NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION
This non-final office action addresses U.S. Application No. 18/893,439, which is a broadening reissue application of U.S. Application No. 14/939,152 (hereinafter the “152 Application"), entitled ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND BATTERY CHARE/DISCHARGE CONTROL METHOD THEREOF, which issued as U.S. Patent No. 9,853,476 (hereinafter the “476 Patent") on December 26, 2017.
The status of the claims is as follows:
Claims 28-37 are pending and examined herein.
Claims 28-37 are rejected.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. STATUS OF CLAIMS 3
II. PRIORITY 3
III. OBJECTION TO SPECIFICATION AMENDMENTS 4
IV. REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §251 4
IV.A. Recapture Rejections 4
V. REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §112 15
V.A. Indefiniteness Rejections 15
V.B. Written Description Rejection – generate… 18
V.C. New Matter Rejection – generate… 21
VI. OBJCTION TO REISSUE OATH/DECLARATION 23
VII. ADDITIONAL REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §251 24
VII.A. Rejections Based on Defective Oath/Declaration 24
VII.B. Rejections Based on New Matter 25
VIII. CLAIM INTERPRETATION 25
IX. COMPACT PROSECUTION 26
X.CLAIM REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §102 27
X.A. Anticipation Rejections Applying Das 27
XI. CLAIM REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §103 37
XI.A. Obviousness Rejections Applying Life Cycle and Das 38
XI.B. Obviousness Rejections Applying Das and Davis 52
XII. PRIOR OR CONCURRENT PROCEEDINGS 53
XIII. INFORMATION MATERIAL TO PATENTABILITY 54
XIV. CONCLUSION 54
I. STATUS OF CLAIMS
The 476 Patent issued with claims 1-27.
Applicant filed a preliminary amendment on September 23, 2024 (hereinafter the "2024 Preliminary Amendment") along with the filing of the present application. In the 2024 Preliminary Amendment, the specification was amended to change cross-noting information, claims 1-27 were cancelled and new claims 28-37 were added.
Therefore, claims 28-37 are pending and will be examined herein.
II. PRIORITY
Examiners acknowledge the claim that the present reissue application is a continuation reissue application of U.S. Application No. 16/686,359, filed November 18, 2019, now abandoned (hereinafter the “359 Reissue Application”). Examiners further acknowledge that the present application and the 359 Reissue Application are both reissues of the 152 Application, now the 476 Patent. Examiners finally acknowledge the Applicant’s claim of foreign priority to KR10-2014-0157840, filed November 13, 2014.
III. OBJECTION TO SPECIFICATION AMENDMENTS
The amendments to the specification provided in the 2024 Preliminary Amendment are objected to because they do not provide sufficient notice of all reissue applications of the 476 Patent. As required in 37 C.F.R. §1.177, “each such application must contain or be amended to contain in the first sentence of the specification a notice stating that more than one reissue application has been filed and identifying each of the reissue applications by relationship, application number and filing date.” The specification amendments do not provide the specific notice or identify U.S. Application No. 17/022,403, which was also filed as a reissue of the 476 Patent. Appropriate correction is required. See MPEP §1451 for proper format of the notice required under this rule.
IV. REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §251
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. §251(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any patent is, through error, deemed wholly or partly inoperative or invalid, by reason of a defective specification or drawing, or by reason of the patentee claiming more or less than he had a right to claim in the patent, the Director shall, on the surrender of such patent and the payment of the fee required by law, reissue the patent for the invention disclosed in the original patent, and in accordance with a new and amended application, for the unexpired part of the term of the original patent. No new matter shall be introduced into the application for reissue.
IV.A. Recapture Rejections
Claims 28, 30-34, 36 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §251 as being an improper recapture of broadened claimed subject matter surrendered in the application for the patent upon which the present reissue is based. See Greenliant Systems, Inc. et al v. Xicor LLC, 692 F.3d 1261, 103 USPQ2d 1951 (Fed. Cir. 2012); In re Shahram Mostafazadeh and Joseph O. Smith, 643 F.3d 1353, 98 USPQ2d 1639 (Fed. Cir. 2011); North American Container, Inc. v. Plastipak Packaging, Inc., 415 F.3d 1335, 75 USPQ2d 1545 (Fed. Cir. 2005); Pannu v. Storz Instruments Inc., 258 F.3d 1366, 59 USPQ2d 1597 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Hester Industries, Inc. v. Stein, Inc., 142 F.3d 1472, 46 USPQ2d 1641 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Clement, 131 F.3d 1464, 45 USPQ2d 1161 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Ball Corp. v. United States, 729 F.2d 1429, 1436, 221 USPQ 289, 295 (Fed. Cir. 1984). A broadening aspect is present in the reissue which was not present in the application for patent. The record of the application, which includes the patent family’s entire prosecution history, for the patent shows that the broadening aspect (in the reissue) relates to claimed subject matter that applicant previously surrendered during the prosecution of the application, specifically a parent application. Accordingly, the narrow scope of the claims in the patent was not an error within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. §251, and the broader scope of claim subject matter surrendered in the application for the patent cannot be recaptured by the filing of the present reissue application.
Below are the pertinent Examiners’ findings of fact relevant to this rejection:
11/12/2015 The 152 Application was filed and contained original claims 1-29. Of these claims, original claims 1 and 12 were independent apparatus claims and original claims 16 and 26 were independent method claims.
04/17/2017 The original examiner issued an Office action (hereinafter the “2017 NF Action”). Therein, the original examiner rejected original claims 1, 12, 16 and 26 over prior art.
07/10/2017 Applicant filed an amendment (hereinafter the “2017 Amendment”) in response to the 2017 NF Action. In the 2017 Amendment, Applicant amended original claims 1, 12, 16 and 26 as follows:
1. (Currently Amended) An electronic device comprising:
a rechargeable battery; and
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the battery,
wherein the at least one processor generates usage pattern information of the battery based on a charge/discharge state of the battery and configures charge/discharge information of the battery based on the generated usage pattern information, and
a non-transitory memory that stores the generated usage pattern information,
wherein the at least one processor analyzes a battery consumption amount under one or more operating conditions of the electronic device in which at least one application is being executed on the electronic device and generates the usage pattern information of the battery associated with the execution of the at least one application.
12. (Currently Amended) An electronic device comprising:
a rechargeable battery;
a display module including hardware that displays a charge/discharge mode of the battery;
an input device that receives an input for configuring the displayed charge/discharge mode of the battery; and
at least one processor,
wherein in response to receiving a fully charged/discharged configuration mode input at a time the electronic device sets a charge/discharge mode of the battery, the at least one processor executes at least one among an operation of configuring a charge voltage of the battery to be a fully charged voltage or an operation of configuring a power-off voltage of the battery to be a fully discharged voltage.
16. (Currently Amended) A method for controlling charge/discharge of a battery of an electronic device, the method comprising:
generating, by at least one processor of an electronic device, usage pattern information of the battery based on a charge/discharge state of the battery, and
configuring charge/discharge information of the battery based on the usage pattern information,
wherein the generating the usage pattern information comprises:
analyzing a battery consumption amount of at least one application being executed on the electronic device and generating the usage pattern information of the battery based on execution of the at least one application.
26. (Currently Amended) A method for controlling charge/discharge of a battery, comprising:
receiving, by an electronic device, an input for configuring a charge/discharge mode of the battery; and
configuring, by the electronic device, ,
wherein the configuring the charge/discharge information of the battery further comprises:
in response to receiving a user configuration mode input in the operation of receiving the input, configuring the charge/discharge information of the batter y using battery configuration information obtained from a user.
In the 2017 Amendment, Applicant also added the following independent claims:
30. (New) An electronic device comprising:
a rechargeable battery; and
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the battery,
wherein the at least one processor generates usage pattern information of the battery based on a charge/discharge state of the battery and location of the electronic device and configures charge/discharge information of the battery based on the generated usage pattern information, and
a non-transitory memory that stores the generated usage pattern information.
31. (NEW) A method for controlling charge/discharge of a battery of an electronic device, the method comprising:
generating, by at least one processor of an electronic device, usage pattern information of the battery based on a charge/discharge state of the battery and location of the electronic device, and
configuring charge/discharge information of the battery based on the usage pattern information.
Furthermore, in the remarks portion of the 2017 Amendment, Applicant stated that claims 1 and 12 incorporated the limitations of claims indicated as allowable by the Examiner. See 2017 Amendment page 8. Furthermore, Applicant explicitly stated therein that “one area that the charge/discharge information is not described to be based on in Lu is location.” See 2017 Amendment page 9.
07/27/2017 The original examiner issued a Notice of Allowability allowing all pending original claims.
11/27/2017 The original examiner issued a Corrected Notice of Allowability in response to a quick path information disclosure statement filing on November 15, 2017.
12/26/2017 The 152 Application issued as the 476 Patent. Original claims 1, 12, 16, 26, 30 and 31 were renumbered as Patent Claims 1, 11, 14, 23, 26 and 27, respectively.
Based on the above finding of fact, Examiners herein determine the following surrender-generating limitations (i.e., limitations that were presented, argued or stated to make the claims patentable and thus generate surrender of the claimed subject matter):
SGL(1) “the at least one processor analyzes a battery consumption amount under one or more operating conditions of the electronic device in which at least one application is being executed on the electronic device and generates the usage pattern information of the battery associated with the execution of the at least one application" as recited in apparatus Patent Claims 1-10. These features related to the usage pattern be based on the execution of at least one application were added in the 2017 Amendment following an art rejection and in response to the indication of allowability by the original examiner.
SGL(2) “in response to receiving a fully charged/discharged configuration mode input at a time the electronic device sets a charge/discharge mode of the battery, the at least one processor executes at least one among an operation of configuring a charge voltage of the battery to be a fully charged voltage or an operation of configuring a power-off voltage of the battery to be a fully discharged voltage” as recited in apparatus Patent Claims 11-13. These features related to the operations of the fully charged voltage or the fully discharged voltage in response to an input was added in the 2017 Amendment following an art rejections and in response to the indication of allowability by the original examiner.
SGL(3) “analyzing a battery consumption amount of at least one application being executed on the electronic device and generating the usage pattern information of the battery based on execution of the at least one application” as recited in method Patent Claims 14-22. These features related to the usage pattern be based on the execution of at least one application were added in the 2017 Amendment following an art rejection and in response to the indication of allowability by the original examiner.
SGL(4) “in response to receiving a user configuration mode input in the operation of receiving the input, configuring the charge/discharge information of the battery using battery configuration information obtained from a user” as recited in method Patent Claims 23-25. These features related to the operations of the fully charged voltage or the fully discharged voltage in response to an input was added in the 2017 Amendment following an art rejections and in response to the indication of allowability by the original examiner.
SGL(5) “the at least one processor generates usage pattern information of the battery based on a charge/discharge state of the battery and location of the electronic device and configures charge/discharge information of the battery based on the generated usage pattern information” as recited in apparatus Patent Claim 26. These features related to the generation of the usage pattern based on “location” was added as a claim in the 2017 Amendment following an art rejections. Furthermore, Applicant specifically argued patentability on the basis of the location in the 2017 Amendment.
SGL(6) “generating, by at least one processor of an electronic device, usage pattern information of the battery based on a charge/discharge state of the battery and location of the electronic device” as recited in method Patent Claim 27. These features related to the generation of the usage pattern based on “location” was added as a claim in the 2017 Amendment following an art rejections. Furthermore, Applicant specifically argued patentability on the basis of the location in the 2017 Amendment.
A reissue will not be granted to "recapture" claimed subject matter which was surrendered in an application to obtain the original patent. See MPEP §1412.20. A three step process is used to apply the recapture rule:
“(1) first, we determine whether, and in what respect, the reissue claims are broader in scope than the original patent claims;
(2) next, we determine whether the broader aspects of the reissue claims relate to subject matter surrendered in the original prosecution; and
(3) finally, we determine whether the reissue claims were materially narrowed in other respects, so that the claims may not have been enlarged, and hence avoid the recapture rule.” See MPEP §1412.02(I).
IV.A.1. Recapture in Apparatus Claims 28, 30-34 and 37
Regarding step 1, upon review of apparatus pending and examined claims 28, 30-34 and 37 of the present reissue application in comparison to apparatus Patent Claims 1-13 and 26 of the 476 Patent, Examiners find that Applicant through the 2024 Preliminary Amendment has broadened the scope of Patent Claims 1-13 and 26 by not including any of SGL(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5) related to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating usage pattern associated with location of the device.
Regarding step 2, Examiners find that the broader aspects of pending and examined claims 28, 30-34 and 37 are directly related to SLG(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5) because these claims no longer have any of the requirements of these limitations, particularly in regard to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating usage pattern associated with location of the device. Thus, the deletion of these features from the patent claims to arrive at pending and examined claims 28, 30-34 and 37 was directly related to the surrendered subject matter SGL(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5) above.
Regarding step 3, Examiners determined that the claims have not been materially narrowed in other respects to overcome the broadening aspect to avoid recapture. If surrendered subject matter has been entirely eliminated from a claim present in the reissue application, then a recapture rejection under 35 U.S.C. §251 is proper and must be made for that claim. See MPEP §1412.02 (I)(C). Stated another way, if a claim limitation present in the original patent that was added to overcome a rejection or that was argued by applicant to distinguish over the prior art is entirely eliminated from a claim in the reissue application, then a recapture rejection under 35 U.S.C. §251 is proper and must be made for that claim. See Id. Following a review of pending and examined claims 28, 30-34 and 37, Examiners find that these claims have not been materially narrowed in other aspects related to SGL(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5), rather Examiners find that the features recited in SGL(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5) have been entirely removed from claims 28, 30-34 and 37. Thus, claims 28, 30-34 and 37 have not been narrowed in any respects related to the omitted subject matter in SGL(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5).
In view of the forgoing, Examiners find Applicant has presented claims 28, 30-34 and 37 which have specifically removed the features of SGL(1), SGL(2) and SGL(5), i.e., those related to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating usage pattern associated with location of the device, which were surrendered during the prosecution of the original application, the 152 Application. Accordingly, Examiners conclude the Applicant’s failure to include the features of SGL(1), SGL (2) and SGL(5) is improper recapture in pending and examined claims 28, 30-34 and 37 herein.
Examiners do note that claim 29 recites generating a third usage pattern based on location and thus encompasses SGL(4) and further that claim 35 recites receiving an input to fully charge the battery and thus encompasses SGL(2) and thus both claims include surrendered subject matter and are not subject to a recapture rejection.
IV.A.2. Recapture in Method Claim 36
Regarding step 1, upon review of method pending and examined claim 36 of the present reissue application in comparison to method Patent Claims 14-25 and 27 of the 476 Patent, Examiners find that Applicant through the 2024 Preliminary Amendment has broadened the scope of Patent Claims 14-25 and 27 by not including the portions of SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6) related to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating usage pattern associated with location of the device.
Regarding step 2, Examiners find that the broader aspects of pending and examined claim 36 are directly related to SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6) because this claim no longer has any requirement related to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating a usage pattern associated with location of the device. Thus, the deletions of these features from Patent Claims 14-25 and 27 of the 476 Patent to arrive at pending and examined claim 36 was directly related to the surrendered subject matter SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6) above.
Regarding step 3, Examiners determined that the claims have not been materially narrowed in other respects to overcome the broadening aspect to avoid recapture. If surrendered subject matter has been entirely eliminated from a claim present in the reissue application, then a recapture rejection under 35 U.S.C. 251 is proper and must be made for that claim. See MPEP §1412.02 (I)(C). Stated another way, if a claim limitation present in the original patent that was added to overcome a rejection or that was argued by applicant to distinguish over the prior art is entirely eliminated from a claim in the reissue application, then a recapture rejection under 35 U.S.C. §251 is proper and must be made for that claim. See Id. Following a review of pending and examined claim 36, Examiners find that this claim has not been materially narrowed in other aspects related to SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6), rather Examiners find that the features related to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating usage pattern associated with location of the device have been completely removed from these claims. Thus, pending and examined claim 36 has not been narrowed in any respects related to the omitted subject matter in SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6).
In view of the forgoing, Examiners find Applicant has presented claim 36 which has specifically removed the features of SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6), i.e., those related to the generation of the usage pattern associated with the execution of at least one application, charging related to the fully charged/discharge mode selection and generating usage pattern associated with location of the device, which were surrendered during the prosecution of the original application, the 152 Application. Accordingly, Examiners conclude the Applicant’s failure to include the features of SGL(3), SGL(4) and SGL(6) is improper recapture in method pending and examined claim 36.
V. REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. §112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
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.
V.A. Indefiniteness Rejections
Claims 28-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
For example, each of claims 28-37 recites:
generate usage pattern information of the battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day
As recited above, Examiners find the claim requires a processor to “generate” usage pattern information based on several types of usage pattern information. However, Examiners find that usage pattern information is not defined in the specification of the 476 Patent nor is the nature of this information disclosed or discussed. Rather this phrase is merely repeated throughout the specification. Furthermore, since this usage pattern information is based on two other types of usage pattern information, i.e., the first usage pattern information and the second usage pattern information (maintaining connection during first time of day and consuming power during a second time of day), Examiners find this implies the creation or generation of something different from this other information or a combination thereof. This something different is not disclosed or discussed in the 476 Patent.
Furthermore, Examiners find the specification of the 476 Patent simply repeats the claim language that this undefined usage pattern information is “generated” without disclosing of discussing the steps necessary to generate such information. For example, the 476 Patent states “the electronic device 201 may set the charge voltage 620 of the battery 296 using the usage pattern information generated on the basis of the time information.” See 476 Patent col. 20, lines 53-55. What does it mean to “generate” this usage pattern information and what is its structure or nature? Thus, Examiners find this generate step is unclear as to the nature of the usage pattern information and further find the step is unclear as to how this usage pattern information is generated based on this other information, even when read on light of the specification. The claim provides no guidance as to how the charge/discharge state and time information are combined to generate such usage pattern information.
In view of the forgoing, Examiners are unable to determine the scope of the claim. Specifically, what are the Examiners supposed to find in the prior art? Examiners find that U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0184163 et al. to Das et al. (hereinafter “Das”) monitors time information and previous connection to construct a charge strategy that uses a faster charge speed during day and a slower charge speed at night. Thus, Das discloses using information to determine to determine a usage profile to develop a charge strategy. However, without knowing the nature of the Applicant’s “usage pattern” information or how it is “generated” based on the two types of other usage pattern information, Examiners are unable to determine whether this prior art would be applicable to reject the claim. In view of the forgoing, Examiners are unable to determine the scope of the generating step of claims 28-37 and thus Examiners conclude the claims are indefinite.
V.B. Written Description Rejection – generate…
Claims 28-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claims contain subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. While this rejection identifies the same limitation as in the indefiniteness rejection above, it relates to a different issue with respect to the limitation.
Each of claims 28-37 recites:
generate usage pattern information of the battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day
Based on this recitation, Examiners find that it is directed to a programming or algorithm aspect of the invention. Specifically, this limitation is directed to taking certain types of information and “generating” usage pattern information using some formula, algorithm, or other function. Thus, Examiners determine herein that this limitation is a computer-implemented type of functional limitation. However, Examiners are unable to find a disclosure or written description of the algorithm or programming for performing this generating step and the nature of the usage pattern information based on the three types of required information.
Claims may lack written description when the claims define the invention in functional language specifying a desired result but the specification does not sufficiently describe how the function is performed or the result is achieved. See MPEP §2161.01(I) and §2163.03(V). For software, this can occur when the algorithm or steps/procedure for performing the computer function are not explained at all or are not explained in sufficient detail (simply restating the function recited in the claim is not necessarily sufficient). See Id. In other words, the algorithm or steps/procedure taken to perform the function must be described with sufficient detail so that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand how the inventor intended the function to be performed. See Id.
As cited above, col. 5, lines 40-44 of the 476 Patent discloses:
According to various embodiments, when the battery charge/discharge mode is set to an automatic configuration mode, the processor 120 may be configured to generate usage pattern information of the battery that is based on the charge/discharge state of the battery.
As further cited above, col. 5, lines 3-7 of the 476 Patent discloses
The processor 120 may generate the usage pattern information of the battery based on, for example, at least one type of information from among time information and location information.
Based on these findings, Examiners find that at most the 476 Patent merely repeats the function recited in this claim limitation, i.e., “generating the usage pattern information.” However, other than simply repeat this “generating,” Examiners are unable to find any algorithm or program that takes in certain information to generate this usage pattern information. Specifically, how are each of the various types of information combined together to allow for such generating in the context of a computer? Examiners find no discussion of how this information is combined to create an overall usage pattern information, or what this usage pattern information is or looks like. At most the 476 Patent merely repeats “generating” generically with no further detail thereof.
Thus, Examiners are unable to determine the scope of the claim limitation and thus are unable to find a written description of any algorithm for “generating.” Specifically, what are the Examiners supposed to find in the prior art with regard to generating? Examiners find that U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0077754 to Carmichael et al. (hereinafter “Carmichael”) monitors activity usage patterns and locations to construct a charge strategy, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0184163 et al. to Das et al. (hereinafter “Das”) monitors time information to construct a charge strategy and further U.S. Patent No. 6,337,560 to Kalogeropoulos et al. (hereinafter “Life Cycle”) considers the number of charge cycles to determine maximum charge voltage. Thus, each of the prior art discloses the various types of information to determine a charge strategy. However, without knowing the nature of the Applicant’s usage pattern information based on various types of data or how it is “generated” based on such information, i.e., what is the algorithm or programming, Examiners are unable to determine what is the meaning of this limitation and further whether this prior art would be applicable to reject the claim.
In view of the forgoing, Examiners find the step of generating the usage pattern information was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor at the time the application was filed had possession of the claimed invention. Accordingly, Examiners conclude the claims lack a clear written description with regard to this feature.
V.C. New Matter Rejection – generate…
Claims 29 and 33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention, and thus is new matter herein.
For example, claim 29 recites:
An electronic device…
generate usage pattern information of the battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day
configure first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charge the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charge the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage
…
generate a third usage pattern information corresponding to a third usage pattern that the electronic device is mainly charged at a first location in which a user of the electronic device resides,
configure a third charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the third usage pattern information, and
when the electronic device is in the first location, charge the rechargeable battery to a third charge voltage based on the third charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and when the electronic device is not in the first location, charge the rechargeable battery to a full charge voltage.
Thus, based on the claim recitations, claim 29 generally requires the electronic device generates 3 sets of usage pattern information and configures 3 charge/discharge information(s). However, Examiners are unable to find a disclosure of a single embodiment generate such 3 usage patterns and 3 charge/discharge informations, rather Examiners find that Applicant is attempting to combine different embodiments which are based on different usage information and perform distinct charging operations to arrive at a combination not contemplated in the specification of the 476 Patent. For example, the 476 Patent specification does not disclose how the charge/discharge information based on location as claimed interacts with the first and second charge/discharge information based on time periods as is now required in the claims and how the battery is charged at certain locations and at certain time. Thus, Examiners are unable to find support for claim 29 and thus conclude claim 29 lacks written description and is new matter in this reissue application.
Examiners further find claim 33 recites generating a fifth usage pattern information based on a days of the week and configuring a fifth charge/discharge information and charging to a sixth charge voltage on the basis thereof. Thus, Examiners find claim 33 generally requires the electronic device generates 3 sets of usage pattern information and configures 3 charge/discharge informations and charging based thereon. Similar to claim 29, Examiners are unable to find a disclosure of a single embodiment generate such 3 usage patterns and 3 charge/discharge informations and charging based thereon, rather Examiners find that Applicant is attempting to combine different embodiments which are based on different usage information and perform distinct charging operations to arrive at a combination not contemplated in the specification of the 476 Patent. For example, the 476 Patent specification does not disclose how the charge/discharge information based on the day of the week as claimed interacts with the first and second charge/discharge information based on time periods as is now required in the claims and how the battery is charged at certain days and at certain time periods. Thus, Examiners are unable to find support for claim 33 and thus conclude claim 33 lacks written description and is new matter in this reissue application.
VI. OBJCTION TO REISSUE OATH/DECLARATION
37 C.F.R. §1.175 Reissue oath or declaration (in part).
(a) The inventor’s oath or declaration for a reissue application, in addition to complying with the requirements of § 1.63, § 1.64, or § 1.67, must also specifically identify at least one error pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 251 being relied upon as the basis for reissue and state that the applicant believes the original patent to be wholly or partly inoperative or invalid by reason of a defective specification or drawing, or by reason of the patentee claiming more or less than the patentee had the right to claim in the patent.
(b) If the reissue application seeks to enlarge the scope of the claims of the patent (a basis for the reissue is the patentee claiming less than the patentee had the right to claim in the patent), the inventor's oath or declaration for a reissue application must identify a claim that the application seeks to broaden. A claim is a broadened claim if the claim is broadened in any respect.
The reissue declaration filed September 13, 2024 (hereinafter the "2024 Reissue Declaration”) is acknowledged. However, Examiners object to the 2024 Reissue Declaration on the basis that Examiners find that it fails to state a proper error in the claims on which to base this reissue.
Examiners recognize in the 2024 Reissue Declaration that Applicant states the following error:
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However, this feature as an error which Applicant has removed from the claims raises the issue of recapture as provided above, particularly related to SGL(5) and SGL(6), which is not a proper basis for reissue.
Thus, Applicant is required to provide a new declaration with a statement of error with respect to 476 Patent identifying the claim Applicant seeks to broaden and further identify an “a single word, phrase, or expression” from this claim and how this error renders the 476 Patent partially or wholly inoperative or invalid.
VII. ADDITIONAL REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §251
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. §251(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any patent is, through error, deemed wholly or partly inoperative or invalid, by reason of a defective specification or drawing, or by reason of the patentee claiming more or less than he had a right to claim in the patent, the Director shall, on the surrender of such patent and the payment of the fee required by law, reissue the patent for the invention disclosed in the original patent, and in accordance with a new and amended application, for the unexpired part of the term of the original patent. No new matter shall be introduced into the application for reissue.
VII.A. Rejections Based on Defective Oath/Declaration
Claims 28-37 and this reissue application as a whole are rejected as being based upon a defective reissue declaration under 35 U.S.C. §251. See also 37 C.F.R. §1.175. The nature of the defects in the 2024 Reissue Declaration is set forth in the discussion above.
VII.B. Rejections Based on New Matter
This reissue application as a whole is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §251 as containing new matter. The nature of the new matter is discussed above as set forth in the discussion of the rejections under 35 U.S.C. §112.
VIII. CLAIM INTERPRETATION
After careful review of the original specification, the prosecution history, and unless expressly noted otherwise by the Examiners, the Examiners find that they are unable to locate any lexicographic definitions (either express or implied) with the required clarity, deliberateness, and precision with regard to pending and examined claims. Because the Examiners are unable to locate any lexicographic definitions with the required clarity, deliberateness, and precision, the Examiners conclude that Applicant is not his own lexicographer for the pending and examined claims. See MPEP §2111.01(IV).
The Examiners further find that because the pending and examined claims herein recite neither “step for” nor “means for” nor any substitute therefore, the examined claims fail Prong (A) as set forth in MPEP §2181(I). Because all examined claims fail Prong (A) as set forth in MPEP §2181(I), the Examiners conclude that all examined claims do not invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f). See also Ex parte Miyazaki, 89 USPQ2d 1207, 1215-16 (B.P.A.I. 2008)(precedential)(where the Board did not invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) because “means for” was not recited and because applicant still possessed an opportunity to amend the claims).
Because of the Examiners’ findings above that Applicant is not his own lexicographer and the pending and examined claims do not invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) the pending and examined claims will be given the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the specification since patentee has an opportunity to amend claims. See MPEP §2111, MPEP §2111.01 and In re Yamamoto et al., 222 USPQ 934 (Fed. Cir. 1984). Under a broadest reasonable interpretation, words of the claim must be given their plain meaning, unless such meaning is inconsistent with the specification. See MPEP §2111.01(I). It is further noted it is improper to import claim limitations from the specification, i.e., a particular embodiment appearing in the written description may not be read into a claim when the claim language is broader than the embodiment. See MPEP §2111.01(II).
IX. COMPACT PROSECUTION
The Examiners find that because claims 28-37 are indefinite under 35 U.S.C. §112(B) as outlined above, it is impossible to properly construe claim scope at this time. See Honeywell International Inc. v. ITC, 68 USPQ2d 1023, 1030 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (“Because the claims are indefinite, the claims, by definition, cannot be construed.”). However, in accordance with MPEP §2173.06 and the USPTO’s policy of trying to advance prosecution by providing art rejections even though the claims are indefinite, the claims are construed and the art is applied as much as practically possible in the following art rejections.
X.CLAIM REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §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.
X.A. Anticipation Rejections Applying Das
Claims 28-30, 36 and 37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0184163 to Ripan Das et al. (hereinafter “Das”).
Regarding claim 28, Das discloses:
28. (New) An electronic device comprising:
See Das FIGS. 2 and 3, reprinted below, and ¶0011 wherein “the electronic device 100 may be embodied as a personal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile telephone, an entertainment device, or another computing device.”
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Das FIG. 2 Das FIG. 3
a rechargeable battery;
See Das ¶0002 wherein “[e]lectronic devices such as, e.g., laptop computers, notebook computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, electronic readers, and the like have one or more batteries that need to be charged periodically.”
at least one processor;
See Das FIG. 2 above, processors 222,224,272.
a power supply circuit; and
See Das FIG. 2 above, charge driver 162.
memory that stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the electronic device to:
See Das FIG. 2 above and ¶0030, memory 240 which “comprise one or more applications which may execute on the one or more processors 222 including one or more location service(s) 160, a charge driver 162, and a user profiler 164, as described above with reference to FIG. 1.”
generate usage pattern information of the battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day,
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0022, reprinted below:
[0022] User profiler 164 may monitor activity usage patterns of the electronic device and construct a user profile of the activity usage patterns. The activity usage profile may be stored in a memory, e.g., memory 130 and/or tile store 180. The activity usage patterns may be sampled regularly as the electronic device 100 is in use such that the user profile is consistently being updated with activity usage patterns. By way of example, in some embodiments the user profiler may monitor applications and/or processes executing on electronic device 100. In some embodiments the user profiler 164 may incorporate location information from the location service(s) 160 into the user profile. In some embodiments the user profiler may monitor user activity over different hours of the day that i.e., at what rate and which applications user is running over the course of the day.
See further ¶0032, reprinted below:
[0032] Operations of the charge driver 162/controller 170 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. As described above, in some embodiments the location service(s) 160 may generate outputs which indicate a location of the electronic device 100, 210. By way of example, in operation 310 the location service(s) 160 may determine location information such as GPS coordinates for the electronic device 100, 210. Also as described above, in some embodiments the user profiler 164 determines a user activity profile for the electronic device 100, 210. In some embodiment user activity may include how often user is launching/running different applications and also time durations and time instant of run time of the application over a day.
Based on the forgoing, Das discloses forming a user profile/usage pattern on the basis of time information and location throughout the day and stores these user profiles in memory.
configure first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charge the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charge the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second
charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage.
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0033and ¶0035 which states:
[0033] Further, in some embodiments one or more charge routines may be stored in a memory of the electronic device 100, 210. By way of example, a manufacturer or distributor of an electronic device 100, 210 may load the memory of electronic device 100, 210 with a plurality of charge routines for a battery coupled to the electronic device 100, 210, The charge routines may include one or more fast-charge routines which charge the battery at a relatively high charge rate and one or more slow charge routines which charge the battery at a relatively low charge rate. The charge routine may also include using higher charging voltage for a plurality of battery types during a fast charging operation or using a reduced charging voltage for a plurality of battery types during a slower charging operation to help battery lifespan. In some embodiments charge routing may include using fast charge rate and higher charging voltage while charging during very active day time and using low charge rate and lower charging voltage while charging during a prolong non-active time/sleep time. Charge routine may be different for different types of battery.
[0035] At operation 330 the charge driver 162 selects and implements a charge routine from the various charge routines stored in a memory of the electronic device 100, 210. In some embodiments the charge driver 162 selects a charge routine based at least in part on the user profile obtained by the charger driver 162, By way of example, if the user profile indicates that the electronic device 110 is in normally in a sleep mode or in a low-activity mode at a particular point in time then the charge driver 162 may select a slow charge routine such that the battery may be charged at a low charge rate or low charging voltage or low charge rate and low charging voltage. By contrast, if the user profile indicates that the electronic device 110 is in normally in an active mode at a particular point in time then the charge driver 162 may select a fast charge routine such that the battery may be charged at a higher rate or a higher charging voltage or both higher charge rate and charge voltage.
Based on the forgoing, Das discloses configuring charge routines based on the usage pattern information. Furthermore, based on the routings the battery is charged at a higher charging voltage and fast charge speed during very active day time and a lower charge voltage and lower charging rate during non-active time/sleep time (night time). See Das ¶0008 wherein ‘[t]he charge driver selects and implements a charge routine based at least in part on the activity usage pattern information and/or the location information.”
Regarding claim 29, Das discloses the device of claim 28 above and further wherein:
29. (New) The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when
executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to:
generate a third usage pattern information corresponding to a third usage pattern
that the electronic device is mainly charged at a first location in which a user of the electronic device resides,
See Das FIG. 3 above, ¶¶0032-0033 and ¶0035 above, wherein the location of the device is used to develop the usage profile/user pattern.
configure a third charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the third usage pattern information, and when the electronic device is in the first location, charge the rechargeable battery to a third charge voltage based on the third charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and when the electronic device is not in the first location, charge the rechargeable battery to a full charge voltage.
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0038 which states:
[0038] Thus, the operations depicted in FIG. 3 enable a controller to implement battery charge management for an electronic device. More particularly, the operations depicted in FIG. 3 enable a user to establish one or more user profiles which may include charge routines that are based in part on location and or usage patterns. For example, low voltage, slow charging rates may be implemented during sleep time at a location determined based on GPS data and clock data. By contrast, faster charging routines which use higher voltages may be used during active periods of time.
Thus, based on location of the device, Das discloses using a higher voltage at some locations while using low voltage, slow charging at sleep time.
Regarding claim 30, Das discloses the device of claim 28 as evidenced above and further wherein
30. (New) The electronic device of claim 28, wherein a speed of charging of the rechargeable battery based on the first configured charge/discharge information is lower than a speed of charging of the rechargeable battery based on the second configured charge/discharge information.
See Das FIG. 3 above, ¶¶0032-0033 and ¶0035 above wherein based on the generated usage profiles/usage patterns, the battery is charged at a higher charging voltage and fast charge speed during very active day time and a lower charge voltage and lower charging rate during non-active time/sleep time (night time).
Regarding claim 36, Das discloses the device of claim 28 as provided above and further discloses the method of:
36. (New) A method for operating an electronic device comprising a
rechargeable battery, at least one processor, and a power supply circuit, the method comprising:
See discussion of claim 28 above wherein Das discloses a rechargeable battery, at least one processor, and a power supply circuit.
generating usage pattern information of the rechargeable battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day,
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0022, reprinted below:
[0022] User profiler 164 may monitor activity usage patterns of the electronic device and construct a user profile of the activity usage patterns. The activity usage profile may be stored in a memory, e.g., memory 130 and/or tile store 180. The activity usage patterns may be sampled regularly as the electronic device 100 is in use such that the user profile is consistently being updated with activity usage patterns. By way of example, in some embodiments the user profiler may monitor applications and/or processes executing on electronic device 100. In some embodiments the user profiler 164 may incorporate location information from the location service(s) 160 into the user profile. In some embodiments the user profiler may monitor user activity over different hours of the day that i.e., at what rate and which applications user is running over the course of the day.
See further ¶0032, reprinted below:
[0032] Operations of the charge driver 162/controller 170 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. As described above, in some embodiments the location service(s) 160 may generate outputs which indicate a location of the electronic device 100, 210. By way of example, in operation 310 the location service(s) 160 may determine location information such as GPS coordinates for the electronic device 100, 210. Also as described above, in some embodiments the user profiler 164 determines a user activity profile for the electronic device 100, 210. In some embodiment user activity may include how often user is launching/running different applications and also time durations and time instant of run time of the application over a day.
Based on the forgoing, Das discloses forming a user profile/usage pattern on the basis of time information and location throughout the day and stores these user profiles in memory.
configuring first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charging the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charging the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage.
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0033and ¶0035 which states:
[0033] Further, in some embodiments one or more charge routines may be stored in a memory of the electronic device 100, 210. By way of example, a manufacturer or distributor of an electronic device 100, 210 may load the memory of electronic device 100, 210 with a plurality of charge routines for a battery coupled to the electronic device 100, 210, The charge routines may include one or more fast-charge routines which charge the battery at a relatively high charge rate and one or more slow charge routines which charge the battery at a relatively low charge rate. The charge routine may also include using higher charging voltage for a plurality of battery types during a fast charging operation or using a reduced charging voltage for a plurality of battery types during a slower charging operation to help battery lifespan. In some embodiments charge routing may include using fast charge rate and higher charging voltage while charging during very active day time and using low charge rate and lower charging voltage while charging during a prolong non-active time/sleep time. Charge routine may be different for different types of battery.
[0035] At operation 330 the charge driver 162 selects and implements a charge routine from the various charge routines stored in a memory of the electronic device 100, 210. In some embodiments the charge driver 162 selects a charge routine based at least in part on the user profile obtained by the charger driver 162, By way of example, if the user profile indicates that the electronic device 110 is in normally in a sleep mode or in a low-activity mode at a particular point in time then the charge driver 162 may select a slow charge routine such that the battery may be charged at a low charge rate or low charging voltage or low charge rate and low charging voltage. By contrast, if the user profile indicates that the electronic device 110 is in normally in an active mode at a particular point in time then the charge driver 162 may select a fast charge routine such that the battery may be charged at a higher rate or a higher charging voltage or both higher charge rate and charge voltage.
Based on the forgoing, Das discloses configuring charge routines based on the usage pattern information. Furthermore, based on the routings the battery is charged at a higher charging voltage and fast charge speed during very active day time and a lower charge voltage and lower charging rate during non-active time/sleep time (night time). See Das ¶0008 wherein ‘[t]he charge driver selects and implements a charge routine based at least in part on the activity usage pattern information and/or the location information.”
Regarding claim 37, Das discloses the device of claim 28 and the method of claim 36 as evidenced above and further a medium:
37. (New) A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by an electronic device comprising a rechargeable battery, at least one processor, and a power supply circuit, cause the electronic device to perform operations comprising:
See Das FIG. 2 above and ¶0030, memory 240 which “comprise one or more applications which may execute on the one or more processors 222 including one or more location service(s) 160, a charge driver 162, and a user profiler 164, as described above with reference to FIG. 1.” See further discussion of claim 28 above wherein Das discloses a rechargeable battery, at least one processor, and a power supply circuit.
generating usage pattern information of the rechargeable battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day,
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0022, reprinted below:
[0022] User profiler 164 may monitor activity usage patterns of the electronic device and construct a user profile of the activity usage patterns. The activity usage profile may be stored in a memory, e.g., memory 130 and/or tile store 180. The activity usage patterns may be sampled regularly as the electronic device 100 is in use such that the user profile is consistently being updated with activity usage patterns. By way of example, in some embodiments the user profiler may monitor applications and/or processes executing on electronic device 100. In some embodiments the user profiler 164 may incorporate location information from the location service(s) 160 into the user profile. In some embodiments the user profiler may monitor user activity over different hours of the day that i.e., at what rate and which applications user is running over the course of the day.
See further ¶0032, reprinted below:
[0032] Operations of the charge driver 162/controller 170 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. As described above, in some embodiments the location service(s) 160 may generate outputs which indicate a location of the electronic device 100, 210. By way of example, in operation 310 the location service(s) 160 may determine location information such as GPS coordinates for the electronic device 100, 210. Also as described above, in some embodiments the user profiler 164 determines a user activity profile for the electronic device 100, 210. In some embodiment user activity may include how often user is launching/running different applications and also time durations and time instant of run time of the application over a day.
Based on the forgoing, Das discloses forming a user profile/usage pattern on the basis of time information and location throughout the day and stores these user profiles in memory.
configuring first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charging the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charging the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage.
See Das FIG. 3 above and ¶0033and ¶0035 which states:
[0033] Further, in some embodiments one or more charge routines may be stored in a memory of the electronic device 100, 210. By way of example, a manufacturer or distributor of an electronic device 100, 210 may load the memory of electronic device 100, 210 with a plurality of charge routines for a battery coupled to the electronic device 100, 210, The charge routines may include one or more fast-charge routines which charge the battery at a relatively high charge rate and one or more slow charge routines which charge the battery at a relatively low charge rate. The charge routine may also include using higher charging voltage for a plurality of battery types during a fast charging operation or using a reduced charging voltage for a plurality of battery types during a slower charging operation to help battery lifespan. In some embodiments charge routing may include using fast charge rate and higher charging voltage while charging during very active day time and using low charge rate and lower charging voltage while charging during a prolong non-active time/sleep time. Charge routine may be different for different types of battery.
[0035] At operation 330 the charge driver 162 selects and implements a charge routine from the various charge routines stored in a memory of the electronic device 100, 210. In some embodiments the charge driver 162 selects a charge routine based at least in part on the user profile obtained by the charger driver 162, By way of example, if the user profile indicates that the electronic device 110 is in normally in a sleep mode or in a low-activity mode at a particular point in time then the charge driver 162 may select a slow charge routine such that the battery may be charged at a low charge rate or low charging voltage or low charge rate and low charging voltage. By contrast, if the user profile indicates that the electronic device 110 is in normally in an active mode at a particular point in time then the charge driver 162 may select a fast charge routine such that the battery may be charged at a higher rate or a higher charging voltage or both higher charge rate and charge voltage.
Based on the forgoing, Das discloses configuring charge routines based on the usage pattern information. Furthermore, based on the routings the battery is charged at a higher charging voltage and fast charge speed during very active day time and a lower charge voltage and lower charging rate during non-active time/sleep time (night time). See Das ¶0008 wherein ‘[t]he charge driver selects and implements a charge routine based at least in part on the activity usage pattern information and/or the location information.”
XI. CLAIM REJECTIONS – 35 U.S.C. §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.
XI.A. Obviousness Rejections Applying Life Cycle and Das
Claims 28-30 and 32-37 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent No. 6,337,560 to Sarandis Kalogeropoulos et al. (hereinafter “Life Cycle”) in view of Das.
Regarding claim 28, Life Cycle discloses:
28. An electronic device comprising:
See Life Cycle Abstract “[a] method and apparatus for extending the cycle life of a battery by using different charge voltages or different current cut-offs to recharge the battery during the course of the battery's life.” Further see col. 10, lines 30-37 wherein “[t]he battery usage database may be maintained in the portable device, or the information may be communicated from the battery to a remotely maintained battery usage database over the communication channel of the device using the battery (e.g., cellular telephone or pager) or via a wired or wireless line of communication connected to the battery and/or battery charger. Thus, Life Cycle discloses an electronic device, i.e., a pager or phone. See further Life Cycle FIG. 8, reprinted below:
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a rechargeable battery;
See above quoted portion of Life Cycle and FIG. 8 wherein the cellular phone or page uses a battery 130.
at least one processor;
See Life Cycle FIG. 8 above and col. 5, lines 7-12, controller 110 and wherein “[t]t will be recognized that in each of the embodiments, the various actions could be performed by specialized circuits (e.g., discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both.”
a power supply circuit; and
See Life Cycle FIG. 8, battery charger circuit 120.
memory that stores instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the electronic device to:
See Life Cycle FIG. 8 above and col. 5, lines 7-12, controller 110 and wherein “[t]t will be recognized that in each of the embodiments, the various actions could be performed by specialized circuits (e.g., discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both.”
generate usage pattern information of the battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day,
See Life Cycle col. 9, lines 36-51:
FIG. 7 depicts a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the choice of the charge voltage of the battery is based upon the usage habits or expected usage needs of the device in which the battery resides. Take, for example, the instance in which a battery is used in a portable device such as a laptop computer or communication device in which the device is used each work day, but is not used on the weekends. The user may recharge the battery each night, but a full charge is required only for Monday through Friday. On the weekends, the expected usage drops sufficiently so that a lesser charge will suffice.
In accordance with the present invention, the cycle life may be increased while optimizing the expected usage needs. This may be achieved by charging the battery to a relatively higher charge voltage during the weekdays or periods of expected high usage when the greatest capacity is required, and then charging to a lower charge voltage on the weekends or periods of expected low usage. For example, for the high expected usage periods of Monday through Friday, the battery is charged each previous night using a charge voltage of 4.2 volts. Then, for the low expected usage periods of Saturday and Sunday, the battery is charged using a charge voltage of 4.0 volts. In this way, the battery has a relatively larger charge capacity during the weekdays when the usage is greatest, and a relatively smaller r charge capacity on the weekends.
See further Life Cycle col. 10, line 25 to col. 11, line 4:
In accordance with another variant of this embodiment, information is collected to develop an empirical model in a battery usage database of the usage patterns for a particular device. For example, usage information may be collected in a battery usage database over a period of time during which a number of charge/discharge cycles are performed. The battery usage database may be maintained in the portable device, or the information may be communicated from the battery to a remotely maintained battery usage database over the communication channel of the device using the battery (e.g., cellular telephone or pager) or via a wired or wireless line of communication connected to the battery and/or battery charger. In this way, an expected usage profile may be developed, allowing the charge voltages to be tailored in order to match the expected usage profile with the charge voltage used in charging the battery at various times. That is, upon recognizing a usage pattern from the collected usage data, a charge voltage adjustment scheme may be developed to match the battery's capacity to the expected usage. The charge voltage adjustment scheme may be developed by accessing a database of usage information, or expected usage profile, and using the information to charge the battery to higher charge voltages during times of expected high usage and low charge voltages during times of low expected usage. Such usage information may be collected over a period of time, or may be entered or estimated by a user, vendor, or other like source of information. The charge voltage adjustment scheme may be downloaded once into the portable device, may be altered from time to time, or may be centrally controlled for those portable devices which communicate readily (e.g., cellular telephones or pagers).
In the example mentioned above, a user has low usage needs on the weekends, and relatively higher usage needs on the weekdays. Consider the following illustrative example in which the user is a sales person who is based in a particular city and travels via automobile each Wednesday to a distant city, returning home the same day. Evaluating the collected usage date and the user's expected usage profile may reveal that the user's battery powered device (e.g., a laptop computer, cellular telephone or GPS unit) requires the most capacity on Wednesday, the user's day of highway travel. Based upon the user's expected usage profile, a periodic charging scheme could be developed such that 4.0 volts was used on the weekends, 4.2 volts on Wednesdays, and 4.1 volts on the remaining days. This would most closely match the user's battery capacity requirements with the expected usage profile, that is, the expected usage needs..
Based on the forgoing, Life Cycle discloses generating usage pattern information based on first usage pattern during periods of high usage and second usage patterns during periods of low usage. However, Life Cycle does not explicitly disclose these time periods being within a day. Nevertheless, as discussed above in the anticipation rejection of Das, Das discloses forming a user profile/usage pattern on the basis of time information and location throughout the day (night/sleep time versus rest of day) and stores these user profiles in memory. Specifically, Das discloses the user profiler may monitor user activity over different hours of the day that i.e., at what rate and which applications user is running over the course of the day. It would have thus been obvious at the time the invention was filed to monitor the use of phone during different times of a single day in Life Cycle as taught by Das. One having ordinary skill in the art would do so because as noted by Life Cycle, its system monitors periods of high usage of low usage, which as recognized in Das occur during the day as well over weekdays. Furthermore, as noted in Das, such a combination provides a charge driver that “is able to implement a context-sensitive charge routine.” See Das ¶0008.
configure first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charge the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charge the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second
charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage.
See Life Cycle as quoted above wherein during high periods of usage the battery is charged to a high voltage of 4.2 volts and at low periods of usage the battery is charged to 4.0 volts. Further noted the combination with Das implies these charge voltages would be used at different times of the day, i.e., at night with low usage, the battery would be charged to the low voltage, i.e., 4.0 volts, and during the high usage during the daytime, the battery would be charged to the high voltage, i.e., 4.2 volts.
Regarding claim 29, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 above and further wherein:
29. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when
executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to:
generate a third usage pattern information corresponding to a third usage pattern
that the electronic device is mainly charged at a first location in which a user of the electronic device resides,
See portion of Life Cycle quoted above, wherein a third usage pattern is monitored based on “the user's day of highway travel” which would require the most capacity of the battery.
configure a third charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the third usage pattern information, and when the electronic device is in the first location, charge the rechargeable battery to a third charge voltage based on the third charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and when the electronic device is not in the first location, charge the rechargeable battery to a full charge voltage.
See portion of Life Cycle quoted above where in a charge strategy is developed such that when the user is away on travel, i.e., not the first locations, the battery is charged full to 4.2 volts.
Regarding claim 30, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 as evidenced above and further wherein
30. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein a speed of charging of the rechargeable battery based on the first configured charge/discharge information is lower than a speed of charging of the rechargeable battery based on the second configured charge/discharge information.
Note combination of Life Cycle and Das provided above. While Life Cycle discloses using different charge voltages at different time periods and locations, it does not disclose different charging speeds. Nevertheless, Das at ¶¶0032-0033 and ¶0035 quoted teaches wherein based on the generated usage profiles/usage patterns, the battery is charged at a higher charging voltage and fast charge speed during very active day time and a lower charge voltage and lower charging rate during non-active time/sleep time (night time). It would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to use different charge rates/speeds for the charging in Life Cycle as taught in Das. One having ordinary skill in the art would do so to help with battery lifespan by tailoring such charge rates/speeds. See Das ¶0033.
Regarding claim 32, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 as provided above and further:
32. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: generate a fourth usage pattern information corresponding to a fourth usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a third time period, configure fourth charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the fourth usage pattern information, and charge the rechargeable battery, during the third time period, to a fourth charge voltage based on the fourth charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, wherein the fourth charge voltage is lower than the second charge voltage and the third time period is after the second time period.
Note combination of Life Cycle and Das provided above. Further note that Life Cycle contemplates three different voltages corresponding to three time periods of usage of the battery, i.e., 4.2 volts for high usage, 4.1 volts for medium usage and 4.0 volts for lower usage. Life Cycle notes an example of such three usage patterns based on days of the week. However, in view of the teachings with Das that such time periods can be within the same day, Examiners find it would have additionally been obvious at the time the invention was filed to have generate a usage pattern based three time periods of different usages of the battery within a single day and provide accordingly three different charge routines during the day based on those usage requirements, i.e., 4.0 volts, 4.1 volts and 4.2 volts. One having ordinary skill in the art would make such a combination as noted in Das to provide a charge driver that “is able to implement a context-sensitive charge routine.” See Das ¶0008.
Regarding claim 33, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 as provided above and further:
33. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when
executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: generate a fifth usage information corresponding to a fifth usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during weekdays and a sixth usage information corresponding to a sixth usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during weekends, configure fifth charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the fifth usage information and sixth charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the sixth usage information, charge the rechargeable battery, during the weekdays, to a fifth charge voltage based on the fifth usage information when the electronic device is connected to the external charger,
charge the rechargeable battery, during the weekends, to a sixth charge voltage based on the sixth usage information when the electronic device is connected to the external charger, wherein the sixth charge voltage is higher than the fifth charge voltage.
Note combination of Life Cycle and Das provided above. Further note that Life Cycle contemplates generating usage pattern information for three different days of the week, i.e., Wednesday, weekends and creating a charge strategy based on the days of the weeks, i.e., 4.2 volts for high usage Wednesdays, 4.1 volts for medium usage regular weekdays and 4.0 volts for low usage weekends.
Regarding claim 34, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 as provided above and further:
34. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: charge the rechargeable battery, during night of Friday, to the first charge voltage, and charge the rechargeable battery, during Saturday, to the second charge voltage.
Note combination of Life Cycle and Das provided above. Further note that Life Cycle contemplates generating usage pattern information for three different days of the week, i.e., Wednesday, weekends and creating a charge strategy based on the days of the weeks, i.e., 4.2 volts for high usage Wednesdays, 4.1 volts for medium usage regular weekdays and 4.0 volts for low usage weekends.
Regarding claim 35, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 as provided above and further:
35. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: display a screen for selecting charging modes of the rechargeable battery, wherein the charging modes of the rechargeable battery includes fully charging mode and automatically charging mode, in response to receiving a user input for selecting the fully charging mode of the rechargeable battery, charge the rechargeable battery to a full charge voltage, and in response to receiving a user input for selecting the automatically charging mode, charge the rechargeable battery based on the usage pattern information.
Note combination of Life Cycle and Das provided above. Further see Life Cycle col. 11, lines 15-26 wherein:
In accordance with a further variant of the present invention, the charge voltage may be controllably set to either a high charge voltage or a low charge voltage by the user. For example, in any of the foregoing embodiments, a user could override the planned charge voltage and set the charge voltage to a value consistent with the user's expected usage. An embodiment was described above in which a sales person makes a weekly out-of-town trip each Wednesday. In accordance with the present variant, if the sales person's trip was delayed to Thursday, she would simply override the prescheduled lower charge voltage for Thursday, and instead manually set the charge voltage to a higher value.
Regarding claim 36, Life Cycle and Das teach the device of claim 28 as provided above and further discloses the method of:
36. A method for operating an electronic device comprising a
rechargeable battery, at least one processor, and a power supply circuit, the method comprising:
See Life Cycle Abstract “[a] method and apparatus for extending the cycle life of a battery by using different charge voltages or different current cut-offs to recharge the battery during the course of the battery's life.” Further see col. 10, lines 30-37 wherein “[t]he battery usage database may be maintained in the portable device, or the information may be communicated from the battery to a remotely maintained battery usage database over the communication channel of the device using the battery (e.g., cellular telephone or pager) or via a wired or wireless line of communication connected to the battery and/or battery charger. Thus, Life Cycle discloses an electronic device, i.e., a pager or phone.
generating usage pattern information of the rechargeable battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day,
See Life Cycle col. 9, lines 36-51:
FIG. 7 depicts a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the choice of the charge voltage of the battery is based upon the usage habits or expected usage needs of the device in which the battery resides. Take, for example, the instance in which a battery is used in a portable device such as a laptop computer or communication device in which the device is used each work day, but is not used on the weekends. The user may recharge the battery each night, but a full charge is required only for Monday through Friday. On the weekends, the expected usage drops sufficiently so that a lesser charge will suffice.
In accordance with the present invention, the cycle life may be increased while optimizing the expected usage needs. This may be achieved by charging the battery to a relatively higher charge voltage during the weekdays or periods of expected high usage when the greatest capacity is required, and then charging to a lower charge voltage on the weekends or periods of expected low usage. For example, for the high expected usage periods of Monday through Friday, the battery is charged each previous night using a charge voltage of 4.2 volts. Then, for the low expected usage periods of Saturday and Sunday, the battery is charged using a charge voltage of 4.0 volts. In this way, the battery has a relatively larger charge capacity during the weekdays when the usage is greatest, and a relatively smaller r charge capacity on the weekends.
See further Life Cycle col. 10, line 25 to col. 11, line 4:
In accordance with another variant of this embodiment, information is collected to develop an empirical model in a battery usage database of the usage patterns for a particular device. For example, usage information may be collected in a battery usage database over a period of time during which a number of charge/discharge cycles are performed. The battery usage database may be maintained in the portable device, or the information may be communicated from the battery to a remotely maintained battery usage database over the communication channel of the device using the battery (e.g., cellular telephone or pager) or via a wired or wireless line of communication connected to the battery and/or battery charger. In this way, an expected usage profile may be developed, allowing the charge voltages to be tailored in order to match the expected usage profile with the charge voltage used in charging the battery at various times. That is, upon recognizing a usage pattern from the collected usage data, a charge voltage adjustment scheme may be developed to match the battery's capacity to the expected usage. The charge voltage adjustment scheme may be developed by accessing a database of usage information, or expected usage profile, and using the information to charge the battery to higher charge voltages during times of expected high usage and low charge voltages during times of low expected usage. Such usage information may be collected over a period of time, or may be entered or estimated by a user, vendor, or other like source of information. The charge voltage adjustment scheme may be downloaded once into the portable device, may be altered from time to time, or may be centrally controlled for those portable devices which communicate readily (e.g., cellular telephones or pagers).
In the example mentioned above, a user has low usage needs on the weekends, and relatively higher usage needs on the weekdays. Consider the following illustrative example in which the user is a sales person who is based in a particular city and travels via automobile each Wednesday to a distant city, returning home the same day. Evaluating the collected usage date and the user's expected usage profile may reveal that the user's battery powered device (e.g., a laptop computer, cellular telephone or GPS unit) requires the most capacity on Wednesday, the user's day of highway travel. Based upon the user's expected usage profile, a periodic charging scheme could be developed such that 4.0 volts was used on the weekends, 4.2 volts on Wednesdays, and 4.1 volts on the remaining days. This would most closely match the user's battery capacity requirements with the expected usage profile, that is, the expected usage needs..
Based on the forgoing, Life Cycle discloses generating usage pattern information based on first usage pattern during periods of high usage and second usage patterns during periods of low usage. However, Life Cycle does not explicitly disclose these time periods being within a day. Nevertheless, as discussed above in the anticipation rejection of Das, Das discloses forming a user profile/usage pattern on the basis of time information and location throughout the day (night/sleep time versus rest of day) and stores these user profiles in memory. Specifically, Das discloses the user profiler may monitor user activity over different hours of the day that i.e., at what rate and which applications user is running over the course of the day. It would have thus been obvious at the time the invention was filed to monitor the use of phone during different times of a single day in Life Cycle as taught by Das. One having ordinary skill in the art would do so because as noted by Life Cycle, its system monitors periods of high usage of low usage, which as recognized in Das occur during the day as well over weekdays. Furthermore, as noted in Das, such a combination provides a charge driver that “is able to implement a context-sensitive charge routine.” See Das ¶0008.
configuring first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charging the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charging the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage.
See Life Cycle as quoted above wherein during high periods of usage the battery is charged to a high voltage of 4.2 volts and at low periods of usage the battery is charged to 4.0 volts. Further noted the combination with Das implies these charge voltages would be used at different times of the day, i.e., at night with low usage, the battery would be charged to the low voltage, i.e., 4.0 volts, and during the high usage during the daytime, the battery would be charged to the high voltage, i.e., 4.2 volts.
Regarding claim 37, Das discloses the device of claim 28 and the method of claim 36 as evidenced above and further a medium:
37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by an electronic device comprising a rechargeable battery, at least one processor, and a power supply circuit, cause the electronic device to perform operations comprising:
See Life Cycle FIG. 8 above and col. 5, lines 7-12, controller 110 and wherein “[t]t will be recognized that in each of the embodiments, the various actions could be performed by specialized circuits (e.g., discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both.”
generating usage pattern information of the rechargeable battery based on time information, wherein the usage pattern information includes a first usage pattern information corresponding to a first usage pattern that the electronic device maintains a connection to an external charger during a first time period of a day and a second usage pattern information corresponding to a second usage pattern that the electronic device consumes power of the rechargeable battery during a second time period of the day,
See Life Cycle col. 9, lines 36-51:
FIG. 7 depicts a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the choice of the charge voltage of the battery is based upon the usage habits or expected usage needs of the device in which the battery resides. Take, for example, the instance in which a battery is used in a portable device such as a laptop computer or communication device in which the device is used each work day, but is not used on the weekends. The user may recharge the battery each night, but a full charge is required only for Monday through Friday. On the weekends, the expected usage drops sufficiently so that a lesser charge will suffice.
In accordance with the present invention, the cycle life may be increased while optimizing the expected usage needs. This may be achieved by charging the battery to a relatively higher charge voltage during the weekdays or periods of expected high usage when the greatest capacity is required, and then charging to a lower charge voltage on the weekends or periods of expected low usage. For example, for the high expected usage periods of Monday through Friday, the battery is charged each previous night using a charge voltage of 4.2 volts. Then, for the low expected usage periods of Saturday and Sunday, the battery is charged using a charge voltage of 4.0 volts. In this way, the battery has a relatively larger charge capacity during the weekdays when the usage is greatest, and a relatively smaller r charge capacity on the weekends.
See further Life Cycle col. 10, line 25 to col. 11, line 4:
In accordance with another variant of this embodiment, information is collected to develop an empirical model in a battery usage database of the usage patterns for a particular device. For example, usage information may be collected in a battery usage database over a period of time during which a number of charge/discharge cycles are performed. The battery usage database may be maintained in the portable device, or the information may be communicated from the battery to a remotely maintained battery usage database over the communication channel of the device using the battery (e.g., cellular telephone or pager) or via a wired or wireless line of communication connected to the battery and/or battery charger. In this way, an expected usage profile may be developed, allowing the charge voltages to be tailored in order to match the expected usage profile with the charge voltage used in charging the battery at various times. That is, upon recognizing a usage pattern from the collected usage data, a charge voltage adjustment scheme may be developed to match the battery's capacity to the expected usage. The charge voltage adjustment scheme may be developed by accessing a database of usage information, or expected usage profile, and using the information to charge the battery to higher charge voltages during times of expected high usage and low charge voltages during times of low expected usage. Such usage information may be collected over a period of time, or may be entered or estimated by a user, vendor, or other like source of information. The charge voltage adjustment scheme may be downloaded once into the portable device, may be altered from time to time, or may be centrally controlled for those portable devices which communicate readily (e.g., cellular telephones or pagers).
In the example mentioned above, a user has low usage needs on the weekends, and relatively higher usage needs on the weekdays. Consider the following illustrative example in which the user is a sales person who is based in a particular city and travels via automobile each Wednesday to a distant city, returning home the same day. Evaluating the collected usage date and the user's expected usage profile may reveal that the user's battery powered device (e.g., a laptop computer, cellular telephone or GPS unit) requires the most capacity on Wednesday, the user's day of highway travel. Based upon the user's expected usage profile, a periodic charging scheme could be developed such that 4.0 volts was used on the weekends, 4.2 volts on Wednesdays, and 4.1 volts on the remaining days. This would most closely match the user's battery capacity requirements with the expected usage profile, that is, the expected usage needs.
Based on the forgoing, Life Cycle discloses generating usage pattern information based on first usage pattern during periods of high usage and second usage patterns during periods of low usage. However, Life Cycle does not explicitly disclose these time periods being within a day. Nevertheless, as discussed above in the anticipation rejection of Das, Das discloses forming a user profile/usage pattern on the basis of time information and location throughout the day (night/sleep time versus rest of day) and stores these user profiles in memory. Specifically, Das discloses the user profiler may monitor user activity over different hours of the day that i.e., at what rate and which applications user is running over the course of the day. It would have thus been obvious at the time the invention was filed to monitor the use of phone during different times of a single day in Life Cycle as taught by Das. One having ordinary skill in the art would do so because as noted by Life Cycle, its system monitors periods of high usage of low usage, which as recognized in Das occur during the day as well over weekdays. Furthermore, as noted in Das, such a combination provides a charge driver that “is able to implement a context-sensitive charge routine.” See Das ¶0008.
configuring first charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the first usage pattern information and second charge/discharge information of the rechargeable battery based on the second usage pattern information,
charging the rechargeable battery, during the first time period, to a first charge voltage based on the first configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, and
charging the rechargeable battery, during the second time period, to a second charge voltage based on the second configured charge/discharge information while the electronic device is connected to the external charger, the second charge voltage being higher than the first charge voltage.
See Life Cycle as quoted above wherein during high periods of usage the battery is charged to a high voltage of 4.2 volts and at low periods of usage the battery is charged to 4.0 volts. Further noted the combination with Das implies these charge voltages would be used at different times of the day, i.e., at night with low usage, the battery would be charged to the low voltage, i.e., 4.0 volts, and during the high usage during the daytime, the battery would be charged to the high voltage, i.e., 4.2 volts.
XI.B. Obviousness Rejections Applying Das and Davis
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as being unpatentable over Das in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0018679 to Roy Davis et al. (hereinafter “Davis”). Regarding this claim, Das teaches using higher charge voltage faster charging routing during the more active times of the day and using lower charge voltage and slower charging routine during nighttime or sleeptime, but not where the active time is during lunch time. Nevertheless, Davis in FIGS. 8 and 9, reprinted below, teaches a method of using fast charge rates at lunch time and slow charge rates at sleeptime at night.
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Davis FIG. 8 Davis FIG. 9
It would have been obvious to identify and charge the battery in the device of Das based on first time period being at night time and the second time period being at lunch as taught in Davis. One having ordinary skill in the art would do so to provide a charging profile that is “most beneficial to battery life,” by using slower charging routines when more charge time is available and using faster charge routines to make the device sooner available. See Davis ¶¶0086-0087.
XII. PRIOR OR CONCURRENT PROCEEDINGS
Applicant is reminded of the obligation apprise the Office of any prior or concurrent proceedings in which the 476 Patent is or was involved, such as interferences or trials before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, reissues, reexaminations, or litigations and the results of such proceedings.
XIII. INFORMATION MATERIAL TO PATENTABILITY
Applicant is further reminded of the continuing obligation under 37 C.F.R. §1.56 to timely apprise the Office of any information which is material to patentability of the claims under consideration in this reissue application.
XIV. CONCLUSION
Claims 28-37 are pending.
Claims 28-37 are rejected.
The prior art made of record which is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure is listed on the document titled ‘Notice of Reference Cited’ (“PTO-892”). Unless expressly noted otherwise by the Examiners, all documents listed on the PTO-892 are cited in their entirety.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to KENNETH WHITTINGTON whose telephone number is (571) 272-2264. The Examiner can normally be reached on 8:30am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Andrew J. Fischer, SPE Art Unit 3992, can be reached at (571) 272-6779. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-9900.
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/KENNETH WHITTINGTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
Conferees:
/MY TRANG TON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3992
/ANDREW J. FISCHER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3992