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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Morii et al (US 20240174132, hereinafter Morii) in view of Oyama et al (US 11260771, hereinafter Oyama).
Regarding Claim 1, Morii teaches:
an electrified vehicle (see at least "A vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle such as an electric automobile." in par. 0060) comprising:
a battery system (see at least " the battery 2 includes a first power storage 21, a second power storage 22, first to sixth contactors S/C_A, S/C_B, S/C_C, M/C_A, P/C_A and P/C_B, first and second resistors R1 and R2, a current sensor IS, and first to third fuses F1 to F3." in par. 0062) including
a first battery including a first positive electrode side terminal connected to a positive electrode side line and a first negative electrode side terminal (see at least " the battery 2 includes a first power storage 21, a second power storage 22, first to sixth contactors S/C_A, S/C_B, S/C_C, M/C_A, P/C_A and P/C_B, first and second resistors R1 and R2, a current sensor IS, and first to third fuses F1 to F3." in par. 0062 and Figs. 1-3) ,
a second battery including a second positive electrode side terminal and a second negative electrode side terminal connected to a negative electrode side line (see at least " the battery 2 includes a first power storage 21, a second power storage 22, first to sixth contactors S/C_A, S/C_B, S/C_C, M/C_A, P/C_A and P/C_B, first and second resistors R1 and R2, a current sensor IS, and first to third fuses F1 to F3." in par. 0062 and Figs. 1-3) ,
a series line connected to the first negative electrode side terminal and the second positive electrode side terminal, (see at least " a connection circuit 25 that connects the negative terminal of the first power storage 21 and the positive terminal of the second power storage 22. One end of the connection circuit 25 is connected to a circuit that connects the positive node 23 and the positive terminal of the second power storage 22 by a first connection portion 26, and the other end of the connection circuit 25 is connected to a circuit that connects the negative node 24 and the negative terminal of the first power storage 21 by a second connection portion 27. The first contactor S/C_A is provided in the connection circuit 25" in par. 0066)
a first parallel line connected to the first negative electrode side terminal and the negative electrode side line (see at least " a negative node 24 that connects a negative terminal of the first power storage 21 and a negative terminal of the second power storage 22 in parallel" in par. 0066) ,
a second parallel line connected to the second positive electrode side terminal and the positive electrode side line, (see at least " the battery 2 includes a positive node 23 that connects a positive terminal of the first power storage 21 and a positive terminal of the second power storage 22 in parallel" in par. 0066)
a series relay provided in the series line (see at least "a connection circuit 25 that connects the negative terminal of the first power storage 21 and the positive terminal of the second power storage 22. One end of the connection circuit 25 is connected to a circuit that connects the positive node 23 and the positive terminal of the second power storage 22 by a first connection portion 26, and the other end of the connection circuit 25 is connected to a circuit that connects the negative node 24 and the negative terminal of the first power storage 21 by a second connection portion 27. The first contactor S/C_A is provided in the connection circuit 25" in par. 0066) ,
a first parallel relay provided in the first parallel line (see at least "the third contactor S/C_C is provided between the second connection portion 27 and the negative node 24." in par. 0066) , and
a second parallel relay provided in the second parallel line (see at least " The first contactor S/C_A is provided in the connection circuit 25, the second contactor S/C_B is provided between the first connection portion 26 and the positive node 23" in par. 0066);
a traveling motor including a three-phase open winding (see at least " By providing a configuration shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 can not only quickly charge a battery 2 at charge voltages of 400 V and 800 V but also efficiently drive a three-phase motor 3 and an auxiliary device 4 at a base voltage of 800 V." in par. 0060 ) ;
a first inverter connected to the positive electrode side line and the negative electrode side line and connected to a first end side of the three-phase open winding (see at least " the three-phase motor 3 includes three-phase coils 32U, 32V, and 32W, one end side of each of which is connected to a neutral point 31, and is rotationally driven by electric power supplied from the battery 2 via the inverter 5 " in par. 0071 and “The inverter S converts DC electric power supplied from the battery 2 into three-phase AC electric power by switching a plurality of switching elements and rotationally drives the three-phase motor 3. When a DC (400 V) is supplied from the branch circuit 14 to the neutral point 31 of the three-phase motor 3, the inverter 5 can function as a booster circuit by switching the plurality of switching elements to boost the DC (to 800 V) using the coils 32U, 32V, and 32W. That is, the coils 32U, 32V, and 32W wound around a stator core are used as transformers.” In par. 0072); and
a control device configured to control the series relay, the first and second parallel relays, and the first inverter, (see at least " The controller 10 is, for example, a vehicle ECU and controls driving and charging of a power storage system 1. More specifically, the controller 10 performs ON/OFF control of the first to tenth contactors S/C_A, S/C_B, S/C_C, M/C_A, P/C_A, P/C_B, VS/C, QC/C_A, QC/C_B, and QC/C_C, sticking detection (welding detection) of these contactors, and control of the DC-DC converter 6 and the inverter 5. " in par. 0078)
wherein the control device is configured to execute, in a case where an opening abnormality occurs in the series relay during execution of normal traveling control for turning on the series relay and controlling the first inverter such that the electrified vehicle travels using electric power from the first and second batteries, limp home control for turning on one of the first and second parallel relays and controlling the first inverter such that the electrified vehicle travels using the electric power from one of the first and second batteries (see at least " As shown in FIG. 10, when the first contactor S/C_A is stuck in the OFF state, the controller 10 turns on the second contactor S/C_B and the third contactor S/C_C to set the battery 2 to the second voltage state (400 V startup), and drives the three-phase motor 3 in the second voltage state. The drive of the three-phase motor 3 in the second voltage state is for retracting the vehicle 100 (limp home), and it is desirable to display a warning screen G2 as shown in FIG. 15 for a driver. For example, the warning screen G2 includes warning messages such as “WARNING BATTERY SWITCHING CIRCUIT FAILURE”, “Please move the vehicle to a safe place and stop the vehicle due to the failure of the battery switching circuit. Also, please do not charge at 800 V”. " in par. 0105)
Morii does not appear to explicitly teach all of the following, but Oyama does teach:
a second inverter connected to the positive electrode side line and the negative electrode side line and connected to a second end side of the three-phase open winding and a control device configured to control the second inverter (see at least " The second inverter 420b includes, like the inverter 20 of the first embodiment, three-phase series-connected switch units; the series-connected switch unit for each phase is comprised of an upper-arm switch SWH and a lower-arm switch SWL connected in series to each other. The second inverter 420b includes, like the inverter 20 of the first embodiment, a smoothing capacitor 21b. The smoothing capacitor 21b may be arranged outside the second inverter 420b." in par. 0210 and Fig. 18) and
controlling the first and second inverters such that the electrified vehicle travels using the electric power from one of the first and second batteries of which a state of charge is equal to or greater than a threshold value. (see at least preventing discharge from either battery when the SoC is below a lower limit in col. 11 lines 47-65 and first and second inverters connected to both ends of the front and rear motors in col. 12 lines 15-37 and both batteries connected for bi-directional power flow to both inverters/motors in Figs. 4A-9B )
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle taught by Morii to incorporate the teachings of Oyama wherein the vehicle has more than one inverter electrically connected to each motor and prevents discharging of a battery that is below a predetermined charge threshold. The motivation to incorporate the teachings of Oyama would be to prevent a situation where the charge of either battery is so depleted that it cannot output sufficient power (see col. 11 lines 47-65), which improves reliability.
Regarding Claim 2, Morii as modified by Oyama teaches:
the electrified vehicle according to claim 1, wherein:
Morii does not appear to explicitly teach all of the following, but Oyama does teach:
the control device is configured to, as the limp home control, execute, in a case where the state of charge of the first battery is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, first limp home control for turning on the first parallel relay and controlling the first and second inverters such that the electrified vehicle travels using the electric power from the first battery (see at least " As shown in FIG. 4A, in a case where the driving state is the normal traveling state, basically, discharging from the second battery B2 to the second power line 22 is prohibited. Therefore, all power required in the first drive motor Mr, the second drive motor Mf, and the vehicle accessory H is covered by power discharged from the first battery B1. That is, a portion of power that is discharged from the first battery B1 to the first power line 21 is supplied to the second power line 22 through the voltage converter 4, and is consumed in the second drive motor Mf and the vehicle accessory H." in col. 16 lines 5-14 and “As shown in FIG. 4B, in a case where electrical pass control is executed while the driving state is the normal traveling state, a portion of the power that is discharged from the first battery B1 is supplied to the second battery B2. In this case, all power required in the first drive motor Mr, the second drive motor Mf, the vehicle accessory H, and the second battery B2 is covered by the power that is discharged from the first battery B1.” In col. 16 lines 15-22 and Figs. 4A-9B where one of the batteries is prevented from being discharged) ; and
execute, in a case where the state of charge of the first battery is less than the first threshold value and the state of charge of the second battery is equal to or greater than a second threshold value, second limp home control for turning on the second parallel relay and controlling the first and second inverters such that the electrified vehicle travels using the electric power from the second battery. (see at least " In addition, as shown in FIG. 9B, in a case where the first battery B1 is out of order, all power required in the first drive motor Mr, the second drive motor Mf, and the vehicle accessory H is covered by the second battery B2. However, as described above, the capacity of the second battery B2 is smaller than that of the first battery B1. " in col. 20 lines 1-7 and Figs. 4A-9B where one of the batteries is prevented from being discharged )
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle taught by Morii to incorporate the teachings of Oyama wherein the power distribution system controls switches to place the batteries in parallel circuit to isolate either a first battery or second battery that has low charge. The motivation to incorporate the teachings of Oyama would be to prevent a situation where the charge of either battery is so depleted that it cannot output sufficient power (see col. 11 lines 47-65) and continue driving as long as possible when one of the batteries is not available (see col. 20 lines 5-17), which improves reliability.
Regarding Claim 3, Morii as modified by Oyama teaches:
the electrified vehicle according to claim 2 wherein:
Morii does not appear to explicitly teach all of the following, but Oyama does teach:
the battery system further includes a positive electrode side relay provided between the first battery and the first and second inverter(see at least “The gate drive circuit 733 converts the required passage power calculated by the energy distribution calculation unit 732 into a target for a current flowing through the voltage converter 4 from the first power line 21 side to the second power line 22 side, and performs switching control on the voltage converter 4 so that this target is realized.” In col. 21 lines 41-46 and connections between voltage converter and the terminals of each battery in Fig. 1, 3, and Figs. 4A-9B where one of the batteries is prevented from being discharged) ; and
the control device turns off the positive electrode side relay when executing the second limp home control. (see at least "In addition, as shown in FIG. 9B, in a case where the first battery B1 is out of order, all power required in the first drive motor Mr, the second drive motor Mf, and the vehicle accessory H is covered by the second battery B2. However, as described above, the capacity of the second battery B2 is smaller than that of the first battery B1." in col. 20 lines 1-7 and Figs. 4A-9B where one of the batteries is prevented from being discharged)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the vehicle taught by Morii to incorporate the teachings of Oyama wherein the power distribution system controls switches to place the batteries in parallel circuit to isolate either a first battery or second battery that has low charge. The motivation to incorporate the teachings of Oyama would be to prevent a situation where the charge of either battery is so depleted that it cannot output sufficient power (see col. 11 lines 47-65) and continue driving as long as possible when one of the batteries is not available (see col. 20 lines 5-17), which improves reliability.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DYLAN M KATZ whose telephone number is (571)272-2776. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs. 8:00-6:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Abby Lin can be reached on (571) 270-3976. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DYLAN M KATZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3657
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