DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/22/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claims 1-18 remain pending in the application, and no claims have been canceled. Applicant’s amendments to the Specification and Claims have overcome every 102 and 103 rejection previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed. NOTE: Remarks on page 1 state claims 1-20 are pending although it appears from the claim set that only claims 1-18 are submitted.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 1/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant submits on page 8 of Remarks that Moriya does not disclose each and every element of claim 1, and the claim 1 and claims 5-6 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) cannot be sustained.
The examiner agrees and withdraws the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1).
Applicant submits that Ijichi, Liu, or Lee do not disclose teaching a path for directly stepping down high-voltage power input from a fast charging cable as identified in claim 1.
The examiner submits that Moriya in view of Liu covers the recited limitations in claims 1 and 7. Moriya provides most of the structure for supplying power to the battery and an external load. Lui provides a step down converter which would be obvious to integrate to the structure to supply a proper voltage to the external load. Please see the rejections below for details.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1, 5-7, and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriya (US 20200247243 A1) in view of Liu (US 20210070185 A1, published 2021-03-11).
Regarding independent claim 1, Moriya discloses a power distribution apparatus of a vehicle (Fig. 1 and ¶0019: 1), comprising:
a power transmitter (¶[29, 40]: power supply unit 25) configured to connect to a power transmission cable for supplying power to an external device (¶[29, 40]: on-vehicle inverter 23 converts power of battery 11 into supply voltage to inside-cabin power receptacle, which connects to a home electric appliance);
a fast charging outlet (¶0030: ground facilities 100) configured to connect to a fast charging cable (Fig. 1: cable between the inverter 102 and the plug) for receiving power from a power source (plug connected to AC source) (0030: ground facilities 100 connected via transmitting and receiving coils 103 and 31);
a processor (vehicle controller 15) configured to, in response to an execution command of a fast charging mode and a load power supply mode (¶0024: vehicle controller 15 performs an operation input processing of the touchscreen 41 and controls the charge to the battery 11 or to the power supply unit 25.), distribute power supplied through the fast charging cable (plug and cable of ground facilities 100), transfer a portion of the distributed power to the external device (Fig. 1 and ¶0032: portion of the power sent to power supply unit 25 via rectifier 32, charging relay R2, and line connecting R2 to 25), and transfer a remainder of the distributed power to a battery (power transferred to battery 11 via rectifier 32, charging relay R2, system main relay R1, and line connecting R2 to R1 to 11); and
a power converter (rectifier 32) provided between the fast charging outlet (ground facilities 100) and the power transmitter (power supply unit 25), and configured to, when transferring the portion of the distributed power to the external device, transmitter (¶0030: “The rectifier 32 may rectify an AC current outputted from the power receiving coil 31 and send the rectified AC current along the power supply line Lb. The charging relay R2 may switch the rectifier 32 and the power supply line Lb between a connected state and a disconnected state.”).
Moriya does not explicitly disclose a power converter configured to directly step down a voltage of the portion of the distributed power, which is higher than a voltage of the battery, to a driving voltage for the external device and transfer the driving voltage to the power transmitter. Moriya does disclose the on-vehicle inverter 23 powering home electric appliances to the inside-cabin power receptacle (¶[28]).
Liu discloses a power converter (Fig. 7: DC bi-directional converter 160) configured to directly step down a voltage of the portion of the distributed power, which is higher than a voltage of the battery, to a driving voltage for the external device and transfer the driving voltage to the power transmitter (¶[71]: DC1 voltage step-down mode for DC bi-directional converter 160).
Moriya and Liu disclose vehicles that power external devices. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the step-down converter 160 of Liu either near or within the on-vehicle inverter 23 of Moriya to appropriately match the lower voltage requirements (120V) of home electric appliances as the charging voltage on power line LB will be higher than the high voltage battery 11 (Moriya ¶[3]) to effectively charge the battery.
Regarding claim 5, Moriya in view of Liu discloses the power distribution apparatus of claim 1, wherein Moriya discloses the processor is configured to, in response to execution of the fast charging mode, allow the power supplied through the fast charging cable to be transferred to the battery (Fig. 1: power transferred to battery 11 via rectifier 32, charging relay R2, system main relay R1, and line connecting R2 to R1 to 11. Charging control to the battery is controlled by the vehicle controller 15 by adjusting system main relay R1).
Regarding claim 6, Moriya in view of Liu discloses the power distribution apparatus of claim 5, wherein Moriya discloses the processor is configured to check information about a required charge amount of the battery, and control charge of the battery on the basis of the checked information about the required charge amount of the battery (¶0040: While monitoring a state of charge, charging controller 34, in communication with vehicle controller 15 via communication line Lc in Fig. 1, executes the charging of the battery 11 until a condition of an end of the charging is satisfied.).
Regarding independent claim 7, Moriya discloses a vehicle (Fig. 1 and ¶0019: 1) comprising:
a battery (11);
a power transmitter (¶[29,40]: Fig. 1 and ¶0028: power supply unit 25) configured to connect to a power transmission cable for supplying power to an external device (¶[29,40]: on-vehicle inverter 23 converts power of battery 11 into supply voltage to inside-cabin power receptacle, which connects to a home electric appliance);
a fast charging outlet (¶0030: ground facilities 100) configured to connect to a fast charging cable (Fig. 1: cable between the inverter 102 and the plug) for receiving power from a power source (plug connected to AC source) (0030: ground facilities 100 connected via transmitting and receiving coils 103 and 31);
an inputter configured to receive an input from a user (touchscreen 41 or mobile terminal with touchscreen 52);
a processor (vehicle controller 15) configured to, in response to an on-command of a fast charging mode and an on-command of a load power supply mode being received through the inputter (¶0024 and Fig. 1: vehicle controller 15 performs and operation input processing of the touchscreen 41 and controls the charge to the battery 11 or to the power supply unit 25.), distribute power supplied through the fast charging cable (plug and cable of ground facilities 100), transfer a portion of the distributed power to the external device (Fig. 1 and ¶0032: portion of the power sent to power supply unit 25 via rectifier 32, charging relay R2, and line connecting R2 to 25), and transfer a remainder of the distributed power to the battery (power transferred to battery 11 via rectifier 32, charging relay R2, system main relay R1, and line connecting R2 to R1 to 11); and
a power converter (rectifier 32) provided between the fast charging outlet (ground facilities 100) and the power transmitter (power supply unit 25), and configured to, when transferring the portion of the distributed power to the external device, (¶0030: “The rectifier 32 may rectify an AC current outputted from the power receiving coil 31 and send the rectified AC current along the power supply line Lb. The charging relay R2 may switch the rectifier 32 and the power supply line Lb between a connected state and a disconnected state.”).
Moriya does not explicitly disclose a power converter configured to directly step down a voltage of the portion of the distributed power, which is higher than a voltage of the battery, to a driving voltage for the external device and transfer the driving voltage to the power transmitter. Moriya does disclose the on-vehicle inverter 23 powering home electric appliances to the inside-cabin power receptacle (¶[28]).
Liu discloses a power converter (Fig. 7: DC bi-directional converter 160) configured to directly step down a voltage of the portion of the distributed power, which is higher than a voltage of the battery, to a driving voltage for the external device and transfer the driving voltage to the power transmitter (¶[71]: DC1 voltage step-down mode for DC bi-directional converter 160).
Moriya and Liu disclose vehicles that power external devices. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the step-down converter 160 of Liu either near or within the on-vehicle inverter 23 of Moriya to appropriately match the lower voltage requirements (120V) of home electric appliances as the charging voltage on power line LB will be higher than the high voltage battery 11 (Moriya ¶[3]) to effectively charge the battery.
Regarding claim 15, Moriya in view of Liu discloses the vehicle of claim 7, wherein Moriya discloses the processor is configured to, in response to execution of the fast charging mode, allow the power supplied through the fast charging cable to be transferred to the battery (Fig. 1: power transferred to battery 11 via rectifier 32, charging relay R2, system main relay R1, and line connecting R2 to R1 to 11. Charging control to the battery is controlled by the vehicle controller 15 by adjusting system main relay R1).
Regarding claim 16, Moriya in view of Liu discloses the vehicle of claim 15, wherein Moriya discloses the processor is configured to check information about a required charge amount of the battery, and control charge of the battery on the basis of the checked information about the required charge amount of the battery (¶0040: While monitoring a state of charge, charging controller 34, in communication with vehicle controller 15 via communication line Lc in Fig. 1, executes the charging of the battery 11 until a condition of an end of the charging is satisfied).
Claims 2-4 and 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi (US 20160149415 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Moriya discloses the power distribution apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor (vehicle controller 15) is configured to:
check state of charge (SOC) information of the battery;
determine whether the load power supply mode is performable based on the SOC information and reference SOC information of the battery;
(¶0040: State of charge is monitored and compared with an SOC condition. The load power supply mode is performable as long as the load is connected with the power source and battery)
Moriya does not disclose the processor configured to:
upon determining that the load power supply mode is performable, acquire information about an amount of power to be supplied to the external device and information about an amount of power to be supplied to the battery on the basis of information about a total amount of power of the power source and information about a required amount of power of the external device; and
distribute the power supplied from the power source on the basis of the acquired information about the amount of power to be supplied to the external device and the acquired information about the amount of power to be supplied to the battery.
Ijichi discloses a processor (Figs. 1 and 2 and ¶0052: control device 7) configured to
acquire information about an amount of power to be supplied to the external device (¶0048: electrical power demand of the Load 11) and information about an amount of power to be supplied to the battery (power is distributed to the battery based on SOC detected by detector 14) on the basis of information about a total amount of power of the power source (heat engine power generation device 2 or natural energy power generation device 3) and information about a required amount of power of the external device (¶0048); and
distribute the power supplied from the power source on the basis of the acquired information about the amount of power to be supplied to the external device and the acquired information about the amount of power to be supplied to the battery (¶0072: natural energy power generation device 3, heat engine power generation device 2, and battery operate to cover the electric power demand of the load and to keep the battery charged).
Both Moriya and Ijichi disclose systems for distributing power. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the processor of Ijichi into the system of Moriya. Doing so would ensure the appropriate distribution of available power from the power source to the external device and the battery.
Regarding claim 3, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the power distribution apparatus of claim 2, wherein Ijichi further discloses the processor (7) is configured to acquire information about the amount of power to be supplied to the battery (Fig. 2: electric storage device control section 24) on the basis of the information about the total amount of power of the power source (Fig. 1: heat engine power generation device 2 or natural energy power generation device 3) and the information about the required amount of power of the external device (¶0048: electrical power demand of the Load 11).
Regarding claim 4, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the power distribution apparatus of claim 2, wherein Ijichi further discloses the processor is configured to, upon determining that the load power supply mode is not performable, supply all of the power supplied from the power source to the battery (Supplying all the power into the battery when a load is not connected falls within the scope of Ijichi).
Regarding claim 8, Moriya in view of Liu discloses the vehicle of claim 7, Morita disclosing the vehicle further comprising:
a battery management device (Fig. 1: charging controller 34) configured to monitor a state of charge (SOC) of the battery, and output SOC information about the monitored SOC of the battery,
wherein the processor (vehicle controller 15) is configured to:
check the SOC information of the battery;
determine whether a charge amount of the battery is greater than or equal to a reference charge amount on the basis of the SOC information of the battery and reference SOC information;
(¶0040: While monitoring a state of charge, charging controller 34, in communication with vehicle controller 15 via communication line Lc in Fig. 1, executes the charging of the battery 11 until a condition of an end of the charging is satisfied. The examiner interprets monitoring occurring both before and after the condition is met.)
Moriya does not disclose the processor configured to:
upon determining that the charge amount of the battery is greater than or equal to the reference charge amount, acquire information about an amount of power to be supplied to the external device and an amount of power to be supplied to the battery on the basis of information about a total amount of power of the power source and information about a required amount of the external device; and
distribute the power supplied from the power source on the basis of the acquired information about the amount of power to be supplied to the external device and the amount of power to be supplied to the battery.
Ijichi discloses a processor (Figs. 1 and 2 and ¶0052: control device 7) configured to
upon determining that the charge amount of the battery is greater than or equal to the reference charge amount, acquire information about an amount of power to be supplied to the external device (¶0048: electrical power demand of the Load 11) and an amount of power to be supplied to the battery (power is distributed to the battery based on SOC detected by detector 14) on the basis of information about a total amount of power of the power source (heat engine power generation device 2 and natural energy power generation device 3) and information about a required amount of the external device; and
distribute the power supplied from the power source on the basis of the acquired information about the amount of power to be supplied to the external device and the amount of power to be supplied to the battery (¶0072: natural energy power generation device 3, heat engine power generation device 2, and battery operate to meet the electric power demand of the load and to keep the battery charged).
Both Moriya and Ijichi disclose systems for distributing power. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to recognize the processor in the system of Ijichi could be applied to the system of Moriya. Doing so would ensure the appropriate distribution of available power from the power source to the external device and the battery.
Regarding claim 9, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the vehicle of claim 8, wherein Ijichi further discloses the processor (Fig. 2 and ¶0052: 7) is configured to acquire the information about the amount of power to be supplied to the battery (22) on the basis of the information about the total amount of power of the power source (Fig. 2: power PE from natural energy power generation device 3) and the information about the required amount of power of the external device (electric power demand L of the load 11).
Regarding claim 10, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the vehicle of claim 9, wherein Moriya and Ijichi further disclose the processor is configured to supply power to the external device on the basis of the information about the required amount of power of the external device (Ijichi - ¶0052: electric power demand L of the load 11), determine whether the supply of power to the external device is completed on the basis of the information about the required amount of power of the external device, and upon determining that the supply of power to the external device is completed, supply power to the battery (Moriya - ¶0040: determining the supply of power to the external device is completed and subsequently supplying power to the battery falls within the scope of Moriya.).
Regarding claim 11, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the vehicle of claim 10, wherein Moriya further discloses the processor is configured to: after completing supplying power to the external device and upon determining that the supply of power to the battery is not completed on the basis of the information about the amount of power to be supplied to the batter[y], continue to supply the power to the battery (¶0040: determining the supply of power to the battery is not yet completed and subsequently continuing to supply power to the battery falls within the scope of Moriya.).
Regarding claim 12, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the vehicle of claim 10, wherein Moriya further discloses the processor is configured to: after completing supplying power to the external device and upon determining that the supply of power to the battery is completed on the basis of the information about the amount of power to be supplied to the batter[y], stop supplying the power to the battery (¶0040: determining the supply of power to the battery is completed and subsequently ending the supply of power to the battery falls within the scope of Moriya.).
Regarding claim 13, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the vehicle of claim 9, wherein Moriya further discloses the processor is configured to, upon determining that the charge amount of the battery is less than the reference charge amount, supply all of the power supplied from the power source to the battery (¶0040: charging the battery with all the power supplied from the power source falls within the scope of Moriya).
Regarding claim 14, Moriya in view of Liu and Ijichi discloses the vehicle of claim 9, wherein Moriya further discloses the vehicle comprising a display, wherein the processor is configured to control the display (¶0045: vehicle controller 15 outputs images to the touchscreen 41).
Moriya fails to disclose that the load power supply mode is not performable upon determining that the charge amount of the battery is less than the reference charge amount.
Liu discloses the load power supply mode is not performable upon determining that the charge amount of the battery is less than the reference charge amount (Fig. 19E and ¶0111: at step 602, if battery voltage is less than 200 V, V2L mode to generate auxiliary power is bypassed.).
Moriya, Ijichi, and Liu disclose vehicles that power external devices. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the feature in the vehicle of Liu, of preventing power to the load if the battery voltage is too low, into the vehicle of Moriya as modified. Doing so would prevent risk to the load being interrupted and risk to the vehicle being stranded due to over discharge of its battery. Moriya discloses a notification to the user via the display (Figs. 4A-C) of power shutting off to the receptacle. Adding a notification that the battery is less than the reference charge amount would have been a predictable addition in light of Liu.
Claims 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moriya in view of Liu, and further in view of Lee (US 20210101494 A1, published 2021-04-08).
Regarding claim 17, Moriya in view of Liu discloses the vehicle of claim 7.
Moriya does not disclose the vehicle further comprising a slow charging outlet configured to connect to a slow charging cable to receive power from the power source,
wherein the processor is configured to, in response to an on-command of a slow charging mode being received through the inputter, control the power converter to convert a voltage of power supplied through the slow charging cable, and
the power converter is configured to convert the voltage of the power supplied through the slow charging cable in response to a control command of the processor, and transfer the converted power to the battery.
Lee discloses a slow charging outlet configured to connect to a slow charging cable (Fig. 1: connector 152) to receive power from a power source is connected (slow charger 150),
wherein the processor (Fig. 2: 210 controller) is configured to, in response to an on-command of a slow charging mode being received through the inputter, control a power converter (onboard charger 202) to convert a voltage of power supplied through the slow charging cable, and
the power converter (onboard charger 202) is configured to convert the voltage of the power supplied through the slow charging cable in response to a control command of the processor, and transfer the converted power to the battery (102).
Both Moriya and Lee disclose systems for distributing power in a vehicle. It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to recognize the slow charger in the system of Lee could be applied the system of Moriya to enable a user to choose slow charging and to accommodate various forms of AC power provided in different countries (¶0006).
Regarding claim 18, Moriya in view of Liu and Lee discloses the vehicle of claim 17, wherein Lee further discloses the processor is configured to perform the slow charging mode on the basis of a connection signal of the slow charging cable (slow charging is possible only when cable is connected).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tripathi (US 20160114692 A1, published 2016-04-28) discloses a charging enabler system (distribution) 322, EV battery charging, fast charging via Level 3 chargers (¶0037), but no vehicle to load functionality.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryu-Sung Peter Weinmann whose telephone number is (703)756-5964. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman, can be reached at (571) 272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 June 4, 2026
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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