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 § 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 1-5, 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kamohara (JP 2018170821).
Regarding claim 1 Kamohara teaches a backup power supply system (see 91) comprising:
a first port configured to be connected to a power supply (node connected to 91);
a second port configured to be connected to a load (node connection to 94);
a charging circuit configured to charge a power storage unit such that a charging voltage which is a voltage of the power storage unit has a set value with power input from the power supply through the first port (see 3A);
an output circuit configured to supply power to the load from the power storage unit through the second port during a failure state in which the power supply has failure (see 3B);
a deterioration detector configured to detect a deterioration state of the power storage unit (see 13); and
a controller configured to control the set value depending on a detection result of the deterioration detector (see 11).
Regarding Claim 2 Kamohara teaches wherein the controller is configured to control the set value of the charging voltage to increase the set value of the charging voltage as deterioration of the power storage unit is advanced (see Fig. 3 and 4).
Regarding Claim 3 Kamohara teaches wherein the deterioration detector is configured to determine whether a deterioration state of the power storage unit is in either a first deterioration stage in which a level of the deterioration state is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold or a second deterioration stage in which a level of the deterioration state exceeds the predetermined threshold, and the controller is configured to control the set value of the charging voltage to cause the set value of the charging voltage in the second deterioration stage to be higher than the set value of the charging voltage in the first deterioration stage (see para 0040, Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4 Kamohara teaches, wherein the deterioration detector is configured to compare the deterioration state of the power storage unit with a plurality of thresholds so as to determine that the deterioration state is one of three or more deterioration stages, and the controller is configured to control the set value of the charging voltage to cause the set value of the charging voltage in the one of the three or more deterioration stages to be lower than the set value of the charging voltage in another deterioration stage out of the three or more deterioration stages in which deterioration is more advanced than in the one of the three or more deterioration stages (see Fig. 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 5 Kamohara teaches wherein the controller is configured to control the set value of the charging voltage according to a detection result of the deterioration detector to allow the set value of the charging voltage to supply, to the load, power required for the load to perform a predetermined operation (see flowchart Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 8 Kamohara teaches wherein the power storage unit includes an electrical double layer capacitor (see para 0018).
Regarding claim 9 Kamohara teaches a method for controlling a backup power supply system, comprising: providing a backup power supply system including a first port connected to a power supply, a second port connected to a load, a charging circuit configured to charge a power storage unit such that a charging voltage which is a voltage of the power storage unit has a set value with power input from the power supply through the first port, and an output circuit configured to supply power to the load from the power storage unit through the second port during a failure state in which the power supply has a failure; detecting a deterioration state of a power storage unit; and controlling the set value according to a detection result of the deterioration state of the power storage unit (please see the rejection of claim 1).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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.
Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamohara in view of Kazumi (JP2020182317)
Regarding claim 6 Kamohara teaches wherein the power supply and the load are configured to be mounted to a vehicle (see ABS), and the backup power supply system further comprises a discharging circuit configured to discharge the power storage unit in response to a discharge instruction input from the controller (see 3B),
Yet Kamohara does not disclose the controller is configured to output the discharge instruction to the discharging circuit upon receiving stop information indicating that the vehicle is stopped.
However, Kazumi in the same filed teaches the controller is configured to output the discharge instruction to the discharging circuit upon receiving stop information indicating that the vehicle is stopped (see the power supply control unit 22 monitors the on / off of the ignition signal SG-IG to determine whether or not the engine or the like of the own vehicle has started and the alternator 12 is in a state of generating power, and the engine or the like of the own vehicle has stopped. Then, it becomes possible to identify whether or not the power generation of the alternator 12 has stopped.)
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 Kamohara with the teachings of Kazumi having the controller is configured to output the discharge instruction to the discharging circuit upon receiving stop information indicating that the vehicle is stopped in order to remove residual electrical energy, preventing electric shock risks for maintenance workers, and stops lingering voltage stresses from damaging electronic inverters.
Regarding claim 7, the combination teaches wherein the controller is configured to control, according to the stop information and the deterioration state of the power storage unit, a discharging amount discharged from the power storage unit through the discharging circuit (see Fig. 3).
Conclusion
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/ELIM ORTIZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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