DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Response to Arguments
Applicant has amended claims 1, 3, 5, 8-9, 11, 13, and 15-16, and cancelled claims 2, 4, 10, and 12.
Applicant has amended claims 8 and 16 to more distinctly define the metes and bounds of the claim, Examiner withdraws rejection of claims 8 and 16 under 35 USC 112(b).
In applicant arguments/remarks made received 06/01/2026 applicant summarizes the amendment to incorporate subject matter from claims 2 and 4 into independent claim 1. Applicant does not make any specific arguments regarding Y.A. et al (US 20220227251 A1), applicant asserts that Y.A. does not disclose the amended portion of claim 1 and states “Examiner acknowledges that Y.A. does not disclose, teach, or suggest wherein the control information is dynamically adjustable”. The invention as disclosed by Y.A. has the capability of sending control information between the electric vehicle and a server, thereby having the capability of dynamically adjusting the control information. Y.A. does not explicitly disclose the control information updating in real-time; however, when modified by Goei this data is sent at regular time intervals resulting in dynamically adjusting the control information.
Applicant argues against Goei et al (US 20220153156 A1), stating “Goei does not disclose, teach, or suggest the claimed recitation wherein the controller is further configured to store a service level agreement between an owner of the electric vehicle supply equipment or the electric vehicle and the manufacturer when the owner buys the electric vehicle supply equipment or the electric vehicle from the manufacturer, and service level agreement terms that are dynamically adjustable over-the-air, and is based on at least one of time, availability, or prior [use]”. Goei is being used to modify Y.A. to dynamically update the location of an electric vehicle on the road searching for a charging station that is closest to the vehicle. Y.A. and Goei both disclose a wireless central server which collects electric vehicle specific parameters, including a EV manufacturer server 106 from Y.A. and a registered vehicle database 414 from Goei. Goei ¶0058 discloses “database 414 would include information tying the vehicle to particular charging information and other user or vehicle relevant information”, wherein vehicle relevant information may include the vehicle manufacturer.
Y.A. ¶0053 discloses “Through the mobile device application 208, a user of an electric vehicle request at step 302 a location of a electric vehicle charger unit 206 that is compatible with their brand of vehicle”, indicating choosing a location of an electric vehicle charger unit 206 which takes the manufacturer agreement into consideration. Further Y.A. would have the physical capability of providing real-time matching of a location of the electric vehicle relative to a charging unit, thereby it would be obvious to incorporate Goei to dynamically adjust the charging requests. Incorporating Goei would make this process more specific, and also update in real time, the location of those electric vehicle charger units relative to the moving electric vehicle.
Applicant's arguments filed 06/01/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The amended limitation “wherein the service level agreement enables at least one functionality associated with charging/discharging of the battery” narrows the scope of the claim from “control information” to “service level agreement”, new grounds of rejected are presented herein.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Y. A. et al (US 20220227251 A1) modified by Bangalore et al (US 20220140610 A1)
Regarding claim 1, Y.A. teaches an electric vehicle supply equipment system for electric vehicle battery charging, comprising: an electric vehicle supply equipment that is connectable to a distributed energy resource for charging/discharging a battery of an electric vehicle; (¶0027 "[FIG 1] an EV (101) enters an EV charger (102) for charging, the EV (101) may be authenticated prior to charging", ¶0028 "[FIG 1] [distribution system operator] (107) is configured to distribute the electric energy from a grid (108) to the plurality of chargers. In an embodiment, the grid (108) is an interconnected network of power generating stations, transmission lines, distribution lines for delivering electricity from producers to consumers")
and a controller in operative communication (¶0028 “gateway (110) is used to route the information between the EVSO (105), plurality of energy distribution vendor (104) and the one or more charging points of the EV charger (102)”)
with at least one of a communication network, (¶0027 “EV manufacturer (106) manufactures the EV (101) and a server (herein referred as EV manufacturer (106) server) hosted by the EV manufacturer (106) is communicatively connected to the EV (101)”)
an electronic device of the electric vehicle, (¶0027 “EV manufacturer (106) server receives a plurality of information of the EV (101) for analytics and to further improve the EV (101)”)
or a distributed energy resource controller (¶0058 “EVSO (105) based on the guidelines of the DSO (107) monitors and manages the energy distribution to the plurality of energy distribution vendors (104)”)
and configured to transmit and receive electric vehicle supply equipment information (¶0028 "[FIG 1] The gateway (110) is used to route the information between the EVSO (105), plurality of energy distribution vendor (104) and the one or more charging points of the EV charger (102)", similarly depicted in FIG 3)
associated with a manufacturer of at least one of the electric vehicle supply equipment or the electric vehicle to provide charging/discharging of the battery at a public charging station associated with the manufacturer, (¶0027 "An EV manufacturer (106) manufactures the EV (101) and a server (herein referred as EV manufacturer (106) server) hosted by the EV manufacturer (106) is communicatively connected to the EV (101).", ¶0029 "[FIG 2] the query can be made to the EV manufacturer (106) and the EV manufacturer (106) forwards the query to the EVSO (105)")
wherein the controller is further configured to store a service level agreement between an owner of the electric vehicle supply equipment or the electric vehicle and the manufacturer (¶0027 "An EV manufacturer (106) manufactures the EV (101) and a server (herein referred as EV manufacturer (106) server) hosted by the EV manufacturer (106) is communicatively connected to the EV (101) each of plurality of energy distribution vendors (104) has a vendor information unit (111) for storing identification information of the EV (101), identification information of the charging point (103) of an EV charger (102) and energy transaction associated with charging of the EV (101). For example, when an EV (101) enters an EV charger (102) for charging, the EV (101) may be authenticated prior to charging", ¶0029 "[FIG 2] query can be made to the EV manufacturer (106) and the EV manufacturer (106) forwards the query to the EVSO (105)")
when the owner buys the electric vehicle supply equipment or the electric vehicle from the manufacturer, (¶0027 “energy distribution vendors (104) can install chargers in a plurality of locations for the EVs of the associated EV manufacturers… each of plurality of energy distribution vendors (104) has a vendor information unit (111) for storing identification information of the EV (101), identification information of the charging point (103) of an EV charger (102) and energy transaction”)
[and wherein the service level agreement enables at least one functionality associated with charging/discharging of the battery at the public charging station associated by the manufacturer, and service level agreement terms are dynamically adjustable] over-the-air, (¶0027 “the EV (101) and the EV manufacturer (106) server are connected using at least one of, a cellular network, vehicular networks and the like”)
and is based on at least one of time, (¶0029 "required charging time to charge the rechargeable batteries of the EV (101) or a waiting time for the availability of the charging point (103) at the EV charger (102) with the EVSO (105)")
or availability (¶0029 "[FIG 2] EVSO (105) will query the plurality of energy distribution vendors (104) for the location information of respective EV chargers available in the geographical area of the EV (101)")
Y.A. does not teach wherein the service level agreement enables at least one functionality associated with charging/discharging of the battery at the public charging station associated by the manufacturer, and service level agreement terms are dynamically adjustable.
Bangalore teaches wherein the service level agreement enables at least one functionality associated with charging/discharging of the battery at the public charging station associated by the manufacturer, (¶0082 “algorithm of the load balancing subroutine 234 is based on a module that employs a simultaneous charging method… first allocating the guaranteed power level for any EVSE connected to an EV whose subscriber has a guaranteed service level agreement”)
and service level agreement terms are dynamically adjustable. (¶0083 “output of the load balancing subroutine 234 is based on a module that employs a time slot schedule method, in which the guaranteed power level is assigned to any EVSE with EVs whose subscribers have guaranteed power”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the electric vehicle supply equipment as taught by Y.A. wherein the service level agreement enables at least one functionality associated with charging/discharging of the battery at the public charging station associated by the manufacturer, and service level agreement terms are dynamically adjustable as taught by Bangalore. Y.A. and Bangalore both disclose a grid controller which connect electric vehicles with manufacturer specific parameters with compatible electric vehicle charging services. Incorporating the service level agreement of Bangalore’s load balancing subroutine 234 as part of the identification information of Y.A.’s EV 101 with EV manufacturer 106. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reduce the cost of charging and maximize the amount of power delivered to an electric vehicle within a set period of time.
Similarly for claim 9 as applied to a system for electric vehicle battery charging comprising: a solar array comprising a distributed energy resource; (¶0054 "the energy storage unit (801) can store the energy generated by the renewable sources of energy for example solar energy as shown in FIG. 8")
a distributed energy resource controller operably connected to the distributed energy resource; (¶0028 "[FIG 1] The gateway (110) is used to route the information between the EVSO (105), plurality of energy distribution vendor (104) and the one or more charging points of the EV charger (102)")
and an electric vehicle supply equipment system. (¶0027 "FIG. 1 shows an exemplary environment for charging electric vehicles")
Regarding claim 3, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the electric vehicle supply equipment system of claim 1. Y.A. modified by Bangalore further teaches wherein charging/discharging of the battery at the public charging station (¶0027 "each of plurality of energy distribution vendors (104) has a vendor information unit (111) for storing identification information of the EV (101), identification information of the charging point (103) of an EV charger (102) and energy transaction associated with charging of the EV (101)")
is based on at least one of free charging, (¶0058 "The EV (101) can locate the charging point (103) from a plurality of charging points for charging the EV (101) based on the distance to the plurality of charging points, unit energy cost for charging the EV (101) and availability of the plurality of charging points"; wherein the unit energy cost for the charging EV is $0)
reduced cost of charging, (¶0058 "The EV (101) can locate the charging point (103) from a plurality of charging points for charging the EV (101) based on the distance to the plurality of charging points, unit energy cost for charging the EV (101) and availability of the plurality of charging points"; wherein the unit energy cost for the charging EV is reduced)
maximum amount of power, (¶0028 "amount of energy distributed to each charger from the grid (108) is recorded in an EV system information unit associated with the EVSO and information unit (112) associated with DSO")
or maximum amount of energy within a set period of time. (¶0031 "energy transaction for the EV (101) includes at least one of the time duration for charging the EV (101) at the charging point (103) of the EV charger (102), the total cost for charging the EV (101) at the charging point (103) of the EV charger (102)")
Similarly for claim 11 as applied to a system for electric vehicle battery charging, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the system for electric vehicle battery charging of claim 9.
Regarding claim 5, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the electric vehicle supply equipment system of claim 1. Y.A. modified by Bangalore further teaches wherein the at least one functionality enables intelligent routing via at least one of an in-electric vehicle navigation system, a portable navigation system, or a smartphone-based application to the public charging station, (Y.A. ¶0029 "the EV (101) uses navigation information for example from the satellites of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to navigate to the selected charging point (103) of the EV charger (102) for charging the EV (101)")
and wherein the at least one of the in-electric vehicle navigation system, the portable navigation system, or the smartphone-based application are configured to enable reservation capabilities (Y.A. ¶0032 “step 202, the charging point (103) transmits the received identification information from the EV (101) and identification information of the charging point (103) to the electrical vehicle system information unit for verification of identity of the EV (101) and the charging point (103)”)
[that allow a lock-out feature at the public charging station such that after a certain time the public charging station can lock-out other electric vehicles from charging for a predetermined amount of time.]
Y.A. as modified by Banglaore does not teach [reservation capabilities] that allow a lock-out feature at the public charging station such that after a certain time the public charging station can lock-out other electric vehicles from charging for a predetermined amount of time.
Bangalore teaches [reservation capabilities] that allow a lock-out feature at the public charging station such that after a certain time the public charging station can lock-out other electric vehicles from charging for a predetermined amount of time. (¶0083 “load balancing subroutine 234 is based on a module that employs a time slot schedule method, in which the guaranteed power level is assigned to any EVSE with EVs whose subscribers have guaranteed power”)
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to further modify electric vehicle supply equipment system as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore wherein the reservation capabilities allow a lock-out feature at the public charging station such that after a certain time the public charging station can lock-out other electric vehicles from charging for a predetermined amount of time as taught by Bangalore. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to reduce the cost of charging and maximize the amount of power delivered to an electric vehicle within a set period of time.
Similarly for claim 13 as applied to a system for electric vehicle battery charging, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the system for electric vehicle battery charging of claim 9.
Claim(s) 6-8 and 14-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Y.A. modified by Bangalore and further in view of Goei et al (US 20220153156 A1)
Regarding claim 6, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the electric vehicle supply equipment system of claim 5. Y.A. modified by Bangalore further teaches wherein the intelligent routing is based on at least one of a most appropriate charging station associated with the manufacturer or real-time information about the electric vehicle, (¶0027 “the EV manufacturer (106) may be associated with one or more energy distribution vendors (104) for providing chargers comprising charging points to charge the EV (101)”)
[wherein the most appropriate charging station associated with the manufacturer is based on an ability of the owner of the electric vehicle to discharge energy from the electric vehicle through a bidirectional charging station,
and wherein the real-time information comprises at least one of a location of the electric vehicle, a remaining mileage on the battery of the electric vehicle, a direction of where the electric vehicle is traveling, or a final destination of the electric vehicle.]
Y.A. as modified by Bangalore does not teach wherein the most appropriate charging station associated with the manufacturer is based on an ability of the owner of the electric vehicle to discharge energy from the electric vehicle through a bidirectional charging station, and wherein the real-time information comprises at least one of a location of the electric vehicle or a final destination of the electric vehicle.
Goei teaches wherein the most appropriate charging station associated with the manufacturer is based on an ability of the owner of the electric vehicle to discharge energy from the electric vehicle through a bidirectional charging station, (¶0144 "FIG. 31, there is an embodiment of a vehicle 3102 to grid ("V2G") Grid-Tie EVSE Inverter/Charger system providing for the ability to both charge an electric vehicle and/or use the EV as a battery storage device", ¶0148 "[FIG 31] adapter 3107 includes hardware/software functionality and protocols that operate in conjunction with Central server 3112 and the Grid operator(s) 3114 to enable and facilitate various V2G functions with one or more EVs 3102 as a Grid energy storage")
and wherein the real-time information comprises a remaining mileage on the battery of the electric vehicle, (¶0055 "[FIG 4] The database 402 may also store information related to... the state of charge to enable the system to estimate the battery exhaustion time and recommended charging locations that an electric vehicle could reach before running out of power")
or a final destination of the electric vehicle. (¶0093 "using the trip planning functionalities 1202 of the application 1016, the user can simply plan a trip by selecting planned trip on the opening screen of his smart phone and the system in conjunction with AIS 1113 will check the availability of charging units 1014 at various destination points")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the electric vehicle supply equipment as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore wherein the most appropriate charging station associated with the manufacturer is based on an ability of the owner of the electric vehicle to discharge energy from the electric vehicle through a bidirectional charging station, and wherein the real-time information comprises at least one of a location of the electric vehicle or a final destination of the electric vehicle as taught by Goei. This modification would be achieved by using the bi-directional EVSE of Goei into the electric vehicle supply equipment system as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore to allow the electric vehicle to provide power back to the grid. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve overall grid stability while providing the vehicle owner reduced energy/operational costs.
Similarly for claim 14 as applied to a system for electric vehicle battery charging, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the system for electric vehicle battery charging of claim 13.
Regarding claim 7, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the electric vehicle supply equipment system of claim 1. Y.A. modified by Bangalore does not teach wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a reservation request directly to the public charging station via the communication network.
Goei teaches wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a reservation request directly to the public charging station via the communication network. (¶0056 "appointment database 406 stores information for charging appointments that are made by vehicle drivers with respect to particular charging units 206. The appointment database 406 indicates a charging unit 206 and times that the charging unit is presently scheduled to be charging a particular vehicle")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the electric vehicle supply equipment as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore wherein the controller is further configured to transmit a reservation request directly to the public charging station via the communication network as taught by Goei. This modification would be achieved by using the bi-directional EVSE of Goei into the electric vehicle supply equipment system as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore to allow the electric vehicle to provide power back to the grid. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve overall grid stability while providing the vehicle owner reduced energy/operational costs.
Similarly for claim 15 as applied to a system for electric vehicle battery charging, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the system for electric vehicle battery charging of claim 9.
Regarding claim 8, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the electric vehicle supply equipment system of claim 1. Y.A. modified by Bangalore does not teach wherein the controller is further configured to allow the owner to specify a minimum state of charge to maintain on the battery of the electric vehicle and associate available charging stations and their respective consideration for discharging energy, an anticipated discharge power, or a time of day with the electric vehicle.
Goei teaches wherein the controller is further configured to allow the owner to specify a minimum state of charge to maintain on the battery of the electric vehicle (¶0208 "Besides the rate structure and prices obtained from the utility, the flow control servers 106 may also take into account the type of electric resource 112, its state of charge, as well as user needs/preferences (i.e., when the user will need to use the resource 112 again, how tolerant the user is of the resource 112 not being fully charged, etc.)", ¶0146 "adaptor functionality 3208 or adapter 3107 monitors the current flow and direction according to specified priorities Other priorities may be to maximize supplying power to the Grid 3116 for income generation, which may entail triggering the flow of power to the Grid at pre-set EV charge level ranges")
and associate available charging stations and their respective consideration for discharging energy, an anticipated discharge power, or a time of day with the electric vehicle. (¶0146 "[FIG 32] adaptor functionality 3208 or adapter 3107 monitors the current flow and direction according to specified priorities, such as time of day electricity rates. Other priorities may be to maximize supplying power to the Grid 3116 for income generation")
Therefor it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date, to modify the electric vehicle supply equipment as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore wherein the controller is further configured to allow the owner to specify a minimum state of charge to maintain on the battery of the electric vehicle and associate available charging stations and their respective consideration for an anticipated discharge power or a time of day with the electric vehicle as taught by Goei. This modification would be achieved by using the bi-directional EVSE of Goei into the electric vehicle supply equipment system as taught by Y.A. modified by Bangalore to allow the electric vehicle to provide power back to the grid. The modification would be obvious because one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to improve overall grid stability while providing the vehicle owner reduced energy/operational costs.
Similarly for claim 16 as applied to a system for electric vehicle battery charging, Y.A. modified by Bangalore teaches the system for electric vehicle battery charging of claim 10.
Prior Art Not Relied Upon
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found in the attached PTO-892 Notice of References Cited by Examiner attached to this correspondence.
Amitay et al (US 20200120170 A1) discloses a remote server which connects electric vehicles to specific charging stations based on location and range of the vehicle.
Vardhan et al (US 20140324510 A1) discloses a method of maximizing the proportion of renewable energy delivered to an electric vehicle which incorporates manufacturer into the routing and priority process.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA M KOTOWSKI whose telephone number is (571)270-3771. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8a-5p.
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, Julian Huffman can be reached at (571) 2722147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LISA KOTOWSKI/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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