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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments, filed January 29th 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the cited references do not teach the limitation: “wherein the apparatus further comprises an input/output unit displaying a test charge/discharge operation state during the standby time or an estimated charge/discharge profile until charging is terminated after completion of calculation.”
Examiner respectfully disagrees. The limitation is an ‘or’ statement, therefore the reference must teach one an input/output unit displaying of the following: (a) a test charge/discharge operation state during the standby time.
(b) an estimated charge/discharge profile until charging is terminated after completion of calculation.
The Gadh reference (US 20130179061 A1) teaches a mobile device (which can receive input from the user, and display outputs) which displays an estimated charge profile (¶[336] “monitoring of the EV status e.g. battery state of charge, time remaining until fully charged, total cost of charging”, see Fig. 5) until charging is terminated (¶[336] “The owner would use such an application in the following modalities: … completed charge alert”). Applicant argues the Gadh in view of Ishii fails to teach the recited standby time. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Gadh teaches that the vehicle and charging station exchange information after being connected to control the operation of the charging station. Ishii also teaches a period of time in which calculation is performed on a charging profile (S410-S460 in Fig. 7) before starting full-scale charging.
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-8, 10-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Gadh et al. (US 20130179061 A1) in view of Ishii (US 20120139490 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Gadh teaches an apparatus (Fig. 1) for controlling test charging and discharging based on vehicle to grid (V2G) technology, the apparatus comprising:
a vehicle controller (114a, ¶[53] “with … a battery management system”) selecting a control command for charging, discharging, or charging/discharging a battery
and a charge/discharge controller (112b) charging, discharging, or charging/discharging the battery according to the selected control command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”),
wherein an operation of the vehicle controller and an operation of the charge/discharge controller are performed for a standby time (¶[236] “The WINSmartEV system architecture has the capability to monitor and store power consumption information for each vehicle that is connected to the chargers installed”; the standby time is interpreted as the time period where the vehicle is not being driven and is engaged with the charger) in which calculation is performed on a charge profile (¶[327] “The control center architecture … determines optimized charging and backfill operations based on: 1) demand response events; 2) user profiles;”),
wherein the standby time is a time duration from the point at which a charging cable is connected (¶[116] “When the electric vehicle 902 connects to the charging station 904, no matter if the EV is charging or discharging, the information of battery status of the electric vehicle will be passed to the charging station by the standard charging cable interface SAE J1772”) to the time point at which calculation for the charging profile is completed (¶[116] “The collectors 906 search and join an available mesh network automatically after startup and play the role of controllers to decide the charging/discharging process for the charging stations”);
and wherein the apparatus further comprises an input/output unit (402) displaying a test charge/discharge operation state during the standby time or an estimated charge/discharge profile until charging is terminated after completion of calculation (¶[336] “monitoring of the EV status e.g. battery state of charge, time remaining until fully charged, total cost of charging”, see Fig. 5).
Gadh does not teach wherein the operation of the charge/discharge controller includes charging, discharging, or charging/discharging of the battery.
Ishii teaches wherein the operation of the charge/discharge controller includes charging, discharging, or charging/discharging of the battery (¶[17] “Preferably, the control device performs test charging for calculating the resistance value of the power transmission path prior to full-scale charging, to set limitation on the charge power based on the calculated resistance value, and then, starts full-scale charging”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Gadh to incorporate the teachings of Ishii to provide wherein the operation of the charge/discharge controller includes charging, discharging, or charging/discharging of the battery in order to determine if the charge power should be limited in order to reduce heat generation and resulting damage.
Regarding Claim 2, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 1.
Gadh further teaches that the control command comprises one of:
a charge command comprising a charge profile configured to charge the battery with allowable maximum charge power for the standby time (¶[96] “during the "fastest" 314b charge, the electric vehicle is charged at its maximum rate, regardless of cost per kWh”),
a discharge command comprising a discharge profile configured to discharge the battery with allowable maximum discharge power for the standby time,
a charge/discharge command comprising a charge/discharge profile configured to charge and discharge the battery with the allowable maximum charge power and the allowable maximum discharge power, as maximum values, for the standby time,
and a limited charge/discharge command comprising a limited charge/discharge profile configured to charge/discharge the battery with limited charge power less than the allowable maximum charge power and limited discharge power less than the allowable maximum discharge power, as maximum values, for the standby time (see ¶[255] for an example of charging and discharging limited by price and demand)
Regarding Claim 3, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 2.
Gadh further teaches the vehicle controller selects the charge command among the control commands when a state of charge (SOC) of the battery is equal to or less than a preset SOC (¶[99] “Among such preferences may be maxima and minima for: total cost allowed for charging, charging time allowed, and desired EV travel range”; the SOC of the battery determines the range of the vehicle),
and the charge/discharge controller charges the battery according to the selected charge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 4, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 2.
Gadh further teaches when the SOC of the battery is greater than a preset SOC (¶[99] “Among such preferences may be maxima and minima for: … desired EV travel range”; the SOC of the battery determines the range of the vehicle), if a current tariff according to tariff information is less than a preset lower limit tariff (¶[60] “Users may set charging requirements for their vehicles, e.g. maximum time, maximum price”), the vehicle controller selects the charge command among the control commands (¶[96] “During a "cheapest" 314a charge, the electric vehicle 304 is charged in the cheapest possible manner given the cost per kWh”),
and if the current tariff according to the tariff information is greater than a preset upper limit tariff (¶[336] “definable parameters for automated vehicle-to-grid operation including minimum price ($/kWh) and maximum charge percentage willing to sacrifice”), the vehicle controller selects the discharge command among the control commands (¶[243] “A heuristic rule engine in the expert system of WINSmartEV enables rules that determine when to charge or backfill the battery on the vehicle automatically”),
and the charge/discharge controller charges the battery according to the selected charge command or discharges the battery according to the selected discharge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 5, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 2.
Gadh further teaches, when an SOC of the battery is greater than a preset SOC (¶[99] “Among such preferences may be maxima and minima for: total cost allowed for charging, charging time allowed, and desired EV travel range”; the SOC of the battery determines the range of the vehicle) and the current tariff according to the tariff information is between a preset lower limit tariff (¶[336] “vehicle-to-grid operation comprising … definable parameters for automated vehicle-to-grid operation including minimum price ($/kWh)”) and a preset upper limit tariff (¶[271] “The WINSmartEV architecture takes into consideration … optimization algorithms that charge vehicles according to consumer scheduling, utility dynamic pricing, and battery health” An upper limit may be set on the tariff price to prevent the system from operating at a loss),
the vehicle controller selects the charge/discharge command or the limited charge/discharge command, among the control commands, based on a temperature of the battery (¶[223] “WINSmartEV utilizes various wireless communication protocols to collect data such as Vehicle ID, status of charge, battery temperature, power usage in kW, voltage and amperage and to send control signals to connect and disconnect a charger”),
and the charge/discharge controller charges/discharges the battery according to the selected charge/discharge command or the selected limited charge/discharge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 6, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 5.
Gadh does not explicitly teach when a temperature of the battery is within a normal range,
the vehicle controller selects the charge/discharge command among the control commands,
and when the temperature of the battery is out of the normal range, the vehicle controller selects the limited charge/discharge command among the control commands,
However, Gadh teaches that the temperature is a factor used when determining charging/discharging operations (¶[243] “A heuristic rule engine in the expert system of WINSmartEV enables rules that determine when to charge or backfill the battery on the vehicle automatically. Factors affecting such decisions include: transformer capacity, peak demand, time of use rate, critical peak pricing, users' preference on charging and backfill, battery profile, battery temperature”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to charge/discharge the battery for longer or with more power when the temperature is in a normal range and limit the charging/discharging power if the battery temperature becomes abnormal in order to preserve the lifespan of the battery.
Gadh further teaches the charge/discharge controller charges/discharges the battery according to the selected charge/discharge command or the selected limited charge/discharge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 7, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 2.
Gadh does not explicitly teaches the charge/discharge profile is configured to increase charge power in stages from 0 to the allowable maximum charge power and then decrease the charge power in stages back to 0 during half of the standby time
and increase discharge power in stages from 0 to the allowable maximum discharge power and then decrease the discharge power in stages back to 0 during the other half of the standby time,
or maintain the allowable maximum charge power during half of the standby time and maintain the allowable maximum discharge power during the other half of the standby time.
However, an arbitrary standby period can be defined to be between low-tariff and high-tariff times, and based on the user’s preference (¶[99]), the vehicle may charge at the maximum allowable power for half the period (purchasing electricity at a low price) and discharge at maximum allowable power for the other half of the period (selling electricity at a low price).
Regarding Claim 8, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 2.
Gadh further teaches the limited charge/discharge profile is configured to increase charge power in stages from 0 to limited charge power and then decrease the charge power in stages back to 0 during half of the standby time and increase discharge power in stages from 0 to the limited discharge power and decrease the discharge power in stages back to 0 during the other half of the standby time,
or maintain the limited charge power during half of the standby time and maintain the limited discharge power during the other half of the standby time.
However, an arbitrary standby period can be defined to be between low-tariff and high-tariff times, and based on the user’s preference (¶[99]), the vehicle may charge at a limited power for half the period (purchasing electricity at a low price without exceeding a certain range) and discharge at a limited power for the other half of the period (selling electricity at a low price without falling below a certain range).
Regarding Claim 10, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the apparatus of claim 1.
Gadh further teaches the vehicle controller settles up cost according to an amount of power charged, discharged, or charged/discharged for the standby time (¶[346] “the control center would determine if the user is eligible for charging and has sufficient credit in his account. At a second stage, the control center would also remove energy from the car batteries to provide backfill to the grid ... Discharging car batteries to supplement the energy requirements for the grid would also involve crediting the account balance of the user”).
Regarding Claim 11, Gadh teaches a method for controlling test charging and discharging based on vehicle to grid (V2G), the method comprising:
a first operation of selecting, by a vehicle controller, a control command for charging, discharging, or charging/discharging a battery (¶[223] “An expert system which is part of the architecture, determines the optimized charging and backfill operations based on various inputs such as EV profile, user preference, demand respond event, grid capacities”);
wherein the first operation is performed for a standby time (¶[236] “The WINSmartEV system architecture has the capability to monitor and store power consumption information for each vehicle that is connected to the chargers installed”; the standby time is interpreted as the time period where the vehicle is not being driven and is engaged with the charger) in which calculation is performed on a charge profile (¶[327] “The control center architecture … determines optimized charging and backfill operations based on: 1) demand response events; 2) user profiles”),
and wherein the standby time is a time duration from the point at which a charging cable is connected (¶[116] “When the electric vehicle 902 connects to the charging station 904, no matter if the EV is charging or discharging, the information of battery status of the electric vehicle will be passed to the charging station by the standard charging cable interface SAE J1772”) to the time point at which calculation for the charging profile is completed (¶[116] “The collectors 906 search and join an available mesh network automatically after startup and play the role of controllers to decide the charging/discharging process for the charging stations”);
and a third operation of displaying a test charge/discharge operation state or an estimated charge/discharge profile until charging is terminated after completion of calculation (¶[336] “monitoring of the EV status e.g. battery state of charge, time remaining until fully charged, total cost of charging”).
Gadh does not explicitly teach a second operation of charging, discharging, or charging/discharging the battery, by a charge/discharge controller, according to the selected control command;
and the second operation is performed for a standby time.
Ishii teaches a second operation of charging, discharging, or charging/discharging the battery, by a charge/discharge controller, according to the selected control command (¶[17] “Preferably, the control device performs test charging for calculating the resistance value of the power transmission path prior to full-scale charging, to set limitation on the charge power based on the calculated resistance value, and then, starts full-scale charging”);
and the second operation is performed for a standby time (see Fig. 7 where charging is performed during calculation, see also ¶[98] “On the other hand, if charging is already being performed (YES in S410), the process proceeds to S420, in which ECU 300 calculates additional resistance value R3 and power consumption PWR using the above-described Equations (2) and (3) based on voltage VAC and current IAC detected by voltage sensor 210 and current sensor 220”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Gadh to incorporate the teachings of Ishii to provide a second operation of charging, discharging, or charging/discharging the battery, by a charge/discharge controller, according to the selected control command;
and the second operation is performed for a standby time;
in order to determine if the charge power should be limited in order to reduce heat generation and resulting damage, as suggested by Ishii (see Abstract).
Regarding Claim 12, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 11.
Gadh further teaches the control command comprises one of:
a charge command comprising a charge profile configured to charge the battery with allowable maximum charge power for the standby time (¶[96] “during the "fastest" 314b charge, the electric vehicle is charged at its maximum rate, regardless of cost per kWh”),
a discharge command comprising a discharge profile configured to discharge the battery with allowable maximum discharge power for the standby time,
a charge/discharge command comprising a charge/discharge profile configured to charge and discharge the battery with the allowable maximum charge power and the allowable maximum discharge power, as maximum values, for the standby time,
and a limited charge/discharge command comprising a limited charge/discharge profile configured to charge/discharge the battery with limited charge power less than the allowable maximum charge power and limited discharge power less than the allowable maximum discharge power, as maximum values, for the standby time (see ¶[255] for an example of charging and discharging limited by price and demand).
Regarding Claim 13, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 12.
Gadh further teaches in the first operation, the charge command among the control commands is selected when a state of charge (SOC) of the battery is equal to or less than a preset SOC (¶[99] “Among such preferences may be maxima and minima for: total cost allowed for charging, charging time allowed, and desired EV travel range”; the SOC of the battery determines the range of the vehicle),
and in the second operation, the battery is charged according to the selected charge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 14, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 12.
Gadh further teaches, in the first operation, when an SOC of the battery is greater than a preset SOC (¶[99] “Among such preferences may be maxima and minima for: … desired EV travel range”; the SOC of the battery determines the range of the vehicle), if a current tariff according to tariff information is less than a preset lower limit tariff (¶[60] “Users may set charging requirements for their vehicles, e.g. maximum time, maximum price”), the charge command, among the control commands, is selected (¶[96] “During a "cheapest" 314a charge, the electric vehicle 304 is charged in the cheapest possible manner given the cost per kWh”),
and if the current tariff according to the tariff information is greater than a preset upper limit tariff (¶[336] “definable parameters for automated vehicle-to-grid operation including minimum price ($/kWh) and maximum charge percentage willing to sacrifice”), the discharge command, among the control commands, is selected, (¶[243] “A heuristic rule engine in the expert system of WINSmartEV enables rules that determine when to charge or backfill the battery on the vehicle automatically”),
and in the second operation, the battery is charged according to the selected charge command, or the battery is discharged according to the selected discharge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 15, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 12.
Gadh further teaches, in the first operation, when an SOC of the battery is greater than a preset SOC (¶[99] “Among such preferences may be maxima and minima for: total cost allowed for charging, charging time allowed, and desired EV travel range”; the SOC of the battery determines the range of the vehicle), and the current tariff according to the tariff information is between a preset lower limit tariff (¶[336] “vehicle-to-grid operation comprising … definable parameters for automated vehicle-to-grid operation including minimum price ($/kWh)”) and a preset upper limit tariff (¶[271] “The WINSmartEV architecture takes into consideration … optimization algorithms that charge vehicles according to consumer scheduling, utility dynamic pricing, and battery health” An upper limit may be set on the tariff price to prevent the system from operating at a loss),
the charge/discharge command or the limited charge/discharge command, among the control commands, is selected based on a temperature of the battery (¶[223] “WINSmartEV utilizes various wireless communication protocols to collect data such as Vehicle ID, status of charge, battery temperature, power usage in kW, voltage and amperage and to send control signals to connect and disconnect a charger”),
and in the second operation, the battery is charged/discharged according to the selected charge/discharge command or the selected limited charge/discharge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”).
Regarding Claim 16, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 15.
Gadh does not explicitly teach in the first operation, when a temperature of the battery is within a normal range, the charge/discharge command, among the control commands, is selected,
and when the temperature of the battery is out of the normal range, the limited charge/discharge command, among the control commands, is selected,
However, Gadh teaches that the temperature is a factor used when determining charging/discharging operations (¶[243] “A heuristic rule engine in the expert system of WINSmartEV enables rules that determine when to charge or backfill the battery on the vehicle automatically. Factors affecting such decisions include: transformer capacity, peak demand, time of use rate, critical peak pricing, users' preference on charging and backfill, battery profile, battery temperature”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to charge/discharge the battery for longer or with more power when the temperature is in a normal range and limit the charging/discharging power if the battery temperature becomes abnormal in order to preserve the lifespan of the battery.
Gadh further teaches in the second operation, the battery is charged/discharged according to the selected charge/discharge command or the selected limited charge/discharge command (¶[355] “selectively controlling a charging of the battery in the electric vehicle by the charging station; or if the charging station has the grid tie inverter, then: selectively controlling a discharging of the battery for backfilling power to the electric power grid from the battery in the electric vehicle”),.
Regarding Claim 17, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 12.
Gadh further teaches the charge/discharge profile is configured to:
increase charge power in stages from 0 to the allowable maximum charge power and then decrease the charge power in stages back to 0 during half of the standby time and increase discharge power in stages from 0 to the allowable maximum discharge power and then decrease the discharge power in stages back to 0 during the other half of the standby time,
or maintain the allowable maximum charge power during half of the standby time and maintain the allowable maximum discharge power during the other half of the standby time.
However, an arbitrary standby period can be defined to be between low-tariff and high-tariff times, and based on the user’s preference (¶[99]), the vehicle may charge at the maximum allowable power for half the period (purchasing electricity at a low price) and discharge at maximum allowable power for the other half of the period (selling electricity at a low price).
Regarding Claim 18, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 12.
Gadh further teaches the limited charge/discharge profile is configured to:
increase charge power in stages from 0 to limited charge power and then decrease the charge power in stages back to 0 during half of the standby time and increase discharge power in stages from 0 to the limited discharge power and decrease the discharge power in stages back to 0 during the other half of the standby time,
or maintain the limited charge power during half of the standby time and maintain the limited discharge power during the other half of the standby time.
However, an arbitrary standby period can be defined to be between low-tariff and high-tariff times, and based on the user’s preference (¶[99]), the vehicle may charge at a limited power for half the period (purchasing electricity at a low price without exceeding a certain range) and discharge at a limited power for the other half of the period (selling electricity at a low price without falling below a certain range).
Regarding Claim 20, Gadh in view of Ishii teaches the method of claim 11.
Gadh further teaches settling up cost according to an amount of power charged, discharged or charged/discharged for the standby time (¶[346] “the control center would determine if the user is eligible for charging and has sufficient credit in his account. At a second stage, the control center would also remove energy from the car batteries to provide backfill to the grid ... Discharging car batteries to supplement the energy requirements for the grid would also involve crediting the account balance of the user”).
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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/A.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859