DETAILED ACTION
The office action is in response to original application filed on 2-5-25. Claims 1-10 are pending in the application and have been examined.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted filed before the mailing of a first Office action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97(b) (3). Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-10 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 1-10 recites “precharge” it should be “pre-charge”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1, 3 and 5-8, the phrase " in a case" renders the claim(s) indefinite because phrase is a hypothetical. There is no method step that states "charging the battery, thereby rendering the scope of the claim(s) unascertainable. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claims 2, 4 and 9-10 are also indefinite by dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by US 2021/0036643 to Wang et al. (“Wang”).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a precharge control method for an electric vehicle including (figs. 1-3): a battery ((199, para; 0041)) configured to be switched, by switching an internal switch, between a first voltage state (para; 0061), capable of outputting a first voltage (series) and a second voltage state capable of outputting a second voltage higher than the first voltage (para; 0061); and a capacitor (para; 0062, When switch 376 is closed and switches 374 and 378 are open, the battery 199 is operating in a second voltage operating state and may provide about seven hundred volts to the inverter 256. A capacitor 380 is connected between terminals 304 and 308 to store charge), the precharge control method comprising: in a case of charging the battery at the second voltage, precharging the capacitor under a condition of the battery in the first voltage state set by switching the internal switch (As shown in FIG. 3, the switches 374, 376, 378 are arranged so that the batteries 370 and 372 operate in parallel in the first voltage operating state and operate in series in a second voltage operating state).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses after the precharging of the capacitor under the condition of the battery in the first voltage state, precharging the capacitor under a condition of the battery in the second voltage state set by switching the internal switch (paras; 0060-60062).
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses determining, in a case where a voltage of the capacitor becomes a voltage equivalent to the first voltage (para; 0067, A voltage sensor 411 measures the DC bus voltage 410 between the battery 199 and the inverter module 256 (e.g., between the high and low sides 304 and 308) and the voltage at the capacitor 380), that the precharging of the capacitor under the condition of the battery in the first voltage state is completed to perform the precharging of the capacitor under the condition of the battery in the second voltage state (paras; 0062, 0067 and 0077).
Regarding claim 4, Wang discloses after a predetermined time (para; 0077, where Tdw is the dwell time, C is the capacitance value of capacitor 380, Vst2 is the voltage corresponding to the second voltage operating state, Vstl is the voltage corresponding to the first voltage operating state) elapses from the determining, the precharging of the capacitor under the condition of the battery in the second voltage state is performed (para; 0062, second voltage operating state and may provide about seven hundred volts to the inverter 256. A capacitor 380 is connected between terminals 304 and 308 to store charge).
Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses determining, in a case where the voltage of the capacitor becomes a voltage equivalent to the second voltage, that the precharging of the capacitor under the condition of the battery in the second voltage state is completed, and ending a precharge control for the electric vehicle (para; 0067, A voltage sensor 411 measures the DC bus voltage 410 between the battery 199 and the inverter module 256 (e.g., between the high and low sides 304 and 308) and the voltage at the capacitor 380).
Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses the battery is configured to be switched between n stages having different outputable voltages by switching the internal switch, in which n is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and in a case of charging the battery at an n-th voltage, the internal switch is switched to set the battery to a stepwise higher voltage state to precharge the capacitor (para; 0061).
Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses a battery including a plurality of power storages, and an internal switch configured to switch a connection state of the plurality of power storages to switch between a first voltage state capable of outputting a first voltage and a second voltage state capable of outputting a second voltage (As shown in FIG. 3, the switches 374, 376, 378 are arranged so that the batteries 370 and 372 operate in parallel in the first voltage operating state and operate in series in a second voltage operating state) higher than the first voltage (para; 0061); a three-phase motor (para; 0053, then-phase AC power to (e.g., a, b, and c, or u, v, and w) n stator windings of the electric motor 198) in which coils of three phases are connected at a neutral point, the three-phase motor being driven by electric power supplied from the battery; an inverter (inverter module 256) connected on an electric power transmission path between the battery and the three-phase motor (fig. 1); a DC power supply circuit connected to a first connection portion positioned on an electric power transmission path between the inverter and the battery (motor speed, a direct current (DC) bus voltage for an electric motor of the vehicle); a capacitor (380) disposed between the first connection portion and the inverter; and a controller (motor control module 196) configured to control the internal switch, wherein the controller is configured, in a case of charging the battery at the second voltage, to perform a first precharge process of precharging the capacitor under a condition of the battery set to the first voltage state (As shown in FIG. 3, the switches 374, 376, 378 are arranged so that the batteries 370 and 372 operate in parallel in the first voltage operating state and operate in series in a second voltage operating state).
Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses the controller is configured, in a case of charging the battery at the second voltage, to perform the first precharge process, and after the first precharge process, perform a second precharge process of switching the internal switch to set the battery to the second voltage state and precharging the capacitor (As shown in FIG. 3, the switches 374, 376, 378 are arranged so that the batteries 370 and 372 operate in parallel in the first voltage operating state and operate in series in a second voltage operating state).
Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses a main switch provided between the first connection portion and the plurality of power storages; and a precharge resistor and a precharge switch which are provided in parallel with the main switch (para; 0054, As an example, a filter including one or more capacitors and resistors may be electrically connected in parallel with the inverter module 256 and the battery 199) and are connected in series, wherein the controller is configuring to, in the first precharge process, turn off the main switch and turns on the precharge switch.
Regarding claim 10, Wang discloses the controller is configured to, when switching from the first precharge process to the second precharge process, switch the internal switch under a condition where the precharge switch is on (As shown in FIG. 3, the switches 374, 376, 378 are arranged so that the batteries 370 and 372 operate in parallel in the first voltage operating state and operate in series in a second voltage operating state).
Conclusion
Mitani et al. US 2022/0311334 Al- A power supply circuit sets a precharge current flowing through a first load device and a precharge current flowing through a second load device during charging to a first allowable current or less, thereafter sets the precharge current flowing through the first load device to the first allowable current or less, sets the precharge current flowing through the second load device to the second allowable current or less, and sets a maximum value of the precharge current flowing through the second load device to be larger than the first allowable current.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ESAYAS G YESHAW whose telephone number is (571)270-1959. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Sat 9AM-7PM.
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/ESAYAS G YESHAW/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/DANIEL CAVALLARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836