DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 1 recites the limitation, “comparing the first statistical value and the second statistical value to detect an abnormally deteriorated cell”, as drafted, is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers a mental step. Furthermore, the act of comparing or judging the two values can be performed in the mind. Thus, the claim recites a mental process.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. In particular, the claim additional recites, “obtaining a first statistical value representing a capacity deviation at a first time point for the plurality of cells and obtaining a second statistical value representing a capacity deviation at a second time point for the plurality of cells”, however these steps amount to a mere data gather step, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity, and does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Therefore, the claim is patent ineligible because it directed to an abstract idea.
Dependent claims 2-12 fail to incorporate anything significantly more than the abstract idea. The claims recite additional steps of further calculation and/or data manipulation, which are considered part of the expanded abstract idea of claim 1 above, and do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Thus, the dependent claims 2-12 are also patent ineligible.
Claims 13-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claim 13 recites the limitation of “comparing the first statistical value and the second statistical value to detect an abnormally deteriorated cell”. The comparing limitation, as drafted is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of a generic computer component. That is, other than reciting “a control device”, nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being performed in the mind.
The claim additionally recites, “the control device configured to obtain a first statistical value representing a capacity deviation at a first time point for the plurality of cells and obtain a second statistical value representing a capacity deviation at a second time point for the plurality of cells”. The control device, however, is recited at a high level of generality (i.e. as a general means for gathering data), and it amounts to a mere data gathering, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity. Accordingly, the additional element does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore, the claim is patent ineligible because it directed to an abstract idea.
Claim 14 recites the limitation of “calculate a first sigma of each of the plurality of cells using the initial capacity value of each of the plurality of cells and an average value and a standard deviation of the initial capacity values of the plurality of cells; and use the first sigma calculated for each of the plurality of cells as the first statistical value, and the initial capacity value corresponds to a formation capacity of each cell”. The limitation, as drafted is a process that, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation in the mind but for the recitation of a generic computer component. That is, other than reciting “a control device”, nothing in the claim element precludes the step from practically being performed in the mind.
The claim additionally recites, “a storage device that stores an initial capacity value of the plurality of cells”. Similar to the previously recited control device, the storage unit is also recited at a high level of generality (i.e. as a means to store the collected data), and it also amounts to no more than a mere data gathering, which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity. Accordingly, the additional element(s) does/do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it does not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea. Therefore, claim 14 is also patent ineligible because it directed to an abstract idea.
Dependent claims 15-20 fail to incorporate anything significantly more than the abstract idea. The claims recite additional steps of further calculation and/or data manipulation, which are considered part of the expanded abstract idea of claim 1 above, and do not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application. Thus, the dependent claims 2-12 are also patent ineligible.
Conclusion
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MINH Q. PHAN
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2852
/MINH Q PHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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