DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
2. Claims 1, 2, and 13 objections due to amendments are withdrawn.
Response to Arguments
3. Applicant filed the Request for Continued Examination on 12/09/2025. Claims 1-9 and 13-15 are pending. Claims 1-3 and 13-15 are amended. Claim 16 is canceled. Claims 1-9 and 13-15 are rejected. After careful consideration of applicant arguments, the examiner finds them to be not persuasive.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. Rejections of claims 1-9 and 13-15 under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) “Lack of Algorithm” and “New matter” are withdrawn due to amendments to claims 1 and 13.
5. Rejections of claims 1-9 and 13-15 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) “Lack of antecedent basis” and “Unclear scope” are withdrawn due to amendments to claims 1 and 3.
Claim Interpretation
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
8. 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.
9. Claims 1-9 and 13-15 are 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 pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
New Matter
10. Claim 1 recites “an authentication module configured to authenticate the first used battery”.
Regarding “to authenticate”, Applicant’s Specification discloses “FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of a battery pack authentication method used at a kiosk or station” (para 30), “a battery authentication process 300 is implemented as illustrated in FIG. 7. First, at step 310 the user returns a battery pack 224 to a particular location in the cabinet, such a particular locker 225. Next, the swapping/charging station 220 begins authentication of the battery pack inserted into the cabinet and sends a message to the battery pack 224 at step 312. At step 314 the battery pack reads the message from the swapping/charging station and in return the batter pack sends identifying information back to the swapping/charging station to confirm the authenticity of the battery pack …” (para 76), “…the swapping/charging station 220 authenticates the battery pack…” (para 77). However, the Specification is silent that “a kiosk or station” comprises “an authentication module”.
11. The claims contain 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.
12. Claims 2-9 and 13-15 are rejected under the same rationale as claim 1 because claims 2-9 and 13-15 inherit the deficiencies of claim 1 due to their dependency.
13. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 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.
14. Claims 1-9 and 13-15 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Unclear scope
15. “An essential purpose of patent examination is to fashion claims that are precise, clear, correct, and unambiguous. Only in this way can uncertainties of claim scope be removed, as much as possible, during the administrative process.” Zletz, 893 F.2d at 322, 13 USPQ2d at 1322.
16. Claim 1 recites “an authentication module configured to authenticate the first used battery”. And subsequently claim recites “causing the first kiosk to authenticate the first used battery”.
It is not clear whether “an authentication module” is a part of “the first kiosk” or a different part of the battery swapping system.
17. It is important that a person of ordinary skill in the art be able to interpret the metes and bounds of the claims so as to understand how to avoid infringement of the patent that ultimately issues from the application being examined. MPEP 2173.02 II.
18. Claims 2-9, and 13-15 are rejected under the same rationale as claim 1 because claims 2-9 and 13-15 inherit the deficiencies of claim 1 due to their dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
19. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
20. 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.
21. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
22. Claims 1-9 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US9177306B2 to Penilla et al. in view of US20200185929A1 to Cooper et al.
23. As per claim 1:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
one or more batteries or battery packs configured to power an electric vehicle (Col.4, lines 20-26 “a kiosk for storing a plurality of charge units, the kiosk having, (i) slots for storing and recharging the plurality of charge units; (ii) control systems for communicating over a network, the control system includes logic for identifying inventory of charging units in the kiosk and logic for processing payments and fee adjustments for charge units provided or received in the slots of the kiosk.”)
a battery swapping network comprised of one or more kiosks configured to house multiple batteries and swap charged batteries for used batteries (Col.6, lines 24-27 “FIG. 13a illustrates a kiosk system that can receive volt bars in a used condition (depleted), can charge depleted volt bars to a suitable charge level, and can dispense fully charged volt bars from the kiosk”)
a return bay configured to receive a first used battery provided by a first user, wherein the first used battery is associated with a computer (Col.19, lines 32-34 “Depleted volt bars 20 can be inserted into open slots, while users can purchase and remove charged volt bars from ready slots.”, fig.13D, item 109 “Battery-In”)
a receiving bay configured to provide a charged battery for removal from the kiosk by the first user (Col.18, lines 41-44 “users approaching a kiosk location may empty the used volt bars from their auxiliary battery carrier and insert them into the kiosk location to receive a credit for the volt bar unit.” fig.13D, item 111 “Battery-Out”)
a power source at the kiosk configured to provide an electrical current to charge the first used battery at the return bay and/or the charged battery at the receiving bay (Col.3, lines 6-8 “The kiosk, in one embodiment, will be coupled to a power source that can then recharge the volt bars and make them available to other users”, col.19, lines 16-18 “the battery charge module 207 will charge the battery and allow the battery to be dispensed to a battery out queuing module 211”)
a data management system configured to manage the battery swapping network, wherein the data management system comprises: a processor; and a memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising (Col.20, lines 1-9 “The hub processing center at 302 will include a number of operational units. The units can include payment servers 306, reservation servers 310, volt box unit interface servers 304, load balancing and heat mapping engines 308, mobile application interface servers 312, service and service route optimization engines 314, interfaces through wide area networks and local area networks and private/public/hybrid cloud infrastructures 316, and databases 318.”, col/line 3/66 -4/3 “The central hub can therefore use this information to monitor the health of the various volt bars and can inject new volt bars into the system at various locations when it is detected that the inventory is reaching its end of life.”)
identifying a first kiosk of the one or more kiosks that is within a closest proximity to a location of the first user (Col.20, lines 36-44 “The mobile application interface can then relay this information to users who are attempting to locate volt bars in the network. The mobile application interface server is configured to provide information to users on smart phones, or similar devices, or computer interfaces connected to the Internet. An application can then track the user's current location and can inform the user of the closest kiosk location for obtaining a volt bar.”, col.20, lines 58-61 “the various volt box locations 60 can be tracked using GPS information, address information, or previously defined location information.”)
determining that the first used battery is received at the return bay of the first kiosk (Col.18, lines 41-44 “users approaching a kiosk location may empty the used volt bars from their auxiliary battery carrier and insert them into the kiosk location”, col.19, lines 10-15 “the battery in slot 109 is coupled to the battery in queuing module 201. When the battery is received, the battery is then put through a battery diagnostic module 203 where the battery diagnostic module will determine if the battery should be held or confiscated by battery hold module 205.”)
determining a remaining battery life of the first used battery based on data specifying the remaining battery life of the first used battery (Col.3, lines 59-62 “the volt bars will include memory for storing information regarding number of charges, the health of the battery cells, the current charging levels, and other information.”, col/line 3/64-4/1 “All of this information can be obtained by the software running at the kiosk station, and communicated to the central hub. The central hub can therefore use this information to monitor the health of the various volt bars”)
instructing the first kiosk to provide an electric current to the first used battery (Col.17, lines 51-54 “FIG. 13a illustrates a kiosk system that can receive volt bars in a used condition (depleted), can charge depleted volt bars to a suitable charge level, and can dispense fully charged volt bars from the kiosk”, col.19, lines 15-18 “If the battery is in good condition, the battery charge module 207 will charge the battery and allow the battery to be dispensed to a battery out queuing module 211”, col.18, lines 23-24 “charging is performed through a plurality of interfaces 74, or a single interface 74”)
initiating a swapping transaction for the first user based at least on the remaining battery life of the first used battery (Col.18, lines 41-47 “users approaching a kiosk location may empty the used volt bars from their auxiliary battery carrier and insert them into the kiosk location to receive a credit for the volt bar unit. If the credit is received by returning a user volt bar, the user is only charged a nominal fee for the charge when a new or recharged volt bar is dispensed.”, col.20, lines 9-15 “The payment servers receive payments from the users and redeem payments from payment interface businesses. The reservation servers 310 will allow users to reserve volt bars at particular volt box kiosk locations ahead of time. This ensures that users are able to obtain their volt bars at the destination they are approaching”)
Penilla et al. does not disclose, however, Cooper et al., as shown, teaches the following limitations:
an authentication module configured to authenticate the first used battery ([0051] “The check-in system 260 is designed to determine a current status of the received rechargeable battery and enable the battery kiosk 210 to provide the user with a fully charged or substantially fully charged rechargeable battery in exchange. In some examples, the current status of the received rechargeable battery includes information about an amount of charge remaining in the rechargeable battery, the number of times the rechargeable battery has been charged (i.e., the number of charging cycles), the overall health of battery cells within the rechargeable battery (e.g., also referred to as a state of health that may indicate an amount of charge the cells of the rechargeable battery can hold, an efficiency of the rechargeable battery, how quickly the rechargeable battery can be charged, how quickly the charge in the rechargeable battery is consumed, etc.) and/or other identifying characteristics about the rechargeable battery (e.g., a unique identifier associated with the rechargeable battery)…”, [0081] “The rechargeable battery 300 may store, in a storage or memory device 320, charging status information and/or other information about the rechargeable battery 300 (e.g., battery identifier, model number, etc.)…”)
causing the first kiosk to authenticate the first used battery ([0051] “The check-in system 260 is designed to determine a current status of the received rechargeable battery … the current status of the received rechargeable battery includes … other identifying characteristics about the rechargeable battery (e.g., a unique identifier associated with the rechargeable battery)…”, [0112] “The check-in information includes information about an amount of charge remaining in the rechargeable battery, the charging cycles of the rechargeable battery, the overall health of battery cells within the rechargeable battery and/or other identifying characteristics about the rechargeable battery such as, for example a unique identifier.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a rechargeable battery kiosk that includes a processing unit, charging circuitry, and communication capabilities that automates the receipt and distribution of one or more rechargeable batteries and charges rechargeable batteries for light electric vehicles of Cooper et al. (‘929, [0003]) with teaching of Panilla et al. for providing auxiliary charging mechanisms that can be integrated or coupled to a vehicle, to supplement the main battery of a vehicle (‘306, col.2, lines 11-13) for determining a unique identifier associated with the rechargeable battery and authenticating a rechargeable battery by identifying characteristics of it such as, for example a unique identifier (‘929, [0051], [0112]).
24. As per claim 2:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the one or more batteries or battery packs are capable of being tracked through a mobile app and a Global Positioning System (GPS) network, and comprises identification information unique to the first used battery that includes a battery identifier, a manufacturer identifier, a battery model identifier, and a battery serial number (Col.3, lines 53-58 “each of the volt bars that are installed in the various kiosk stations will be tracked using tracking identifiers. In one embodiment, without limitation, the tracking can be facilitated using RFID tags. The RFID tags can be tracked as users purchase, return, and charge the depleted volt bars at the various kiosk stations.”, col.3, lines 59-62 “the volt bars will include memory for storing information regarding number of charges, the health of the battery cells, the current charging levels, and other information.”,col.20, lines 31-33 “the volt bars can be analyzed to see where the volt bar originated, and where the volt bars have been from a historical mapping perspective.”, col.20, lines 27-29 “the load-balancing engine can institute discounts at particular kiosk locations to influence the automatic distribution of the volt bars to other locations where volt bars are in short supply, or move volt bars away from locations where volt bars are accumulating. The heat map can identified in real time the movement of volt bars by tracking the RFID's on the various volt bars as they traverse the locations in the network.”, col.20, lines 38-44 “The mobile application interface server is configured to provide information to users on smart phones, or similar devices, or computer interfaces connected to the Internet. An application can then track the user's current location and can inform the user of the closest kiosk location for obtaining a volt bar.”, col.20, lines 58-61 “the various volt box locations 60 can be tracked using GPS information, address information, or previously defined location information.”)
25. As per claim 3:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the one or more batteries or battery packs comprises a battery management system that is configured to monitor, store and/or transmit battery data, including performance, efficiency, charge, temperature (Col/line 3/59-4/3 “the volt bars will include memory for storing information regarding number of charges, the health of the battery cells, the current charging levels, and other information. Additionally, the volt bars can store information regarding the various kiosk stations that the volt bars have been previously been installed in, or received from. All of this information can be obtained by the software running at the kiosk station, and communicated to the central hub. The central hub can therefore use this information to monitor the health of the various volt bars and can inject new volt bars into the system at various locations when it is detected that the inventory is reaching its end of life.”, col.19, 12-17 “a battery diagnostic module 203 where the battery diagnostic module will determine if the battery should be held or confiscated by battery hold module 205. If the battery is in good condition, the battery charge module 207 will charge the battery”)
26. As per claim 4:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the one or more kiosks are configured to house one or more batteries where a user can swap a used battery for a new charged battery (Col.6, lines 24-27 “FIG. 13a illustrates a kiosk system that can receive volt bars in a used condition (depleted), can charge depleted volt bars to a suitable charge level, and can dispense fully charged volt bars from the kiosk”, col.18, lines 41-47 “users approaching a kiosk location may empty the used volt bars from their auxiliary battery carrier and insert them into the kiosk location to receive a credit for the volt bar unit. If the credit is received by returning a user volt bar, the user is only charged a nominal fee for the charge when a new or recharged volt bar is dispensed.”, col.19, lines 32-34 “Depleted volt bars 20 can be inserted into open slots, while users can purchase and remove charged volt bars from ready slots.”)
27. As per claim 5:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the one or more kiosks are fixed or mobile, or a combination of both (Col/line 17/65-18/10 “Charging stations 60 can also be deployed as a mobile unit the can be dropped off at any particular location, such as a storefront, or outside of a big box chain store. Once dropped off they can be deployed, connected to the Internet, and can be powering the volt bars inserted therein. Charge can be received by the electrical grid, a gas generator, a fuel-cell generator, solar panels, or can be charged from a service charging vehicle. The kiosk will include a service ports 61 that will allow service technicians to empty volt bars that have been confiscated … or insert new volt bars when the kiosk location is less than full or is in need of additional volt bars due to flow patterns that drive volt bars to other kiosk locations.”)
28. As per claim 6:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein any of the one or more kiosks include a co-located power source and provide partial or full charging of used batteries that are returned by a user (Col.3, lines 6-9 “The kiosk, in one embodiment, will be coupled to a power source that can then recharge the volt bars and make them available to other users that trade in their charge de-pleaded volt bars.”, col.18, lines 2-5 “Charge can be received by the electrical grid, a gas generator, a fuel-cell generator, solar panels, or can be charged from a service charging vehicle.”, col.18, lines 23-26 “charging is performed through a plurality of interfaces 74, or a single interface 74, depending on the configuration and location of the volt box station in the deployed network.”, col.19, lines 15-18 “If the battery is in good condition, the battery charge module 207 will charge the battery and allow the battery to be dispensed to a battery out queuing module 211”)
29. As per claim 7:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein any of the one or more kiosks include mobile kiosks, said mobile kiosks being configured to route the mobile kiosk to a user (Col.4, lines 8-10 “the central hub can dispatch maintenance vehicles and personnel to the most optimal location in the network of kiosk stations.”, col.17, lines 65-67 “Charging stations 60 can also be deployed as a mobile unit the can be dropped off at any particular location, such as a storefront, or outside of a big box chain store.”, col.18, lines 19-22 “By providing this communication, it is possible the track how full or empty the volt box charging station is, and service vehicles can be deployed to replenish, and/or service the particular charging stations 60”, col.20, lines 53-55 “the service and service route optimization engine 314 can direct service agents to the most efficient locations to provide service.”)
30. As per claim 8:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the mobile kiosks are further configured to use battery tracking data to locate users, track remaining life of the onboard battery and route the kiosk close to the users location (Col.3, lines 53-62 “each of the volt bars that are installed in the various kiosk stations will be tracked using tracking identifiers. In one embodiment, without limitation, the tracking can be facilitated using RFID tags. The RFID tags can be tracked as users purchase, return, and charge the depleted volt bars at the various kiosk stations… the volt bars will include memory for storing information regarding number of charges, the health of the battery cells, the current charging levels, and other information.”, col.20, lines 27-29 “The heat map can identified in real time the movement of volt bars by tracking the RFID's on the various volt bars as they traverse the locations in the network.”, col.20, lines 42-44 “An application can then track the user's current location and can inform the user of the closest kiosk location for obtaining a volt bar.”, col.20, lines 53-58 “the flow patterns, the service and service route optimization engine 314 can direct service agents to the most efficient locations to provide service. The service can include replacing volt bars that are identified to be past their useful life, replenish volt bars, and/or service the kiosk infrastructure.”)
31. As per claim 9:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the data management system is comprised of multiple terminal devices in communication with one another, and including a battery charging terminal device, a battery delivery terminal device, a battery swapping kiosk terminal device, and one or more user devices (Col.3, lines 13-19 “The kiosk system would preferably be connected to the Internet so that users of electric vehicles could access an application that would identify locations of kiosk systems with available volt bars. In one embodiment, the application would include software that communicates with an application sitting in a central hub that manages all of the kiosk systems deployed in the field.”, col.3, lines 38-43 “each of the kiosk systems would be enabled with software that communicates with the central hub, and the software would be utilized to provide the most efficient information regarding inventory, and operational statistics of each kiosk system deployed throughout a geographic region”, col.20, lines 1-9 “The hub processing center at 302 will include a number of operational units. The units can include payment servers 306, reservation servers 310, volt box unit interface servers 304, load balancing and heat mapping engines 308, mobile application interface servers 312, service and service route optimization engines 314, interfaces through wide area networks and local area networks and private/public/hybrid cloud infrastructures 316, and databases 318.”, col.20, lines 63-67 “the hub processing unit 302 is intelligently interfaced with the network to allow management of the various kiosk locations and ensure efficient distribution of volt bars to the various vehicles, and to provide information to users through mobile devices, computer interfaces”)
32. As per claim 13:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
generating verification and confirmation of the transactions (Col.20, lines 12-16 “The reservation servers 310 will allow users to reserve volt bars at particular volt box kiosk locations ahead of time. This ensures that users are able to obtain their volt bars at the destination they are approaching or have discovered that volt bars are available.”, col.3, lines 64-66 “All of this information can be obtained by the software running at the kiosk station, and communicated to the central hub.”)
Penilla et al. does not disclose, however, Cooper et al., as shown, teaches the following limitations:
initiating a battery swapping transaction in response to a request from the first user, and verifying the first user as a subscriber by authenticating user sign in information ([0027] “… Selection of one of the icons may also enable the user to reserve (e.g., place a hold on) the light electric vehicle (to ensure that the light electric vehicle will be at the determined location when the user arrives), rent the light electric vehicle and/or borrow the light electric vehicle for a period of time.”, [0030] “The one or more databases may also store information about the user. This information may include a profile of the user (e.g., username, contact information, etc.) security credentials of the user (e.g., a password), historical usage data, payment information and the like.”)
executing a receive transaction at the first kiosk and identifying the charged battery from the kiosk for retrieval by the first user ([0049] “…user may remove the rechargeable battery from the light electric vehicle, place the rechargeable battery in an empty battery bay (e.g., battery bay 1 220A), and remove a charged rechargeable battery from a different battery bay (e.g., battery bay 2 220B)…”, [0052] “…the battery kiosk 210 will release a different rechargeable battery once the rechargeable battery has been inserted into the open battery bay…”)
prompting the first user to initiate a return transaction using at least the remaining battery life of the first used battery ([0051] “The check-in system 260 is designed to determine a current status of the received rechargeable battery and enable the battery kiosk 210 to provide the user with a fully charged or substantially fully charged rechargeable battery in exchange. In some examples, the current status of the received rechargeable battery includes information about an amount of charge remaining in the rechargeable battery…”)
executing payment for the receive and/or return transaction ([0032] “The one or more computing systems of the network service may also include a payment system that processes payment information of the user. For example, when a user rents and uses a light electric vehicle, the user may be charged for the usage based on a duration of use and/or a travel distance. Once the user has finished using the light electric vehicle … the payment system may automatically process the payment information of the user.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate a rechargeable battery kiosk that includes a processing unit, charging circuitry, and communication capabilities that automates the receipt and distribution of one or more rechargeable batteries and charges rechargeable batteries for light electric vehicles of Cooper et al. (‘929, [0003]) with teaching of Panilla et al. for providing auxiliary charging mechanisms that can be integrated or coupled to a vehicle, to supplement the main battery of a vehicle (‘306, col.2, lines 11-13) for identifying the user from information that included in a profile of the user security credentials, removing used battery from the electric vehicle, place the used battery in an empty battery bay, receiving information about an amount of charge remaining in the rechargeable battery, and processing payment information of the user (‘929, [0030], [0032], [0049], [0051], ).
33. As per claim 14:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
wherein the return transaction is carried out by the data management system in part by assigning and directing placement of the used battery into the return bay of the first kiosk (Col.18, lines 41-44 “users approaching a kiosk location may empty the used volt bars from their auxiliary battery carrier and insert them into the kiosk location”, col.19, lines 11-13 “… the battery in queuing module 201 … the battery is then put through a battery diagnostic module 203 …”, col.19, lines 32-33 “Depleted volt bars 20 can be inserted into open slots…”
the data management system initiating charging of the used battery at the first kiosk by causing the power source to deliver the electrical current to the first used battery (Col.19, lines 15-18 “If the battery is in good condition, the battery charge module 207 will charge the battery and allow the battery to be dispensed to a battery out queuing module 211”, col/line 3/66-4/3 “The central hub can therefore use this information to monitor the health of the various volt bars and can inject new volt bars into the system at various locations when it is detected that the inventory is reaching its end of life”)
34. As per claim 15:
Penilla et al. discloses the following limitations:
determining an amount of battery charge consumed by the user and payment owed by the user based on the amount of charge consumed (Col.3, lines 59-62 “the volt bars will include memory for storing information regarding number of charges, the health of the battery cells, the current charging levels, and other information.”, col.4, lines 22-26 “control systems for communicating over a network, the control system includes logic for identifying inventory of charging units in the kiosk and logic for processing payments and fee adjustments for charge units provided or received in the slots of the kiosk”, col.18, lines 44-47 “If the credit is received by returning a user volt bar, the user is only charged a nominal fee for the charge when a new or recharged volt bar is dispensed.”, col.20, lines 9-11 “The payment servers receive payments from the users and redeem payments from payment interface businesses.”)
Conclusion
35. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US20150134467A1 – Penilla et al. – Discloses a system for managing access to and exchange of batteries for use by electric vehicles wherein the electric vehicles have receptacle slots for receiving batteries for powering an electric motor of the electric vehicle.
US20140028089A1 – Luke et al. – Discloses a method of collection, charging and distribution machines collect, charge and distribute portable electrical energy storage devices (e.g., batteries, supercapacitors or ultracapacitors).
US20090228171A1 – Goff et al. – Discloses a computer system that installs in the proximity of the vehicle's operator, attaches to the battery power source in the vehicle's wiring harness, gathers information relating to the operational state of the vehicle's battery, calculates the health of the battery.
US20220348108A1 – Hajimiri – Discloses systems and methods for end-to-end infrastructure for supporting use of swappable batteries in electric vehicles.
US20220045546A1 – Ikui et al. – Discloses a battery charging system includes a battery removably mounted on an electric power device using electric power, a charging device configured to charge the battery using renewable power which is electric power generated from renewable energy.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Amanulla Abdullaev whose telephone number is (571)272-4367. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 9-5.
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/RYAN D DONLON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3692