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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 6, 14-16 18, 19 and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Narisawa et al. (US 20180072146) in view of Ang (US 2014/0159478)
Re Claims 1 and 14; Narisawa discloses an integrated power management system for a vehicle (30), comprising:
a power management compartment located in a rear portion of the vehicle, (Par 0068) wherein the power management compartment comprises: a central electronic control unit (ECU 70) integrating battery management system functions and zonal control functions (Par 0044, By having an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) directly manage the high-voltage (HV) battery, the system shifts to a zonal architecture where local, regional controllers handle power distribution, reducing wiring complexity and weight. This approach integrates battery management into a centralized, efficient zone, boosting reliability.); and
an energy management module (EMM) comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converter (64).(Fig. 2-5 and par 0041)
Narisawa discloses wherein the central ECU manages power distribution between a DC-DC bus provided by the DC-DC converter and a battery bus connected with a low voltage (LV) battery. (Par 0043-4)
Narisawa does not disclose connecting an isolation switch between the DC-DC bus and the battery bus.
Ang discloses wherein the central ECU (30 ) manages power distribution between a DC-DC bus (N2P and N2N) provided by the DC-DC converter (6) and a battery bus (the bus connected to the battery) connected with a low voltage (LV) battery (5) and also discloses connecting an isolation switch (34) between the DC-DC bus and the battery bus. (Fig. 2 and also see Par 0058-60)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have connected the switch between the DC-DC converter and the battery in order to isolate the battery from the DC-DC converter when needed.
Re Claims 2 and 15; Narisawa discloses wherein the power management compartment is located under a second row seat or third row seat of the vehicle. (Par 068)
Re Claims 3 and 16; Narisawa discloses wherein the power management compartment further comprises an integrated energy management and control unit (EMCU) that combines the central ECU and the EMM in a shared enclosure. (Fig. 2-5)
Re Claim 6 and 19; Narisawa discloses the DC-DC converter 64 that converts a high-voltage direct current obtained from the battery 50 into a low-voltage direct current and supplies the low-voltage direct current to a low-voltage battery (not shown) or the like is disposed below the inverter 60.
Narisawa does not disclose wherein the LV battery positioned at an angle within the power management compartment and configured to nest between other components.
However, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have disposed the low voltage battery at an angle within the power management compartment and configured to nest between other components in order to protect the battery when the vehicle is in collision.
Re Claim 21; Ang discloses wherein the isolation switch is configured to selectively electrically isolate the DC-DC bus from the battery bus. (Fig. 2)
Re Claim 22; Ang discloses wherein the DC-DC bus and the battery bus share a common bus configured to allow bidirectional power flow between the DC- DC converter and the LV battery. (Fig. 2)
Re Claim 23; The combination disclosure has been discussed above.
The combination does not disclose wherein the LV battery, the DC-DC converter, and the central ECU share a common ground within the power management compartment.
However, It is obvious because a single reference point at zero volts is mandatory to complete low-voltage circuits, stabilize reference signals, and prevent destructive ground-loop potential differences between power sources and controllers
Claim(s) 4, 7, 17 and 20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Narisawa in view of Ang and further in view of Kim (US 2020/0111824)
Re Claim 4 and 17; Narisawa discloses central ECU of the power management compartment
Narisawa does not disclose further comprising a front left ECU and a front right ECU communicatively connected with the central ECU.
However, Kim discloses central ECU (120) further comprising a front left ECU (FL) and a front right ECU (FR) communicatively connected with the central ECU (120). (Fig. 1 and 2)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have a plurality of ECU coupled to the central ECU in order to actively ascertain that state of the vehicle so that the vehicle is effectively control.
Re Claims 7 and 20; Kim discloses wherein the LV battery operates in a range of 9V to 16V. (Par 0057)
Claim(s) 8-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Narisawa in view of Kim (US 2020/0111824) in view of Ichikawa (US 2025/022818)
Re Claim 8; Narisawa discloses a method of assembling an integrated power management system in an electric vehicle, comprising: installing a power management compartment under a second-row seat of the vehicle; positioning a low voltage (LV) battery abutting the power management compartment; integrating a central electronic control unit (ECU) and an energy management module (EMM) into a shared enclosure within the power management compartment; and (See the rejection above.)
Narisawa does not show the detail of the connection to include directly connecting a positive terminal and a negative terminal of the LV battery to a respective positive terminal and a negative terminal of the central ECU.
However, Ichikawa discloses directly connecting a positive terminal and a negative terminal of the LV battery (17) to a respective positive terminal and a negative terminal of the central ECU (18a). (Fig. 1)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have directly connecting a positive terminal and a negative terminal of the LV battery to a respective positive terminal and a negative terminal of the central ECU in order to provide power to the ECU to control the vehicles electronics.
Re Claim 9; Narisawa wherein the power management compartment is located under a second row seat or third row seat of the vehicle. (Claim is analogous to claim 2 and the same rejection is applied)
Re Claim 10; Narisawa wherein the power management compartment further comprises an integrated energy management and control unit (EMCU) that combines the central ECU and the EMM in a shared enclosure. (Claim is analogous to claim 3 and the same rejection is applied)
Re Claim 12; Narisawa discloses the DC-DC converter 64 that converts a high-voltage direct current obtained from the battery 50 into a low-voltage direct current and supplies the low-voltage direct current to a low-voltage battery (not shown) or the like is disposed below the inverter 60.
Narisawa does not disclose wherein the LV battery positioned at an angle within the power management compartment and configured to nest between other components.
However, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have disposed the low voltage battery at an angle within the power management compartment and configured to nest between other components in order to protect the battery when the vehicle is in collision.
Claim(s) 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Narisawa in view of Ichikawa and further in view of Kim (US 2020/0111824)
Re Claim 13; Kim discloses wherein the LV battery operates in a range of 9V to 16V. (Claim is analogous to claim 7 and the same rejection is applied)
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 6-11, filed 06/10/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-3, 5, 14-16 and 18 under 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Ang.
Conclusion
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 DANIEL KESSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-4449. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pmEst.
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/DANIEL KESSIE/
08/04/2026
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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