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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 6/1/2026 has been considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 5/22/2026, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-6 under 35 U.S.C 101 have been fully considered. The rejection of claims 1-6 under 35 U.S.C 101 has been withdrawn due to amendments.
The objection of claims 2-5 has been withdrawn due to amendments.
Applicant’s arguments, filed 5/22/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-6 under 35 U.S.C 102 and 103 have been fully considered. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of 35 U.S.C 103.
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) 1-6 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN 109532549 A) in view of Terasaki et al. (JP 2018182887 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Wang teaches a charging/discharging control device (110) comprising:
an EV information management circuitry (706, see ¶[113]) to manage charging/discharging capacity information of a plurality of electric vehicles (¶[78] “the computer equipment can determine the remaining charging power required by the vehicle based on the remaining battery power”);
a schedule information management circuitry (706, see ¶[113]) to manage schedule information of charging/discharging the electric vehicles (¶[74] “User terminals can reserve charging guns via applications or web pages, and computer equipment can receive the user terminals' reservation information for charging guns. The reservation information may include the user information and the corresponding charging gun information”);
a charger/discharger information management circuitry (704) to manage charger/discharger information of chargers/dischargers (¶[80] “The computer equipment determines the required output power of the charging pile group based on the reservation information, expected output power and remaining charging time”);
a facility information management circuitry (710) to manage information on power rate (¶[69] “the provided charging power adjustment method further includes: obtaining the electricity price value of the mains power grid”);
a charger/discharger grouping circuitry (110) to group the chargers/dischargers on the basis of the charger/discharger information (¶[46] “In one embodiment, the computer device may also preset weight values for different charging information and user information, and group the charging guns according to the weight values and scores of different information”);
an allocation constraint setting circuitry to set allocation constraints for the chargers/dischargers on the basis of the schedule information, for each group of the chargers/dischargers (¶[48] “The allocatable power of a charging pile group refers to the maximum power that the charging station allows that charging pile group to output … When a charging station contains multiple charging pile groups, the allocatable power of the charging pile group can be the power obtained by evenly distributing the input power of the charging station, or it can be the power obtained by the computer equipment by dividing the input power of the charging station according to the number of charging piles in the charging pile group, the rated output power of the charging piles, etc., and is not limited to these”); and
a charging/discharging plan creation circuitry (110) to create a charging/discharging plan by allocating the group of chargers/dischargers to the electric vehicles to reduce power cost on the basis of the allocation constraints, the charging/discharging capacity information, and the power rate information (¶[71] “By increasing the proportion of power supplied in the total power allocation when the electricity price is less than a first threshold, and increasing the proportion of energy storage power in the total power allocation when the electricity price is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the power allocation strategy of charging stations can be optimized, the accuracy of power adjustment can be improved, and the power supply cost can be reduced” ); and
Wang does not explicitly teach information of chargers/dischargers including at least charging efficiency and discharging efficiency; and
a charging/discharging plan notification circuit to provide the charging/discharging plan to the electric vehicles to cause the electric vehicles to charge/discharge according to the charging/discharging plan.
Terasaki teaches information of chargers/dischargers including at least charging efficiency and discharging efficiency (¶[13] “The equipment information acquisition unit 12 acquires information (maximum charge amount, maximum discharge amount, charge/discharge efficiency) of the chargers 30”); and
a charging/discharging plan notification circuit to provide the charging/discharging plan to the electric vehicles to cause the electric vehicles to charge/discharge according to the charging/discharging plan (¶[11] “a charge/discharge amount notification unit 16 for notifying the charger 30 and charger 20 of the charge/discharge amount based on the created charge/discharge plan”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wang to incorporate the teachings of Terasaki to provide the information of chargers/dischargers including at least charging efficiency and discharging efficiency; and
a charging/discharging plan notification circuit to provide the charging/discharging plan to the electric vehicles to cause the electric vehicles to charge/discharge according to the charging/discharging plan,
in order to optimize the charging schedule by identifying the most efficient chargers and assigning vehicles to them.
Regarding Claim 2, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device according to claim 1.
Wang further teaches wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry performs grouping by similarity of the charger/discharger information (¶[46] “In one embodiment, the computer device may also preset weight values for different charging information and user information, and group the charging guns according to the weight values and scores of different information”).
Regarding Claim 3, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device according to claim 2,
Wang further teaches wherein the charger/discharger information further includes maximum charging power and maximum discharging power (see ¶[51] “The expected output power is the ideal output power of the charging gun, that is, one of the rated output power of the charging gun and the charging power of the vehicle” and ¶[46] “the computer device may also preset weight values for different charging information and user information, and group the charging guns according to the weight values and scores of different information”).
Regarding Claim 4, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device according to claim 2.
Wang in view of Terasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry to perform grouping using model numbers of the chargers/dischargers; however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention the group together chargers of the same model because they will have the same or similar output power capabilities and types of vehicles they can charge (see Wang ¶[46] “the computer device may also preset weight values for different charging information and user information, and group the charging guns according to the weight values and scores of different information”).
Regarding Claim 5, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device according to claim 1.
Wang further teaches a charging/discharging performance management circuitry to manage charging/discharging performance of each of the chargers/dischargers (¶[50] “The computer equipment adjusts the output power of each charging gun based on the allocable power and priority level”); and
a charger/discharger information estimation circuitry to estimate the charger/discharger information on the basis of the charging/discharging performance (¶[78] “the computer equipment can determine the remaining charging power required by the vehicle based on the remaining battery power, and divide the remaining charging power by the expected output power to obtain the remaining charging time”),
wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry groups the chargers/dischargers on the basis of the estimated charger/discharger information (¶[46] “The correspondence between different charging information and user information and the score is as follows: remaining charging time not exceeding 10 minutes: 3 points, remaining charging time not exceeding 30 minutes: 2 points, remaining charging time exceeding 30 minutes” and “the computer device may …. group the charging guns according to the weight values and scores of different information.” Remaining charging time is estimated in the above quote (¶[78])).
Regarding Claim 6, Wang teaches a charging/discharging control method, comprising:
managing charging/discharging capacity information of a plurality of electric vehicles (¶[78] “the computer equipment can determine the remaining charging power required by the vehicle based on the remaining battery power”);
managing schedule information of charging/discharging the electric vehicles (¶[74] “User terminals can reserve charging guns via applications or web pages, and computer equipment can receive the user terminals' reservation information for charging guns. The reservation information may include the user information and the corresponding charging gun information”);
managing charger/discharger information of chargers/dischargers (¶[80] “The computer equipment determines the required output power of the charging pile group based on the reservation information, expected output power and remaining charging time”);
managing information on power rate (¶[69] “the provided charging power adjustment method further includes: obtaining the electricity price value of the mains power grid”);
grouping the chargers/dischargers on the basis of the charger/discharger information (¶[46] “In one embodiment, the computer device may also preset weight values for different charging information and user information, and group the charging guns according to the weight values and scores of different information”);
setting allocation constraints for the chargers/dischargers on the basis of the schedule information, for each group of the chargers/dischargers (¶[48] “The allocatable power of a charging pile group refers to the maximum power that the charging station allows that charging pile group to output … When a charging station contains multiple charging pile groups, the allocatable power of the charging pile group can be the power obtained by evenly distributing the input power of the charging station, or it can be the power obtained by the computer equipment by dividing the input power of the charging station according to the number of charging piles in the charging pile group, the rated output power of the charging piles, etc., and is not limited to these”);
creating a charging/discharging plan by allocating the group of chargers/dischargers to the electric vehicles to reduce power cost on the basis of the allocation constraints, the charging/discharging capacity information, and the power rate information (¶[71] “By increasing the proportion of power supplied in the total power allocation when the electricity price is less than a first threshold, and increasing the proportion of energy storage power in the total power allocation when the electricity price is greater than or equal to a second threshold, the power allocation strategy of charging stations can be optimized, the accuracy of power adjustment can be improved, and the power supply cost can be reduced” ); and
Wang does not explicitly teach the information of chargers/dischargers including at least charging efficiency and discharging efficiency; and
providing the charging/discharging plan to the electric vehicles to cause the electric vehicles to charge/discharge according to the charging/discharging plan.
Terasaki teaches the information of chargers/dischargers including at least charging efficiency and discharging efficiency (¶[13] “The equipment information acquisition unit 12 acquires information (maximum charge amount, maximum discharge amount, charge/discharge efficiency) of the chargers 30”); and
providing the charging/discharging plan to the electric vehicles to cause the electric vehicles to charge/discharge according to the charging/discharging plan (¶[11] “a charge/discharge amount notification unit 16 for notifying the charger 30 and charger 20 of the charge/discharge amount based on the created charge/discharge plan”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wang to incorporate the teachings of Terasaki to provide the information of chargers/dischargers including at least charging efficiency and discharging efficiency; and
providing the charging/discharging plan to the electric vehicles to cause the electric vehicles to charge/discharge according to the charging/discharging plan.
in order to optimize the charging schedule by identifying the most efficient chargers and assigning vehicles to them.
Regarding Claim 9, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 1.
Wang in view of Terasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the allocation constraints require that each of the electric vehicles connects to no more than one of the chargers/dischargers at a same time; however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that each of the electric vehicles connects to no more than one of the chargers/dischargers at a same time as the majority of electric vehicles have only one port for a charging pile.
Regarding Claim 10, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 1.
Wang as modified does not explicitly teach wherein the charging/discharging capacity information comprises a maximum state of charge and a minimum state of charge for each of the electric vehicles.
Terasaki teaches wherein the charging/discharging capacity information comprises a maximum state of charge and a minimum state of charge for each of the electric vehicles (¶[11] “a vehicle information acquisition unit 13 for acquiring vehicle information such as the storage capacity, current storage amount, minimum and maximum usable capacity”).
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 Wang in view of Terasaki to further incorporate the teachings of Terasaki to provide wherein the charging/discharging capacity information comprises a maximum state of charge and a minimum state of charge for each of the electric vehicles in order to optimize the charging schedule by knowing the minimum amount the vehicle battery must be charged.
Regarding Claim 11, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 1.
Wang further teaches wherein the schedule information comprises an arrival time and a departure time for each of the electric vehicles (¶[74] “Specifically, the reservation information may include one or more of the following: the reserved charging time, the reserved charging gun number, the rated output power of the charging gun, and the remaining battery power of the user's vehicle” and ¶[78] “The computer equipment detects the remaining charging time of the charging gun based on the remaining power and the expected output power”).
Claim(s) 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN 109532549 A) in view of Terasaki et al. (JP 2018182887 A) further in view of Hu et al. (CN 112776650 A).
Regarding Claim 7, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 1.
Wang in view of Terasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry calculates a center of the group as an average of specifications of the chargers/dischargers.
Hu teaches wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry calculates a center of the group as an average of specifications of the chargers/dischargers (¶[41] “For each cluster, the mean of each dimension of all points in the cluster is calculated as the new cluster center”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wang in view of Terasaki to incorporate the teachings of Hu to provide wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry calculates a center of the group as an average of specifications of the chargers/dischargers in order to more effectively group the similar chargers together.
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Wang, Terasaki, and Hu teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 7.
Hu further teaches wherein the charger/discharger grouping circuitry:
calculates a distance between each of the chargers/dischargers and the center of the group, and
reassigns a specific charger/discharger to a different group when the distance between the specific charger/discharger and a center of the different group is shorter (¶[40] “Calculate the Euclidean distance between any sample and each cluster center, and assign it to the nearest cluster”).
Claim(s) 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN 109532549 A) in view of Terasaki et al. (JP 2018182887 A) further in view of Miller et al. (US 20120022685 A1).
Regarding Claim 12, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 1.
Wang in view of Terasaki does not explicitly teach a parking lot information management circuitry to manage parking lot information that specifies a positional relationship between a parking space section and each of the chargers/dischargers.
Miller teaches a parking lot information management circuitry to manage parking lot information that specifies a positional relationship between a parking space section and each of the chargers/dischargers (¶37] “an automated identification of a car 9 entering into the parking area 1 is carried out depending on whether the car 9 is an electrical car or a conventional car. As an electrical car is identified by the system or the user is requesting such an identification, on the part of the system an advice or rather information about free parking spaces which comprise a current supply device 3 is provided … Preferably, the user is guided to this available parking space 7 by a management system of the parking area 1”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Wang in view of Terasaki to incorporate the teachings of Miller to provide a parking lot information management circuitry to manage parking lot information that specifies a positional relationship between a parking space section and each of the chargers/dischargers in order to keep track of how many charging spaces are available in a location and increase convenience for users by guiding them to an available parking space.
Regarding Claim 13, the combination of Wang, Terasaki and Miller teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 12.
Miller further teaches wherein the charging/discharging plan notification circuitry notifies the electric vehicles of the charging/discharging plan based on the parking lot information (¶[39] “to start the charging process the current supply device has to be activated. This is carried out by the user by means of the identification means that has been provided at the time of entrance into the parking area 1. As soon as the current supply device is released, the charging process can start. Preferably, the user can preset charging parameters, for which purpose the current supply device 3 comprises a respective input device”)
Regarding Claim 14, the combination of Wang, Terasaki and Miller teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 13.
Miller further teaches wherein the charging/discharging plan notification circuitry presents the parking space section to an arriving electric vehicle based on the parking lot information (¶[37] “Preferably, the user is guided to this available parking space 7 by a management system of the parking area 1”).
Claim(s) 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (CN 109532549 A) in view of Terasaki et al. (JP 2018182887 A) further in view of Ichikawa et al. (US 20090192655 A1).
Regarding Claim 15, Wang in view of Terasaki teaches the charging/discharging control device of claim 1.
Wang in view of Terasaki does not explicitly teach wherein the charging/discharging plan creation circuitry implements a supply-demand balance constraint indicating that a power receiving point power amount is covered by discharging from the electric vehicles.
Ichikawa teaches wherein the charging/discharging plan creation circuitry implements a supply-demand balance constraint indicating that a power receiving point power amount is covered by discharging from the electric vehicles (¶[56] “Referring to FIG. 5, electric power demand by house load 50 of one day is predicted by scheduling unit 126 (predicted electric power demand). Further, based on the external factor data of the current day, the amount of power generation (as shown) of photovoltaic cell 46 and amount of power generation (not shown) of fuel cell 42 are also predicted. Then, charge/discharge schedule of vehicle 20 is generated such that electric power is supplied from vehicle 20 to house 10 at the time of day (morning or after sunset) when predicted electric power demand is large and power generation by photovoltaic cell 42 is small”).
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 Wang in view of Terasaki to incorporate the teachings of Ichikawa to provide wherein the charging/discharging plan creation circuitry implements a supply-demand balance constraint indicating that a power receiving point power amount is covered by discharging from the electric vehicles to reduce the costs of electricity during periods of high demand.
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
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