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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 2/2/2023 and 8/28/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5, Line 2 recites the limitation configured to.
It appears punctuation is missing from the limitation.
Claim 5, Line 2 is interpreted as reciting: configured to:.
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.
Claims 1 and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pizzurro et al. (US 2021/0252991) in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva et al. (US 2023/0256860).
Claim 1: Pizzurro teaches a power system (Fig.1) comprising:
a first power device (EV1) configured to be set to perform power control including at least one of power feeding to a power grid and charging from the power grid during a first period (Par.60, 63 and 92);
at least one second power device (EV2) configured to be set to perform the power control during a second period after the first period (Par.94);
at least one third power device (EV3) configured to be set to perform the power control when at least one of the first power device (EV1) and the second power device (EV2) is withdrawn from the power control during the power control (Par.96); and
a power control device (110) configured to:
control the power control of the first power device (EV1), the power control of the second power device (EV2), and the power control of the third power device (EV3) (Par.92, 94 and 96);
perform change switching control when the power control device (110) switches a target of the power control from the first power device (EV1) to the second power device (EV2), the change switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device (EV1) and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device (EV2) (Par.94); and
perform instant switching control when the power control device switches the target of the power control from the at least one of the first power device (EV1) and the second power device (EV2) to the third power device (EV3), the instant switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by instantly changing a charging amount or a power feeding amount in the power control of the third power device (EV3) to an amount corresponding to at least one of the charging amount or the power feeding amount in the power control of the first power device (EV1) and the charging amount or the power feeding amount in the power control of the second power device (EV2) (Par.96-97).
Pizzurro does not explicitly teach the change switching control being a gradual change switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by gradually changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device.
Marcos Moreira da Silva teaches a power system (Fig.4) comprising: a power control device (106) configured to: perform a gradual change switching control (Par.75); the gradual switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by gradually changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of a first power device (first vehicle) and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of a second power device (second vehicle) (Par.80).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Marcos Moreira da Silva in the system of Pizzurro to have had distributed available power dynamically among several electric vehicles (Par.29) to have had a more efficient use of power (Par.39) thereby reducing power waste.
Claim 6: Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Pizzurro teaches wherein the first power device (EV1) includes an electrified vehicle (Par.57 and 92).
Claim 7: Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Pizzurro teaches wherein the second power device (EV2) includes an electrified vehicle (Par.57 and 94).
Claim 8: Pizzurro teaches a power control device (110) (Fig.1) comprising a processor (Par.59) configured to:
perform power control of a first power device (EV1), the power control including at least one of power feeding to a power grid and charging from the power grid, the first power device (EV1) being configured to be set to perform the power control during a first period (Par.60, 63 and 92);
perform the power control of a second power device (EV2), the second power device (EV2) being configured to be set to perform the power control during a second period after the first period (Par.94);
perform the power control of a third power device (EV3), the third power device (EV3) being configured to be set to perform the power control when at least one of the first power device (EV1) and the second power device (EV2) is withdrawn from the power control during the power control (Par.96);
perform change switching control when the processor switches a target of the power control from the first power device (EV1) to the second power device (EV2), the change switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device (EV1) and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device (EV2) (Par.94); and
perform instant switching control when the processor switches the target of the power control from the at least one of the first power device (EV1) and the second power device (EV2) to the third power device (EV3), the instant switching control being control for switching the target of the power control, by instantly changing a charging amount or a power feeding amount in the power control of the third power device (EV3) to an amount corresponding to at least one of the charging amount or the power feeding amount in the power control of the first power device (EV1) and the charging amount or the power feeding amount in the power control of the second power device (EV2) (Par.96-97).
Pizzurro does not explicitly teach he change switching control being a gradual change switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by gradually changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device.
Marcos Moreira da Silva teaches a power system (Fig.4) comprising: a power control device (106) configured to: perform a gradual change switching control (Par.75); the gradual switching control being control for switching the target of the power control by gradually changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of a first power device (first vehicle) and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of a second power device (second vehicle) (Par.80).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Marcos Moreira da Silva in the system of Pizzurro to have had distributed available power dynamically among several electric vehicles (Par.29) to have had a more efficient use of power (Par.39) thereby reducing power waste.
Claim 9: Pizzurro teaches a power control method (Par.85) comprising:
performing power control of a first power device (EV1), the power control including at least one of power feeding to a power grid and charging from the power grid, the first power device (EV1) being configured to be set to perform the power control during a first period (Par.60, 63 and 92);
performing the power control of a second power device (EV2), the second power device (EV2) being configured to be set to perform the power control during a second period after the first period (Par.94);
performing the power control of a third power device (EV3), the third power device (EV3) being configured to be set to perform the power control when at least one of the first power device (EV1) and the second power device (EV2) is withdrawn from the power control during the power control (Par.96);
switching a target of the power control from the first power device (EV1) to the second power device (EV2) by changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device (EV1) and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device (EV2) (Par.94); and
switching the target of the power control from the at least one of the first power device (EV1) and the second power device (EV2) to the third power device (EV3), by instantly changing a charging amount or a power feeding amount in the power control of the third power device (EV3) to an amount corresponding to at least one of the charging amount or the power feeding amount in the power control of the first power device (EV1) and the charging amount or the power feeding amount in the power control of the second power device (EV2) (Par.96-97).
Pizzurro does not explicitly teach switching a target of the power control from the first power device to the second power device by gradually changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device.
Marcos Moreira da Silva teaches a power control method comprising: switching a target of a power control from a first power device (first vehicle) to a second power device (second vehicle) by gradually changing both charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the first power device (first vehicle) and charging amounts or power feeding amounts in the power control of the second power device (second vehicle) (Par.80).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Marcos Moreira da Silva in the system of Pizzurro to have had distributed available power dynamically among several electric vehicles (Par.29) to have had a more efficient use of power (Par.39) thereby reducing power waste.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pizzurro et al. (US 2021/0252991) in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva et al. (US 2023/0256860) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of TenHouten et al. (US 2022/0089055).
Claim 4: Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Pizzurro does not explicitly teach wherein: the first period includes a predetermined time earlier by a predetermined period than a scheduled end time of the first period; and the power control device is configured to: determine to perform the gradual change switching control when the power control of the first power device is being performed until the predetermined time.
Marcos Moreira da Silva discloses a first period includes a predetermined time earlier by a predetermined period than a scheduled end time of the first period; and the power control device is configured to: determine to perform the gradual change switching control when the power control of the first power device (EV1) is being performed until the predetermined time (Par.80-81; The first power device is fully charged at 150min (end time). When the first power device is still connected at a predetermined time (125min as seen in Fig.2) before the end time (150min) the system will perform gradual change switching control.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Marcos Moreira da Silva in the system of Pizzurro to have had dynamically allocated power to available connected vehicles, thus leading to a more efficient and faster charging (Par.49).
The combination of Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva does not explicitly teach determine to perform the instant switching control when the first power device is withdrawn from the power control before the predetermined time.
TenHouten teaches determine to perform instant switching control when a first power device (190a) is withdrawn from a power control before a predetermined time (Par.63; When a first power device (190a) is disconnected from a charging system prior to the charging end time when the first power device is fully charged, the charging system immediately performs switching control by instantly changing a charging amount of remaining connected power devices.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of TenHouten in the combination of Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva to have had reallocated available power to remaining connected vehicles (Par.63) thereby maximizing the use of available power.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pizzurro et al. (US 2021/0252991) in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva et al. (US 2023/0256860) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lekkas (US 2019/0190703).
Claim 2: Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. The combination of Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva does not explicitly teach wherein the power control device is configured to: communicate with the first power device; communicate with the second power device; communicate with the third power device; acquire information on a first communication delay period in communication between the first power device and the power control device; acquire information on a second communication delay period in communication between the second power device and the power control device; acquire information on a third communication delay period in communication between the third power device and the power control device; perform the gradual change switching control based on the first communication delay period and the second communication delay period; and perform the instant switching control based on the third communication delay period.
Lekkas teaches a power control device (120) (Fig.1) configured to:
communicate with a first power device (150); communicate with a second power device (152); communicate with a third power device (154) (Par.18);
acquire information on a first communication delay period in communication between the first power device (150) and the power control device (120); acquire information on a second communication delay period in communication between the second power device (152) and the power control device (120); acquire information on a third communication delay period in communication between the third power device (154) and the power control device (120) (Par.33; The electric vehicles (150’s) monitor a transfer speed and transmission delay and provide that information to the power control device (120).);
perform control based on the first communication delay period and the second communication delay period; and perform control based on the third communication delay period (Par.43 and 46; The power control device (120) sends instructions to each electric vehicle based on the acquired information.).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Lekkas in the combination of Pizzurro in view of Marcos Moreira da Silva to have had selected transmitting instructions to an electric vehicle with a determined lower communication delay period (Par.43) thereby providing faster vehicle control.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 5 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art fails to teach alone or in combination:
“a plurality of the second power devices; and a plurality of the third power devices, wherein the power control device is configured to: select, from among the second power devices, the second power device including a smallest difference between the second communication delay period and the first communication delay period as a target of the gradual change switching control; and select, from among the third power devices, the third power device including the shortest third communication delay period as a target of the instant switching control.”, as disclosed in claim 3 in combination with all other elements necessitated by the claim.
“the power control device is configured to: … acquire information on a first communication delay period in communication between the first power device and the power control device, acquire information on a second communication delay period in communication between the second power device and the power control device, and acquire information on a third communication delay period in communication between the third power device and the power control device; and the predetermined period has a length equal to or larger than a length of a longer one of the first communication delay period and the second communication delay period.”, as disclosed in claim 5 in combination with all additional elements recited on the claim.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Choi et al. (US 2021/0001742) discloses gradually changing power feeding amounts of a first electric vehicle (3-1) and a second electric vehicle (3-2) (Par.114).
Kataoka (US 2021/0325468) teaches a power control device (100) (Fig.1) configured to: communicate with a first power device (Fig.1; 20 left); communicate with a second power device (Fig.1; 20 center); communicate with a third power device (Fig.1; 20 right) (Par.75); acquire information on a first communication delay period in communication between the first power device (Fig.1; 20 left) and the power control device (100) (Par.158); acquire information on a second communication delay period in communication between the second power device (Fig.1; 20 center) and the power control device (100); acquire information on a third communication delay period in communication between the third power device (Fig.1; 20 right) and the power control device (100) (Par.158).
Ito et al. (US 2023/0143398) discloses performing control of a first vehicle coupled to a first charger (101a) (Fig.2) and a second vehicle coupled to a second charger (101b) based on determined communication delays (Par.145).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHALI ALEJANDRA TORRES RUIZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1262. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am-6:00pm.
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/JOHALI A TORRES RUIZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/TAELOR KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859