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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on June 4, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mademlis et al. (US 2025/0269746).
Regarding claim 1, Mademlis et al. in [see the annotated Fig. 11 for clarity of the plurality of nodes], discloses an electrified vehicle [see 0001] comprising:
a motor [see 120] including a plurality of windings [see 124] corresponding to a plurality of phases [see 0065];
a first inverter [see 130b] including a first DC link to which a first battery [see 140b] is connected, and a plurality of legs [see a2, bc and c2] connected to one end of each of the plurality of windings [see 124];
a second inverter [see 130a] including a second DC link to which a second battery [see 140a] is connected, and a plurality of legs [see a1, b1, and c1] connected to the other end of each of the plurality of windings [see 124];
a charging terminal [see positive and negative DC charging station 150 connected to each charging terminal of via switches K1 and K2] to which a charging voltage of an external charger [see 150] is applied while the external charger [see 150] is connected to the charging terminal; and
a plurality of nodes including
a first node [see N1] formed between a positive electrode of the charging terminal and the other end of any one of the plurality of windings [see 124,Lb],
a second node [see N2] formed between a negative electrode of the charging terminal and a negative electrode of the first DC link,
a third node [see N3] formed between the negative electrode of the charging terminal and a negative electrode of the second DC link, and
a fourth node [see N4] formed between the second node [see N2], the third node [see N3], and the negative electrode of the charging terminal.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim 1, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Combined claim 2 would be allowable over the prior art references of record because the prior art failed to teach or suggest the electric vehicle further comprising controlling the first inverter and the second inverter based on voltages of the first battery and the second battery and a maximum charging voltage applicable to the charging terminal as set forth in the claimed invention.
Claims 3-15 are also indicated as allowable subject matter because the claims are dependent upon base claim 2.
Claim 16 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim 1, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Combined claim 16 would be allowable over the prior art references of record because the prior art failed to teach or suggest the electric vehicle further comprising a third switch electrically connecting the third node and the negative electrode of the charging terminal in a turn-on state as set forth in the claimed invention.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERRENCE RONIQUE WILLOUGHBY whose telephone number is (571)272-2725. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rexford Barnie can be reached at 571-272-7492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TERRENCE R WILLOUGHBY/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 6/13/26
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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