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
In the communication filed on 04/29/2026, claims 1-13 are pending. Claims 1-4, 8, and 10 are amended. No claims are new. No claims are presently cancelled.
The amended independent claim 1 changed scope by incorporating previously-unclaimed subject matter. Thus, independent claim 1 and its dependent claims 2-7 and 9-13 require new grounds of rejection.
Response to Arguments
The prior objections to the Claims are withdrawn due to the amendments.
The prior rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) are withdrawn due to the amendments.
The prior rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) are withdrawn due to the amendments.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-7 and 9-13 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to the combination of references being used in the current rejection.
Applicant’s arguments (04/29/2026) with respect to claim 8 have been fully considered and are not persuasive.
In each of the prior office action (Non-Final Rejection, 02/02/2026) and this office action, claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sham (US 2020/0016985 A1) in view of Moghe et al. (US 2019/0202304 A1; hereinafter “Moghe 1”), Moghe et al. (US 2019/0039463 A1; hereinafter “Moghe 2”), and Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”).
The applicant argues (pp. 18, 2nd para.), in reference to Moghe-1 and Moghe-2, that “Neither reference teaches the claimed queue.” The examiner respectfully disagrees.
Firstly, the applicant specifically argues (pp. 18, 3rd para.) “Moghe-1 does not teach a single-line ordered queue in which vehicles are progressively advanced from a second end toward a first end, nor does it teach vehicles being parked in unoccupied power supply spaces within a queue to receive at least partial charging as they advance through the queue.”
The examiner asserts that Moghe-1 is not relied upon for the queue arrangement and directs attention to the action’s discussion of Moghe-2.
Secondly, the applicant specifically argues (pp. 19, 1st para.) “Moghe-2's drive-thru is fundamentally different from the claimed queue: vehicles in Moghe-2 move continuously along a track while receiving dynamic charging, rather than being parked in discrete power supply spaces arranged in a line and sequentially advanced as the front-most vehicle exits. Claim 8 requires vehicles to be "parked in unoccupied power supply spaces within the queue to receive at least partial charging while parked" - a static, discrete-space arrangement that is not taught by Moghe-2's continuous drive-thru model.”
The examiner asserts that Moghe-2 teaches to park the electric vehicles (160) in the power supply spaces (164; Fig. 6). This is supported by Moghe-2’s ¶ [27], which reads “such charging may be performed when vehicle 160 is stationary”. The examiner interprets “160 is stationary” to mean the vehicle is parked. Further, it is widely known that vehicles may park multiple times as they progress through a slow-moving queue, such as that of Moghe-2’s drive-thru queue, which “takes anywhere from 2-4 minutes” (¶ [70]) for a vehicle to move through.
Thirdly, the applicant specifically argues (pp. 19, 2nd para.) “Hon does not teach or suggest selectively installing a building with a building air conditioner at only the first-end power supply space of a multi-space queue while leaving the remaining power supply spaces outside the building.”
The examiner asserts that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “a building air conditioner at only the first-end power supply space of a multi-space queue while leaving the remaining power supply spaces outside the building”) are not recited in the rejected claim 8. Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Thus, the applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 8 are not persuasive and the prior rejection is maintained over Sham, in view of Moghe-1, Moghe-2, and Hon.
Drawings
For clarity of record, the replacement drawings filed 07/08/2025 are attached with annotations to indicate the replacement drawings are approved. The prior drawing objections (Non-Final Rejection, 04/08/2025) were withdrawn in a prior office action (Final Rejection, 09/25/2025).
Specification
For clarity of record, the Abstract filed 07/08/2025 is attached with annotations to indicate the revised Abstract is okay to enter. The prior objections (Non-Final Rejection, 04/08/2025) were withdrawn in a prior office action (Final Rejection, 09/25/2025).
For clarity of record, the clean copy of the Substitute Specification filed 07/08/2025 is attached with annotations to indicate the Substitute Specification is okay to enter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claims 1-7 and 9-13 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.
Claim 1, lines 28-29 recite “a temperature at which a person feels comfortable”. This limitation is indefinite as to what temperature “a person feels comfortable”. The specification does not appear to provide such a definition. It is widely known that different users have different temperature preferences for comfort.
Claim 2, lines 7-8 recite “charging the battery of the electric vehicle to a predetermined charge rate”. This language is indefinite as to the meaning of charging “to a predetermined charge rate”. For examination purposes, this language is interpreted to mean “charging the battery of the electric vehicle [[to]] at a predetermined charge rate”.
Claims 3-7 and 9-13 are further rejected for their dependency on other rejected claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 4, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), and Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), and as evidenced by the Chip article (Chip Cochran, When is the Right Time to Cut Off Your HVAC Unit?, 03/17/2020, Mowery Heating and Cooling).
Regarding Claim 1, Hon discloses a power supplying facility (“parking space”; Fig. 1) for supplying power to an electric vehicle (10; Fig. 1) that has a battery (“energy storage system 403”; per page 6, paragraph 5: “403 adopts a rechargeable high-reliable battery pack”) and a ventilation port (four windows shown on the vehicle in Fig. 1; see note 1-1, included infra).
NOTE 1-1: A window is considered to be a type of “ventilation port” in view of the application’s disclosure. The applicant’s remarks in the communication filed 07/08/2025 further support that a window is a type of ventilation port.
Hon further discloses the power supplying facility comprising a building (“shed”, not numbered; Fig. 1) that has a power supply space (“parking space”) and a power supply device (“charging pile 100” with internal components “controller 102” and “power module 101”; Figs. 1, 4) installed therein.
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Hon further discloses the power supply device (100) configured to supply power to the electric vehicle (10), having the battery (“energy storage system 403”; per page 6, paragraph 5: “403 adopts a rechargeable high-reliable battery pack”), by supplying power to the battery of the electric vehicle (10) when parked in the power supply space (Fig. 1 shows the vehicle “10” parked in the “parking space” for charging from “100”).
Hon further discloses a building air conditioner (200; Fig. 1 depicts mounting location on wall of the “shed”) communicatively connected to the power supply device (Fig. 4 shows “air conditioner relay 202” connected to “100”; Fig. 5 shows “wireless communication module 39” connected to “102” and “logic control circuit 30”; Detailed Description excerpt, page 4, ¶ 7: “30 is connected to the air conditioner through the amplifier circuit 201 and the air conditioner relay 202 for controlling the air conditioner 200 to start and adjust the temperature”). Note the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) of this limitation may be expanded. Hon further teaches the building air conditioner (200) and the power supply device (100) are thermally connected and thermally communicate. Because the building air conditioner (200) and the power supply device (100) are in the same room, they can communicate through an inherent thermostat device.
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Hon further discloses the building air conditioner (200) is configured to condition air inside (by inherent laws of physics and energy transfer, the air inside the vehicle is also conditioned when the air outside the vehicle is conditioned; conditioned air outside the vehicle will result in heat transfer from the air inside the vehicle through any heat-conductive materials such as metal; further, there are inherent air gaps in any vehicle’s construction which result in air movement to/from the vehicle and its surrounding environment; thus, both the air inside and outside the vehicle are conditioned by “200”) of the electric vehicle (10) parked in the power supply space (“parking space”).
Hon further discloses the building air conditioner (200) conditioning air inside of the building (“shed”) based on an operating state of the power supply device (Detailed Description excerpt, page 5, ¶ 12: “logic control unit 30 is connected to the wireless communication module 39 … to establish a wireless communication connection with the intelligent terminal 40”; Detailed Description excerpt, page 5, ¶ 12: “user schedules charging and controls the ambient temperature through the smart terminal 40”; “40” is also referred to as “touch screen”). Through a broader reasonable interpretation of this limitation, Hon further teaches the building air conditioner (200) turns on when the power supply device (100) heats the building (“shed”) as a result of power dissipation of the power supply device in an on-state.
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Hon does not disclose the electric vehicle having “an on-vehicle air conditioner” and “an automatic parking function”.
Hon further does not disclose the power supply device “supplying power wirelessly to the battery of the electric vehicle when parked in the power supply space”.
Hon further does not disclose “a controller configured to park the electric vehicle in the power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function”
Hon further does not disclose “the on-vehicle air conditioner is stopped when the electric vehicle is parked in the power supply space and supplied with power by the power supply device, such that all power supplied to the electric vehicle is used for charging the battery, the building air conditioner starts conditioning air inside of the building at an air conditioning set temperature at a time that is a predetermined time period before a scheduled exit time at which the power supply device stops supplying electric power and the electric vehicle exits from the building, and when the building air conditioner operates at the air conditioning set temperature for the predetermined time period with the electric vehicle's ventilation port opened, a temperature inside of the electric vehicle becomes a temperature at which a person feels comfortable”.
Fin teaches an electric vehicle (“vehicle 2”; Figs. 1-3, 7; invention is intended for “electric vehicles” per ¶ [4, 50]) that has a battery (“energy storage device 15”; Fig. 2) and an automatic parking function (¶ [32]: “driving requirements are generated from an actual position of the vehicle and a required position of the vehicle” and “driving instructions may also be directly transmitted to a driver assistance system which drives the vehicle automatically”).
Fin further teaches the power supply device (Fig. 2; “power supply system 9” including a “power unit 10” and “primary coil 8”) configured to supply power to the electric vehicle (2), having the battery (15) and the automatic parking function (¶ [32]), by supplying power wirelessly (¶ [49]: “energy transfer takes place via the air gap 12”; Fig. 2 depicts “12”) to the battery (15) of the electric vehicle (2) when parked in the power supply space (“charging module 6”; Fig. 1).
Fin further teaches a controller (“HMI 5”, which includes “a processor unit 4 for calculating the position of the vehicle 2 and directing the vehicle”; Fig. 7; ¶ [83]) configured to park an electric vehicle (2) in the power supply space (6) using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function (“HMI 5” communicates with the automatic parking function within “2” per ¶ [32]).
Fin further teaches the automatic parking function, controller, and wireless power supply as an improvement to the convenience of the charging of electric vehicles because it can take place automatically, without the active assistance of the driver (¶ [50]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility and electric vehicle disclosed by Hon to incorporate a wireless power supply, automatic parking function, and a controller to park the electric vehicle, as taught by Fin, to improve the convenience of the parking and charging processes.
Hat teaches an electric vehicle (“vehicle 1”; Fig. 1; ¶ [11]: “so-called electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle that can by run using electric energy”) that has a battery (“battery 10”; Figs. 1, 3), an on-vehicle air conditioner (“air-conditioner 20”; Figs. 1, 3).
Hat further teaches the on-vehicle air conditioner (20) is stopped (Fig. 2, step S30; ¶ [15]: “when the external power feeding is started during the operation of the air conditioner 20 (S20: yes), the control device 40 stops the power feeding of the air conditioner (S30)”) when the electric vehicle (1) is parked in the power supply space (when connected to “30” and no occupant is in the vehicle compartment; vehicle must be parked because no occupant and the vehicle is connected to “30”) and supplied with power (“yes” response to step S20) by the power supply device (“external power feeding device 2”, including “external power feeding part 30”; Fig. 1; Abstract: “if a start of an external power supply is detected, the air-conditioning in the cab is interrupted), such that all power supplied to the electric vehicle (1) is used for charging the battery (Fig. 3b shows scenario when all power from “30” is provided to “battery 10” and no power is provided to “air conditioner 20”; ¶ [15]).
Hat further teaches the on-vehicle air conditioner that stops when the electric vehicle is supplied with power by the power supply device to enable all the external power to be used to charge the battery without unnecessarily powering the on-vehicle air conditioner (¶ [8, 13-15]), thus avoiding the wasting of power and improving charging speed. Hattori further teaches that the on-vehicle air conditioner can improve the occupant’s comfort (¶ [5-8, 13]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the electric vehicle disclosed by the combo of Hon & Fin to incorporate an on-vehicle air conditioner that stops when the electric vehicle is supplied with power by the power supply device, as taught by Hat, to improve charging efficiency and charging speed, while also enabling the improvement of the occupant’s comfort when the vehicle is driven.
Cha teaches the building air conditioner (“building air conditioning device 230”; Figs. 1-6; see annotated Fig. 5, included infra) starts conditioning air inside (¶ [8]: “a building control unit may become a master to integrally manage the air conditioning for internal spaces of the building and the vehicle, and to charge a battery of the vehicle using a power supply device of the building”; ¶ [70]: “master 310 may control to execute the air conditioning in a single mode in which only one of … the building air conditioning device 230 is operated”; ¶ [14, 94, 104]) of the building (“building 200”; Figs. 1-6) at an air conditioning set temperature (temperature output by the “building air conditioning device 230” in “single mode” to achieve the “target temperature”, as shown in Fig. 7, steps S140, S151, & S160; ¶ [69]: “master 310 may set target temperatures of the internal spaces of the building 200 and the vehicle 200”) for a predetermined time period (¶ [72]: “a certain time elapses”).
Cha further teaches when the building air conditioner (230) operates at the air conditioning set temperature (temperature output by “building air conditioning device 230” in “single mode” to achieve the “target temperature”) for the predetermined time period (¶ [72]: “a certain time elapses”) with the electric vehicle's ventilation port opened (Fig. 5 shows “second control valve 139” is opened to receive conditioned air from “230”; ¶ [58]), a temperature inside (¶ [73]: “current temperature of the internal space”) of the electric vehicle (“vehicle 100”; Figs. 1-6; ¶ [27]: “electric vehicle”) becomes a temperature (“Yes” response to Fig. 7, step S160: “target temperatures = current temperatures?”; ¶ [14]: “target temperatures of the internal spaces of the building and the vehicle”) at which a person feels comfortable (¶ [45]: “to perform air conditioning in the internal spaces in the vehicle 100”; ¶ [51]: “perform air conditioning to maintain comfortable conditions for human living”).
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Cha further teaches operating the building air conditioner in this manner to reduce wasted energy and improve efficiency in simultaneously cooling both the building and the electric vehicle (¶ [26, 45, 70]). Cha further teaches opening a ventilation port on the electric vehicle to receive conditioned air through an opened ventilation port to more quickly reach a comfortable temperature in both the building air and the vehicle air (¶ [14-16, 51]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the building air conditioner disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, & Hat to operate at an air conditioning set temperature with the electric vehicle’s ventilation port opened to make the electric vehicle’s interior reach a comfortable temperature, as taught by Cha, to more quickly and efficiently reach a comfortable temperature inside both the garage and the vehicle’s interior.
Though the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, & Cha teaches the building air conditioner starts conditioning air inside of the building at an air conditioning set temperature to reach a comfortable temperature inside of the electric vehicle with its ventilation port opened, this combo does not teach this conditioning starts “at a time that is a predetermined time period before a scheduled exit time at which the power supply device stops supplying electric power and the electric vehicle exits from the building”.
Tone teaches the air conditioner (“air conditioner 36”; Fig. 1; see note 1-2, included infra) starts conditioning air (Fig. 2, step S128: “start preliminary air conditioning”) at an air conditioning set temperature (output temperature from “36”) at a time (Fig. 2, step S124: “preliminary air conditioning start time”) that is a predetermined time period (period from “preliminary air conditioning start time” to “departure time”; ¶ [47]: “36 is controlled to start operate for a predetermined period of time”; ¶ [59]: “preliminary air conditioning time is calculated by determining the amount of time needed to have the air in the cabin reach a predetermined comfortable temperature based on the initial temperature in the cabin”) before a scheduled exit time (“departure time”, set in Fig. 2, step 106) at which the power supply device (“power supply part 18”; Fig. 1) stops supplying electric power (¶ [47]: “preliminary air conditioning control is executed in synchronization before the scheduled departure time”; ¶ [52]: “scheduled charging and preliminary air conditioning can be performed in synchronization with each other.”; ¶ [60]: “charging start time and preliminary air conditioning start time are set based on the departure time, charging time, and air-conditioning time so that the charging can be completed and the air in the cabin can reach a comfortable temperature by the time of departure”) and the electric vehicle (“motor vehicle 12”; Fig. 1) exits (¶ [47]: “scheduled departure time (i.e. the scheduled leaving house time)”; see note 1-3, included infra).
NOTE 1-2: It was already established supra by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, & Cha that the building air conditioner is used to cool the electric vehicle with its ventilation port opened. Thus, Tone is not relied upon to use the building air conditioner in this manner. Instead, Tone is simply relied upon to more generically teach the timing for cooling an electric vehicle before the completion of charging. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand the teachings of Tone’s air conditioning timing are applicable as analogous to the air conditioning operations performed per the already set forth combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, & Cha.
NOTE 1-3: It was already established supra by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, & Cha that the electric vehicle is within the building during the charging. Though Tone more generically teaches that the electric vehicle departs from the charger, Tone does not specifically teach the electric vehicle “exits from the building” as claimed. However, one of ordinary skill in the art understands that Tone’s departure from the charger is analogous to the electric vehicle to exit from the building established supra by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, & Cha.
Tone further teaches when the air conditioner (36) operates at the air conditioning set temperature (output temperature from “36”) for the predetermined time period (period from “preliminary air conditioning start time” to “departure time”), a temperature inside of the electric vehicle (12) becomes a temperature at which a person feels comfortable (¶ [60]: “… so that the charging can be completed and the air in the cabin can reach a comfortable temperature by the time of departure”).
Tone further teaches this timing of air conditioning operations so the vehicle’s interior temperature can reach a comfortable temperature before the vehicle exits (¶ [59-60]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the building air conditioner disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, & Cha to start air conditioning at a time that is a predetermined time period before a scheduled exit time at which the power supply device stops supplying electric power and the electric vehicle exits from the building, as taught by Tone, to enable the electric vehicle’s interior temperature to reach a comfortable temperature before the vehicle exits from the building.
Regarding Claim 4, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 1.
Hon does not disclose the power supplying facility is “for supplying power to the electric vehicle that has a marker recognition device for recognizing parking space markers, wherein the building is further provided with a marker installed in the power supply space, and the controller is configured to park an electric vehicle in the power supply space using the electric vehicle’s electric vehicle’s automatic parking function and marker recognition device based on the position of the marker”.
Fin teaches the power supplying facility (“garage”) is for supplying power (via “power supply system 9”; Fig. 2) to the electric vehicle (2) that has a marker recognition device (¶ [48] describes “ultrasonic sensors” not depicted in Figures; per ¶ [83], the vehicle uses a “radio signal 34” to communicate with the “camera 3” of the “HMI 5” depicted in Fig. 7) for recognizing parking space markers (“6”; ¶ [83]: “defines the so-called world coordinate system”).
Fin further teaches the building (“garage”) is further provided with a marker (“6” defines the “world coordinate system”) installed in the power supply space (“6” + surrounding area over which “2” parks, as shown in Fig. 2).
Fin further teaches the controller (“HMI 5”, which includes “a processor unit 4 for calculating the position of the vehicle 2 and directing the vehicle”; Fig. 7; ¶ [83]) is configured to park the electric vehicle (2) in the power supply space (“6” + surrounding area) using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function (¶ [32]: “driver assistance system which drives the vehicle automatically”) and marker recognition device (“ultrasonic sensors” per ¶ [48] and “radio signal 34” per ¶ [83]) based on the position of the marker (“6” defines the “world coordinate system”).
Fin further teaches the marker and the electric vehicle’s marker recognition device as an improvement to the convenience of the charging of electric vehicles because it can take place automatically, without the active assistance of the driver (¶ [50])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate the marker and electric vehicle’s marker recognition device, as further taught by Fin, to improve the convenience of the parking and charging processes.
Regarding Claim 9, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according claim 1.
Hon discloses the power supplying facility (Fig. 1) is for supplying power to the electric vehicle (10) that has a ventilation port (any of the four windows depicted on the vehicle in Fig. 1; see note 1, included supra).
Hon does not disclose the ventilation port “is configured to be opened and closed automatically, wherein the controller is configured to: operate the ventilation port to be open when the electric vehicle is parked in the power supply space and the building air conditioner starts conditioning air, and operate the ventilation port to be closed when the building air conditioner stops conditioning air”.
Cha further teaches (see annotated Fig. 5, included supra) the power supplying facility (200) is for supplying power (charging power from “220”; occurs concurrently with building air conditioning per ¶ [8]) to the electric vehicle (100) that has a ventilation port (“second control valve 139”; Fig. 5) that is configured to be opened and closed automatically (¶ [58]: “master 310 may control … a second control valve 139 which selectively opens and closes a flow path”).
Cha further teaches the controller (“integrated control portion 300”, including “master 310”; Fig. 1; controls opening and closing of “139” per ¶ [58]) is configured to operate the ventilation port (139) to be open (“139” is open in Fig. 5 during “cooling mode if a building control unit is a master” per ¶ [33]) when the electric vehicle (100) is parked in the power supply space (space in which “100” is parked in Fig. 2) and the building air conditioner (230) starts conditioning air (¶ [47]: “when the vehicle is docked and connected to the building 200, there is no boundary between the internal spaces and thus the conditioned air may flow through the internal space of the vehicle 100 and the internal space of the building 200; per note 9-1, included infra, it would be obvious and expected that “230” would start and stop several times per hour; thus, because Cha teaches “139” is open while “230” is being operated, “139” is thus open when “230” starts conditioning air).
Cha further teaches the controller (300) is further configured to operate the ventilation port (139) to be closed (“139” is closed if not is not desirable for the vehicle “100” to be cooled by the building air conditioner “230” per ¶ [58, 71, 78, 86]) when the building air conditioner (230) stops conditioning air (per note 9-1, included infra, it would be obvious and expected that “230” would start and stop several times per hour; thus, because Cha teaches “139” can be closed while “230” is being operated, “139” can thus be closed when “230” starts conditioning air).
NOTE 9-1: As evidenced by the Chip article, building air conditioners are widely known to operate in a cycle of on periods and off periods, at a typical rate of about three cycles per hour. Thus, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that any building air conditioner (including those disclosed by Hon and Cha) would start conditioning air and stop conditioning air several times per hour.
Cha further teaches the configuration of the controller to coordinate the opening/closing of the ventilation port with the building air conditioner to improve the efficiency of the cooling of the inside of the vehicle (¶ [45]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility and the controller disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate the configuration of the controller to coordinate the opening/closing of the ventilation port with the building air conditioner, as further taught by Cha and as evidenced by the Chip article, to improve the efficiency of cooling the vehicle’s interior.
Regarding Claim 10, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 1.
The combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone (as set forth prior) teaches a power supplying method (Hon: “charging process”; modifications from Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone) for supplying power to an electric vehicle (Hon: “10”) occupied by a user (detected by Hon’s “40”), that has a battery (Hon: “403”), an on-vehicle air conditioner (incorp. from Hat), an automatic parking function (incorp. from Fin) and a ventilation port (Hon: windows shown on “10”), using the power supplying facility according to claim 1 (Hon’s “parking space”, modified by Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone detailed supra), the power supplying method comprising: the controller parking the electric vehicle in the power supply space using the electric vehicle's automatic parking function, stopping the on-vehicle air conditioner of the electric vehicle, supplying power wirelessly using the power supply device to the battery of the electric vehicle parked in the power supply space with the electric vehicle's ventilation port open, and conditioning air inside of the electric vehicle occupied by the user by conditioning air inside of the building using the building air conditioner based on an operating state of the power supply device, wherein the building air conditioner starts conditioning air at a time that is a predetermined time period before a scheduled exit time.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), and Smullin et al. (US 2014/0089016 A1).
Regarding Claim 2, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 1.
The combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the scheduled exit time (Tone: “departure time”).
Hon does not disclose “the scheduled exit time is calculated based on a current time and a required power supply time for charging the battery of the electric vehicle to a predetermined charge rate”.
Smullin teaches the scheduled exit time (end of parking time, which occurs at the end of charging time; ¶ [63]: “allocate an amount of time for a parking with charging reservation based on the estimate of the time needed to fully charge the EV 11 and require that the motorist move the EV 11 early if charging finishes sooner”) is calculated based on a current time (¶ [61]: “requested start time”, obtained in Fig. 4A, step 71; ¶ [19]: “request beginning at the current time”) and a required power supply time (Fig. 4A, step 74: “time needed for charging”, discussed in ¶ [61]) for charging the battery (¶ [50]: “estimating the time needed to charge the battery in a particular model of EV”) of the electric vehicle (“EV 11”; Fig. 1) to a predetermined charge rate (“different rates” of “ports 22a-c” which have different power output capabilities per ¶ [36]).
Smullin further teaches this calculation of the scheduled exit time to ensure there is sufficient time to fully charging the electric vehicle, thus ensuring optimal use of each power supply space (¶ [18]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the scheduled exit time disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone based on a current time and a required power supply time for charging the battery of the electric vehicle to a predetermined charge rate, as taught by Smullin, to ensure there is sufficient time to fully charging the electric vehicle, thus ensuring optimal use of each power supply space, thus improving user satisfaction.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), Rhodes et al. (US 2020/0298724 A1), and Penilla et al. (US 2017/0169712 A1).
Regarding Claim 3, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 1.
Hon does not disclose the electric vehicle “that has an occupancy sensor configured to detect a person in the electric vehicle” and “the controller is configured to: receive an indication of occupancy from the electric vehicle’s occupancy sensor, and upon it being determined that the electric vehicle is unoccupied based on a received indication of occupancy, park the electric vehicle in the power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function”.
Rhodes teaches the electric vehicle (“vehicle 102”; Fig. 1; ¶ [15]: “electric vehicle”) that has an occupancy sensor (“occupancy detection unit 176”; Fig. 2) configured to detect a person in the electric vehicle (¶ [27]: “may detect when a passenger or other occupant is within the vehicle 102”).
Rhodes teaches further teaches the controller (“controller/processor 106”, as part of “computing platform 104”) is configured to receive an indication of occupancy (Fig. 3, step 310) from the electric vehicle’s occupancy sensor (176).
Rhodes further teaches the occupancy sensor, which sends an indication of occupancy to a controller for the advantage of identifying whether an occupant is present prior to automatically parking (Fig. 3, step 320) to prevent the automatic parking function from parking with an occupant inside.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility, controller, and electric vehicle disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate the occupancy sensor which sends an indication of occupancy to a controller, as taught by Rhodes, to prevent the automatic parking function from parking with an occupant inside, which improves safety and reliability of the power supplying facility.
Penilla teaches the controller (“cloud processing system 120”) is configured to receive an indication of occupancy (Fig. 2 shows “120” receives indication “human operated 166” or “automatic remote driving 168” from “user remote device 103”).
Penilla further teaches the controller (120) is further configured such that, upon it being determined that the electric vehicle (“V1-V5”; Fig. 1; “electric vehicle” per ¶ [121]) is unoccupied based on a received indication of occupancy (“automatic remote driving 168” in Fig. 2), park the electric vehicle (“V3” in Fig. 3) in the power supply space (Fig. 3 shows “V3” to be parked while “200” is outside; “parking spot” has EV charging equipment per ¶ [121]) using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function (Abstract: “vehicle to automatically move … to the destination location at the parking location”).
Penilla teaches this configuration of the controller to park the unoccupied electric vehicle to improve safety and reduce the risk of accidents (¶ [8]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility, controller, and electric vehicle disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Rhodes for the controller to park the electric vehicle in the power supply automatically based on a received indication of occupancy, as taught by Penilla, to improve safety and reduce the risk of accidents.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), and Breuel et al. (US 2016/0375898 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 1.
Hon discloses the building (“shed”; Fig. 1) further includes an opening (Fig. 1; opening covered by “tarpaulin system 300”) having a size capable of allowing the electric vehicle (10) to pass through (Fig. 1 depicts the opening larger than the vehicle).
Hon further discloses a door (“tarpaulin system 300”; “tarp” is functioning as the door to the facility; Fig. 1) configured to open and/or close the opening (page 4, ¶ 5: “tarp is automatically pulled and closed by the automatic tarp system”; page 4, ¶ 5: “traction rope is opened and closed under the driving action of the forward and reverse rotation of the motor”; Fig. 2 is a mechanical diagram of “300”; Fig. 3 illustrates a bi-directional drive circuit for the direct current “motor 34” to drive the tarp in either the open/close direction with voltage polarity controlled by relays “33” and “34”; With “36” in closed state, the motor drives forward to open the door. With “33” in closed state, the motor reverses to close the door.).
Hon further discloses a door control (“logic control unit 30”; Fig. 3) configured to open the opening if the power supply space is vacant when a request to enter the building (“shed”) is received from the electric vehicle (10) by wireless communication (Detailed Description excerpt, page 6, ¶ 4: “smart terminal 40 may be a smart phone terminal installed with a mobile phone app”; Detailed Description excerpts, page 4, ¶ 7: “the other output port of the logic control unit 30 is connected to the second relay 36”, “logic control unit is connected to a touch screen 40 … used to display or input corresponding data information”; Therefore, the driver uses “40” to request to open the door to enter the building).
Hon further discloses the door control (30) is further configured to close the opening when it is detected that the electric vehicle (10) has entered the building and parked in the power supply space (Detailed Description excerpt: “when there is a charging demand, the remote control relay is closed through the wireless communication module 39, and the driving motor 34 pulls and closes the tarp system 300”).
Hon does not disclose “when the door is opened by the door control receiving an entry request from the electric vehicle, the controller is configured to park the electric vehicle in the power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function”.
Breuel teaches (see annotated Fig. 2, included infra) when the door (“garage door 205”) is opened (¶ [78]: “automatic opening of the garage door”) by the door control (207) receiving an entry request (¶ [78]: “if the garage door is closed, the controller 203 transmits a signal to an integrated garage door opener”) from the electric vehicle (202), the controller (“vehicle key 201” is used to initiate the automatic parking process per ¶ [75]) is configured to park the electric vehicle (202) in the power supply space (floor space including power supply device “209”) using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function (¶ [76]: “202 is then parked automatically by means of a controller device 203”).
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Breuel further teaches this coordination of the door and the automatic parking function to save time for the driver of the electric vehicle (¶ [29]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate the configuration of the door opening and the automatic parking function, as taught by Breuel, to save time for the driver of the electric vehicle.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), and Sham (US 2020/0016985 A1).
Regarding Claim 6, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 1.
As addressed supra (see claim mapping and modifications in section “Regarding Claim 1, …”), the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches a single building, having a power supply space, a power supply device configured to supply power to the electric vehicle, having the battery and the automatic parking function, by supplying power wirelessly to the battery of the electric vehicle when parked in the respective power supply space, a controller configured to park the electric vehicle in the respective power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function, and a building air conditioner installed therein, communicatively connected to the respective power supply device, and configured to condition air inside of the electric vehicle parked in the respective power supply space in which it is detected that a user rides, by conditioning air inside of the building based on an operating state of the respective power supply device such that air inside of the electric vehicle, when being supplied with power while parked in the respective power supply space by the controller with the electric vehicle's ventilation port opened, is conditioned by the building air conditioner.
Hon does not disclose the power supplying facility “further comprising a plurality of buildings, each having” these elements.
Hon further does not disclose “a general control device, configured such that: when electric power is to be supplied to the electric vehicle, the general control device receives from the electric vehicle an entry request for entering one of the plurality of buildings, and the general control device selects a vacant power supply space as a power supply space to be entered by the electric vehicle and directs the respective controller to park the electric vehicle in the selected power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function”.
The known elements of the power supplying facility taught by Hon (building with a power supply space, a power supply device, and a building air conditioner) could be combined to form a plurality of buildings, each with a power supply space, a power supply device, and a building air conditioner. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the effective filing date of the invention to combine the elements of Hon to form a plurality of the same elements. No new step/functionality would arise from the combination. Note this rationale draws from MPEP 2143(I)(A) “Combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results”.
Sham teaches a general control device (“charging parking controller 130”; Figs. 1-2), configured such that when electric power is to be supplied to the electric vehicle (110), the general control device (130) receives from the electric vehicle (110) an entry request (¶ [17]: “prior to … entering the parking deck, an EV can request charging parking”) for entering one of the plurality of buildings (“parking structure 105” within “100”; can be multiple parking structures per ¶ [29]).
Sham further teaches the general control device (130) selects a vacant power supply space (¶ [25]: “second charging parking space 125b is presently unoccupied”; Fig. 1; ¶ [57]: “identify a charging parking space … as being available”) as a power supply space (“charging parking space 125”; Fig. 1) to be entered by the electric vehicle (110) and directs (¶ [37]: “generates automated guidance instructions for autonomously driving”) the respective controller (an “on-site sub-controller” of “130” is located within each “105” to handle “EV parking guidance” per ¶ [29]) to park the electric vehicle (110) in the selected power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function (“110” can autonomously drive, including to a parking space, per ¶ [37]).
Sham further teaches the general control device and its functions to improve the improve the pace of the power supplying facility by coordinating the electric vehicle to find and park in an available power supply space (¶ [2]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate the general control device, as taught by Sham, to improve the pace of the power supplying facility, which makes the facility more user friendly for concurrently charging a large number of electric vehicles.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), Sham (US 2020/0016985 A1), and Breuel et al. (US 2016/0375898 A1).
Regarding Claim 7, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sham teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 6.
The combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sham teaches each of the buildings (“shed” from Hon, modified to be “a plurality of buildings” per the claim 6 section included supra) includes an opening (Hon: opening covered by “tarpaulin system 300” of Fig. 1) having a size capable of allowing the electric vehicle (Hon: “10”) to pass through (Hon Fig. 1 depicts the opening larger than the vehicle), and an automatic opening/closing door (Hon: “tarp” of “300” is functioning as the door to the facility; Fig. 1)configured to automatically open/close the opening (Hon: page 4, ¶ 5: “tarp is automatically pulled and closed by the automatic tarp system”; page 4, ¶ 5: “traction rope is opened and closed under the driving action of the forward and reverse rotation of the motor”; Fig. 2 is a mechanical diagram of “300”; Fig. 3 illustrates a bi-directional drive circuit for the direct current “motor 34” to drive the tarp in either the open/close direction with voltage polarity controlled by relays “33” and “34”; With “36” in closed state, the motor drives forward to open the door. With “33” in closed state, the motor reverses to close the door.).
Hon does not disclose that the automatic opening/closing door “opens the opening when the general control device selects building’s power supply space, and closes the opening when it is detected that the electric vehicle has entered the building and has been parked in the selected power supply space”.
Breuel teaches an automatic opening/closing door (“205”, controlled by “207”; see annotated Fig. 2, included supra) configured to automatically open/close the opening (¶ [31]: “open or close the garage door automatically”).
Breuel further teaches the automatic opening/closing door (205) opens the opening when the general control device (207) selects the building’s power supply space (floor space including power supply device “209”).
Breuel further teaches the automatic opening/closing door (205) closes the opening (¶ [33]: “… and then make it close the garage door”) when it is detected that the electric vehicle (202) has entered the building and has been parked in the selected power supply space (“when the vehicle has reached its correct parked position” per ¶ [33]).
Breuel further teaches the automatic opening/closing door to save time for the driver of the electric vehicle (¶ [29]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility and general control device disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sham to incorporate the automatic opening/closing door to open/close the opening based on the electric vehicle, as taught by Breuel, to save time for the driver of the electric vehicle.
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), and Srivastava et al. (US 2021/0293072 A1; hereinafter "Sriv").
Regarding Claim 11, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supply method according to claim 10.
Hon discloses when the electric vehicle (10) is parked in the power supply space (Fig. 1 shows the vehicle “10” parked in the “parking space” for charging from “100”) and the building air conditioner (200) starts conditioning air (page 5, first paragraph: “activates the air conditioner 200 … to lower the temperature in the carport).
Hon does not teach the electric vehicle “also has an occupancy sensor configured to detect a person in the electric vehicle and where the ventilation port includes at least one power window that is configured to be opened and closed automatically”.
Hon further does not teach “the controller operates the at least one power window to be open, upon it being determined that inside of the electric vehicle is occupied based on a received indication of occupancy from the occupancy sensor, when the electric vehicle is parked in the power supply space and the building air conditioner starts conditioning air”.
Sriv teaches the electric vehicle (“vehicle 102”; Figs. 1, 5; “electric vehicle” per ¶ [26]) that also has an occupancy sensor (“proximity sensor 120a” + “camera 120c”; Fig. 1) configured to detect a person (¶ [32]: “120c may be used … to determine whether there are occupants within the vehicle”) in the electric vehicle (102) and where the ventilation port includes at least one power window (“one or more windows 110”; Fig. 5) that is configured to be opened and closed automatically (¶ [50]: “automatically controls the one or more windows”).
Sriv further teaches the controller (“electronic control unit (ECU) 114”; Fig. 1) operates the at least one power window (110) to be open (“open window or keep window open” as response to step 312; Fig. 3), upon it being determined that inside of the electric vehicle (102) is occupied (Fig. 3, step 310) based on a received indication of occupancy (outputs from “120a” + “120c” to “114”; Fig. 1) from the occupancy sensor (“120a” + “120c”), when the electric vehicle (110) is parked in a space (“parked” per ¶ [2]) where air outside the electric vehicle is a lower temperature than the air inside the electric vehicle (¶ [64]: “when the ambient temperature is less than the cabin temperature … to open the one or more windows 110”).
Sriv further teaches this to improve the efficiency of the electric vehicle by reducing the load on the vehicle’s internal air conditioner upon startup of the vehicle (¶ [16, 29]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supply method, power supplying facility, and electric vehicle disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate an occupancy sensor, to change the ventilation port to be a power window, and for the controller to open the window when the vehicle is occupied, as taught by Sriv, to improve the efficiency of the electric vehicle.
Although Sriv does not explicitly teach the power windows are opened when the building air conditioner starts conditioning air, it does teach the power windows are opened with the air outside the electric vehicle is a lower temperature than the air inside the electric vehicle. It would be obvious that in a space with a building air conditioner (as taught by Hon), the air outside the electric vehicle would be a lower temperature than the air inside the electric vehicle. Thus, it would be obvious that when the automatic power window configuration from Sriv is incorporated into the power supplying facility taught by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone, the power windows would open (function incorporated from Sriv) when the electric vehicle (Hon: “10”) is parked in the power supply space (Hon: Fig. 1 shows the vehicle “10” parked in the “parking space” for charging from “100”) and the building air conditioner (Hon: “100”) starts conditioning air (Hon page 5, first paragraph: “activates the air conditioner 200 … to lower the temperature in the carport).
Thus, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sriv teaches the controller operates the at least power the window to be open, upon it being determined that inside of the electric vehicle is occupied based on a received indication of occupancy from the occupancy sensor, when the electric vehicle is parked in the power supply space and the building air conditioner starts conditioning air.
Regarding Claim 12, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone teaches the power supplying facility according claim 1.
Hon discloses when the electric vehicle (10) is parked in the power supply space (Fig. 1 shows the vehicle “10” parked in the “parking space” for charging from “100”) and the building air conditioner (200) starts conditioning air (page 5, first paragraph: “activates the air conditioner 200 … to lower the temperature in the carport).
Hon does not teach the electric vehicle “has an occupancy sensor configured to detect a person in the electric vehicle and where the ventilation port includes at least one power window that is configured to be opened and closed automatically, wherein: the controller is configured to operate the at least one power window to be open, upon it being determined that inside of the electric vehicle is occupied based on a received indication of occupancy from the occupancy sensor, when the electric vehicle is parked in the power supply space and the building air conditioner starts conditioning air”.
Sriv teaches the electric vehicle (“vehicle 102”; Figs. 1, 5; ¶ [26]: “electric vehicle”) that has an occupancy sensor (“proximity sensor 120a” + “camera 120c”; Fig. 1) configured to detect a person (¶ [32]: “120c may be used … to determine whether there are occupants within the vehicle”) in the electric vehicle (102).
Sriv further teaches the ventilation port includes at least one power window (“one or more windows 110”; Fig. 5) that is configured to be opened and closed automatically (¶ [50]: “automatically controls the one or more windows”).
Sriv further teaches the controller (“electronic control unit (ECU) 114”; Fig. 1) is configured to operate the at least one power window (110) to be open (“open window or keep window open” as response to step 312; Fig. 3), upon it being determined that inside of the electric vehicle (102) is occupied (Fig. 3, step 310) based on a received indication of occupancy (outputs from “120a” + “120c” to “114”; Fig. 1) from the occupancy sensor (“120a” + “120c”), when the electric vehicle (110) is parked in a space (“parked” per ¶ [2]) where air outside the electric vehicle is a lower temperature than the air inside the electric vehicle (¶ [64]: “when the ambient temperature is less than the cabin temperature … to open the one or more windows 110”).
Sriv further teaches this to improve the efficiency of the electric vehicle by reducing the load on the vehicle’s internal air conditioner upon startup of the vehicle (¶ [16, 29]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility and electric vehicle disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone to incorporate an occupancy sensor, to change the ventilation port to be a power window, and for the controller to open the window when the vehicle is occupied, as taught by Sriv, to improve the efficiency of the electric vehicle.
Although Sriv does not explicitly teach the power windows are opened when the building air conditioner starts conditioning air, it does teach the power windows are opened with the air outside the electric vehicle is a lower temperature than the air inside the electric vehicle. It would be obvious that in a space with a building air conditioner (as taught by Hon), the air outside the electric vehicle would be a lower temperature than the air inside the electric vehicle. Thus, it would be obvious that when the automatic power window configuration from Sriv is incorporated into the power supplying facility taught by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, & Tone, the power windows would open (function incorporated from Sriv) when the electric vehicle (Hon: “10”) is parked in the power supply space (Hon: Fig. 1 shows the vehicle “10” parked in the “parking space” for charging from “100”) and the building air conditioner (Hon: “100”) starts conditioning air (Hon page 5, first paragraph: “activates the air conditioner 200 … to lower the temperature in the carport).
Thus, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sriv teaches the controller is configured to operate the at least one power window to be open, upon it being determined that inside of the electric vehicle is occupied based on a received indication of occupancy from the occupancy sensor, when the electric vehicle is parked in the power supply space and the building air conditioner starts conditioning air.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”) in view of Findeisen (US 2014/0092236 A1; hereinafter “Fin”), Hattori (JP 2015/231285 A; hereinafter “Hat”), Cha et al. (US 2021/0354527 A1), Tonegawa et al. (US 2013/0096734 A1; hereinafter “Tone”), Srivastava et al. (US 2021/0293072 A1; hereinafter “Sriv”), and Breuel et al. (US 2016/0375898 A1).
Regarding Claim 13, the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sriv teaches the power supplying facility according to claim 12.
Hon further discloses the building (“shed”; Fig. 1) further includes an opening (Fig. 1; opening covered by “tarpaulin system 300”) having a size capable of allowing an electric vehicle (10) to pass through (Fig. 1 depicts the opening larger than the vehicle).
Hon further discloses a door (“tarpaulin system 300”; “tarp” is functioning as the door to the facility; Fig. 1) configured to open and/or close the opening (page 4, ¶ 5: “tarp is automatically pulled and closed by the automatic tarp system”; page 4, ¶ 5: “traction rope is opened and closed under the driving action of the forward and reverse rotation of the motor”; Fig. 2 is a mechanical diagram of “300”; Fig. 3 illustrates a bi-directional drive circuit for the direct current “motor 34” to drive the tarp in either the open/close direction with voltage polarity controlled by relays “33” and “34”; With “36” in closed state, the motor drives forward to open the door. With “33” in closed state, the motor reverses to close the door.).
Hon further discloses a door control (“logic control unit 30”; Fig. 3) configured to open the opening if the power supply space is vacant when a request to enter the building (“shed”) is received from an electric vehicle (10) by wireless communication (Detailed Description excerpt, page 6, ¶ 4: “smart terminal 40 may be a smart phone terminal installed with a mobile phone app”; Detailed Description excerpts, page 4, ¶ 7: “the other output port of the logic control unit 30 is connected to the second relay 36”, “logic control unit is connected to a touch screen 40 … used to display or input corresponding data information”; Therefore, the driver uses “40” to request to open the door to enter the building).
Hon further discloses the door control (30) is further configured to close the opening when it is detected that the electric vehicle (10) has entered the building and parked in the power supply space (Detailed Description excerpt: “when there is a charging demand, the remote control relay is closed through the wireless communication module 39, and the driving motor 34 pulls and closes the tarp system 300”).
Hon does not disclose “when the door is opened by the door control receiving an entry request from an electric vehicle, the controller is configured to park the electric vehicle in the power supply space using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function”.
Breuel teaches (see annotated Fig. 2, included infra) when the door (“garage door 205”) is opened (¶ [78]: “automatic opening of the garage door”) by the door control (207) receiving an entry request (¶ [78]: “if the garage door is closed, the controller 203 transmits a signal to an integrated garage door opener”) from an electric vehicle (202), the controller (“vehicle key 201” is used to initiate the automatic parking process per ¶ [75]) is configured to park the electric vehicle (202) in the power supply space (floor space including power supply device “209”) using the electric vehicle’s automatic parking function (¶ [76]: “202 is then parked automatically by means of a controller device 203”).
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Breuel further teaches this coordination of the door and the automatic parking function to save time for the driver of the electric vehicle (¶ [29]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying method and power supplying facility disclosed by the combo of Hon, Fin, Hat, Cha, Tone, & Sriv to incorporate the configuration of the door opening and the automatic parking function, as taught by Breuel, to save time for the driver of the electric vehicle.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sham (US 2020/0016985 A1) in view of Moghe et al. (US 2019/0202304 A1; hereinafter “Moghe-1”), Moghe et al. (US 2019/0039463 A1; hereinafter “Moghe-2”), and Hongyu et al. (CN 111502393 A; hereinafter “Hon”).
Regarding Claim 8, Sham discloses a power supplying facility (“parking structure system 100”; Fig. 1) for supplying power to electric vehicles (“electric vehicle (EV) 110”; Fig. 1) that have a battery (“battery” within “110” per ¶ [30, 43]) and an automatic parking function (“110” can autonomously drive, including to a parking space, per ¶ [37]).
Sham further discloses the power supplying facility (100) comprising a plurality of power supply devices (“charging subsystem 140”; two shown in Fig. 1) provided in a plurality of power supply spaces (“charging parking space 125”; two shown in Fig. 1), respectively.
Sham further discloses each power supply device (“140”, including “145”) configured to supply power wirelessly (each “145” may be a “wireless (under-vehicle) charging interface 145b”, per ¶ [24-25]) to a battery of an electric vehicle (110) when the electric vehicle is parked in a corresponding power supply space (any of the plurality of “125”).
Sham further discloses a control device (“charging parking controller 130”; Figs. 1-2; ¶ [37]: “generates automated guidance instructions for autonomously driving”) configured to park electric vehicles (110) in power supply spaces (125) using the electric vehicles' automatic parking function (“110” can autonomously drive, including to a parking space, per ¶ [37]).
Sham does not disclose “wherein the plurality of power supply spaces form a queue arranged in a line such that electric vehicles are to be parked in line one behind another from a first end to a second end of the plurality of power supply spaces”.
Sham further does not disclose the control device is further configured to “park two or more electric vehicles in line one behind another from a power supply space at the first end of the plurality of power supply spaces, move one electric vehicle parked in the power supply space at the first end out of the power supply space after stopping power supply to the one electric vehicle parked in the power supply space at the first end, move another electric vehicle positioned behind the one electric vehicle to the power supply space at the first end”.
Sham further does not disclose “a building in which the power supply space at the first end and a building air conditioner are installed, and the building air conditioner: communicatively connected to the respective power supply device installed in the power supply space at the first end, and configured to condition air inside of the building based on an operating state of the power supply device installed in the power supply space at the first end”.
Moghe-1 teaches the plurality of power supply spaces (“charging spots 515” at locations “P1-P5”; Fig. 5) are arranged in a line such that electric vehicles (160) are to be parked in line one behind another (vehicle at “P2” is behind the vehicle at “P1”, when viewed from the first end side of “P1”) from a first end (P1) to a second end (P5) of the plurality of power supply spaces (515).
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Moghe-1 further teaches a control device (“road side unit (RSU) 150”; Fig. 5) configured to park electric vehicles (160) in power supply spaces (515) using the electric vehicles' automatic parking function (¶ [96]: “communicate with the vehicle’s autonomous driving system and direct it to a particular parking spot”).
Moghe-1 further teaches the control device (150) further configured to park two or more electric vehicles in line one behind another (annotated Fig. 5, included supra, depicts three vehicles parked one behind another from “P1”) from a power supply space at the first end (“515” at location “P1”) of the plurality of power supply spaces.
Moghe-1 further teaches the control device (150) further configured to move one electric vehicle (“160” at “P1”; Fig. 5) parked in the power supply space at the first end (P1) out of the power supply space after stopping power supply (¶ [99]: “stop charging the vehicle …direct the vehicle to pull out”) to the one electric vehicle (“160” at “P1”; Fig. 5) parked in the power supply space at the first end (P1).
Moghe-1 further teaches the control device (150) further configured to move another electric vehicle (“160” in a “non-charging spot 520” behind the “charging spot 515” at “P1”; see annotated Fig. 5) positioned behind the one electric vehicle (“160” at “P1”) to the power supply space at the first end (“515” at location “P1”).
Moghe-1 further teaches this arrangement of power supply spaces in a line with the automatic parking function is used to maneuver the electric vehicles in this manner to optimize the available space (¶ [96]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the control device disclosed by Sham to control the movement of the electric vehicles from a second end to a first end using each vehicle’s automatic parking function, as taught by Moghe-1, to optimize the available space and fit more vehicles in the facility.
Moghe-2 teaches (see annotated Fig. 6, included infra) the plurality of power supply spaces form a queue (¶ [87]: “simultaneously charging multiple vehicles in the drive-thru queue”) arranged in a line such that electric vehicles (“vehicle 160”; Fig. 6) are to be parked in line one behind another from a first end (with power supply space “164h”; Fig. 6) to a second end (with power supply space “164d”) of the plurality of power supply spaces (“ground-based charging coils 164”; Fig. 6).
Moghe-2 further teaches vehicles (160) travel through the queue of power supply spaces (164) from the second end (vehicles start at “164d”) to the first end (vehicles complete traveling through the queue at “164h”).
Moghe-2 further teaches vehicles (160) are parked (¶ [27]: “such charging may be performed when vehicle 160 is stationary”) in unoccupied power supply spaces (164) within the queue to receive at least partial charging (¶ [87]: “simultaneously charging multiple vehicles in the drive-thru queue”) while parked within each of the power supply spaces (164) in which the vehicles (160) become parked.
Moghe-2 further teaches to park two or more electric vehicles (160) in line one behind another (¶ [83]: “vehicle 160 is recognized and has started in a long queue”; ”¶ [83]: “long taxi lines”; ¶ [87]: “multiple vehicles in the drive-thru queue”) from a power supply space at the first end (“164h” in Fig. 6; ¶ [70]: “takes anywhere from 2-4 minutes for a vehicle 160 to reach the drive-thru window”) of the plurality of power supply spaces (164).
Moghe-2 further teaches to move one electric vehicle (160) parked in the power supply space at the first end (164h) out of the power supply space after stopping power supply to the one electric vehicle parked in the power supply space at the first end (¶ [85]: “When vehicle 160 finally reaches the end of the track, the WPT system closes the transaction and informs supervisory service 170 that the charging operation is complete.”)
Moghe-2 further teaches to move another electric vehicle positioned behind (another “160” in the line/queue, positioned at any of “164d-g” while waiting for the leading “160” at “164h”) the one electric vehicle to the power supply space at the first end (“164” in Fig. 6; ¶ [84]: “vehicle 160 moves along the drive-thru track”; ¶ [85]: “When vehicle 160 finally reaches the end of the track”).
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Moghe-2 further teaches the line/queue arrangement to expand the commercial applications for the power supply spaces to include parking lots (¶ [27]), drive-thru establishments (¶ [27, 70]) and taxi lines (¶ [83]). Moghe-2 further teaches to at least partially charge the vehicles waiting in the queue to deliver charge to the vehicles during a waiting time that would typically be wasted (¶ [70, 83]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the arrangement of power supply spaces disclosed by the combo of Sham & Moghe-1 to form a queue through which the vehicles receive at least partial charging as they park and move from the second end to the first end, as taught by Moghe-2, to broaden the commercial opportunities for the power supplying facility and better utilize the time of the waiting vehicles as they move through the queue.
Hon teaches a building (“shed”, not numbered; Fig. 1) in which the power supply space (“parking space”) and a building air conditioner (“200”; Fig. 1 depicts mounting location on wall of the “shed”) are installed.
NOTE 5: Per the combination of Sham, Moghe-1, and Moghe-2, “the power supply space at the first end” is already established. One of ordinary skill in the art understands the teachings of Hon can be applied to any power supply space. Thus, Hon is not relied upon to teach “the power supply space at the first end”.
Hon further teaches the building air conditioner (200) communicatively connected (Fig. 4 shows “air conditioner relay 202” connected to “100”; Fig. 5 shows “wireless communication module 39” connected to “102” and “logic control circuit 30”; Detailed Description excerpt, page 4, ¶ 7: “30 is connected to the air conditioner through the amplifier circuit 201 and the air conditioner relay 202 for controlling the air conditioner 200 to start and adjust the temperature”) to the respective power supply device (“charging pile 100” with internal components “controller 102” and “power module 101”; Figs. 1, 4) installed in the power supply space (“parking space”). Note the interpretation of this limitation may be expanded. Hon further teaches the building air conditioner (200) and the power supply device (100) are thermally connected and thermally communicate. Because the building air conditioner (200) and the power supply device (100) are in the same room, they can communicate through an inherent thermostat device.
Hon further teaches the building air conditioner (200) configured to condition air inside of the building (“shed”) based on an operating state of the power supply device (Detailed Description excerpt, page 5, ¶ 12: “logic control unit 30 is connected to the wireless communication module 39 … to establish a wireless communication connection with the intelligent terminal 40”; Detailed Description excerpt, page 5, ¶ 12: “user schedules charging and controls the ambient temperature through the smart terminal 40”; “40” is also referred to as “touch screen”) installed in the power supply space (“parking space”). Through a broader reasonable interpretation of this limitation, Hon further teaches the building air conditioner (200) turns on when the power supply device (100) heats the building (“shed”) as a result of power dissipation of the power supply device in an on-state.
Hon further teaches this to adjust the temperature in the facility to a suitable temperature to achieve safe charging (Summary of the Invention, page 2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the power supplying facility disclosed by the combo of Sham, Moghe-1, & Moghe-2 to incorporate the building installed in the power supply space at the first end and the building air conditioner, as taught by Hon, to adjust the temperature in the building to a suitable temperature to achieve safe charging.
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.
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/DANIEL P MCFARLAND/ Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/DREW A DUNN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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