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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
The rectangular boxes S210, S220, S230, S240, and S250 in Fig. 2 should be provided with descriptive text labels.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, lines 1 and 3, “energy storage system, ESS” should be replaced with --energy storage system (ESS)--.
In claim 4, line 2, “State-of-Charge, SoC” should be replaced with --State-of-Charge (SoC)--.
In claim 6, “direct current internal resistance, DCIR” should be replaced with --direct current internal resistance (DCIR)--.
In claim 8, line 2, “state-of-charge, SoC” should be replaced with --State-of-Charge (SoC)--.
In claim 12, line 1, “energy storage system, ESS” should be replaced with --energy storage system (ESS)--.
In claim 14, lines 1 and 4, “energy storage system, ESS” should be replaced with --energy storage system (ESS)--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 2, 4, 5, and 9-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 2022/0179008).
Regarding claim 1, Lee et al. discloses a device for power path fault detection in an energy storage system (ESS) (see Fig. 2), the device comprising circuitry configured to: obtain, during charging or discharging of an energy storage system (ESS), values for one or more parameters (i.e., voltage) for each energy storage element of a plurality of energy storage elements (elements B1-B4, Fig. 2) of the ESS; determine, for at least one parameter of the one or more parameters, a deviation of the value of the at least one parameter for a first energy storage element of the plurality of energy storage elements from an aggregate function value (i.e., average voltage value) (see pars. [0086-0094]), wherein the aggregate function value is formed based on values of at least one parameter of the one or more parameters for one or more other energy storage elements of the plurality of energy storage elements than the first energy storage element (see pars. [0086-0094]); determine that the deviation is beyond a first threshold value (i.e., reference value) and, in response thereto, detect a power path fault (i.e., connection failure) pertinent to the first energy storage element (see pars. [0086-0094]).
Regarding claim 2, Lee et al. discloses a device, wherein determining the deviation comprises taking into account values for the at least one parameter for the first energy storage element and/or for the one or more energy storage elements for multiple time instances (see pars. [0086-0094]).
Regarding claim 4, Lee et al. discloses a device, wherein the at least one parameter for the first energy storage element comprises voltage (see par. [0086]).
Regarding claim 5, Lee et al. discloses a device, wherein the voltage is one or more of battery cell voltage and battery pack voltage (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 9, Lee et al. discloses a device, wherein the aggregate function comprises an average, of the at least one parameter for the one or more other energy storage elements (see par. [0086]).
Regarding claim 10, Lee et al. discloses a device, wherein the plurality of energy storage elements is a plurality of battery packs, battery cells and/or battery modules (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 11, Lee et al. discloses a device, further configured to, in response to detecting the power path fault, trigger or cause at least one of a disconnection of the first energy storage element and a warning signal issued to an operator of the ESS (see pars. [0055] and [0171]).
Regarding claim 12, Lee et al. discloses an energy storage system (ESS) (see Fig. 2), comprising a plurality of energy storage elements (elements B1-B4, Fig. 2) and the device for detecting a power path fault pertinent to at least one of said energy storage elements (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 13, Lee et al. discloses a vehicle, comprising the energy storage system (ESS) (see par. [0171]).
Regarding claim 14, Lee et al. discloses a computer-implemented method of detecting a power path fault in an energy storage system (ESS), the method comprising: obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system and during charging or discharging of an energy storage system (ESS), values for one or more parameters (i.e., voltage) for each energy storage element of a plurality of energy storage elements (elements B1-B4, Fig. 2) of the ESS; determining, by the processing circuitry and for at least one parameter of the one or more parameters, a deviation of the value of the at least one parameter for a first energy storage element of the plurality of energy storage elements from an aggregate function value (i.e., average voltage value) (see pars. [0086-0094]), comprising forming the aggregate function value based on values of at least one parameter of the one or more parameters for one or more other energy storage elements of the plurality of energy storage elements than the first energy storage element (see pars. [0086-0094]), and determining, by the processing circuitry, that the deviation is beyond a first threshold value (i.e., reference value) and, in response thereto, detecting a power path fault (i.e., connection failure) pertinent to the first energy storage element (see pars. [0086-0094]).
Regarding claim 15, Lee et al. discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method (see pars. [0168-0169]).
Claims 1 and 3-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoshioka et al. (US 10,539,626).
Regarding claim 1, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device for power path fault detection in an energy storage system (ESS) (see Fig. 1), the device comprising circuitry configured to: obtain, during charging or discharging of an energy storage system (ESS), values for one or more parameters (i.e., voltage or SOC) for each energy storage element of a plurality of energy storage elements (elements B1-B10, Fig. 1) of the ESS; determine, for at least one parameter of the one or more parameters, a deviation of the value of the at least one parameter for a first energy storage element of the plurality of energy storage elements from an aggregate function value (i.e., average SOC, minimum cell voltage), wherein the aggregate function value is formed based on values of at least one parameter of the one or more parameters for one or more other energy storage elements of the plurality of energy storage elements than the first energy storage element (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6); determine that the deviation is beyond a first threshold value (i.e., threshold X3), and, in response thereto, detect a power path fault (i.e., abnormality) pertinent to the first energy storage element (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 3, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein detecting the power path fault further comprises determining that the value of the at least one parameter for the first energy storage element is either bounded by or beyond a second threshold value (i.e., threshold X2) (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 4, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein the at least one parameter for the first energy storage element comprises at least one of State-of-Charge (SoC); voltage; internal impedance (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 5, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein the voltage is one or more of battery cell voltage and battery pack voltage (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein the internal impedance is or comprises direct current internal resistance (DCIR) (see col. 10, lines 58-65)
Regarding claim 7, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, configured to determine such a deviation for each of a plurality of different parameters or parameter combinations for the first energy storage element, and to detect the power path fault in response to determining that each of said deviations is beyond a respective first threshold value (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 8, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein the plurality of different parameters for the first energy storage element comprises at least two of voltage, current, state-of-charge (SoC), and internal impedance (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 9, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein the aggregate function comprises an average of the at least one parameter for the one or more other energy storage elements (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 10, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, wherein the plurality of energy storage elements is a plurality of battery packs, battery cells and/or battery modules (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, Yoshioka et al. discloses a device, further configured to, in response to detecting the power path fault, trigger or cause at least one of a disconnection of the first energy storage element and a warning signal issued to an operator of the ESS (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 12, Yoshioka et al. discloses an energy storage system (element U, Fig. 1), ESS, comprising a plurality of energy storage elements and the device for detecting a power path fault pertinent to at least one of said energy storage elements (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, Yoshioka et al. discloses a vehicle (i.e., unmanned carrier 10, Fig. 1), comprising the energy storage system (ESS) (see Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 14, Yoshioka et al. discloses a computer-implemented method of detecting a power path fault in an energy storage system (ESS) (element U, Fig. 1), the method comprising: obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system and during charging or discharging of an energy storage system (ESS), values for one or more parameters (i.e., voltage or SOC) for each energy storage element of a plurality of energy storage elements (elements B1-B10, Fig. 1) of the ESS; determining, by the processing circuitry and for at least one parameter of the one or more parameters, a deviation of the value of the at least one parameter for a first energy storage element of the plurality of energy storage elements from an aggregate function value (i.e., average SOC, minimum cell voltage) (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6), comprising forming the aggregate function value based on values of at least one parameter of the one or more parameters for one or more other energy storage elements of the plurality of energy storage elements than the first energy storage element (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6), and determining, by the processing circuitry, that the deviation is beyond a first threshold value and, in response thereto, detecting a power path fault (i.e., abnormality) pertinent to the first energy storage element (see col. 11, line 5 through col. 12, line 35 and Fig. 6).
Regarding claim 15, Yoshioka et al. discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by processing circuitry [i.e., central processing unit (CPU)], cause the processing circuitry to perform the method (see col. 5, lines 20-26).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MILTON GONZALEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7914. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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, WALTER LINDSAY can be reached at (571) 272-1674. 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.
/WALTER L LINDSAY JR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2852
/M.G/Examiner, Art Unit 2852
9/29/2026
Prosecution Insights