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 .
Status of Claims
This Office action is in response to the amendments filed on April 22, 2026. Claims 1-2 and 6-7 are currently pending, with Claims 1-2 being amended, Claims 3-5 being canceled, and Claims 6-7 being newly added.
Response to Amendments
In response to Applicant’s amendments, filed April 22, 2026, the Examiner withdraws the previous claim objections, withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 112(f) claim interpretation, withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 101 rejections, and withdraws the previous 35 U.S.C. 102 rejections.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed April 22, 2026, with respect to the rejections of Claims 1-5 under Uchida, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection of Claims 1-2 and 6-7 is made in view of Hashimoto, in view of Lee, Ozawa, and Shinohara.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Publication No. 2025/0167331 A1, to Hashimoto, et al (hereinafter referred to as Hashimoto; newly of record), in view of U.S. Patent Publication No. 2025/0121733 A1, to Lee (hereinafter referred to as Lee; newly of record).
As per Claim 1, Hashimoto discloses the features of a battery replacement system comprising (e.g. Paragraph [0005]; where the degradation of the battery is determined, indicating a sooner replacement time):
an electrified vehicle (e.g. Paragraphs [0025]-[0026]; where the electric vehicle (3) includes a battery pack (40)) including
a first processor (e.g. Paragraphs [0026], [0030]; where the vehicle control unit (30) is a vehicle ECU (electronic control unit), which controls the entire vehicle, and receives information from the battery control unit (46)) and
a motor-generator (e.g. Paragraphs [0025]-[0026]; where the electric vehicle (3) includes a battery pack (40), and a motor (34) as a power source)
a battery to be mounted on the electrified vehicle (e.g. Paragraphs [0025]-[0026]; where the electric vehicle (3) includes a battery pack (40)) and ‘…’
the battery including a second processor (e.g. Paragraph [0045]; where the battery management unit (46) includes a battery control unit (46), which can be constituted by a microcontroller and anon-volatile memory); and
a server (e.g. Paragraph [0061]; where the battery control system (1) may be built on a cloud server) configured to
store vehicle characteristic information indicating a characteristic of the electrified vehicle during traveling of the electrified vehicle in association with battery identification information, battery characteristic information indicating a characteristic of the battery, and vehicle identification information of the electrified vehicle (e.g. Paragraphs [0055], [0062]; Figure 3; where the battery control system (1) may store a charge degradation characteristic map, battery temperatures and SOC received from the battery control unit (46), the position information of the vehicle (3), speed information, or the user’s operation information), wherein
the battery characteristic information includes a first output current value and an upper- limit battery temperature, the first output current value indicating an upper-limit current outputtable from the battery (e.g. Paragraphs [0036], [0059]-[0060], [0084]; where the battery control unit (46) can set an upper limit current value of the current supplied from the inverter (35) to the motor (36), and the information to the vehicle control unit (3), which can transmit the data to the battery temperature control system (1), the second processor is configured to:
transmit, to the first processor, first battery information including the first output current value (e.g. Paragraphs [0036], [0059]-[0060], [0084]; where the battery control unit (46) can set an upper limit current value of the current supplied from the inverter (35) to the motor (36), and the information to the vehicle control unit (3), which can transmit the data to the battery temperature control system (1); and
send, to the server, information indicating battery temperature during traveling of the electrified vehicle while the first processor controls the electrified vehicle by controlling the motor-generator based on the first battery information (e.g. Paragraphs [0037], [0084], [0087]; Figure 7; where the vehicle control unit (30) to controls the first switch (SW 1) to place it in an on state and electrically connect the battery pack (40) and power system of the electric vehicle (3), and controls the upper limit current of the inverter (35) during driving, and the vehicle control unit (30) can transmit, to the battery temperature control system (1) battery temperatures and SOC data received from the battery control unit (46) in real time), the server is configured to:
store the information indicating the battery temperature as the vehicle characteristic information (e.g. Paragraphs [0055], [0062]; Figure 3; where the battery control system (1) may store a charge degradation characteristic map, battery temperatures and SOC received from the battery control unit (46), the position information of the vehicle (3), speed information, or the user’s operation information); and
send the vehicle characteristic information to the second processor (e.g. Paragraphs [0062]-[0063], [0083]-[0084]; where the set value notification unit (118) of the processing unit (11) of the battery temperature control system (1) transmits to the vehicle control unit (30) the set value for output suppression, and temperature adjustment, which transmits these values to the battery control unit (46)), the second processor is further configured to:
determine whether the battery temperature is higher than the upper-limit battery temperature (e.g. Paragraphs [0050], [0054], [0059]; where the battery control unit (46) can set an upper limit current value of the current supplied from the inverter (35) to the motor (36), and receives measurements of voltages, temperatures, and current of multiple cells of the battery, and manages the states of the cells based on the detection of an abnormality (i.e., higher than a threshold upper-limit)); and
in response to determining that the battery temperature is higher than the upper- limit battery temperature, transmit second battery information indicating a second output current value to the first processor, the second output current value being smaller than the first output current value, and the first processor is configured to control the electrified vehicle by controlling the motor-generator based on the second battery information (e.g. Paragraph [0054]-[0055], [0059]; where the battery control unit (46) transmits the temperatures detected by the temperature sensors in the battery module (41) to the vehicle control unit (30) to change the upper limit current value to limit the output current of the motor (35)).
Hashimoto fails to disclose every feature of a battery to be mounted on the electrified vehicle configured to be replaceable from the electrified vehicle.
However, Lee, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches an electrified vehicle, where replaceable batteries may be provided for a vehicle for swapping batteries (e.g. Paragraphs [0006], [0010]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the battery temperature control system of Hashimoto, with the feature of using swappable batteries in the system of Lee, in order to reduce problems associated with travel distance range for the vehicle (see at least Paragraph [0006] of Lee).
As per Claim 2, Hashimoto, in view of Lee, teaches the features of Claim 1, and Hashimoto further teaches the features of wherein the electrified vehicle further includes a display device (e.g. Paragraph [0034]; where a user-operated terminal device (39) may be provided with a display and may be fixed to the electric vehicle (3), such as included in a car navigation system).
Hashimoto fails to disclose every feature of the first processor is configured to display the second battery information on the display device in a case where the second processor transmits the second battery information to the first processor.
However, Lee, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches an electrified vehicle, where the first battery controller (132) may notify the vehicle integrated controller (150) of the battery information in a displayed message based on upper limit data of each battery (e.g. Paragraphs [0053], [0081]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to modify the battery temperature control system of Hashimoto, with the feature of using swappable batteries in the system of Lee, in order to notify a user of the situation of the battery (see at least Paragraph [0081] of Lee).
Claims 6-7 are rejected as being unpatentable over Hashimoto, in view of Lee, as applied to Claim 1 above, further in view of Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020112858 A, to Ozawa, et al (hereinafter referred to as Ozawa; newly of record), and further in view of Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020162236 A, to Shinohara, et al (hereinafter referred to as Shinohara; newly of record).
As per Claim 6, Hashimoto, in view of Lee, teaches the features of Claim 1, but the combination of Hashimoto, in view of Lee, fails to teach every feature of wherein the electrified vehicle further includes a power control unit (PCU), the vehicle characteristic information further includes information indicating a PCU temperature of the PCU during traveling of the electrified vehicle, and the second processor is further configured to: send, to the server, information indicating the PCU temperature during traveling of the electrified vehicle while the first processor controls the electrified vehicle by controlling the motor-generator based on the first battery information; determine whether the PCU temperature is higher than an upper-limit PCU temperature; and in response to determining that the PCU temperature is higher than the upper-limit PCU temperature, transmit second battery information indicating a second output current value to the first processor, the second output current value being smaller than the first output current value.
However, Ozawa, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches the features of wherein the electrified vehicle further includes a power control unit (PCU).
Ozawa teaches a method for determining battery deterioration, where the vehicle (1) includes a power control unit (22) (e.g. Paragraph [0022]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the battery temperature control system of Hashimoto, in view of Lee, with the feature of using a power control unit in the vehicle in the system of Ozawa, in order to determine the operating characteristics of the vehicle (see at least Paragraph [0009] of Ozawa).
Ozawa further teaches the features of the vehicle characteristic information further includes information indicating a PCU temperature of the PCU during traveling of the electrified vehicle.
Ozawa teaches a method for determining battery deterioration, where the ECU (100) includes a PCU temperature sensor (120), and a PCU current sensor (122) (e.g. Paragraph [0035]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the battery temperature control system of Hashimoto, in view of Lee, with the feature of determining temperatures of a power control unit in the vehicle in the system of Ozawa, in order to transmit a signal to the ECU to determine the number of times the temperature has caused the vehicle to demagnetize (see at least Paragraph [0060] of Ozawa).
Ozawa further teaches the features of the second processor is further configured to: send, to the server, information indicating the PCU temperature during traveling of the electrified vehicle while the first processor controls the electrified vehicle by controlling the motor-generator based on the first battery information.
Ozawa teaches a method for determining battery deterioration, where the PCU temperature sensor (120) detects the temperature of the PCU (220), and transmits a signal indicating the detected temperature to the ECU (100), which transmits information to the management server (10) (e.g. Paragraphs [0037], [0062]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the battery temperature control system of Hashimoto, in view of Lee, with the feature of transmitting the data to a server in the system of Ozawa, in order to maintain history records of the PCU (see at least Paragraph [0066] of Ozawa).
Shinohara, in a similar field of endeavor, further teaches the features of determine whether the PCU temperature is higher than an upper-limit PCU temperature; and in response to determining that the PCU temperature is higher than the upper-limit PCU temperature, transmit second battery information indicating a second output current value to the first processor, the second output current value being smaller than the first output current value.
Shinohara teaches a control device for cooling a PCU of a vehicle, where the temperature of the PCU and the motor generator rises during operation of the vehicle, and when it is determined when the colling water supplied to the PCU exceeds the upper allowable limit, the temperature (TH) of the PCU is suppressed to its allowable upper limit, and sends the information of the temperature to the ECU, such that the such that the power input from the PCU to the motor generator or the current applied is limited and the PCU is protected (e.g. Paragraphs [0009]-[0010], [0012], [0036], [0042]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art on or before the effective filing date of the Applicant’s invention, with a reasonable expectation for success, to further modify the battery temperature control system of Hashimoto, in view of Lee and Ozawa, transmitting the information indicating the high temperatures in the system of Shinohara, in order to protect the PCU from overheating (see at least Paragraph [0014] of Shinohara).
As per Claim 7, Hashimoto, in view of Lee, Ozawa, and Shinohara, teaches the features of Claim 6, and Hashimoto further teaches the features of wherein the second processor is further configured to transmit, to the server during traveling of the electrified vehicle, vehicle characteristic data including measurement data of at least one of output power of the battery, voltage, current, or a battery power remaining amount (e.g. Paragraphs [0037], [0045], [0054]-[0055]; where the battery management unit further transmits the voltage, current, and temperature measured in the battery control unit (46) to the vehicle control unit (30), which transmits the information to the battery temperature control system (1)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Kim, et al (U.S. 2024/0116398 A1), which teaches a method for derating battery output limit value based on battery temperatures of an electric vehicle.
Shuto, et al (U.S. 2025/0392149 A1), which teaches a power controller for a vehicle, which sets a power limit value for limiting the output of the power for each of the plurality of batteries.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MERRITT LEVY whose telephone number is (571)270-5595. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 0630-1600.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Flynn can be reached at (571) 272-9855. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MERRITT LEVY/Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/KYLE J KINGSLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3663
Prosecution Insights