DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed on 1/15/2025 has been fully considered.
Priority
The priority claim to 17/538,228 filed on 11/30/2021 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luke (US 20130090795 A1) in view of Singhal (US 20200254898 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Luke teaches a removable module (taught by paragraph 37 “The electrical energy storage devices 118 may, for instance, be sized to physically fit, and electrically power, personal transportation vehicles, such as all-electric scooters or motorbikes 100, and may be portable to allow easy replacement or exchange”) comprising:
a multipurpose connector (122a and 122b “a number of electrical terminals” taught in figure 1) configured to: connect the removable module to a motor when the removable module is attached to a vehicle (taught by paragraph 40 “In particular, Fig. 2 shows an embodiment which employs the electrical energy storage device 118 to supply power to the traction electric motor 116”), and connect the removable module to electric vehicle supply equipment when the removable module is detached from the vehicle (taught by paragraph 38 “allowing a charge to be delivered to the electrical energy storage device 118 for charging or recharging the same”); and
dual-purpose circuitry (120 “control circuit” taught by figure 1) configured to: receive electric power from the electric vehicle supply equipment when the multipurpose connector connects the removable module to the electric vehicle supply equipment (taught by paragraph 38 “allowing a charge to be delivered to the electrical energy storage device 118 for charging or recharging the same”), and output electric energy to the motor when the multipurpose connector connects the removable module to the motor (taught by paragraph 40 “In particular, Fig. 2 shows an embodiment which employs the electrical energy storage device 118 to supply power to the traction electric motor 116”).
However, the dual-purpose circuitry of Luke is not taught as part of the removable module (see figure 1).
Singhal teaches wherein the dual purpose circuitry is part of the removeable module (taught by paragraph 236 "Each individual battery module has a circuit board with three outward facing electrical connectors; one electrical connector is for discharging the module for powering the electric motor, a second electrical connector is used for charging the module and a third electrical connector is used for providing visible health indicator lights on the module itself").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the circuitry of Luke so that the dual-purpose circuitry is incorporated in the removable module as taught by Singhal, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification because the circuitry being incorporated on each removable module enables charging to be managed when the module is removed from the motor vehicle.
Regarding claim 2, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 1, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke also teaches combinational circuitry configured to: output an auxiliary voltage to an auxiliary load when the combinational circuitry converts DC current into the auxiliary voltage (taught by paragraph 43 “the first DC/DC power converter 206a may step up a voltage of electrical power from the electrical energy storage device 118 to a level sufficient to drive the traction electric motor 116”).
Regarding claim 3, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 2, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke also teaches wherein the dual-purpose circuitry is configured to convert the electric power into the DC current (taught by paragraph 43 “the first DC/DC power converter 206a may step up a voltage of electrical power from the electrical energy storage device 118 to a level sufficient to drive the traction electric motor 116”).
Regarding claim 4, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 2, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke also teaches wherein the combinational circuitry is configured to output DC energy to an energy storage device when the combinational circuitry converts the DC current into the DC energy (taught by paragraph 47 “the second DC/DC power converter 206d may step down a voltage of the electrical power generated by the traction electric motor 116 to a level suitable for the electrical energy storage device 118” ).
Regarding claim 5, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 4, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke also teaches wherein the dual-purpose circuitry is configured to convert a DC voltage into the electric energy when the dual-purpose circuitry receives the DC voltage from the energy storage device (taught by paragraph 44 “the control circuit 120 may include a DC/AC power converter 206b, commonly referred to as an inverter, that, in the drive mode or configuration, couples the electrical energy storage device 118 to supply power, via the first DC/DC power converter 206a, to the traction electric motor 116”).
Regarding claim 6, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 5, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke also teaches wherein the energy storage device is configured to store the DC energy as the DC voltage (taught by paragraph 38 “the electrical terminals 122 allow a charge to be delivered from the electrical storage device 118”).
Regarding claim 7, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 5, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke also teaches wherein the combinational circuitry is configured to output the auxiliary voltage to the auxiliary load when the combinational circuitry converts the DC voltage into the DC energy (taught by paragraph 43 “The first DC/DC power converter 206a may step up a voltage of electrical power from the electrical energy storage device 118 to a level sufficient to drive the traction electric motor 116”).
Claim(s) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Luke (US 20130090795 A1) in view of Singhal (US 20200254898 A1) and in further view of Graßl (US 20210387536 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Luke in view of Singhal teaches the removable module according to claim 1, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
However, Luke does not teach sensing circuitry configured to: detect that the removable module is connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment when the multipurpose connector connects the removable module to the electric vehicle supply equipment.
Graßl teaches sensing circuitry configured to: detect that the removable module is connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment when the multipurpose connector connects the removable module to the electric vehicle supply equipment (27 "sensor" taught in figure 2 and paragraph 34 "at least one sensor 27 and/or at least one device for voltage or current measurement can be used to monitor the temperature of the charging module 10 or alternatively of its electronics 22, input voltages and/or currents, output voltages and/or currents, frequencies of an alternating input current and the like, and to control or alternatively regulate the output voltage or alternatively the charging current as a function of these operating parameters").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have incorporated the sensor of Graßl into the control circuit of Luke, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this incorporation because by detecting whether or not the removable module is connected to the electric vehicle supply equipment, the removable module can inform the user as to whether or not it is charging.
Regarding claim 9, Luke in view of Singhal and in further view of Graßl teaches the removable module according to claim 8, as set forth in the obviousness rejection above.
Luke does not teach wherein the sensing circuitry is configured to detect that the removable module is connected to the motor when the multipurpose connector connects the removable module to the motor.
Graßl teaches wherein the sensing circuitry is configured to detect that the removable module is connected to the motor when the multipurpose connector connects the removable module to the motor (27 "a housing sensor" taught by figure 2, paragraph 20 "a respective housing sensor, wherein the control device is configured to detect by means of the housing sensor whether the respective charging module is reported in the housing, and, as a function thereof, to adjust the output voltage and/or the charging current and/or a further operating parameter of the charging module. The housing sensor can be formed, for example, by a sensing device or by two contact surfaces which become conductively connected by the housing," and paragraph 40 "It is therefore possible that the sensor 27 or one of the sensors 27 is a housing sensor 27, for example, a pressure sensing device or the like, by means of which it is detected when the charging module 10 is installed in the housing 2").
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have incorporated the housing sensor of Graßl into the control circuit of Luke, with a reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this incorporation because by detecting whether or not the removable module is connected to the motor, the removable module can inform the user as to whether or not the vehicle is receiving power.
Conclusion
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/NICHOLAS R. KANDAS/Examiner, Art Unit 3613
/JAMES A SHRIVER II/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3613
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