the at least one cell of the battery and the electronic circuit and measuring the voltage at terminals of the at least one cell of the battery (measures current/voltage as disclosed in para. [0066]-[0070]).
As to claim 13, Chung et al. discloses in Figs. 13-18, the EIS measuring method of claim 12,
wherein: the battery comprises several cells serially connected one to the other (plurality of energy storage devices arranged in series, e.g., 96 cells in series as disclosed in para. [0070], [0024], [0055]-[0056], Figs. 13-18);
the voltage is measured at terminals of the battery (voltage V_DUT measured at terminals of the DUT, where DUT is the entire series-connected battery/stack as disclosed in para. [0055]-[0056], [0066]-[0070]); and
wherein the current circulating between the battery and the electronic circuit corresponds to a current circulating through the several cells (current I_DUT/perturbation current circulates through the series-connected cells of the entire stack/DUT as disclosed in para. [0055]-[0056], [0066]-[0070]).
As to claim 14, Chung et al. discloses in Figs. 13-18, the EIS measuring method of claim 12,
wherein: the battery comprises several cells serially connected one to the other; and the EIS measuring method is applied successively to each cell of the battery (applied successively to each cell in series via multiplexer as disclosed in para. [0024], [0055]-[0056], Figs. 13-18).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9 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.
As to claims 6-9, the prior art alone and in combination doesn’t disclose wherein the electronic circuit comprises: a first transistor and a second transistor coupled one to the other such that a first electrode of the first transistor is coupled to a first electrode of the second transistor, a second electrode of the first transistor being configured to be coupled to a first terminal of the battery and to a first terminal of the electrical energy storage circuit, and a second electrode of the second transistor being configured to be coupled to a second terminal of the electrical energy storage circuit, the first and second electrodes of each of the first and second transistors corresponding either to a source and a drain or to the drain and the source of each of the first transistor and the second transistor; and an inductor having a first terminal coupled to the first electrodes of the first and second transistors, and a second terminal configured to be coupled to a second terminal of the battery, as recited in claim 6-9.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUNG X NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1967. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30am-6:30pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Judy Nguyen can be reached at 571-272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TUNG X NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858 1/10/2026