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 .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the aforementioned Application filed August 11, 2025. Claims 1-18 are presently pending and presented for examination.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. JP2023-037980, filed March 10, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 11, 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
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 1-14 and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hull et al. (US 11447035; hereinafter Hull).
Regarding Claim 1,
Hull teaches
A controller for controlling power supplied from a battery to an electric propulsion device configured to drive a rotary wing in an electric flight vehicle, (Hull: Column 6, Line 60 – Column 7, Line 11; Flight Control System 40) the controller comprising:
an acquisition unit configured to acquire battery information indicating states of unit batteries included in the battery; (Hull: Column 9, Line 28-34) and
a control unit configured to execute power distribution control to control power distribution of the unit batteries based on the battery information to reduce variation in state among the unit batteries during at least a portion of an operation period of the electric flight vehicle excluding a predetermined period immediately following transition from takeoff operation to cruising operation. (Hull: Column 6, Line 23-59)
Regarding Claim 2,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the predetermined period is set based on a rate of change in the state of the unit batteries associated with the takeoff operation. (Hull: Column 6, Line 30-36; Predetermined period is when the aircraft is in “takeoff and landing power mode”)
Regarding Claim 3,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the control unit is configured to execute the power distribution control based on the variation exceeding a predetermined degree. (Hull: Column 12, Line 17-30; “Power battery system 202 includes a plurality of power cells 206 and a power battery management system 208 that provides, for example, short circuit protection, over-charge protection, over-discharge protection and over-current protection to power cells 206. In addition, power battery management system 208 calculates the state of charge of power cells 206 and monitors the health and safety of power cells 206. The battery voltage of power cells 206 in a fully charged state may be between 550 volts and 800 volts or other suitable voltage. Power cells 206 are configured to have a high power rating, to supply a high instantaneous power output for use during the takeoff and landing power mode of aircraft 10 and to enable rapid charging following a discharge event.”)
Regarding Claim 4,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the control unit is configured to restrict execution of the power distribution control during the predetermined period. (Hull: Column 11, Line 8-26)
Regarding Claim 5,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the control unit is configured to executes the power distribution control during the cruising operation except for the predetermined period. (Hull: Column 8, Line 31-43)
Regarding Claim 6,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 5, wherein
the control unit executes the power distribution control based on the battery information that is estimated or predicted using a battery output profile of the cruising operation. (Hull: Column 6, Line 41-48, Column 10, Line 29-54, FIG. 4)
Regarding Claim 7,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 5, wherein
the electric propulsion device is one of electric propulsion devices of the electric flight vehicle, (Hull: Column 5, Line 54 – Column 6, Line 6) and
the control unit is configured to control output distribution of the electric propulsion devices during the cruising operation to reduce the variation in state among the unit batteries corresponding to the respective electric propulsion devices. (Hull: Column 8, Line 31-43, Column 9, Line 55 – Column 10, Line 7, FIG. 4)
Regarding Claim 8,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the control unit is configured to determine power distribution for takeoff and landing operations prior to start of the takeoff and landing operations. (Hull: Column 10, Line 31-54, FIG. 4)
Regarding Claim 9,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 8, wherein
the control unit is configured to determine the power distribution using a predicted value as the battery information, the predicted value being a value predicted using a battery output profile of the takeoff and landing operations. (Hull: Column 10, Line 31-54, FIG. 4; “As discussed herein, the initial phase of flight for an eVTOL aircraft such as aircraft 10 includes performing a vertical takeoff and climb as well as a hover in some instances. These operations are high power demand maneuvers that require significant instantaneous propulsive power. In graph 100, this initial segment of the flight with aircraft 10 in the takeoff and landing power mode is denoted as flight segment 102.”)
Regarding Claim 10,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the control unit is configured to control distribution of power supplied to each of the unit batteries during charging operation of the unit batteries. (Hull: Column 10, Line 55 – Column 11, Line 7; “Distribution system 108 delivers the electric power to electric motors 26a-26f of rotor assemblies 20, as indicated by the arrows therebetween. In addition, distribution system 108 delivers electric power to power battery system 104, as indicated by arrow 116. In this manner, energy battery system 106 recharges power battery system 104 during flight segment 114 when only cruise power is required.”)
Regarding Claim 11,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 10, wherein
the control unit is configured to restrict an output from the unit batteries during the charging operation. (Hull: Column 8, Line 31-43; “As cruise in forward flight is a lower power demand operation, battery system 22 utilizes the energy battery system to provide the required propulsive power for rotor assemblies 20 and to charge the power cells of the power battery system such that the power cells are suitably recharged for subsequent maneuvers in the takeoff and landing power mode including emergency maneuvers.”)
Regarding Claim 12,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the control unit is configured to determine power distribution based on an SOC and/or a battery temperature as the battery information. (Hull: Column 12, Line 22-30)
Regarding Claim 13,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the unit batteries are battery packs individually connected to motors included in each electric propulsion device, (Hull: Column 10, Line 31 – Column 11, Line 7, FIG. 5A and 5B)and
the control unit is configured to control distribution of power supplied to the electric propulsion device among the battery packs. (Hull: Column 10, Line 40-54; “Distribution system 108 delivers the electric power to the power consumers of aircraft 10 depicted as including electric motors 26a-26f of rotor assemblies 20, as indicated by the arrows therebetween. Distribution system 108 may include one or more electrical buses, electrical wiring, inverters and other electrical components known to those having ordinary skill in the art.”)
Regarding Claim 14,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 13, wherein
the control unit is configured to control the distribution of power supplied from each battery pack based on temperature information of the motors. (Hull: Column 9, Line 22-49; “Flight control system 40 receives input from a variety of sources including internal sources such as battery system 22, sensors 68, controllers and actuators 70 and rotor assemblies 20a-20f and external sources such as remote system 54 as well as global positioning system satellites or other location positioning systems and the like. ... Sensors 68, such as vibration sensors, location sensors, attitude sensors, speed sensors, environmental sensors, fuel sensors, temperature sensors and the like also provide information to flight control system 40 to further enhance autonomous control and power allocation capabilities.”)
Regarding Claim 17, the claim is analogous to Claim 1 limitations and is therefore rejected under the same premise as Claim 17.
Regarding Claim 18, the claim is analogous to Claim 1 limitations with the following additional limitations:
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium ... at least one processor ... (Hull: Column 6, Line 63-66; “Flight control system 40 preferably includes non-transitory computer readable storage media including a set of computer instructions executable by one or more processors for controlling the operation of aircraft 10.”)
Therefore the claim is rejected under the same premise as Claim 18.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hull, in view of Ukumori et al. (US 20230150680; hereinafter Ukumori).
Regarding Claim 15,
Hull teaches
The controller according to claim 1,
...
Hull does not teach arranging the batteries of a UAV in parallel or in series with each other or equipping a UAV with a spare battery module to be connected to the power system of the UAV when certain conditions are met.
However in the same field of endeavor, Ukumori teaches
...wherein
the unit batteries are battery modules connected in series and/or in parallel to each other to form a battery pack, (Ukumori: Paragraph [0030]; “The plurality of energy storage modules 32 may include the energy storage modules 32 connected in parallel. In each energy storage module 32, a plurality of energy storage cells 33 are connected in series. Although a single energy storage cell 33 is illustrated in the energy storage module 32 in FIG. 2, actually the energy storage module 32 includes the plurality of energy storage cells 33. The energy storage module 32 may include the energy storage cells 33 connected in parallel. Each of the energy storage cell 33 and the energy storage module 32 is an energy storage device that performs the charge and the discharge. For example, the energy storage cell 33 is a lithium ion battery.”)
the battery modules include a spare module that is temporarily disconnected electrically from other battery modules, (Ukumori: Paragraph [0043]; Reserve Energy Storage Apparatus 11) and
the control unit is configured to select the spare module from among the battery modules based on the battery information to reduce variation in state of the battery modules. (Ukumori: Paragraph [0043]; “When an electric power demand on the load connected to the energy storage apparatus 12 is large, when the energy storage apparatus 12 fails, or the like, sometimes the discharge voltage of the energy storage apparatus 12 decreases. Because the energy storage apparatus 11 is not connected to the load, the discharge voltage tends to be stable. When the discharge voltage of the energy storage apparatus 11 is high and when the discharge voltage of the energy storage apparatus 12 decreases, the arithmetic unit 51 causes the power adjustment unit 55 to operate the power transfer circuit 4 so as to transfer the electric power from the energy storage apparatus 11 to the energy storage apparatus 12.”)
It would be obvious for one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the UAV system of Hull with the spare battery module and battery arrangement of Ukumori for the benefit of improved reliability by equally using a plurality of energy storage apparatuses. (Ukumori: Paragraph [0005])
Regarding Claim 16,
Hull, in view of Ukumori, teaches
The controller according to claim 1, wherein
the unit batteries are battery packs configured to supply power to a common electric propulsion device, (Ukumori: Paragraph [0030]; “The plurality of energy storage modules 32 may include the energy storage modules 32 connected in parallel. In each energy storage module 32, a plurality of energy storage cells 33 are connected in series. Although a single energy storage cell 33 is illustrated in the energy storage module 32 in FIG. 2, actually the energy storage module 32 includes the plurality of energy storage cells 33. The energy storage module 32 may include the energy storage cells 33 connected in parallel. Each of the energy storage cell 33 and the energy storage module 32 is an energy storage device that performs the charge and the discharge. For example, the energy storage cell 33 is a lithium ion battery.”)
the battery packs include a spare pack that is temporarily disconnected electrically from the electric propulsion device, (Ukumori: Paragraph [0043]; Reserve Energy Storage Apparatus 11) and
the control unit is configured to select the spare pack from among the battery packs based on the battery information to reduce variation in state of the battery packs. (Ukumori: Paragraph [0043]; “When an electric power demand on the load connected to the energy storage apparatus 12 is large, when the energy storage apparatus 12 fails, or the like, sometimes the discharge voltage of the energy storage apparatus 12 decreases. Because the energy storage apparatus 11 is not connected to the load, the discharge voltage tends to be stable. When the discharge voltage of the energy storage apparatus 11 is high and when the discharge voltage of the energy storage apparatus 12 decreases, the arithmetic unit 51 causes the power adjustment unit 55 to operate the power transfer circuit 4 so as to transfer the electric power from the energy storage apparatus 11 to the energy storage apparatus 12.”)
The motivation to combine Hull and Ukumori is the same as stated for Claim 15 above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAULO ROBERTO GONZALEZ LEITE whose telephone number is (571)272-5877. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
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/P.R.L./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/JAMES M MCPHERSON/Examiner, Art Unit 3663
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