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 .
DETAILED ACTION
2. This Office Action responds to the Election of Restriction Requirement filed on 10/08/2025 and IDS filed on 3/8/2022, 1/11/2023, 8/29/2023, 1/24/2024, 3/07/2024, 2/10/2025, and 8/28/2025. Claims 19-36 are pending.
Election/Restrictions
3. Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (Claims 19-21, 29-31, and 34-36) in the reply filed on 10/08/2025 is acknowledged.
4. Claims 22-28, 32 and 33 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10/08/2025.
Claim Objections
5. Claim 35 and 36 are objected to because of the following:
Claim 35 recited “The apparatus according to claim 34 in combination with the
vehicle-side device, wherein the vehicle-side device is configured”, should be
“The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the vehicle-side device is configured”.
Claim 36 recited “The apparatus according to claim 34 in combination with the charging device- side device, wherein the charging device-side device is configured”, should be “The apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the charging device-side device is configured”.
6. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
7. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
8. Claim(s) 19, 20, 29-31, and 34-36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) as being anticipated by Rub et al. (U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0202974 A1).
As per claim 19, Rub discloses:
A method for matching a vehicle and a charging pile, comprising the steps of
a) when a user of the vehicle inserts a charging connector of the charging pile into the vehicle (See Figure 1, Para [0023], i.e. coupling the vehicle F to the charging station L…transmitted to the respective communication units…a driver of the vehicle F connecting a charging cable LK…registering of the coupling), the vehicle sends, to a charging control platform of a cloud (See Para [0022], i.e. connected with the internet…transmitted to a central processor C, See Para [0025], i.e. transmit…to the central processor) a vehicle location and time stamp information corresponding to a point-in-time when the charging connector is inserted into the vehicle (See Para [0029]-[0030], i.e. generating the time stamp also the position P-F or P-L of the vehicle and/or the charging station L…all transmissions to the central processor); and
b) the charging control platform, after receiving the vehicle location and the time stamp information, scans a status of all charging piles whose distance to the vehicle location is less than a predetermined threshold (See Para [0029], i.e. facilitates the association of vehicle F and charging station L…the central processor c filters via position P-F and P-L with a tolerance delta -P …with time of the vehicle or other vehicle x…limiting of vehicles X when actually more than two data sets with identical time are generated –[prior art filtering data based on time stamp and tolerance delta P , in order to associate vehicle with charge station is considered as the scan as cite above]).
, and when it is found through the scan that there was one and only charging pile whose working status is changed from an available status to an occupied but not charging status at the point-in-time, then the vehicle is successfully matched with the charging pile and the charging pile is controlled to start charging the vehicle (See Para [0031]-[0033], i.e. when the clearing site C can associate two data sets from a vehicle F and a charging station L – to each other …transmits a release signal OK to the communication unit KE-L of the charging station…with the release signal OK to the communication unit KE-L…the vehicle can be charged [prior art detect that vehicle is plugged into charge station, therefore detect occupied status, the charge does not start until verified of a match, the prior art charge when vehicle is matched to charging station, therefore teaching the scan and charge as cited above]))
As per claim 20, Rub discloses all of the features of claim 19 discloses above wherein Rub also discloses wherein when it is found through the scan that there is no or multiple charging piles whose working status is changed from the available status to the occupied but not charging status at the point-in-time, then the matching failed (See Para [0030]-[0034], i.e. associate two data sets…when no association is possible…transmits a negative signal NOPK…not to start the charging process).
As per claim 29, Rub discloses all of the features of claim 19 discloses above wherein Rub also discloses wherein, after the charging pile is controlled to start charging the vehicle, or after the screened charging devices are activated, a posterior procedure is executed which comprises the steps of c) confirming whether the start of charging is detected at a side of the vehicle; and when not, stopping the charging process of the activated charging pile or charging device (See Para [0030]-[0034], i.e. interrupts the charging…forward the data –[prior art able to determine energy transmission therefore detect that the charging start, also detect fault, and stop the charge]).
As per claim 30, Rub discloses all of the features of claim 29 discloses above wherein Rub also discloses wherein, when it failed to match or to determine the charging device that is being physically engaged with the vehicle in interest and/or the activated charging device is stopped in step c), the user is notified that the automatic matching failed and a manual matching is required to start the charging process (See Para [0030]-[0034], i.e. associate two data sets…when no association is possible…transmits a negative signal NOPK…not to start the charging process [when the charge fail, it is apparent the driver would need to manual figure out how to get the charge to start, therefore being manual matching as cited above]).
As per claim 31, Rub discloses all of the features of claim 19 discloses above wherein Rub also discloses wherein a time when a server receives a current geographic location from a vehicle-side device is taken as the point-in-time (See Para [0029]-[0030], i.e. generating the time stamp also the position P-F or P-L of the vehicle and/or the charging station L…all transmissions to the central processor).
As per claim 34, Rub discloses:
An apparatus for determining a charging device that is being physically engaged with a vehicle in interest, comprising:
a processor and a computer-readable storage medium communicatively connected with the processor, (See Para [0022], i.e. connected with the internet…transmitted to a central processor C, See Para [0025], i.e. transmit…to the central processor) wherein a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium and wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the method according to claim 19 is performed (See claim 19);
wherein the apparatus is configured as a server which is communicatively connected with a vehicle-side device and a charging device-side device and wherein the server is configured to determine, based on the history information of the charging devices, ability levels of the charging devices in expressing that the charging devices are in the status of being physically engaged but not activated to charge, and the determined ability levels are stored as an attribute assigned to the respective charging devices (See Para [0030]-[0037], See Para [0038], i.e. customer or his vehicle …. In a database…authorized the current flow between the charging L and the vehicle F).
As per claim 35, Rub discloses all of the features of claim 34 discloses above wherein Rub also discloses wherein the vehicle-side device is configured to send the current geographic location of the vehicle to the apparatus upon the vehicle being physically engaged with the charging device (See Para [0029]-[0030], i.e. generating the time stamp also the position P-F or P-L of the vehicle and/or the charging station L…all transmissions to the central processor).
As per claim 36, Rub discloses all of the features of claim 34 discloses above wherein Rub also discloses wherein the charging device-side device is configured to send a real-time operating status of the charging device to the apparatus, wherein the real-time operating status comprises an available status, a charging status, and a status of being physically engaged but not activated to charge (See Para [0029], i.e. facilitates the association of vehicle F and charging station L…the central processor c filters via position P-F and P-L with a tolerance delta -P …with time of the vehicle or other vehicle x…limiting of vehicles X when actually more than two data sets with identical time are generated).
Allowable Subject Matter
9. Claim 21 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
10. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not teach the limitations of claim 21.
Conclusion
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NHA T NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1405. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00AM-5:00PM.
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/NHA T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2851