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 .
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains phrases which can be implied, i.e., “is provided”. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2, 5, 12, 15-16, and 18-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 14, “a vehicle” should be changed to --the vehicle--.
In claim 2, there is no antecedent basis for “the at least one receptacle” and “the at least one docking mechanism”. Perhaps it should be amended to refer to one receptacle and one docking member as recited in independent claim 1.
In claim 5, line 1, “a vehicle” should be changed to --the vehicle--.
In claim 12, line 14, “a vehicle” should be changed to --the vehicle--.
In claim 15, there is no antecedent basis for “the at least one receptacle” and “the at least one docking mechanism”. Perhaps it should be amended to refer to one receptacle and one docking member as recited in independent claim 12.
In claim 16, line 1, “a vehicle” should be changed to --the vehicle--.
Claim 18 appears to be a duplicate of claim 7, and should be amended to depend from independent claim 12.
Claim 19 appears to be a duplicate of claim 8, and should be amended to depend from independent claim 12.
Claim 20 appears to be a duplicate of claim 11, and should be amended to depend from independent claim 12.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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) 1-2, 5, 7-11, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MORGAL (US PG Pub 2010/0228405) in view of PRAPLAN (US PG Pub 2015/0048939).
Regarding claim 1, MORGAL discloses a system for charging electric vehicles (abstract: a vehicle management system to charge, lock, hold in place and monitor the vehicle's presence when docked in a charge station), the system comprising:
a vehicle coupling mechanism (204, 206, Figs. 4 & 6A-6D) associated with a vehicle (202, Fig. 4; ¶ 0003: personal-sized electric vehicles (PEVs); ¶ 0091: an electrical charge cord 204 for a PEV 202), the vehicle coupling mechanism including a docking member (206, Figs. 4 & 6A-6D; ¶ 0092: the PEV charge cord 204 may also integrate a security cable 210 that may provide a reasonable level of physical security between the PEV 202 and the lock-charge port 208 when the PEV 202 is plugged into a lock-charge port 208);
a hub (100, Fig. 1; ¶ 0056: PEV rental or subscriber station 100), the hub comprising:
a main tube (207, Fig. 4; ¶ 0091: lock-charge port 208 is mounted on a rack 207 through which power and data wires 209 may be run to provide power and communication links to the lock charge port 208);
a station (208, Fig. 4), the station comprising:
a hub coupling mechanism comprising a receptacle for receiving the docking member (334, Fig. 8; ¶ 0089: an electrical power receptacle at the charge port; ¶ 0130: an electrical receptacle 334), the coupling mechanism being provided on the main tube and being accessible by a user (¶ 0090: A connection plug on the other end of the electrical charge cord would be the user-operated end and may be located on the PEV in a standard location and configured to easily plug into a receptacle on the electric PEV rental system's lock-charge port; ¶ 0091: Positioning the charge plug 206 on the user-operated end of the charge cord 204 in a convenient, consistent physical location on the PEV 202 may increase the user's sense of familiarity when attempting to plug in a rented PEV 202 to a lock-charge port 208);
a hub component assembly comprising a locking assembly (308, Fig. 8; ¶ 0128: A locking mechanism 308 capable of enduring mechanical stresses comparable to what is experienced by heavy duty bicycle locks or motorcycle locks is mechanically anchored within each lock-charge port 302 3. In one possible embodiment as a Port-Lock, under the charge port cover 302 a spring-loaded bar 304, hinged 306 on one side, may serve as the primary component of the locking mechanism 308 where a spring 310 would be stiff enough to hold the unhinged side of the locking bar 304 in the locked position), and sensors (¶ 0134: lock-charge port 300 may be implemented with an alternating current (AC) sensor (not shown) to enable the port to measure the magnitude of electrical power being delivered to the PEV through power cables 303 in the security rack 301; ¶ 0136: the lock-charge port 300 is capable of sensing the charging current passing through the lock-charge port 300 to the PEV; ¶ 0223: The charging port 624 may be equipped to detect and report the presence or absence of the high frequency signal to the EVMS central computer 610 enabling positive identification of which PEV was plugged into a particular charging port 624. Although turning off the power is one implementation, there are numerous methods for communicating over the grid power lines to the PEV 602 including injecting high frequency signals into the grid power lines; passing time multiplexed data signals over the grid power lines; passing pulse width modulated signals over the grid power lines; detecting voltage spikes or dips with durations short enough to be disregarded by the battery charging circuitry, but with sufficiently long durations to be detected by digital signal processing circuitry connected to the grid power lines through filtering circuitry; and any other technique that would allow communication to occur between the charging ports 624 and the PEVs 602 plugged into these charging ports 624), wherein when the receptacle receives the docking member, the locking assembly locks the vehicle in place (¶ 0128: A ramped latch 312 formed on the charge plug 314 entering into a lock charge opening 316 in the charge port cover 302 under the locking bar 304 at an orthogonal angle may easily raise the locking bar 304 when the latch 312 is inserted into the lock charge opening 316. Once the latch 312 is completely inserted into the lock charge opening 316, the spring holding 310 the locking bar 304 against the latch 312 will cause the locking bar 304 to fall into a locked position behind a notch 318 formed behind the ramp 320 of the latch as shown in FIGS. 8-10. Once the locking bar 304 moves into the locked position behind the notch 318 in the latch 312, the spring 310 will not allow the locking bar 304 to rise sufficiently to enable the removal of the latch 312), and the sensors sense a vehicle locked in the station (¶ 0134, 0136, 0223: v.s.; ¶ 0221: Charging ports 624 may be equipped to monitor and report to the EVMS central computer 610 the amount of grid power passing through the charging port's power outlet. It is then possible for the EVMS central computer 610 to detect when a PEV has been recently plugged into a particular charging port 624) and activate the hub to begin charging the vehicle (¶ 0222: to determine which charging port a particular PEV 602 is plugged into, the PEV 602 may be equipped with the ability to interrupt the power used to charge the PEV's battery. This ability to halt the incoming power to the PEV's battery may be initiated by the EVMS central computer 610 via the PEV's wireless link. Once the PEV's battery charging power has been halted, it may be possible for the EVMS central computer 610 to query the all the charging ports 624 in a given collection of charging ports 624 regarding the current passing through each charging port's electrical outlet. The charging port 624 that suddenly shows an interruption in charging current coinciding with the PEV 602 halting the power to its batteries could then be suspected of supplying electric power to the PEV 602 that was requested to stop charging its batteries. The charging power passing through the charging port 624 may then be monitored while the PEV is instructed to resume supplying power to its batteries via the wireless link between the PEV 602 and the EVMS central computer 610. If power starts passing through the charging port 624 at the same time as it is allowed to pass to the electric PEV's batteries, the EVMS central computer 610 would be able to correlate these two events and positively identify which charging port 624 a particular PEV is plugged into; ¶ 0224: The measured power going into the PEV can be used to roughly predict the state of charge of the PEV as most battery charging systems taper their power consumption towards the end of the charging cycle (near 80-90% state of charge). This tapering off of the battery charging power can be used as one method of determining a PEV's battery state of charge. During rush periods, an 80% state of charge would be sufficient to allow the PEV to be rented. During slow periods when there are plenty of fully charged PEVs, the EVMS central computer may require a PEV to be over 95% charged as indicated by the battery charging current before it is available for rent).
MORGAL fails to disclose the hub component assembly comprising charging plungers and induction sensors, wherein when the receptacle receives the docking member, the charging plungers are moved towards the induction sensors, and the induction sensors sense the vehicle locked in the station.
PRAPLAN discloses plungers (44, Fig. 7) and induction sensors (42, Fig. 7), the charging plungers are moved towards the induction sensors, and the induction sensors sense an inserted position (¶ 0058: The closing system comprises an electromagnet 40 mounted in a body portion 2b, comprising a coil 42 and one or two plungers 44 slidably mounted in a cavity 43 at the centre of the electromagnet, each biased by a compression spring 46 in a closed position where they are inserted in a complementary cavity 53 in the extension 19a of the other body portion 2a; ¶ 0059: In the fully closed position…. the plungers 44 are pushed in a closed position where they are inserted in the complementary cavities 53; ¶ 0061: to guarantee the closing….two current sensors are placed on the supply line of each of the two electromagnets. The position of the two plungers notably modifies the self-inductance measured at the terminals of the solenoid (coil), which enables precise determination of whether the two plungers are well inserted in the cavity 53 of the two sleeves or not. This measure can be achieved by imposing a voltage pulse on the solenoid while measuring the time to generation of a current flowing therethrough. The actuator is designed such that the self-inductance varies significantly according to the position of the plungers). Providing the plungers and induction sensors of PRAPLAN to sense when the receptacle receives the docking member and the vehicle locked in the station as disclosed in MORGAL would not provide new or unexpected results, and constitutes an obvious modification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the charging plunger and induction sensor as recited in order to utilize the known advantages of inductive sensors, e.g., by providing a sensor with non-contact operation which is not affected by non-conductive materials; and/or to provide more reliable sensing by detecting physical presence as opposed to a voltage/current present on a line.
Regarding claim 2, MORGAL discloses the at least one receptacle is a slot and wherein the at least one docking mechanism is a tang (¶ 0130-0131).
Regarding claim 5, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN teaches the system as applied to claim 1, and MORGAL further discloses when the sensors sense a vehicle locked in the station, the sensors start a charging authentication process and activate the hub to being charging the vehicle upon a positive authentication process (¶ 0222-0224).
MORGAL fails to disclose the sensors are induction sensors.
PRAPLAN discloses the sensors are induction sensors (¶ 0058-0061).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the induction sensors as recited in order to utilize the known advantages of inductive sensors, e.g., by providing a sensor with non-contact operation which is not affected by non-conductive materials; and/or to provide more reliable sensing by detecting physical presence as opposed to a voltage present on a line.
Regarding claim 7, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN teaches the system as applied to claim 1, and MORGAL further discloses the locking assembly includes a solenoid lock body and a locking lug (¶ 0072, 0129).
MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN fails to teach insertion of the docking member into the receptacle moves the locking lug towards the induction sensor.
PRAPLAN further discloses insertion of the member into the receptacle moves the locking lug towards the induction sensor (¶ 0058-0061). Providing the induction sensor of PRAPLAN to sense when the receptacle receives the docking member as disclosed in MORGAL would not provide new or unexpected results, and constitutes an obvious modification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the insertion of the docking member into the receptacle moves the locking lug towards the induction sensor as recited in order to utilize the known advantages of inductive sensors, e.g., by providing a sensor with non-contact operation which is not affected by non-conductive materials; and/or to provide more reliable sensing by detecting physical presence as opposed to a voltage present on a line.
Regarding claim 8, MORGAL discloses a control panel (230, Fig. 3) associated with the station, wherein the control panel includes a push button for unlocking the station (270, Fig. 3; ¶ 0085), a port identification number (¶ 0066, 0153), and a status light ring, wherein the status light ring provides a visual indication of a status of the station (¶ 0073, 0076, 0087).
Regarding claim 9, MORGAL discloses a second station (106a, 106b, Fig. 1) and a second control panel (108a, 108b, Fig. 1) associated with the second station (¶ 0059-0063).
Regarding claim 10, MORGAL discloses a light source for illuminating a portion of the at least one receptacle (¶ 0153).
Regarding claim 11, MORGAL discloses the vehicle is a micro-mobility electric vehicle (¶ 0003, 0007).
Regarding claim 18, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN teaches the system as applied to claim 1, and MORGAL further discloses the locking assembly includes a solenoid lock body and a locking lug (¶ 0072, 0129).
MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN fails to teach insertion of the docking member into the receptacle moves the locking lug towards the induction sensor.
PRAPLAN further discloses insertion of the member into the receptacle moves the locking lug towards the induction sensor (¶ 0058-0061). Providing the induction sensor of PRAPLAN to sense when the receptacle receives the docking member as disclosed in MORGAL would not provide new or unexpected results, and constitutes an obvious modification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the insertion of the docking member into the receptacle moves the locking lug towards the induction sensor as recited in order to utilize the known advantages of inductive sensors, e.g., by providing a sensor with non-contact operation which is not affected by non-conductive materials; and/or to provide more reliable sensing by detecting physical presence as opposed to a voltage present on a line.
Regarding claim 19, MORGAL discloses a control panel (230, Fig. 3) associated with the station, wherein the control panel includes a push button for unlocking the station (270, Fig. 3; ¶ 0085), a port identification number (¶ 0066, 0153), and a status light ring, wherein the status light ring provides a visual indication of a status of the station (¶ 0073, 0076, 0087).
Regarding claim 20, MORGAL discloses the vehicle is a micro-mobility electric vehicle (¶ 0003, 0007).
Claim(s) 3-4 and 12-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MORGAL in view of PRAPLAN as applied to claims 1-2, 5, 7-11, and 18-20 above, and further in view of GHARABEGIAN (US PG Pub 2017/0318922).
Regarding claim 3, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN teaches the system as applied to claim 1, and MORGAL further discloses the hub component assembly further comprises a port assembly (¶ 0058-0059, 0063-0064: assembly is implied for communication).
MORGAL fails to disclose the port assembly includes a port controller board and a low power board.
GHARABEGIAN discloses an example of a system which includes a controller board and a low power board (¶ 0105, 0111). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include a controller board and low power board as disclosed in GHARABEGIAN in the port assembly of MORGAL.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the port controller board and low power board in order to provide a modular, efficient, and reliable architecture for the electronic systems of the port assembly.
Regarding claim 4, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN and GHARABEGIAN teaches the system as applied to claim 3, but fails to disclose the port controller board includes 36v power supply and the low power board includes a variable power supply.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the controller board and low power board of GHARABEGIAN would each require a power supply with a particular voltage, and including the 36v power supply and the variable power supply as recited would not provide new or unexpected results, and would be an obvious optimization, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the 36v power supply and the variable power supply as recited in order to meet the electrical requirements of the components of the port assembly.
Regarding claim 12, MORGAL discloses a system for charging electric vehicles (abstract: a vehicle management system to charge, lock, hold in place and monitor the vehicle's presence when docked in a charge station), the system comprising:
a vehicle coupling mechanism (204, 206, Figs. 4 & 6A-6D) associated with a vehicle (202, Fig. 4; ¶ 0003: personal-sized electric vehicles (PEVs); ¶ 0091: an electrical charge cord 204 for a PEV 202), the vehicle coupling mechanism including a docking member (206, Figs. 4 & 6A-6D; ¶ 0092: the PEV charge cord 204 may also integrate a security cable 210 that may provide a reasonable level of physical security between the PEV 202 and the lock-charge port 208 when the PEV 202 is plugged into a lock-charge port 208);
a hub (100, Fig. 1; ¶ 0056: PEV rental or subscriber station 100), the hub comprising:
a main tube (207, Fig. 4; ¶ 0091: lock-charge port 208 is mounted on a rack 207 through which power and data wires 209 may be run to provide power and communication links to the lock charge port 208);
at least two stations (106a, 106b, Figs. 1 & 2; 208, Fig. 4), each station comprising:
a hub coupling mechanism comprising a receptacle for receiving the docking member (334, Fig. 8; ¶ 0089: an electrical power receptacle at the charge port; ¶ 0130: an electrical receptacle 334), the coupling mechanism being provided on the main tube and being accessible by a user (¶ 0090: A connection plug on the other end of the electrical charge cord would be the user-operated end and may be located on the PEV in a standard location and configured to easily plug into a receptacle on the electric PEV rental system's lock-charge port; ¶ 0091: Positioning the charge plug 206 on the user-operated end of the charge cord 204 in a convenient, consistent physical location on the PEV 202 may increase the user's sense of familiarity when attempting to plug in a rented PEV 202 to a lock-charge port 208);
a hub component assembly comprising a locking assembly (308, Fig. 8; ¶ 0128: A locking mechanism 308 capable of enduring mechanical stresses comparable to what is experienced by heavy duty bicycle locks or motorcycle locks is mechanically anchored within each lock-charge port 302 3. In one possible embodiment as a Port-Lock, under the charge port cover 302 a spring-loaded bar 304, hinged 306 on one side, may serve as the primary component of the locking mechanism 308 where a spring 310 would be stiff enough to hold the unhinged side of the locking bar 304 in the locked position), and sensors (¶ 0134: lock-charge port 300 may be implemented with an alternating current (AC) sensor (not shown) to enable the port to measure the magnitude of electrical power being delivered to the PEV through power cables 303 in the security rack 301; ¶ 0136: the lock-charge port 300 is capable of sensing the charging current passing through the lock-charge port 300 to the PEV; ¶ 0223: The charging port 624 may be equipped to detect and report the presence or absence of the high frequency signal to the EVMS central computer 610 enabling positive identification of which PEV was plugged into a particular charging port 624. Although turning off the power is one implementation, there are numerous methods for communicating over the grid power lines to the PEV 602 including injecting high frequency signals into the grid power lines; passing time multiplexed data signals over the grid power lines; passing pulse width modulated signals over the grid power lines; detecting voltage spikes or dips with durations short enough to be disregarded by the battery charging circuitry, but with sufficiently long durations to be detected by digital signal processing circuitry connected to the grid power lines through filtering circuitry; and any other technique that would allow communication to occur between the charging ports 624 and the PEVs 602 plugged into these charging ports 624), wherein when the receptacle receives the docking member, the locking assembly locks the vehicle in place (¶ 0128: A ramped latch 312 formed on the charge plug 314 entering into a lock charge opening 316 in the charge port cover 302 under the locking bar 304 at an orthogonal angle may easily raise the locking bar 304 when the latch 312 is inserted into the lock charge opening 316. Once the latch 312 is completely inserted into the lock charge opening 316, the spring holding 310 the locking bar 304 against the latch 312 will cause the locking bar 304 to fall into a locked position behind a notch 318 formed behind the ramp 320 of the latch as shown in FIGS. 8-10. Once the locking bar 304 moves into the locked position behind the notch 318 in the latch 312, the spring 310 will not allow the locking bar 304 to rise sufficiently to enable the removal of the latch 312), and the sensors sense a vehicle locked in the station (¶ 0134, 0136, 0223: v.s.; ¶ 0221: Charging ports 624 may be equipped to monitor and report to the EVMS central computer 610 the amount of grid power passing through the charging port's power outlet. It is then possible for the EVMS central computer 610 to detect when a PEV has been recently plugged into a particular charging port 624) and activate the hub to begin charging the vehicle (¶ 0222: to determine which charging port a particular PEV 602 is plugged into, the PEV 602 may be equipped with the ability to interrupt the power used to charge the PEV's battery. This ability to halt the incoming power to the PEV's battery may be initiated by the EVMS central computer 610 via the PEV's wireless link. Once the PEV's battery charging power has been halted, it may be possible for the EVMS central computer 610 to query the all the charging ports 624 in a given collection of charging ports 624 regarding the current passing through each charging port's electrical outlet. The charging port 624 that suddenly shows an interruption in charging current coinciding with the PEV 602 halting the power to its batteries could then be suspected of supplying electric power to the PEV 602 that was requested to stop charging its batteries. The charging power passing through the charging port 624 may then be monitored while the PEV is instructed to resume supplying power to its batteries via the wireless link between the PEV 602 and the EVMS central computer 610. If power starts passing through the charging port 624 at the same time as it is allowed to pass to the electric PEV's batteries, the EVMS central computer 610 would be able to correlate these two events and positively identify which charging port 624 a particular PEV is plugged into; ¶ 0224: The measured power going into the PEV can be used to roughly predict the state of charge of the PEV as most battery charging systems taper their power consumption towards the end of the charging cycle (near 80-90% state of charge). This tapering off of the battery charging power can be used as one method of determining a PEV's battery state of charge. During rush periods, an 80% state of charge would be sufficient to allow the PEV to be rented. During slow periods when there are plenty of fully charged PEVs, the EVMS central computer may require a PEV to be over 95% charged as indicated by the battery charging current before it is available for rent).
MORGAL fails to disclose the hub component assembly comprising charging plungers, and induction sensors, wherein when the receptacle receives the docking member, the charging plungers are moved towards the induction sensors, and the induction sensors sense a vehicle locked in the station.
PRAPLAN discloses plungers (44, Fig. 7) and induction sensors (42, Fig. 7), the charging plungers are moved towards the induction sensors, and the induction sensors sense an inserted position (¶ 0058: The closing system comprises an electromagnet 40 mounted in a body portion 2b, comprising a coil 42 and one or two plungers 44 slidably mounted in a cavity 43 at the centre of the electromagnet, each biased by a compression spring 46 in a closed position where they are inserted in a complementary cavity 53 in the extension 19a of the other body portion 2a; ¶ 0059: In the fully closed position…. the plungers 44 are pushed in a closed position where they are inserted in the complementary cavities 53; ¶ 0061: to guarantee the closing….two current sensors are placed on the supply line of each of the two electromagnets. The position of the two plungers notably modifies the self-inductance measured at the terminals of the solenoid (coil), which enables precise determination of whether the two plungers are well inserted in the cavity 53 of the two sleeves or not. This measure can be achieved by imposing a voltage pulse on the solenoid while measuring the time to generation of a current flowing therethrough. The actuator is designed such that the self-inductance varies significantly according to the position of the plungers). Providing the plungers and induction sensors of PRAPLAN to sense when the receptacle receives the docking member and the vehicle is locked in the station as disclosed in MORGAL would not provide new or unexpected results, and constitutes an obvious modification.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the charging plunger and induction sensor as recited in order to utilize the known advantages of inductive sensors, e.g., by providing a sensor with non-contact operation which is not affected by non-conductive materials; and/or to provide more reliable sensing by detecting physical presence as opposed to a voltage/current present on a line.
MORGAL fails to disclose the hub component assembly further comprises a port controller board for providing power to the station.
GHARABEGIAN discloses an example of a controller board for providing power (¶ 0105: an integrated computing device PCB 860; ¶ 0111: a computing device 860 and/or a computing device PCB may consume a larger amount of power…. due to activities it is responsible for executing being performed more frequently and/or with a higher data throughput. In embodiments, an integrated computing device 860 may be responsible for…. external Wi-Fi communication,….as well as running various software applications; ¶ 0248: the DC-to-DC converter 1296 may provide power to…. a computing device 860). It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include a controller board as disclosed in GHARABEGIAN in the station and hub component assembly of MORGAL.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the controller board as recited in order to provide a foundation for distributing power, signals, and electrical connections to various components as known in the art.
Regarding claim 13, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN and GHARABEGIAN teaches the system as applied to claim 12, but fails to teach the hub further comprising a single low power board associated with all of the at least two stations for powering auxiliary components.
GHARABEGIAN further discloses a single low power board for power auxiliary components (¶ 0105, 0111). Including a low power board as disclosed in GHARABEGIAN in the system of MORGAL would provide the low board associated with all of the at least two stations.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the low power board as recited in order to provide a modular, efficient, and reliable architecture for the electronic systems of the port assembly.
Regarding claim 14, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN and GHARABEGIAN teaches the system as applied to claim 13, but fails to teach the port controller board includes 36v power supply and the low power board includes a variable power supply.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the controller board and low power board of GHARABEGIAN would each require a power supply with a particular voltage, and including the 36v power supply and the variable power supply as recited would not provide new or unexpected results, and would be an obvious optimization, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the 36v power supply and the variable power supply as recited in order to satisfy the electrical requirements of the components of the port assembly.
Regarding claim 15, MORGAL discloses the at least one receptacle is a slot and wherein the at least one docking mechanism is a tang (¶ 0130-0131).
Regarding claim 16, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN and GHARABEGIAN teaches the system as applied to claim 12, and MORGAL further discloses when the sensors sense a vehicle locked in the station, the sensors start a charging authentication process and activate the hub to being charging the vehicle at the station upon a positive authentication process (¶ 0222-0224).
MORGAL fails to disclose the sensors are induction sensors.
PRAPLAN discloses the sensors are induction sensors (¶ 0058-0061).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the induction sensors as recited in order to utilize the known advantages of inductive sensors, e.g., by providing a sensor with non-contact operation which is not affected by non-conductive materials; and/or to provide more reliable sensing by detecting physical presence as opposed to a voltage/current present on a line.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MORGAL in view of PRAPLAN as applied to claims 1-2, 5, 7-11, and 18-20 above, and further in view of JAYADEVAPPA (US PG Pub 2012/0143401).
Regarding claim 6, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN teaches the system as applied to claim 5, but fails to disclose the vehicle coupling mechanism further comprises a tag having an identification number associated therewith and wherein the charging authentication process involves scanning the tag.
JAYADEVAPPA discloses the vehicle coupling mechanism further comprises a tag having an identification number associated therewith and wherein the charging authentication process involves scanning the tag (¶ 0090).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the tag having the identification number as recited in order to provide authentication means with minimal and non-destructive installation and/or wireless convenience.
Claim(s) 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MORGAL in view of PRAPLAN and GHARABEGIAN as applied to claims 3-4 and 12-16 above, and further in view of JAYADEVAPPA (US PG Pub 2012/0143401).
Regarding claim 17, MORGAL as modified by PRAPLAN and GHARABEGIAN teaches the system as applied to claim 16, but fails to disclose the vehicle coupling mechanism further comprises a tag having an identification number associated therewith and wherein the charging authentication process involves scanning the tag.
JAYADEVAPPA discloses the vehicle coupling mechanism further comprises a tag having an identification number associated therewith and wherein the charging authentication process involves scanning the tag (¶ 0090).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the tag having the identification number as recited in order to provide authentication means with minimal and non-destructive installation and/or wireless convenience.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record on form PTO-892 and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANUEL HERNANDEZ whose telephone number is (571)270-7916. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9a-5p ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at (571) 272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Manuel Hernandez/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 9/15/2025
/DREW A DUNN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859