DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Response to Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of the amendment filed on 12/08/2025 in which claims 1 and 15 were amended. Claim 4 stands as canceled and no new claims are added, therefore claims 1-3 and 5-20 are pending for examination below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negatived by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3, 5 and 7 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hobbs [US 2006/0028178] in view of Pozsgay et al. [US 6,928,372] and Keith [US 5,462,439].
With respect to claim 1, Hobbs discloses a vehicle charger [100] for charging a battery [152] of a vehicle [150] and for communication with a first controller of a battery to which the vehicle charger is connectable [160], the vehicle charger comprising: a second controller [270]; at least one of a group consisting of a transmitter and a receiver coupled to the second controller for communication with a network [275; wireless comm signals]; wherein the second controller is configured to receive data indicative of at least one of a group consisting of a type of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model of the battery, and an age of the battery [par. 0072,0080,0086,0088,0095,0096; during certain phases voltage and current information is received/measured and used to determine “the type of battery”]; wherein in response to the data retrieved by the second controller, the second controller changes a supply of electric power to the battery by at least one of a group consisting of increasing a rate of charge of the battery, decreasing the rate of charge of the battery, starting battery charging, and stopping battery charging [par. 0072,0080,0086,0088,0095,0096; additionally the information is used to determine “power level to start charging at”, “how quickly to change the charging rate”, and “when to stop charging”]. However, Hobbs fails to explicitly disclose the second controller/charger communicating with the first controller/battery and consequentially the data being received by the second controller from the first controller and furthermore, a display mounted within the vehicle for receiving and displaying the data.
Pozsgay discloses a method for charging a battery wherein a battery 302 includes a memory/controller 309 that stores information including the battery serial number, type of cell, charging instructions, and date of manufacture (age) in the memory [col. 2 lines 35-55] and sends that data to a memory/controller 311 of a charger so that the charging can receive and use the information in a charging operation [abstract].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs such that the battery included a memory/controller with the battery information (including type of cell) to send to the charger as taught by Pozsgay for the benefit of increasing efficiency of the recharging operation, i.e. Hobbs discloses the operation is stopped and restarted to double-check the type of cell was correctly determined whereas a memory that explicitly sent the information to the charger would skip the guess work and the starting/stopping of the recharging operation.
Additionally, Keith relates to an electrically rechargeable vehicle with a display for displaying received information and teaches a display mounted within the vehicle within view of a user seated within the vehicle [col. 5 line 50 to col. 6 line 13] and is configured to display at least some of the data received from a controller on the display [col. 11 line 52 to col 12 line5].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs to include a display within the vehicle within view of a user configured to display the data as taught by Keith for the benefit of facilitating the transmission and display of relevant battery charging data (i.e. battery type) within close and accessible view of the user of the electric vehicle, thereby allowing the user to quickly ascertain charging characteristics during charging and/or during operation.
With respect to claim 2, Hobbs further discloses a memory coupled to the second controller, wherein the second controller is also configured to store the data in the memory [par. 0051; i.e. controllers possess processors memory/RAM for which data is stored, also note various data like the look-up tables are stored thereon].
With respect to claim 3, Hobbs further discloses wherein the second controller, the memory, and the at least one of the group consisting of the transmitter and the receiver are all located in a common housing [Fig 2; within the charger housing].
With respect to claim 5, Hobbs further discloses at least one user-manipulatable control coupled to the second controller [104] and by which a setting of the vehicular battery charger is input by a user, wherein the setting at least partially controls when the vehicular battery charger supplies power to the battery [par. 0111; fast charging takes place for a particular amount of time as entered by the user].
With respect to claim 7, Hobbs further discloses wherein the second controller is configured to communicate wirelessly with a third controller that is remote from the second controller and the vehicle, the second controller responsive to signals from the third controller to change supply of electric power to the battery [i.e. with controller 130; see par. 0037,0039,0056].
Claim 6 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hobbs [US 2006/0028178], Pozsgay et al. [US 6,928,372], and Keith [US 5,462,439] as applied above, and further in view of Pryor [US 2008/0007202].
With respect to claim 6, Hobbs fails to explicitly disclose wherein the setting comprises a time of day, and in at least one state of the second controller, the second controller changes supply of electric power to the battery based at least in part upon the time of day input by the user.
Pryor discloses a method for charging an electric vehicle wherein a user enters a setting of a time of day to start charging, in which the charging is delayed until that time, and a charge termination time in which the charging of the battery is stopped [Fig. 3-4 i.e. the charging supply is changed based on the inputted time by the user].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs to include an input for a time control of charging for the benefit of tailoring the charging operation based on the desires/time-constraints of a user and also for allowing the user the option to decrease the costs of charging (economy mode selection).
Claims 15, 17-18, and 20 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hobbs [US 2006/0028178] in view of Pozsgay et al. [US 6,928,372] and Pryor [US 2008/0007202].
With respect to claims 15 and 20, Hobbs discloses a vehicle charger [100] for charging a battery [152] of a vehicle [160] and a first controller of a battery to which the vehicle charger is connectable [160], and for communication with a portable second controller [130] that is remote from the vehicle charger and the vehicle, the vehicle charger comprising: a vehicle charger controller [270]; and at least one of a group consisting of a transmitter and a receiver coupled to the vehicle charger controller for communication with the controllers [275]; wherein the vehicle charger controller is configured to: receive signals from the battery indicative of at least one of a group consisting of a capacity of the battery, a type of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model of the battery, and an age of the battery [par. 0072,0080,0086,0088,0095,0096; during certain phases voltage and current information is received/measured and used to determine “the type of battery”]; transmit data, based at least in part upon the signals received from the first controller, to the second controller [diagnostic device 130 communicates back and forth with the charger via a wireless network, par. 0037]; receive wireless signals from the second controller containing instructions [par. 0037]; and automatically change a supply of electric power to the battery by at least one of a group consisting of increasing a rate of charge of the battery, decreasing the rate of charge of the battery, starting battery charging, and stopping battery charging, based at least in part upon the signals received from the battery and the wireless signals received from the second controller [par. 0072,0080,0086,0088,0095,0096; additionally the information is used to determine “power level to start charging at”, “how quickly to change the charging rate”, and “when to stop charging”; additionally the remote controller 130 is disclosed as configured to allow control of the battery charging via the selections made by the user]. However, Hobbs fails to disclose the charger controller receives signals from the first/battery controller and receives wireless signals from a remote controller with instructions when the vehicle charger controller will begin or end a charging session.
Pozsgay discloses a method for charging a battery wherein a battery 302 includes a memory/controller 309 that stores information including the battery serial number, type of cell, charging instructions, and date of manufacture (age) in the memory [col. 2 lines 35-55] and sends that data to a memory/controller 311 of a charger so that the charging can receive and use the information in a charging operation [abstract].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs such that the battery included a memory/ first controller with the battery information (including type of cell) to send to the charger/second controller as taught by Pozsgay for the benefit of increasing efficiency of the recharging operation, i.e. Hobbs discloses the operation is stopped and restarted to double-check the type of cell was correctly determined whereas a memory that explicitly sent the information to the charger would skip the guess work and the starting/stopping of the recharging operation.
Furthermore, Pryor discloses a method for charging an electric vehicle wherein a charger receives wireless signals from a fleet charging management system containing instructions for when the vehicle charger will begin/end a charging session [par. 0023-0026; the remote controller at the management system determines and assigns vehicle specific charging times, including CIT].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs to include receipt of instructions for charging times from a remote management system for the benefit of evenly distributing vehicular charging over the grid as stated by Pryor.
With respect to claim 17, Hobbs further discloses wherein the vehicle charger controller is releasably connectable to the vehicle via an electrical power cord [125].
With respect to claim 18, Hobbs discloses receiving, at the portable controller, signals, and displaying information, on a display screen electrically coupled to the portable controller [par. 0037] and on the display 107, however, fails to explicitly disclose receiving/displaying information about the level of charge (capacity).
Pryor further discloses wirelessly sending signals indicative of the level of charge of the battery to a remote controller [par. 0024-0025].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs to send and display the level of charge (current capacity of the battery) to the remote controller/charger for the benefit of aiding the user in the control of the charging operation by providing all relevant data regarding the battery, as level of charge is one of the most important pieces of information (as Hobbs suggest the remote controller is used with an over-discharging event).
Claim 16 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hobbs [US 2006/0028178], Pozsgay et al. [US 6,928,372], and Pryor [US 2008/0007202] as applied above, and further in view of Ichikawa et al. [US 2009/0315512].
With respect to claim 16, Hobbs as applied above fails to disclose wherein the signals from the controller of the battery are received wirelessly by the controller of the vehicular battery charger. However, wireless communication is routine in the art. For example, Ichikawa teaches communication between an electric vehicle and a charger (power management device) and further wherein the signals are transmitted/received in a wireless manner [par. 0156].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs to include wireless communication for the benefit of improving reliability (i.e. from contacts degrading in line to line communication) and also for easily increasing the range in which signals can be sent without dealing with the constraints of running wires.
Claim and 19 is/are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Hobbs [US 2006/0028178], Pozsgay et al. [US 6,928,372], and Pryor [US 2008/0007202] as applied above, and further in view of Woo [US 2009/0051223].
With respect to claim 19, Hobbs as applied above discloses displaying information, on the display screen but fails to explicitly disclose that information being at least one of the group consisting of the size of the battery, the type of the battery, the manufacturer of the battery, the model of the battery, and the age of the battery.
Woo teaches a battery device that includes a display for displaying information related to the battery wherein that information being at least one of the group consisting of the size of the battery, the type of the battery, the manufacturer of the battery, the model of the battery, and the age of the battery [par. 0043, i.e. type].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the invention was made to modify Hobbs to further modify the display to include the type of battery for the benefit of quickly and easily identifying to the user the type of battery for which information is being displayed.
*Note the reference cited below but not relied upon to Tsukamoto additionally discloses a display on a remote unit 84 that displays battery type identifiers, i.e. serial number to the user and additionally discloses the limitations of claims 14 and 19.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-14 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to claim 8, the prior art of record does not suggest or disclose the claimed combination of elements or steps as recited, most particularly the claimed, “storing, based on user input received by a first controller of the vehicle, battery information in a memory of the vehicle, the battery information including at least one of a group consisting of a capacity of the battery, a type of the battery, a manufacturer of the battery, a model of the battery, and an age of the battery: releasably connecting an electrical power cord to the vehicle; automatically upon connection of the electrical cord to the vehicle, retrieving, by a second controller of a vehicular battery charger, the battery information from the memory of the vehicle … commencing the battery charging session based at least part upon the battery information retrieved from the memory and the commands received from the user.”
Claims 9-14 depend from claim 8 and are allowed for the same reasons.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed 12/08/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
With respect to claim 1 and Miki the arguments are moot as a new rejection has been applied in view of Keith.
With respect to claim 15, applicant argues that Hobbs does not specifically disclose transmitting data based on received battery information. The examiner respectfully disagrees and submits that Hobbs teaches wireless back and forth communication between the charger/mobile device based on charging information of the vehicle. Further, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. And here Pryor has been introduced in the 103 rejection teaching transmitting of data back and forth between the vehicle and charger, but has been completely ignored in the arguments.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHANIEL R PELTON whose telephone number is (571)270-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am to 5pm.
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/NATHANIEL R PELTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859