Office Action 2: Final Rejection (2023-10-18)
Rejection types: 103 - Obviousness, 112 - Written Description/Enablement

CLAIMS:
Listing of Claims:

This listing of claims will replace all prior versions, and listings, of claims in the application.

1\. (Currently Amended) An assembly able to deliver an output current Is, comprising:
N electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) of rank i, where N > 2, each cell comprising an elementary cell or an elementary assembly of elementary cells (CEij) placed in series and/or in parallel, each electrical energy storage or production cell being able to supply a maximum current Imax,i continuously during a time period T;
a management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi), wherein, with said electrical energy storage or production cells being classed according to their rank i in decreasing priority of use, said management circuit comprises means, in discharge mode, for discharging at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank 1 or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank i and according to the following criteria:
the electrical energy storage or production cell (B1) of rank 1 is discharged on its own as long as it is able to supply the output current Is, where Is < Imaxi;the electrical energy storage or production cell (B1) of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) that are discharged successively according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode, the number k being such that 2 < kSVG {EMBED HERE} 0.1170.09 N and meeting the following conditions:SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.2370.70 blocks (Mi) of rank i, each electrical energy storage or production cell (Bi) being coupled to a block (Mi), each cell (Bi) coupled to a block (Mi) being capable of delivering an output current (Ii);
the set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii), said blocks (Mi) selecting: the first electrical energy storage or production cell until it is totally depleted, without exceeding the current value Imax,1, and then the second electrical

energy storage or production cell until it is totally depleted, without exceeding the current value Imax,2, etc., and then the Nth electrical energy storage or production cell.

2\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switch, the management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells controlling each of said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) through hysteresis in all-or-nothing mode.

3\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a regulator (Rgi) with a reference output voltage Uthi.

4\. (Currently Amended) The assembly according to Claim 3, operating with an output voltage Vs, each block (Mi) comprising a regulator that operates with a voltage threshold, and the voltage thresholds of the regulators (Rgi) being such that:
Uth2 > Uth3 > ....> UthN and the cell of rank 1 (B 1) is being activated by the management circuit if Vs> Uth2 so as to supply Imax,i;
the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when VS< Uth2;
the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1soas to supply an additional current when Vs< UthN.

5\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage and able to supply:
a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage, and a zero current when the output voltage Vs is greater than this setpoint.

6\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, comprising electrical energy storage or production cells having different electrical capacity values.

7\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 3, wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank i.

8\. (Currently Amended) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the management circuit comprises means for placing all of the cells in parallel in recharge mode, corresponding to a negative output current -Is.

9\. (Currently Amended) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the management circuit comprises means, in recharge mode, corresponding to a negative output current -Is, for discharging the cells of high rank as a priority, from rank N to rank 1.

10\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are batteries.

11\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are microbatteries.

12\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are hydrogen fuel cells.

13\. (Original) The assembly according to Claim 11, wherein the microbatteries and the management circuit are contained in a 3D stack.

OFFICE ACTION:
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 application filed on 6/28/2023.  Claims 1-13 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Response to arguments
Applicant amended claims 1,4,8 and 9 which changes the scope of the claims and as such a new grounds of rejection is issued. However, it is noted that the previously applied references are still used in the current grounds of rejection.
Specifically, in the previous OA, the Examiner issued a 112, second rejection on the claim feature of “addressing” a cell or the feature of the cell being “addressed” because the claimed feature was unclear.  The Examiner further interpreted the claimed feature of “addressing” a cell or a cell that is “addressed” as “charging/discharging” the cell.
In response, the Applicant amended claim language “addressing” or “addressed” to “discharging” or “discharged” which changes the scope of the claim.
In regards to the Drawing Objections Applicant asserts (pg. 7):
The drawings stand objected to because the images and labels are unclear and illegible. Office Action, at 3. Applicant submits herewith replacement drawing sheets that contain amendments to Figures 1-16. Withdrawal of the Objection to the Drawings is respectfully requested.
In response:
Examiner maintains the drawing objections for the reasons set forth below
In regards to the 112 second rejection Applicant asserts (pg. 7):
Applicant respectfully submits that one of ordinary skill in the art ( e.g., the electrical field) would immediately understand, without any ambiguity, the meaning of the term hysteresis in all-or-nothing mode. One of ordinary skill in the electrical field art would have a general knowledge regarding the charging and discharging cycles of electrical energy storage or production cells. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art would immediately understand the meaning of the term hysteresis in all-or-nothing mode characterizing the management of electrical energy storage or production cells.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and maintains the 112 second rejection as specified below.
Specifically claim 2 recites “the management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells controlling each of said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) through hysteresis in all-or-nothing mode” which is unclear.
It is unclear what is meant by an “all-or-nothing mode”.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant asserts (pg. 9-10):
Jhunjhunwala fails to teach or suggest a said management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) ... each electrical energy storage or production cell (Bi) being coupled to the block (Mi), each cell (Bi) coupled to a block (Mi) being capable of delivering an output current (li) ... the block (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (li), said block (Mi) selecting: the first electrical energy storage or production cell until it is totally depleted without exceeding the current value lmax,l, and then the second electrical energy storage or production cell until it is totally depleted, without exceeding the current value lmax,2, etc., and then the Nth electrical energy storage or production cell, as asserted by the Office Action.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree. The Examiner did not state that Jhunjhunwala fails to teach the claim language asserted by the Applicant above. As seen below in the rejection of claim 1, the Examiner stated that Jhunjhunwala does not specifically disclose “that the block (Mi) ([0046] the battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5) is multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii).”
The Examiner further shows that Okui teaches the claim language that is not disclosed in Jhunjhunwala as described below.
And further asserts:
The Office Action concedes that Jhunjhunwala does not disclose that the block (Mi) ... is multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (li). Office Action, at 10. Instead, the Office Action relies on Okui as allegedly disclosing these features of claim 1. Applicant disagrees and asserts that Okui does not cure the deficiencies of Jhunjhunwala.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and points to the rejection of claim 1 where the Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to teach the limitations of claim 1 as specified below.
Specifically, Jhunjhunwala does not specifically state that the “block (Mi)” of Jhunjhunwala is multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii).
Okui teaches a management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) comprising multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i (Fig. 2 and [0046] [0050]where battery banks 210 with corresponding converters 220…...  As such, since the converters facilitate the discharging of their corresponding battery bank,  the converters 22 have the same priority rank order (rank i) as the prioritized battery banks they are connected to).
Okui further teaches the management circuit set of said blocks (Mi) generates the output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii) ([0050] battery banks 210 are connected to a common node. The battery banks 210 may be connected to one another in parallel via the DC/DC converters 220).
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg.10):
However, assuming that the skilled person skilled had tried to combine these references to solve the above problem, he would not have arrived at the invention of claim 1 from Jhunjhunwala and Okui, alone or in combination, as Okui does not cure the deficiencies of Jhunjhunwala.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and stated in the rejection of claim 1 that it would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Jhunjhunwala and Okui “in order to provide a voltage level that is suitable for the load while allowing some of the battery banks to perform the discharging while pausing others ([0050] of Okui).”
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg. 10):
Further, the problem addressed in Okui, as specified in paragraph [007] of Okui, relates to providing a battery system having a reduced degradation speed. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have turned to Okui to try to solve the problem of the invention in view of the problem addressed by Okui and the system of Okui which is quite different.
In response:
Applicant’s remarks are unpersuasive. The Examiner is not required to limit the prior art nor the motivation to combine prior art to the problem faced by the inventor of the application.  Any motivation to combine references, whether articulated in the references themselves or supported by evidence of the knowledge of a skilled artisan, is sufficient to combine those references to arrive at the claimed process.  The motivation or problem supported by the record need not be the same motivation or problem articulated in the application for making the claimed combination.
In regards to applicants remaining remarks:
Applicant remarks have been considered but are moot base on new grounds of rejection.
Specification
Applicant filed an amendment to overcome objections to the specification. The Examiner acknowledges the filed amendment and is approved
Drawings
The drawings filed 06/28/2023 are objected to because the images and labels are unclear and illegible.
In the most recent OA, the Examiner issued a drawing objection because the images and drawing labels appear “blurry” and illegible.
As an example, the Examiner stated that Figs. 8-10 appear “blurry” and the corresponding labels and lettering (Figs. 5,8-10 and 13-16 for example) also appearing “blurry”.
In response, the Applicant filed a drawing amendment including eight replacement sheets. However, the newly filed drawing figures and lettering appear “blurry” and illegible.
For example, Figs. 8-11 shows graphs and images that are not high-contrast images and lettering that is not sharp nor reflects the quality equivalent to a laser printer (Ex. The graphs, the data within, and their corresponding axis).
The Examiner recommends correcting all drawing figures to show dark, high-contrast images of quality equivalent to the quality produced by a laser printer. The lettering in the drawings should be in such a way that secure solid, sharp, high contrast lettering.
The Examiner would like to point out that the above examples are a non-exhaustive list of examples. The Applicant is encouraged to file a drawing amendment ensuring that all drawing figures and lettering meet the standard described above.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (b), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA  the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “the electrical energy storage or production cell (B1) of rank 1 is discharged on its own” which is unclear.
Claim term “on its own” is unclear. Specifically, It is unclear what is meant by  electrical energy storage or production cell being discharged “on its own”
As to claim 2 , which recites “the management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells controlling each of said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) through hysteresis in all-or-nothing mode” which is unclear.
It is unclear what is meant by an “all-or-nothing mode”
Claims 2-13 is/are included in this rejection due to their dependence on claim 1.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268).
As to claim 1,  Jhunjhunwala discloses an assembly (Fig. 7) able to deliver an output current Is ([0047] IL refers to the current demanded by the load), comprising:
N electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) of rank i ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B,5,7 Battery Banks 1021-102N, The battery banks 1021-N are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks, where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used), where N>2, each cell comprising an elementary cell or an elementary assembly of elementary cells (CEii) placed in series and/or in parallel (Fig. 5 and 7 and [0021] … multiple banks of individual batteries. Banks are placed in parallel), each electrical energy storage or production cell being able to supply a maximum current lmaxi continuously during a time period T ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B Battery Banks 1021-102N, The battery banks 1021-N are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence … where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. As such each battery supplies it’s Imaxi).
a management circuit (Fig. 7 battery bank selector 704) for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) (Fig. 7 battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5 (element 400 and Control 504) with the additional functionality to select multiple battery banks based on pre-configured power harnessing modes, and individual parameter specific thresholds. The logic control and splitting of battery  (i.e Fig. 5) can be pre-configured based on anticipated usage patterns/priorities. [0038] [0046] [0042]), wherein, with said electrical energy storage or production cells being classed according to their rank i in decreasing priority of use ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B,5 Battery Banks 1021-102N, are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks, where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used), said management circuit comprises means, in discharge mode (Fig. 7 battery bank selector 704 and Control 504 of Fig. 5), for discharging at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank 1 or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank i ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B,5 Battery Banks 1021-102N, are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks. [0042] the logic control and splitting of battery  (i.e Fig. 5) can be pre-configured based on anticipated usage patterns) and according to the following criteria:
the electrical energy storage or production cell (B1) of rank 1 is discharged on its own as long as it is able to supply the output current Is, where Is < lmax1 [0046]-[0049] Fig. 8 At step 804, if the current requirement of the load (IL) is less than the lower threshold (It1), then battery bank B1 is selected for use at step 806 ), the electrical energy storage or production cell (B1) of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) that are discharged successively according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode ([0046]-[0049]  FIG. 7-8 In scenarios where performance of a single battery bank is not adequate, the battery bank selector 704 can be used to combine output from more than one battery banks to supply power to the load 706. This may be especially required when load is varying), the number k being such that 2 < k < N and meeting the following conditions:
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[0048]-[0049]  Fig. 8 at step 812, if current required by load (IL) is greater than the upper current threshold (It2) then at step 814, B1, B2, and B3 are selected. It1 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 alone, and It2 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 and B2 combined.
Jhunjhunwala further discloses said management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) (Fig. 7 Battery Banks 1021-102N), comprising: block (Mi) ([0046] the battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5 with the additional functionality to select multiple battery banks. i.e. logic control unit 504 and a switching mechanism shown in 502), each electrical energy storage or production cell (Bi) being coupled to the block (Mi), each cell (Bi) coupled to a block (Mi) being capable of delivering an output current (Ii) (Fig. 5 Each battery bank coupled to power conditioning element. [0026] FIG. 3A, 3B and Fig. 8);
Jhunjhunwala further discloses the block (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii), said block (Mi) selecting: the first electrical energy storage or production cell until it is totally depleted without exceeding the current value lmax,1, and then the second electrical energy storage or production cell until it is totally depleted, without exceeding the current value lmax,2, etc., and then the Nth electrical energy storage or production cell  (Fig. 3A,3B and [0026] illustrates an example of the sequential usage of battery banks using a three battery bank system where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. In FIG. 3A, the discharge starts with battery bank 102-1 and proceeds to 102-2. The battery bank 102-3 is in process of discharge subsequent to full discharge of battery banks 102-1 and 102-2. As such each battery supplies it’s Imaxi.),
Jhunjhunwala does not specifically state that the block (Mi) ([0046] the battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5) is multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii).
Okui teaches a management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) comprising multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i (Fig. 2 battery banks 210 with corresponding converters 220. A priority order between the battery banks is determined and at least some of the battery banks to be discharged based on the priority order. The distribution controller 230 controls the DC/DC converters 220 so that some of the battery banks 210 perform the discharging according to the target charging/discharging amount. ([0046] [0050]) As such, since the converters facilitate the discharging of their corresponding battery bank,  the converters 22 have the same priority rank order (rank i) as the prioritized battery banks they are connected to).
Okui further teaches the management circuit set of said blocks (Mi) generates the output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii) ([0050] battery banks 210 are connected to a common node. The battery banks 210 may be connected to one another in parallel via the DC/DC converters 220).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the management circuit of Jhunjhunwala to comprise multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii) in order to provide a voltage level that is suitable for the load while allowing some of the battery banks to perform the discharging while pausing others ([0050] of Okui).
As to claim 2, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switch, the management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells controlling each of said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) through hysteresis in all-or-nothing mode ([0048] -[0049]  of Fig. 8 Jhunjhunwala at step 812, if current required by load (IL) is greater than the upper current threshold (It2) then at step 814, B1, B2, and B3 are selected (i.e. all-or nothing mode).
As to claim 3, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a regulator (Rgi) (Fig. 2 of Okui DC/DC converters 220) with a reference output voltage Uthi ( output voltage of DC/DC converters 220).
As to claim 6,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, comprising electrical energy storage or production cells having different electrical capacity values (Abstract …each of which may have different characteristics).
As to claim 7,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 3.
Jhunjhunwala does not disclose/teach wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank i.
Okui teaches wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank i. ([0086] In the case of the discharging mode, the distribution controller may determine the priority order between the battery banks so that the battery bank having higher SOC and higher SOH may have higher priority (operation S66). The battery bank having a higher SOC may be more likely to be discharged than the battery bank having a lower SOC. The battery bank having a higher SOH may be more likely to be discharged than the battery bank having a lower SOH.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala to include wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank I, as taught by Okui in order to preserve the state of health for each battery by maintaining the SOC of each battery at a level that reduces deterioration.
As to claim 8,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the management circuit comprises means, for placing all of the cells in parallel in recharge mode, corresponding to a negative output current -Is (Fig. 5 of Jhunjhunwala all battery modules are in parallel and are charged and discharged in said configuration [0026]).
As to claim 9,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the management circuit comprises means, in recharge mode, corresponding to a negative output current -Is, for discharging the cells of high rank as a priority, from rank N to rank 1 ([0026] and Fig. 3A of Jhunjhunwala battery banks are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks, where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. First battery bank 102 that is discharged first is charged first) .
As to claim 10,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are batteries (Fig. 1 of Jhunjhunwala battery banks 102).
Claims 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Martin (US 20080157743).
As to claim 4, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui the assembly according to Claim 3, operating with an output voltage Vs, each block (Mi) comprising a regulator that operates with a voltage threshold (output voltage of DC/DC converters 220, Fig. 1-2 of Okui), and the voltage thresholds of the regulators (Rgi) being such that: Uth2 > Uth3 > ....> UthN ([0050] of Okui The distribution controller 230 may control the DC/DC converters 220  so that some of the battery banks 210 perform the discharging according to the target charging/discharging amount and the other battery banks 210 may be paused. As such, the output of the converters 220 are different as some battery banks are paused while others are discharge. Therefore the converters outputs (i.e. the voltage threshold) differ during discharging) and the cell of rank 1 (B1) is being activated by the management circuit if Vs > Uth2 so as to supply Imax,1 (Fig. 8 [0048] of Jhunjhunwala where if the current requirement of the load (IL) is less than the lower threshold (It1), then battery bank B1 is selected by the battery bank selector (i.e. activated by management circuit). It1 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 alone. As such the voltage at the output of the DC/DC converter when only battery bank B1 is activated will be the output voltage of the DC/DC converter (i.e. Vs = Uth2) [0049] );
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui does not teach the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when Vs < Uth2; the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1 so as to supply an additional current when Vs < UthN.
Martin teaches the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when Vs < Uth2; the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1 so as to supply an additional current when Vs < UthN ([0120] In response to a more drastic voltage droop as a result of increased power consumption (i.e. Vs < UthN) , the controller circuit 1206 enables transient controller 1210 to generate respective control signals to activate dynamic power supply circuit 1245 at a same time the voltage regulator circuit 1255 is enabled to supply power to the load. Accordingly, when load 1218 suddenly requires a substantial increase in power, the controller circuit 1206 deploys transient controller 1210 to prevent drooping of voltage 1220 by supplementing an amount of power (e.g., current) conveyed to load 1218).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui to include the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when Vs < Uth2; the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1 so as to supply an additional current when Vs < UthN, as taught by Martin in order to keep the output voltage  at a substantially constant value in the event of a load transient ([0123] of Martin)
As to claim 5, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui the assembly according to Claim 1.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui does not disclose/teach operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage and able to supply: a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage.
Martin teaches operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage (output of the regulator) and able to supply: a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage ([0120] In response to a more drastic voltage droop as a result of increased power consumption (i.e. Vs < UthN) , the controller circuit 1206 enables transient controller 1210 to generate respective control signals to activate dynamic power supply circuit 1245 at a same time the voltage regulator circuit 1255 is enabled to supply power to the load. Accordingly, when load 1218 suddenly requires a substantial increase in power, the controller circuit 1206 deploys transient controller 1210 to prevent drooping of voltage 1220 by supplementing an amount of power (e.g., current) conveyed to load 1218).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui to include operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage (output of the regulator) and able to supply: a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage, as taught by Martin to keep the output voltage  at a substantially constant value in the event of a load transient ([0123] of Martin).
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Martin does not specifically teach and a zero current when the output voltage Vs is greater than this setpoint.
However it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide zero current when the load/battery has charged to a higher voltage than the setpoint voltage (i.e. the output voltage Vs is greater than this setpoint) indicating a fully charged battery, thereby preventing overcharging.
Claims 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Rothschild (US 20190027943).
As to claim 11,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 1.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui teaches each battery bank is a multiple banks of individual batteries ([0021]), Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui does not specifically teach the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells (each battery bank) are micro batteries.
Rothschild teaches elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are micro batteries ([0017] The rectifier 102 may be connected to the battery unit 104. The battery unit 104 may comprise a plurality of micro-batteries (B1, B2, B3 . . . Bn).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells of Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui to be micro batteries, in order to reduce the physical size of Jhunjhunwala battery pack.
As to claim 13,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 11.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Rothschild does not specifically teach wherein the micro batteries and the management circuit are contained in a 3D stack.
However it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to contain the micro batteries and the management circuit taught by Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Rothschild in a 3D stack in order to reduce the space of the assembly.
Claim 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Despesse (US 20140287278)
As to claim 13,  Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui teaches the assembly according to Claim 1.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui does not specifically teach wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are hydrogen fuel cells.
Despesse teaches elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are hydrogen fuel cells ([0239] hydrogen fuel cell).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui to elementary electrical energy storage or production cells to be hydrogen fuel cell, as taught by Despesse in order to apply Jhunjhunwala  method to applications using hydrogen fuel cells in order to optimizes at least one of cost, weight or size of the overall system (Abstract of Jhunjhunwala) .
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.

APPLICANT REBUTTAL: Amendments to the Drawings The attached sheets of drawings include changes to Figs. 1-16. The sheets 1-8, which include Figs. 1-16, replaces the original sheets 1-8 including Figs. 1-16. Attachment: Replacement Sheets REMARKS Claims 1-13 are pending, with claim 1 being independent. Claims 1-13 stand rejected. Claims 1 and 2 are amended herein. No new subject matter has been added. Drawings Objection The drawings stand objected to because the images and labels are unclear and illegible. Office Action, at 7. Applicant submits herewith replacement drawing sheets that contain amendments to Figures 1-16. Withdrawal of the Objection to the Drawings is respectfully requested. Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 112 Claims 1-13 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter. Office Action, at 9. In particular, the Office Action alleges that "[t]t is unclear what is meant by electrical energy storage or production cell being discharged 'on its own"' as recited in claim 1, and "[t]t is unclear what is meant by an 'all-or-nothing mode"' as recited in claim 2. Id. Applicant has amended claims 1 and 2 to remove the phrases "on its own" and "all-or-nothing mode." With regard to amended claim 2, the term "hysteresis in all or nothing mode" has been replaced by "hysteresis in on-off control" which is another translation of the corresponding French expression "hysteresis en mode tout ou rien" in the priority application. One of ordinary skill in the art would immediately understand the term "hysteresis in on-off control" to refer to hysteresis created between ON and OFF states on an on/off control to avoid frequent output state changes, the on/off control turning the output to ON or OFF states based on a set point. As such, reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), second paragraph, are respectfully requested. Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 103 Claims 1-3 and 6-10 Claims 1-3 and 6-10 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication No. 2017/0229880 (hereinafter "Jhunjhunwala") in view of U.S. Publication No. 2016/0226268 (hereinafter "Okui"). Office Action, at 10. But for a combination of references to render a claim obvious, the combination must teach or suggest all of the features of the claim. Here, features of the claims are missing from the combination. Amended independent claim 1 recites, in part, "a management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells Bi, wherein said electrical energy storage or production cells are ordered according to their rank i according to a priority order, said management circuit comprises means, in discharge mode, for discharging at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank 1 or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank i and according to the following criteria: the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi of rank 1 is discharged as long as it is able to supply the output current Is, where Is SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.230.333 Imaxi < Is and SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.230.31 Imaxi : Is ; the set of said blocks Mi generating an output current Is which is equal to the sum of the output currents Ii, said blocks Mi successively activating an electrical energy storage or production cell Bi, according to the priority order, until the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi is totally depleted without exceeding the associated maximal current value Imax,i, and if so further activating the next electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, the successive activation being repeated until the Kth electrical energy storage or production cell." Support for the amendments to claim 1 can be found throughout Applicant's specification as-filed, in at least paragraph 28 of page 5. The cited combination of Jhunjhunwala and Okui does not teach or suggest at least these features of amended claim 1. The features of amended claim 1 solve the problem of avoiding a sharp drop in production cell assembly capacity (battery capacity) of supplying a nominal current from a certain discharge state. It prevents the current from becoming too small in a second discharge regime (or phase) for ensuring the nominal operation (in a first discharge regime), a fixed current is imposed with a decreasing voltage across a battery terminals while in the second discharge regime, a fixed voltage is maintained with a decreasing discharge current). The features of amended claim 1 accordingly make it possible to continue to supply an application current for a prolonged period. The discharge of a cell is prioritized so as to use its second regime as early as possible, and the remaining cells are switched successively so as to supply the additional current that is necessary to satisfy the needs of the application at each instant time. This results in a capacity gain during operation, in comparison with the standard case. The features of amended claim 1 accordingly enable optimization of the relative capacities of the different cells and the autonomy of the cell assembly. Jhunjhunwala describes an energy storage system comprising a plurality of battery banks of individual batteries based on split configuration, the split battery configuration of the plurality of banks being made based a probability of usage (represented by a pdf function) between two charging opportunities, a charging opportunity corresponding to an access to a power source by the user, an optimization goal, and battery characteristics of a corresponding single battery system; and a logic unit connected to the plurality of battery banks. See Jhunjhunwala, at Abstract. The logic unit of Jhunjhunwala is provided to select one or more battery banks from the plurality of battery banks, to provide power to a load based on the current performance data of each battery bank, on the pdf function, and on the optimization goal (which can be optimizing the weight, cost, size, or life of the system); and rotate the use of the battery banks from the plurality of battery banks when a next charging opportunity occurs. See Jhunjhunwala, at Claim 1. As such, Jhunjhunwala lies on a preliminary split of each single battery into several battery banks and seeks to optimize usage of the different battery banks based on statistical probability of usage, the current performance of each battery bank and the optimization goal. Accordingly, Jhunjhunwala requires previously splitting each single battery into a set of battery banks to achieve the optimization goal, before managing the rotation of the battery banks. Jhunjhunwala therefore rather focuses on a management circuit dedicated to the management of battery banks resulting from a prior split of each single battery determined from usage statistics and the optimization goal, and therefore concerns a different management level. Further, Jhunjhunwala only rotates usage of the battery banks at the next charging opportunity (that is, "when the user gets access to a source of power to charge battery for a considerable period of time"). Therefore, the selection of one or more battery banks is triggered by the occurrence of a charging opportunity (that is an access to a power source by the user). In Jhunjhunwala, there is contemplated a first case where only one battery bank is selected at a time during discharging, the same bank being charged then during the regenerative breaking. For this case, Jhunjhunwala refers to Table 2, where three battery banks B1, B2 and B3 are selected such that while B1 and B2 are of same weight W, B3 is selected to be lighter (it weighs W/2). The weight of all the battery banks is therefore 2.5 W. Such selection is presented as advantageous with respect to a traditional single bank battery system, which is three times B 1 and would weight 3 W. See Jhunjhunwala, at [0034]. Therefore, in the case of the selection of one battery bank at the time, the successive selection of the battery banks is made at each charging opportunity so as to reduce weight as opposed to single battery. The selection of Jhunjhunwala is therefore clearly specific to optimizing the usage of battery banks with respect to a single battery. Jhunjhunwala provides another example of selection of battery banks where several battery banks can be selected simultaneously, both during discharge and charge (due to regenerative breaking). See Jhunjhunwala, at [0045]. In this second selection case, multiple battery banks are selected based on pre-configured power harnessing modes, and individual parameter specific thresholds. This selection of multiple battery banks is used to combine output from the selected multiple battery banks to supply power to meet the load requirements of the system. Therefore, Jhunjhunwala is focused on switching the selection of battery banks (on or more) at each charging opportunity (access to a power source) based on the optimization goal (for example optimizing the overall weight of the system) using statistics of usage of the battery banks between two charging opportunity and the characteristics of each battery bank. Jhunjhunwala is therefore not related to the management of single electrical energy storage or production cells. Jhunjhunwala does not exploit an ordering of the electrical energy storage or production cells related to their rank i according to a priority order, as claimed. Further, Jhunjhunwala does not describe, the criteria to discharge, in discharge mode, at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank 1 or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank I, according to which: "the electrical energy storage or production cell B 1 of rank 1 is discharged as long as it is able to supply the output current Is, where Is < Imax1; [and] the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi that are discharged successively according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode, the number k being such that 2 < k < N," as claimed. Indeed, in Jhunjhunwala, the selection criteria applied in discharge mode concerns the battery banks and not the single batteries, and is related to the optimization goal of the overall system (such as optimizing the overall weight of the system), the statistical usage between two charging opportunities (accesses to power sources by the user), a feature of each battery bank related to the optimization goal (for example its weight) and the battery bank capacity. Also clearly missing from Jhunjhunwala are the features of claim 1 according to which the management circuit comprises: "blocks M; of rank i, each electrical energy storage or production cell Bi being coupled to a block Mi, each cell B; coupled to a block Mi being capable of delivering an output current Ii, a block Mi being a voltage regulator; wherein a production cell Bi provides a maximal current Imax at each time instant, the number k meeting the following conditions: SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.230.333 Imaxi < Is and SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.230.31 Imaxi Is ; the set of said blocks Mi generating an output current Is which is equal to the sum of the output currents I;, said blocks Mi successively activating an electrical energy storage or production cell Bi, according to the priority order, until the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi is totally depleted without exceeding the associated maximal current value Imax,i, and if so further activating the next electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, the successive activation being repeated until the Kth electrical energy storage or production cell." Jhunjhunwala is clearly silent about the use of such block Mi forming voltage regulators. Jhunjhunwala instead manages usage of different battery banks according to an optimization goal related to properties of the overall system (weight, costs, size, life...) and rotate the usage at each new charging opportunity (when the user accesses to a power source). Jhunjhunwala does not switch the selection of the single batteries but of the battery banks. Further, Jhunjhunwala does not switch the selection of battery banks considering the priority order related to the batteries (or even of the battery banks) and the total depletion of a current battery (or even a battery bank) without exceeding the associated maximal current value Imax,i, for selecting (or activating) the next battery (or battery rank). In contrast, Jhunjhunwala waits for the next charging opportunity to change the selection of the battery bank(s) and uses different selection criteria focused on the optimization goal (such as optimizing the weight of the overall system), usage statistics of each battery bank between two charging opportunities, and the capacities of the battery banks. Okui does not cure the deficiencies of Jhunjhunwala. Although Okui relates to an energy storage system using a battery system, Okui does not cure the deficiencies of Jhunjhunwala. Okui addresses the problem of the degradation of the speed of battery systems due to repeated charging and discharging of the battery systems. See Okui, at [0005]. Okui provides in this respect a battery system including: a plurality of battery banks connected in parallel with each other; and a distribution controller coupled to the battery banks. The distribution controller determines a priority order between the battery banks based both on a state of charge (SOC) and on a state of health (SOH) of each of the battery banks, selects some of the battery banks to be charged or discharged according to a target charging/discharging amount based on the priority order, and performs a charging or discharging on the selected battery banks according to the target charging/discharging amount so that others of the battery banks are paused using a plurality of DC/DC converters connected to the battery banks. See Okui, at [0043]. The selected battery banks can be all charged or discharged with the same C-rate, lower than the maximum C-rate. See Okui, at [0020]. Okui requires previously determining charging/discharging limitation amounts for each battery banks using the associated SOC and a first and second critical value. Therefore, Okui manages when to pause or activate some battery banks to meet the target charging/discharging amount using a selection of batteries bank related to an ordering of the battery banks based on the SOC and SOH of the battery banks and requires pausing a previous battery bank when a new battery bank among the selected battery bank is used. However, Okui is silent about the above noted features of amended claim 1. The above noted features of amended claim 1 generally solve the problem of optimizing the period of autonomy of the cell assembly while keeping a cell available in its first regime, whereas the other cell or cells continue to supply current in their second regime (second part of the discharge). For example, an autonomy gain of 33% can be achieved with an assembly comprising three cells. Assuming that the skilled person had tried to combine Jhunjhunwala and Okui references to solve the above problem, he would not have arrived to the features of amended claim 1, with both Jhunjhunwala and Okui failing to disclose or suggest the above noted features of amended claim 1, and addressing a different problem. For at least the reasons described above, the combination of Jhunjhunwala and Okui does not teach or suggest each and every feature of amended independent claim 1. Accordingly, claim 1 is patentable over the cited references, alone or in combination. Applicant therefore respectfully requests the Examiner to withdraw the § 103(a) rejection of independent claim 1. Because dependent claims 2-3 and 6-10 depend from independent claim 1, they too are patentable for at least the same reasons as claim 1, as well as for the additional features they recite. Reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of these dependent claims is also respectfully requested. Claims 4-5 Claims 4-5 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2008/0157743 (hereinafter "Martin"). Office Action, at 16. Martin does not cure the failure of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to disclose or make obvious the subject matter of amended independent claim 1 from which claims 4-5 depend. Accordingly, for at least the reasons described above in connection with independent claim 1, Applicant respectfully requests reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of claims 4-5. Claims 11 and 13 Claims 11 and 13 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2019/0027943 (hereinafter "Rothschild"). Office Action, at 19. Rothschild does not cure the failure of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to disclose or make obvious the subject matter of amended independent claim 1 from which claims 11 and 13 depend. Accordingly, for at least the reasons described above in connection with independent claim 1, Applicant respectfully requests reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of claims 11 and 13. Claim 13 Claim 13 stands rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and further in view of U.S. Publication No. 2014/0287278 (hereinafter "Despesse"). Office Action, at 20. Despesse does not cure the failure of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to disclose or make obvious the subject matter of amended independent claim 1 from which claim 13 depends. Accordingly, for at least the reasons described above in connection with independent claim 1, Applicant respectfully requests reconsideration and withdrawal of the rejection of claim 13. CONCLUSION Applicant respectfully submits that the present application is in condition for allowance. Reconsideration of the application and an early Notice of Allowance are respectfully requested. In the event that the Examiner cannot allow the application for any reason, the Examiner is encouraged to contact Applicant's representative. Date: 1/8/2024SVG {EMBED HERE} 0.122.917Katharine Y. Domitrovich Registration No. 77712 BakerHostetler 999 Third Avenue, Suite 3900, Seattle, WA 98104, Telephone: 206.332.1380 Facsimile: 206.624.7317

NEXT OFFICE ACTION: 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 application filed on 1/09/2024.  Claims 1-13 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Response to arguments
Applicant amended claims 1 and 2 which changes the scope of the claims and as such a new ground of rejection is issued. However, it is noted that the previously applied references are still used in the current grounds of rejection.
In regards to the 112 second rejection Applicant asserts (pg. 7):
With regard to amended claim 2, the term hysteresis in all or nothing mode has been replaced by hysteresis in on-off control which is another translation of the corresponding French expression hysteresis en mode tout ou rien in the priority application. One of ordinary skill in the art would immediately understand the term hysteresis in on-off control to refer to hysteresis created between ON and OFF states on an on/off control to avoid frequent output state changes, the on/off control turning the output to ON or OFF states based on a set point.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and maintains the 112 second rejection as specified below.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant asserts (pg. 11):
Jhunjhunwala is therefore not related to the management of single electrical energy storage or production cells. Jhunjhunwala does not exploit an ordering of the electrical energy storage or production cells related to their rank i according to a priority order, as claimed.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagrees. As seen in the rejection of claim 1, Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to teach claim language:
“said block Mi successively activating an electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, until the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi is totally depleted without exceeding the associated maximal current value lmaxi, and if so further activating the next electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, the successive activation being repeated until the Kth electrical energy storage or production cell  (Fig. 3A,3B and [0026] illustrates an example of the sequential usage of battery banks using a three battery bank system where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. In FIG. 3A, the discharge starts with battery bank 102-1 and proceeds to 102-2. The battery bank 102-3 is in process of discharge subsequent to full discharge of battery banks 102-1 and 102-2. As such each battery supplies it’s Imaxi).
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts:
Further, Jhunjhunwala does not describe, the criteria to discharge, in discharge mode, at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank I or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank I, according to which: the electrical energy storage or production cell BI of rank I is discharged as long as it is able to supply the output current Is, where Is< Imaxl; [and] the electrical energy storage or production cell Bl of rank I is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi that are discharged successively according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode, the number k being such that 2 < k
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and points to the rejection of claim 1 where the Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to teach the limitations of claim 1 as specified below.
Specifically, The Examiner uses Jhunjhunwala to disclose “the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged as long as it is able to supply the output current Is (load current (IL)), where Is < lmax1 ([0046] - [0049]);
the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi that are discharged according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode, the number k being such that 2 < k < N ([0046]-[0049]  FIG. 7-8).
The Examiner further states that Jhunjhunwala is not clear that the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 is discharged successively when discharged additionally with a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi.
However since Jhunjhunwala teaches that the discharge output of the batteries are combined to when a single battery bank is not adequate and when the load varies ([0046]-[0049]), it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the energy storage cells to be successively discharged in the event the load varies to a larger value, in order to avoid heating a battery unnecessarily by using it when it is not needed.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg.11-12):
Also clearly missing from Jhunjhunwala are the features of claim 1 according to which the management circuit comprises: blocks Mi of rank i, each electrical energy storage or production cell Bi being coupled to a block Mi, each cell Bi coupled to a block Mi being capable of delivering an output current L, a block Mi being a voltage regulator; wherein a production cell Bi provides a maximal current Imax at each time instant, the number k meeting the following conditions:…. the Kth electrical energy storage or production cell.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala and Okui to teach claim language of claim 1 as specified below.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg. 12):
Jhunjhunwala is clearly silent about the use of such block Mi forming voltage regulators.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and points to the rejection of claim 1 where the Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and Tse to teach the claim language of claim 1 as follows:
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui is not specifically clear regarding the block Mi being a voltage regulator.
However, the use of DC-DC converters as voltage regulators are well known as seen in Tse ([0044] and [0054] The DC/DC converter 564 converts voltage Vb to a programmable, pre-determined or time varying voltage Vout. Therefore, the BCC system 550 provides a near constant output voltage or a well-regulated, programmable time varying output voltage).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the block Mi of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui to be a voltage regulator, in order to supply the load with a consistent voltage that it needs in the case of varying battery voltages.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg. 12):
Jhunjhunwala does not switch the selection of the single batteries but of the battery banks. Further, Jhunjhunwala does not switch the selection of battery banks considering the priority order related to the batteries (or even of the battery banks) and the total depletion of a current battery (or even a battery bank) without exceeding the associated maximal current value Imax,i, for selecting ( or activating) the next battery ( or battery rank).
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and points to the rejection of claims 1 where the Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and Tse to teach the claim language of claim 1 as specified below.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg. 12):
Okui does not cure the deficiencies of Jhunjhunwala. Although Okui relates to an energy storage system using a battery system, Okui does not cure the deficiencies of Jhunjhunwala.
And further asserts:
However, Okui is silent about the above noted features of amended claim 1.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and points to the rejection of claims 1 where the Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and Tse to teach the claim language of claim 1 as specified below.
In regards to the 103 rejection of Claim(s) 1 Applicant further asserts (pg. 12):
Assuming that the skilled person had tried to combine Jhunjhunwala and Okui references to solve the above problem, he would not have arrived to the features of amended claim 1, with both Jhunjhunwala and Okui failing to disclose or suggest the above noted features of amended claim 1, and addressing a different problem.
And further asserts:
For at least the reasons described above, the combination of Jhunjhunwala and Okui does not teach or suggest each and every feature of amended independent claim 1.
In response:
Examiner respectfully disagree and points to the rejection of claims 1 where the Examiner uses the combined teachings of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui and Tse to teach the claim language of claim 1 for the reasons set forth below.
Additionally, a reference may be directed to an entirely different problem than the one addressed by the inventor and can still be proper for use in an obviousness rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 (MPEP 2141.01).
In regards to applicants remaining remarks:
Applicant remarks have been considered but are moot base on new grounds of rejection.
Drawings
In the most recent OA, the Examiner issued a drawing objection because the images and drawing labels appear “blurry” and illegible.
In response, the Applicant filed a drawing amendment including eight replacement sheets. Examiner acknowledges and approves Applicants drawing amendment.
Claim Objection
Claim 1 is objected to due to the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the following equation in a lettering that is unclear and blurry:
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The claimed equation lettering is not sharp nor reflects the quality equivalent to a laser printer.
The Examiner recommends correcting the lettering and claim language to show dark, high- contrast images of quality equivalent to the quality produced by a laser printer in such a way that secure solid, sharp, high contrast lettering.
Correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 2 recites “through hysteresis in on-off control” which is not supported in the specification and is therefore new matter.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (b), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA  the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “2 < k < N,:” which is unclear.
Specifically, the claim term ends with a comma followed by a colon.
It is unclear if the claim term should end with a comma, colon, or semi-colon (i.e., 2 < k < N, 2 < k < N: or 2 < k < N;)
Claim 1 recites “at each time instant” which lacks antecedent basis. It is unclear what time instant is meant by “each time instant”
The following claim language of claim 1 is unclear:
“said management circuit comprises means, in discharge mode, for discharging at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank 1 or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank i and according to the following criteria:
the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged as long as it is able to supply the output current Is, where ls
the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi that are discharged successively according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode, the number k being such that 2 < k
said management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells Bi comprising:
blocks Mi of rank i, each electrical energy storage or production cell Bi being coupled to the block Mi, each cell Bi coupled to a block Mi being capable of delivering an output current Ii, a block Mi being a voltage regulator;
wherein a production cell Bi provides a maximal current lmax at each time instant, the number k meeting the following conditions:
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the set of said blocks Mi generating an output current Is which is equal to the sum of the output currents Ii, said blocks Mi successively activating an electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, until the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi is totally depleted without exceeding the associated maximal current value lmaxi, and if so further activating the next electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, the successive activation being repeated until the Kth electrical energy storage or production cell.”
The claim language of claim 1 above is claiming:
at least two cells are discharging successively and simultaneously at its max current Imax (i.e., “the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi that are discharged successively according to their rank I”) and
The cells are discharging successively and one at a time (at their respective max current Imax) until depleted. (i.e., “successively activating an electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, until the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi is totally depleted …, and if so further activating the next electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order).
It is unclear how both of these limitations are occurring concurrently.
Also claim language “and if so” is also unclear.
Does claim language “if so” refer to if the electrical energy storage cell Bi is totally depleted without exceeding the associated maximal current value lmax? or if the electrical energy storage cell Bi is totally depleted while exceeding the maximal current value lmax?
Claim 2 recites “through hysteresis in on-off control” which is unclear. It is unclear what is meant by “on-off control”.
Claims 2-13 is/are included in this rejection due to their dependence on claim 1.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Tse (US 20130038289).
As to claim 1, Jhunjhunwala discloses an assembly (Fig. 7) for delivering an output current Is ([0047] IL refers to the current demanded by the load), comprising:
N electrical energy storage or production cells Bi of rank i ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B,5,7 Battery Banks 1021-102N, The battery banks 1021-N are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks, where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used), where N>2, each cell comprising an elementary cell or an elementary assembly of elementary cells CEij arranged in series and/or in parallel (Fig. 5 and 7 and [0021] … multiple banks of individual batteries. Banks are placed in parallel), each electrical energy storage or production cell being able to supply a maximum current lmaxi continuously during a time period T ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B Battery Banks 1021-102N, the battery banks 1021-N are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence … where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. As such each battery supplies it’s Imaxi).
Jhunjhunwala further discloses a management circuit (Fig. 7 battery bank selector 704) for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells Bi (Fig. 7 battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5 (element 400 and Control 504) with the additional functionality to select multiple battery banks based on pre-configured power harnessing modes, and individual parameter specific thresholds. The logic control and splitting of battery (i.e Fig. 5) can be pre-configured based on anticipated usage patterns/priorities. [0038] [0046] [0042]), wherein, said electrical energy storage or production cells are ordered according to their rank i according to a priority order ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B,5 Battery Banks 1021-102N, are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks, where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used), said management circuit comprises means, in discharge mode (Fig. 7 battery bank selector 704 and Control 504 of Fig. 5), for discharging at least the electrical energy storage or production cell of rank 1 or the electrical energy storage or production cells according to their rank i ([0026] Fig. 3A-3B,5,7-8 where selector 704 selects a single or multiple Battery Banks 1021-102N, to discharge to a load) and according to the following criteria:
the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged as long as it is able to supply the output current Is (load current (IL)), where Is < lmax1 ([0046] - [0049] Fig. 8 At step 804, if the current requirement of the load (IL) is less than the lower threshold (It1), then battery bank B1 is selected for use at step 806. It1 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 alone);
the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 of rank 1 is discharged with additionally a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi that are discharged according to their rank i, so as to supply the current Is continuously during said time period T in discharge mode, the number k being such that 2 < k < N ([0046]-[0049]  FIG. 7-8 In scenarios where performance of a single battery bank is not adequate, the battery bank selector 704 can be used to combine output from more than one battery bank to supply power to the load 706. This may be especially required when load is varying).
Jhunjhunwala is not clear that the electrical energy storage or production cell B1 is discharged successively when discharged additionally with a number k of electrical energy storage or production cells Bi.
However, Jhunjhunwala teaches that the discharge output of the batteries are combined when a single battery bank is not adequate and when the load varies ([0046]-[0049]). Therefore, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the energy storage cells to be successively discharged in the event the load varies to a larger value, in order to avoid heating a battery unnecessarily by using it when it is not needed.
Jhunjhunwala further discloses said management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells Bi (Fig. 7 Battery Banks 1021-102N), comprising:
A block Mi ([0046] the battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5 with the additional functionality to select multiple battery banks. i.e. logic control unit 504 and a switching mechanism shown in 502), each electrical energy storage or production cell Bi being coupled to the block Mi, each cell Bi coupled to a block Mi being capable of delivering an output current Ii (Fig. 5 Each battery bank coupled to power conditioning element. [0026] FIG. 3A, 3B and Fig. 8);
wherein a production cell Bi provides a current at each time instant, the number k meeting the following conditions:
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[0048]-[0049]  Fig. 8 at step 812, if current required by load (IL) is greater than the upper current threshold (It2) then at step 814, B1, B2, and B3 are selected. It1 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 alone, and It2 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 and B2 combined. As such load current IL (i.e. Is) is greater than the maximum current of battery B1 and B2 and less than or equal to the maximum current of B2,B2, and B3 combined.
Jhunjhunwala is not specifically clear that production cell Bi provides a maximal current lmax at each time instant.
However, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that production cell Bi provides a maximal current lmax at each time instant, in order for the load to operate at its full operating state.
Jhunjhunwala further discloses the block Mi generating an output current Is which is equal to the sum of the output currents Ii ([0048]-[0049]  Fig. 8), said block Mi successively activating an electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, until the electrical energy storage or production cell Bi is totally depleted without exceeding the associated maximal current value lmaxi, and if so further activating the next electrical energy storage or production cell Bi according to the priority order, the successive activation being repeated until the Kth electrical energy storage or production cell  (Fig. 3A,3B and [0026] illustrates an example of the sequential usage of battery banks using a three battery bank system where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. In FIG. 3A, the discharge starts with battery bank 102-1 and proceeds to 102-2. The battery bank 102-3 is in process of discharge subsequent to full discharge of battery banks 102-1 and 102-2. As such each battery supplies it’s Imaxi).
Jhunjhunwala does not specifically state that the block Mi ([0046] the battery bank selector 704 is a logic unit as shown in FIG. 5) is multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks Mi generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents Ii.
Okui teaches a management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells Bi comprising multiple blocks Mi of rank i (Fig. 2 battery banks 210 with corresponding converters 220. A priority order between the battery banks is determined and at least some of the battery banks to be discharged based on the priority order. The distribution controller 230 controls the DC/DC converters 220 so that some of the battery banks 210 perform the discharging according to the target charging/discharging amount. ([0046] [0050]) As such, since the converters facilitate the discharging of their corresponding battery bank, the converters 22 have the same priority rank order (rank i) as the prioritized battery banks they are connected to).
Okui further teaches the management circuit set of said blocks Mi generates the output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents Ii ([0050] battery banks 210 are connected to a common node. The battery banks 210 may be connected to one another in parallel via the DC/DC converters 220).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the management circuit of Jhunjhunwala to comprise multiple blocks (Mi) of rank i and that set of said blocks (Mi) generating an output current (Is) equal to the sum of the output currents (Ii) in order to provide a voltage level that is suitable for the load while allowing some of the battery banks to perform the discharging while pausing others ([0050] of Okui).
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui is not specifically clear of the block Mi being a voltage regulator.
However, the use of DC-DC converters as voltage regulators are well known as seen in Tse ([0044] and [0054] The DC/DC converter 564 converts voltage Vb to a programmable, pre-determined or time varying voltage Vout. Therefore, the BCC system 550 provides a near constant output voltage or a well-regulated, programmable time varying output voltage).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the block Mi of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui to be a voltage regulator, in order to supply the load with a consistent voltage that it needs in the case of varying battery voltages.
As to claim 2, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switch, the management circuit for managing said electrical energy storage or production cells controlling each of said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) ([0048] -[0049]  of Fig. 8 Jhunjhunwala at step 812, if current required by load (IL) is greater than the upper current threshold (It2) then at step 814, B1, B2, and B3 are selected.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse does not specifically teach controlling each of said electrical energy storage or production cells (Bi) through hysteresis in on-off control.
However since Jhunjhunwala teaches that the discharge output of the batteries are combined when a single battery bank is not adequate and when the load varies ([0046]-[0049]), it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to dynamically combine or disconnect the battery to the load as the load varies up and down (i.e. controlling through hysteresis in on-off control), in order to avoid heating a battery unnecessarily by using it when it is not needed.
As to claim 3, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a regulator (Rgi) (Fig. 2 of Okui DC/DC converters 220) with a reference output voltage Uthi ( output voltage of DC/DC converters 220).
As to claim 6, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, comprising electrical energy storage or production cells having different electrical capacity values (Abstract …each of which may have different characteristics).
As to claim 7, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 3.
Jhunjhunwala does not disclose/teach wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank i.
Okui teaches wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank i. ([0086] In the case of the discharging mode, the distribution controller may determine the priority order between the battery banks so that the battery bank having higher SOC and higher SOH may have higher priority (operation S66). The battery bank having a higher SOC may be more likely to be discharged than the battery bank having a lower SOC. The battery bank having a higher SOH may be more likely to be discharged than the battery bank having a lower SOH.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala to include wherein the electrical energy storage or production cells have electrical capacity values that decrease according to the rank I, as taught by Okui in order to preserve the state of health for each battery by maintaining the SOC of each battery at a level that reduces deterioration.
As to claim 8,  Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the management circuit comprises means, for placing all of the cells in parallel in recharge mode, corresponding to a negative output current -Is (Fig. 5 of Jhunjhunwala all battery modules are in parallel and are charged and discharged in said configuration [0026]).
As to claim 9,  Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the management circuit comprises means, in recharge mode, corresponding to a negative output current -Is, for discharging the cells of high rank as a priority, from rank N to rank 1 ([0026] and Fig. 3A of Jhunjhunwala battery banks are configured to be used/discharged in a sequence based on pre-defined priorities for the usage of the battery banks, where a bank is drained as per set limit before a subsequent bank is used. First battery bank 102 that is discharged first is charged first) .
As to claim 10, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are batteries (Fig. 1 of Jhunjhunwala battery banks 102).
Claims 4-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Tse (US 20130038289) in view of Martin (US 20080157743).
As to claim 4, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 3, operating with an output voltage Vs, each block (Mi) comprising a regulator that operates with a voltage threshold (output voltage of DC/DC converters 220, Fig. 1-2 of Okui), and the voltage thresholds of the regulators (Rgi) being such that: Uth2 > Uth3 > ....> UthN ([0050] of Okui The distribution controller 230 may control the DC/DC converters 220  so that some of the battery banks 210 perform the discharging according to the target charging/discharging amount and the other battery banks 210 may be paused. As such, the output of the converters 220 are different as some battery banks are paused while others are discharge. Therefore the converters outputs (i.e. the voltage threshold) differ during discharging) and the cell of rank 1 (B1) is being activated by the management circuit if Vs > Uth2 so as to supply Imax,1 (Fig. 8 [0048] of Jhunjhunwala where if the current requirement of the load (IL) is less than the lower threshold (It1), then battery bank B1 is selected by the battery bank selector (i.e. activated by management circuit). It1 can be the maximum current that can be drawn from B1 alone. As such the voltage at the output of the DC/DC converter when only battery bank B1 is activated will be the output voltage of the DC/DC converter (i.e. Vs = Uth2) [0049] );
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui does not teach the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when Vs < Uth2; the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1 so as to supply an additional current when Vs < UthN.
Martin teaches the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when Vs < Uth2; the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1 so as to supply an additional current when Vs < UthN ([0120] In response to a more drastic voltage droop as a result of increased power consumption (i.e. Vs < UthN) , the controller circuit 1206 enables transient controller 1210 to generate respective control signals to activate dynamic power supply circuit 1245 at a same time the voltage regulator circuit 1255 is enabled to supply power to the load. Accordingly, when load 1218 suddenly requires a substantial increase in power, the controller circuit 1206 deploys transient controller 1210 to prevent drooping of voltage 1220 by supplementing an amount of power (e.g., current) conveyed to load 1218).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui to include the second cell (B2) is activated in addition to the first cell (B1) so as to supply an additional current, when Vs < Uth2; the Nth cell (BN) is activated in addition to the cells of lower rank B1+B2+....BN-1 so as to supply an additional current when Vs < UthN, as taught by Martin in order to keep the output voltage  at a substantially constant value in the event of a load transient ([0123] of Martin)
As to claim 5, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse  does not disclose/teach operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage and able to supply: a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage.
Martin teaches operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage (output of the regulator) and able to supply: a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage ([0120] In response to a more drastic voltage droop as a result of increased power consumption (i.e. Vs < UthN) , the controller circuit 1206 enables transient controller 1210 to generate respective control signals to activate dynamic power supply circuit 1245 at a same time the voltage regulator circuit 1255 is enabled to supply power to the load. Accordingly, when load 1218 suddenly requires a substantial increase in power, the controller circuit 1206 deploys transient controller 1210 to prevent drooping of voltage 1220 by supplementing an amount of power (e.g., current) conveyed to load 1218).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui to include operating with an output voltage Vs, wherein each block (Mi) comprises a switched-mode converter having a setpoint voltage (output of the regulator) and able to supply: a current at output when the output voltage Vs is lower than said setpoint voltage, in order to keep the output voltage Vs at the setpoint voltage, as taught by Martin to keep the output voltage  at a substantially constant value in the event of a load transient ([0123] of Martin).
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Martin does not specifically teach and a zero current when the output voltage Vs is greater than this setpoint.
However it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide zero current when the load/battery has charged to a higher voltage than the setpoint voltage (i.e. the output voltage Vs is greater than this setpoint) indicating a fully charged battery, thereby preventing overcharging.
Claims 11 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Tse (US 20130038289) in view of Rothschild (US 20190027943).
As to claim 11,  Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches each battery bank is multiple banks of individual batteries ([0021]), Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse does not specifically teach the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells (each battery bank) are micro batteries.
Rothschild teaches elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are micro batteries ([0017] The rectifier 102 may be connected to the battery unit 104. The battery unit 104 may comprise a plurality of micro-batteries (B1, B2, B3 . . . Bn).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells of Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui to be micro batteries, in order to reduce the physical size of Jhunjhunwala battery pack.
As to claim 13,  Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 11.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse in view of Rothschild does not specifically teach wherein the micro batteries and the management circuit are contained in a 3D stack.
However it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to contain the micro batteries and the management circuit taught by Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Rothschild in a 3D stack in order to reduce the space of the assembly.
Claim 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jhunjhunwala (US 20170229880) in view of Okui (US 20160226268) in view of Tse (US 20130038289) in view of Despesse (US 20140287278)
As to claim 13, Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse teaches the assembly according to Claim 1.
Jhunjhunwala in view of Okui in view of Tse does not specifically teach wherein the elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are hydrogen fuel cells.
Despesse teaches elementary electrical energy storage or production cells are hydrogen fuel cells ([0239] hydrogen fuel cell).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the assembly of Jhunjhunwala  in view of Okui to elementary electrical energy storage or production cells to be hydrogen fuel cell, as taught by Despesse in order to apply Jhunjhunwala  method to applications using hydrogen fuel cells in order to optimizes at least one of cost, weight or size of the overall system (Abstract of Jhunjhunwala) .
Conclusion

CITED REFERENCE SUMMARIES: Ref US20170229880: Claims:
1. An energy storage system comprising:
a plurality of battery banks of individual batteries based on split configuration derived by a splitter, wherein split battery configuration of the plurality of banks varies based on a probability distribution function (pdf) of expected usage pattern, optimization goal, and battery characteristics of a corresponding single battery system; and a logic unit, pre-configured with the pdf and connected to the plurality of battery banks, configured to:
obtain performance of each of the battery banks;
select at least one battery bank, from the plurality of battery banks, to provide power to a load based on current performance data of each said battery banks and at least one selection criterion; and
rotate use of battery banks from the plurality of battery banks until next charging opportunity;
wherein the split from a single battery bank is to optimize at least one among cost, weight or size of the system; and
wherein the selection of at least one battery bank is based on the pdf; and
wherein the selection of battery banks is to optimize at least one among weight, cost, size, and life of the system for the usage pattern without compromising on the range of the system.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein characteristic of each battery bank is different based on at least one among chemistry, variability in chemistry, energy density, size, weight, and cost.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the required storage capacity is obtained by using plurality of battery banks aiding the performance, and reducing the total cost of the system by using the required battery bank or battery banks according to the selection criterion.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said criteria is configured to select a battery bank out of the plurality of battery banks in a sequential order according to usage requirements based on pre-defined priorities for the plurality of battery banks or in an adaptive manner based on the matrices chosen for a given application.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic unit is further configured to dynamically switch from a first energy harnessing mode to a second energy harnessing mode, wherein said harnessing modes are based on usage parameters.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the selection criteria comprises at least one threshold dynamically defined based on the plurality of usage parameters.
7. The system of claim 4, wherein the selection criteria depends upon the said battery usage parameters comprising at least one among Depth of Discharge (DoD), rate of charging, rate of discharging, and operation temperature which vary based on the application usage of the system.
8. The system of claim 5, wherein the selection criteria depends upon the said battery usage parameters comprising at least one among Depth of Discharge (DoD), rate of charging, rate of discharging, and operation temperature which vary based on the application usage of the system.
9. The system of claim 6, wherein the selection criteria depends upon the said battery usage parameters comprising at least one among Depth of Discharge (DoD), rate of charging, rate of discharging, and operation temperature which vary based on the application usage of the system.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein performance data comprises at least one of a state of charge, generated current, generated voltage, state of health and lifetime of the battery bank(s).
11. The system of claim 1, said logic unit further configured to update its logic based on said pre-configured pdf with an updated pdf based on actual usage patterns observed.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein frequency of use of different battery banks and life of the batteries from said plurality of battery banks varies based on usage probability distribution function in use.
13. An energy management method for an energy storage system configured with a plurality of battery banks, the method comprising:
deriving a split battery configuration with a plurality of battery banks by a splitter, wherein the split battery configuration of the plurality of banks varies based on a probability distribution function (pdf) of expected usage pattern, optimization goal, and battery characteristics of a corresponding single battery system; obtaining, by the energy storage system, performance information of said plurality of battery banks; selecting, by the energy storage system, at least one battery bank to provide power to a load based on desired performance and at least one selection criterion; and rotating use of battery banks from the plurality of battery banks until next charging opportunity, wherein the split from a single battery bank is to optimize at least one among cost, weight or size of the system, and wherein the selection of at least one battery bank is based on the pdf, and wherein the selection of battery banks is to optimize at least one among weight, cost, size, and life of the system for the usage pattern without compromising on the range of the system.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein characteristic of each battery bank is different based on at least one among chemistry, variability in chemistry, energy density, size, weight, and cost.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the required storage capacity is obtained by using plurality of battery banks aiding the performance, and reducing the total cost of the system by using the required battery bank or battery banks according to the selection criterion.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein said criteria is configured to select a battery bank out of the plurality of battery banks in a sequential order according to usage requirements based on pre-defined priorities for the plurality of battery banks or in an adaptive manner based on the matrices chosen for a given application.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the logic unit is further configured to dynamically switch from a first energy harnessing mode to a second energy harnessing mode, wherein said harnessing modes are based on usage parameters.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the selection criteria comprises at least one threshold dynamically defined based on the plurality of usage parameters.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the selection criteria depends upon the said battery usage parameters comprising at least one among Depth of Discharge (DoD), rate of charging, rate of discharging, and operation temperature which vary based on the application usage of the system.
20. The method of claim 15, wherein the selection criteria depends upon the said battery usage parameters comprising at least one among Depth of Discharge (DoD), rate of charging, rate of discharging, and operation temperature which vary based on the application usage of the system.
21. The method of claim 16, wherein the selection criteria depends upon the said battery usage parameters comprising at least one among Depth of Discharge (DoD), rate of charging, rate of discharging, and operation temperature which vary based on the application usage of the system.
22. The method of claim 13, wherein performance data comprises at least one of a state of charge, generated current, generated voltage, state of health and lifetime of the battery bank(s).
23. The method of claim 13, said logic unit further configured to update its logic based on said pre-configured pdf with an updated pdf based on actual usage patterns observed.
24. The method of claim 13, wherein frequency of use of different battery banks and life of the batteries from said plurality of battery banks varies based on usage probability distribution function in use.
Ref US20160226268: Claims:
1. A battery system comprising:
a plurality of battery banks connected in parallel with each other; and a distribution controller coupled to the battery banks and configured to:
receive a command comprising a target charging/discharging amount;
determine a priority order between the battery banks based on a state of charge (SOC) and a state of health (SOH) of each of the battery banks;
select at least some of the battery banks to be charged or discharged according to the target charging/discharging amount based on the priority order; and
perform a charging or discharging on the at least some of the battery banks according to the target charging/discharging amount so that others of the battery banks are paused.
2. The battery system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of direct current (DC)/DC converters that are connected respectively to the plurality of battery banks in series,
wherein the battery banks are connected in parallel with each other via the plurality of DC/DC converters, and the distribution controller is configured to control the plurality of DC/DC converters so that the at least some of the battery banks are charged or discharged while the others of the battery banks are paused.
3. The battery system of claim 2, wherein the battery banks comprise at least one first battery bank comprising battery cells of a first number, and at least one second battery bank comprising battery cells of a second number that is different from the first number, and
the plurality of DC/DC converters comprise at least one first DC/DC converter connected to the at least one first battery bank, and at least one second DC/DC converter connected to the at least one second battery bank.
4. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the battery banks comprise at least one first battery bank comprising battery cells of a first number, and at least one second battery bank comprising battery cells of a second number that is different from the first number,
the battery system further comprises at least one DC/DC converter connected to the at least one first battery bank, and at least one switch connected to the at least one second battery bank, and the distribution controller is configured to control the at least one DC/DC converter and the at least one switch so that the at least some battery banks are charged and discharged while the other battery banks are paused.
5. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of battery banks are connected to an electrical grid via a power converter.
6. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the distribution controller is configured to update the priority order between the plurality of battery banks at every update period.
7. The battery system of claim 6, wherein the distribution controller is configured to set the update period based on temperatures of the plurality of battery banks, and the update period is increased when the temperatures lower.
8. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the distribution controller is configured to update the priority order between the plurality of battery banks whenever a sign of the target charging/discharging amount is inversed.
9. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the distribution controller is configured to:
set a charging limitation amount of a first battery bank among the battery banks having an SOC that is greater than a first critical value as 0 from among the battery banks so that the first battery bank is paused when the distribution controller receives a charging command; and set a discharging limitation amount of a second battery bank among the battery banks having an SOC that is less than a second critical value as 0 from among the battery banks so that the second battery bank is paused when the distribution controller receives a discharging command.
10. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the distribution controller is configured to grant a higher priority to a first battery bank having lower SOC and higher SOH from among the battery banks when receiving the charging command, and the distribution controller is configured to grant the higher priority to a second battery bank having higher SOC and higher SOH from among the plurality of battery banks when receiving the discharging command.
11. The battery system of claim 10, wherein the first or second battery bank having higher SOH has a shorter paused time.
12. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the at least some of the battery banks have charging/discharging rates (C-rate) that are equal to each other.
13. The battery system of claim 1, wherein the distribution controller is configured to:
compare a total remaining capacity of the plurality of battery banks with a target remaining capacity; generate a corrected target charging/discharging amount by correcting the target charging/discharging amount based on a difference between the total remaining capacity and the target remaining capacity; and the at least some battery banks are charged or discharged according to the corrected target charging/discharging amount.
14. The battery system of claim 13, wherein,
in response to the total remaining capacity being greater than the target remaining capacity, the distribution controller is configured to determine the corrected target charging amount to be less than the target charging amount and to determine the corrected target discharging amount to be greater than the target discharging amount, and in response to the total remaining capacity being less than the target remaining capacity, the distribution controller is configured to determine the corrected target charging amount to be greater than the target charging amount and to determine the corrected target discharging amount to be less than the target discharging amount.
15. An energy storage system comprising:
a plurality of power converters; a plurality of battery units connected to an electrical grid respectively via the power converters; and a combined controller configured to control the plurality of power converters and the plurality of battery units, wherein each of the plurality of battery units comprises:
a plurality of battery banks connected in parallel with each other; and
a distribution controller configured to:
receive a command including a target charging/discharging amount;
determine a priority order between the plurality of battery banks based on a state of charge (SOC) and a state of health (SOH) of each of the plurality of battery banks;
select at least some battery banks among the battery banks to be charged or discharged according to the target charging/discharging amount based on the priority order; and
perform a charging or discharging on the at least some battery banks according to the target charging/discharging amount so that others of the battery banks are paused.
Ref US20080157743: Claims:
1. A power supply system, for delivering a current to a load at a load voltage, comprising:
two or more switching power conversion phases, each power conversion phase comprising a phase switch and a phase inductor; and a controller configured to:
monitor a change in the current delivered to the load; and
 based on a detected magnitude of the change in the current delivered to the load, predict a modification to a relative timing of initiation and duration of on-times of the phase switches in order to alter a rate-of-change of the current delivered by the power supply system.
2. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to monitor a variation in the load voltage to determine the magnitude of the change in the load current.
3. The power supply system of claim 2 further comprising:
a monitor circuit configured to produce an error signal indicative of a difference between the value of the load voltage and a pre-determined setpoint value.
4. The power supply system of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to monitor the error signal to detect a rate-of-change of the error voltage.
5. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein a current in a phase inductor in a given power converter phase increases during a time that a respective phase switch in the given power converter phase is ON.
6. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to predict a time duration, T I, that is an estimate of the amount of time required for the current delivered by the two or more switching power conversion phases to increase in an amount equal to the detected magnitude of the change in current.
7. The power supply system of claim 6 in which the controller is configured to turn the phase switches ON in the two or more switching power conversion phases for the time duration T1.
8. The power supply system of claim 1 in which one of the two or more switching power conversion phases is configured as a transient phase, the transient phase comprising a transient switch and transient inductor, the transient switch and transient inductor corresponding, respectively, to the phase switch and the phase inductor in the remainder of the switching power conversion phases, the transient inductor having a smaller inductance value than each of the inductance values associated with corresponding phase inductors of the two or more switching power conversion phases.
9. The power supply system of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to predict a time duration, T1, that is an estimate of the amount of time required for the current delivered by the two or more switching power conversion phases to increase in an amount equal to the detected magnitude of the change in current;
wherein the controller is configured to turn the phase switches and the transient switch ON for duration T1 and thereafter turn the transient switch OFF; and wherein the controller is configured to predict a time duration, T2, that is an estimate of the additional time that will be required to allow the current delivered by the remainder of the switching power conversion phases to increase in value in an amount equal to the change in load current.
10. The power supply system of claim 9 in which duration T2 is a multiple of duration T1.
11. The power supply system of claim 10 in which the multiple is a function of the relative values of the corresponding phase inductors and the transient inductor.
12. The power supply system of claim 9 in which the controller is configured to turn the phase switches OFF after time duration T2.
13. The power supply system of claim 8 in which:
the controller is configured to monitor an error signal indicative of the difference between the load voltage and a pre-determined setpoint value, and the controller is configured to predict a time duration, T3, that is an estimate of the time required for the current delivered by the two or more switching power conversion phases to increase in an amount equal to the detected magnitude of the change in current, and wherein the controller is configured to turn the phase switches ON for duration T3 and turn the transient switch ON during a transient time period that begins at the beginning of the time duration T3 and that ends when the magnitude of the error signal becomes less than a pre-determined threshold value.
14. The power supply system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to cycle the transient switch ON and OFF during the transient time period.
15. The power supply system of claim 4 in which the controller is further configured to:
compare the rate-of-change of error voltage to a slope threshold, and turn ON the phase switches in the power converter phases essentially immediately upon determining that the rate-of-change of load voltage exceeds the slope threshold.
16. A method comprising:
monitoring a current delivered by a power supply system to a load, the power supply system comprising at least two switching power conversion phases, each of the at least two switching power conversion phases having a corresponding phase switch and phase inductor; detecting a change in the current delivered to the load; and based on a magnitude of the change in the current through the load, predicting a modification to a relative timing of initiation and duration of on-times of the phase switches of the multiphase switching power converter to alter a magnitude of the current delivered by the power supply system to the load.
17. The method as i
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