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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. DE102023122410.7 or EP23192609.8, filed on 8/22/23.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/16/24. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dixon et al. (US 20240103083, hereinafter Dixon), and further in view of Applicant Admitted Prior Art (hereinafter AAPA).
Regarding to claim 1, Dixon discloses a battery simulator (title and paragraph 0029) comprising:
a first electrical circuit having a first cell voltage (fig. 2 shows circuit with first cell voltage 100[1]), dropping across a first subsection of the first electrical circuit, for simulating the electrical voltage of a first battery cell (fig. 1-2 and paragraph 0029 shows and discloses the voltage at output 108);
a controller to regulate the first cell voltage, the first cell voltage being connected to a local circuit ground (fig. 1 and paragraph 022 shows and discloses control 120 couple to voltage regulator 112); and
a second cell voltage regulated by the controller and dropping across a second subsection of the first electrical circuit (fig. 2 shows second cell voltage 100[2] regulated by adjustable voltage regulator 2), the second cell voltage being connected to the same local circuit ground to simulate an electrical voltage of a second battery cell (fig. 2 and paragraph 006 shows virtual grounding and which may replicate the multiple output voltages provided by a multi-cell battery),
wherein the second cell voltage is connected in series to the first cell voltage such that the local circuit ground forms a pole of the first cell voltage and the second cell voltage (fig. 2 shows second cell voltage connected in series with first cell voltage with respected to virtual grounding).
Fig. 2 of Dixon shows multiple duplication of circuit in fig.1; and
Fig. 1 of the instant application discloses a prior art of a battery simulator included a first electrical circuit having a first cell voltage dropping across a first subsection of the first electrical circuit, for simulating the electrical voltage of a first battery cell (Uz1) and controller 22 to regulate the first cell voltage, the first cell voltage being connected to a local circuit ground.
Therefore, by incorporate Fig. 1 of the instant application into fig. 2 of Dixon would form a battery simulation as claimed.
Therefore, At the time before the effective filing date, it would be obvious to a POSITA to incorporate AAPA to Dixon in order to calculate a target specification for the respective cell voltage.
Regarding to claim 3, Dixon in view of AAPA discloses the battery simulator according to claim 1, further comprising a second electrical circuit (fig. 2 of Dixon shows a second electrical circuit corresponded to output 100[3]), which is designed substantially identical to the first electrical circuit, to provide a third cell voltage for simulating the electrical voltage of a third battery cell (fig. 2 output 100[3]) and a fourth cell voltage (fig. 2 output 100[4]) for simulating the electrical voltage of a fourth battery cell, the second electrical circuit being electrically connected to the first electrical circuit such that the first cell voltage, the second cell voltage, the third cell voltage, and the fourth cell voltage are connected in series (fig. 2 of Dixon shows these circuits connected in series) .
Regarding to claim 4, Dixon in view of AAPA discloses the battery simulator according to claim 1, wherein the controller comprises control electronics, the control electronics comprising:
a digital isolator;
a microcontroller;
a digital-to-analog converter;
an analog-to-digital converter;
a differential amplifier, and
an auxiliary voltage supply to provide an operating voltage for the control electronics (fig.1, paragraph 0004-5, 0010 of APAP discloses the first circuit comprising a digital isolator; a microcontroller; a digital-to-analog converter; an analog-to-digital converter; a differential amplifier, and an auxiliary voltage supply to provide an operating voltage for the control electronics and fig 2 of Dixon shows isolator, paragraph 0032-34 of Dixon discloses processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 3 is 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:
Regarding to claim 3, Dixon in view of AAPA discloses the battery simulator according to claim 1, wherein the first electrical circuit comprises:
a voltage source (fig.1[2] AAPA and fig.2 of Dixon shows a voltage source for each battery cell) arranged to apply a supply voltage to the first electrical circuit for operating the electrical components of the first electrical circuit;
a first voltage regulator (fig.1[6] AAPA and fig. 2 of Dixon shows the second voltage regulator), which is supplied by the supply voltage and which is arranged to apply the first cell voltage to the first subsection and to regulate it to a first setpoint value;
a second voltage regulator (fig. 2 of Dixon shows the second voltage regulator),
wherein the controller (fig.1[2] AAPA disclose control electronic 22 and fig.2 of Dixon shows user control 120) is set up to specify the first setpoint value to the first voltage regulator such that the first setpoint value is the same as a target specification for the electrical voltage of the first battery cell and to specify the second setpoint value to the second voltage regulator such that the second setpoint value is the same as the negative value of a target specification for the electrical voltage of the second battery cell.
However, the prior arts of record, alone or in combination do not teach or suggest “an inverse converter, which is supplied by the supply voltage and which is connected in parallel to the first voltage regulator; and a second voltage regulator, which is supplied by the output voltage of the inverse converter and which is arranged and designed to apply the second cell voltage to the second subsection and to regulate it to a second setpoint value” including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SON T LE whose telephone number is (571)270-5818. The examiner can normally be reached M to F, 7AM - 4PM.
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/SON T LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2863