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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Group II, claims 9-16, in the reply filed on 3/20/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that claim 1 and claim 9 are not materially different from each other. This is not found persuasive because, as stated in the Restriction Requirement dated 1/20/2026, since the step of outputting the determined charging condition information can be achieved by a materially different structure other than an interface unit, and/or the method can be practiced by hand.
The applicant further argues that searching Group I and Group II would not place a serious burden since searching for one group would encompass a search for the other group and vice versa.
This is not found persuasive because establishing that the inventions are classified in different classes and/or subclasses (see Restriction Requirement dated 1/20/2026) establishes that a serious burden exists on the examiner if restriction is not required. Further it is noted that the search required for Group I directed to a method is not required for Group II directed to an apparatus as neither the manner of operating a disclosed device nor material or article worked upon further limit an apparatus claim. See MPEP § 2114 and 2115.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 1-8 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 3/20/2026.
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 11-14 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 11 recites the limitation "the found charging station". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which of the “at least one found charging station” recited in claim 9 said limitation refers to.
Claim 12 recites the limitation "the found charging station". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which of the “at least one found charging station” recited in claim 9 said limitation refers to.
Claim 13 recites the limitation "the found charging station". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which of the “at least one found charging station” recited in claim 9 said limitation refers to.
Claim 14 recites the limitation "the found charging station". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is unclear as to which of the “at least one found charging station” recited in claim 9 said limitation refers to.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 9-10, 13-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sherback et al. (US 2019/0157882A1).
Regarding claim 9, Sherback discloses a system for providing information for determining whether to enter battery pre-conditioning (see Title, Abstract, Fig. 1-10), the system comprising:
a searching unit configured to search for at least one charging station that satisfies a certain condition based on a current location of a vehicle (location system 330 [0024], charging location information 446 [0031]-[0032]);
a determining unit configured to determine charging condition information about at least one found charging station for each case of performing battery pre-conditioning and not performing battery pre-conditioning (battery management system 332 may precondition the battery pack 106 in advance of charging such as by pre-cooling the battery pack 106 while system 100 is en route to a charging location, as facilitated by location system 330. Preconditioning is particularly favorable with charging locations that support higher charging rates, as the battery management system 332 allows charging at higher rates by reducing the temperature of the battery pack 106 prior to charging [0026]; charge preconditioning not applied [0036], charge preconditioning setting [0037]-[0039]; charging location information 446 includes geographic location, information describing capability and/or type of chargers available at a charging location, etc. [0031]-[0032]); and
an interface unit configured to output the determined charging condition information (output device 1050 operable to provide an indication to a user regarding an operating state, such as a display screen or an audio output [0056]).
Regarding claim 10, Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Sherback further discloses the charging condition information comprises at least one of an expected charging cost or an expected charging time (To enhance the user experience of the system 100 by reducing the amount of time spent charging the battery pack 106, the battery management system 332 may precondition the battery pack 106 in advance of charging such as by pre-cooling the battery pack 106 while system 100 is en route to a charging location, as facilitated by location system 330. Preconditioning is particularly favorable with charging locations that support higher charging rates, as the battery management system 332 allows charging at higher rates by reducing the temperature of the battery pack 106 prior to charging. [0026]).
Regarding claim 13, Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Sherback further discloses the charging condition information comprises an expected battery temperature upon a time of arrival at the found charging station (battery temperature information 448 [0033]-[0042]), and
the determining unit is configured to determine an expected battery temperature for each case of performing battery pre-conditioning and not performing battery pre-conditioning, and determine an expected charging time for each case of performing battery pre-conditioning and not performing battery pre-conditioning, based on the determined expected battery temperature (battery temperature information 448 [0033]-[0042]; an excess energy amount is determined based on the travel energy requirement and a state of charge of the battery pack 106 [0054]).
Regarding claim 14, Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Sherback further discloses the determining unit is configured to determine the expected battery temperature based on a current temperature of the battery, a temperature raised by travel to the found charging station, and a temperature raised by the battery pre-conditioning (set target temperature 450 based on some or all of the state of charge information 442, the route information 444, the charging location information 446, and the battery temperature information 448 [0035]-[0042], [0048], [0050]-[0053]).
Regarding claim 15, Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Sherback further discloses the searching unit is configured to check charging station information comprising output specifications of a charger at each found charging station (charging location information 446 may include information describing a rate at which electrical energy can be supplied to the system 100 by the charger. This information may be in the form of a numerical rate, or a non-rate based classifier such as a term used to describe chargers having particular characteristics. [0031]-[0032]), and the determining unit is configured to determine the charging condition information by additionally considering the charging station information (battery management system 332 sets the target temperature 450 based on some or all of the state of charge information 442, the route information 444, the charging location information 446 [0035] modify target temperature based on charging location information 446 [0037]).
Regarding claim 16, Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Sherback further discloses the interface unit is configured to receive an input of a command for whether to perform the battery pre-conditioning after the outputting of the charging condition information (input devices 1040 may include any type of human-machine interface such as buttons, switches, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen input device, a gestural input device, or an audio input device [0056] which are capable of receiving an input of a command to perform battery pre-conditioning).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sherback et al. (US 2019/0157882A1), as applied to claims 9-10, 13-16 above, in view of JP2020013726A, refer to English machine translation by EPO.
Regarding claim 11, Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Sherback further discloses the charging condition information further comprises an expected state of charge (SOC) upon a time of arrival at the found charging station (state of charge information 442 [0029], [0042], [0044]-[0047]; determining a travel energy requirement that represents anticipated energy usage during travel to the charging location using the planned route [0054], Fig. 8), and the determining unit is configured to determine the expected SOC for each case of performing battery pre-conditioning and not performing battery pre-conditioning (When state of charge information 442 indicates that the system 100 will be operable for a time or range that is less than a time or range threshold value, the battery management system 332 may determine that charging is likely and modify the target temperature to cool the battery pack 106 prior to charging, such as by changing the target temperature 450 from the nominal setting to the charge preconditioning setting. In some implementations, the determination is made based on the availability of charging locations while en route to the intended destination. [0029], [0042], [0044]-[0047]; an excess energy amount is determined based on the travel energy requirement and a state of charge of the battery pack 106 [0054]).
However, Sherback does not expressly disclose determine the expected charging time or the expected charging cost for each case of performing battery pre-conditioning and not performing battery pre-conditioning, based on the determined expected SOC.
JP2020013726A discloses a power supply control system for mobile object (see Title, [0001]), wherein the system is configured to perform step S105-S106,S108 in which charging location information around the destination or traveling route to the destination is acquired and required power amount from the destination to the charging location is predicted, step S107,S109 in which current SOC is compared with the required power amount and preferably selecting a charging station that reduce the required charging time or reduce the charging cost, step S110-S111 in which the battery temperature is predicted and controlled to be within a target temperature range, and step S112-116 in which the amount of power and time required for adjusting the temperature of the battery is calculated ([0045]-[0054], Fig. 8).
Sherback and JP2020013726A are analogous art because they are concerned with the same field of endeavor, namely a control system for vehicle batteries.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the battery control in Sherback to predict and preferably select charging locations that reduce charging time and cost by taking current SOC, required power amount to the destination/charging station/adjusting the temperature of the battery/etc. into consideration because JP2020013726A teaches preferably reducing the required charging time or reduce the charging cost.
Regarding claim 12, modified Sherback discloses all of the claim limitations as set forth above. Modified Sherback further discloses the determining unit is configured to determine the expected SOC based on a current SOC, travel energy consumption due to travel to the found charging station, and conditioning consumption energy due to the battery pre-conditioning (Sherback: when the state of charge information 442 indicates that the system 100 will be operable for a time or range that is less than a time or range threshold value, the battery management system 332 may determine that charging is likely and modify the target temperature to cool the battery pack 106 prior to charging, such as by changing the target temperature 450 from the nominal setting to the charge preconditioning setting. [0029], [0042], [0044]-[0047]; determining a travel energy requirement that represents anticipated energy usage during travel to the charging location using the planned route [0054], Fig. 8; an excess energy amount is determined based on the travel energy requirement and a state of charge of the battery pack 106 [0054]; JP2020013726A: step S105-S106,S108 in which charging location information around the destination or traveling route to the destination is acquired and required power amount from the destination to the charging location is predicted, step S107,S109 in which current SOC is compared with the required power amount and preferably selecting a charging station that reduce the required charging time or reduce the charging cost, step S110-S111 in which the battery temperature is predicted and controlled to be within a target temperature range, and step S112-116 in which the amount of power and time required for adjusting the temperature of the battery is calculated ([0045]-[0054], Fig. 8).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMES LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-7937. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9AM - 5PM.
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/James Lee/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1725 4/10/2025
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