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 . 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.
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) 1-4, 7-9 and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ricci (US 2017/0136910 A1).
Referring to Claim 1: Ricci discloses a method for dynamic wireless charging of an electric vehicle on electric roads, the method comprising:
determining, by a system controller (112) of the electric vehicle (100), that a traction battery (112) (Para. [0038]) of the electric vehicle needs to be recharged (508) (Fig. 5) (Para. [0036] and [0057]);
assessing, by the system controller, road surface (104) unevenness along an electric road considered for recharging the electric vehicle (Para. [0037] and [0062]); and
adapting, by the system controller based on the road surface unevenness, at least one of a driving route of the electric vehicle, a current driving trajectory of the electric vehicle, a recharging configuration of the electric vehicle (e.g., “terrain following” mode of Para. [0062]), or a combination thereof.
Referring to Claim 2: Ricci discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein assessing the road surface unevenness comprises monitoring a road (104) in front of the electric vehicle (100) with a sensor system (126) (Para. [0037] and [0062]) (Fig. 1A).
Referring to Claim 3: Ricci discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein assessing the road surface (104) unevenness comprises considering road data provided from at least one of a vehicle fleet, a navigation system of the electric vehicle (113), or a combination thereof (Para. [0037] and [0062]).
Referring to Claim 4: Ricci discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein adapting based on the road surface (104) unevenness is optimized for maximum recharging efficiency of the traction battery (112) (Para. [0045] and [0062]) (Fig. 6).
Referring to Claim 7: Ricci discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein adapting the recharging configuration of the electric vehicle comprises adapting a height above ground of a height-adjustable inductive power transfer coupler of the electric vehicle (Para. [0045] and [0062]) (Fig. 6).
Referring to Claim 8: Ricci discloses the method according to claim 7, wherein the height above ground is adapted based on vertical changes in the road surface in front of the electric vehicle (100) (Para. [0045] and [0062]) (Figs. 1 and 6).
Referring to Claim 9: Ricci discloses the method according to claim 7, wherein the height above ground is minimized above a lower safety margin (“constant height” in TF mode, Para. [0062]).
Referring to Claim 19: Ricci discloses an electric vehicle comprising a system for dynamic wireless charging, the system configured to:
determine that a traction battery (112) (Para. [0038]) of the electric vehicle (100) needs to be recharged (508) (Fig. 5) (Para. [0036] and [0057]),
assess road surface (104) unevenness along an electric road considered for recharging the electric vehicle (Para. [0037] and [0062]), and
based on the road surface unevenness, adapt at least one of a driving route of the electric vehicle, a current driving trajectory of the electric vehicle, a recharging configuration of the electric vehicle (e.g., “terrain following” mode of Para. [0062]), or a combination thereof.
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) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ricci in view of Nelson (US 2018/0037136 A1).
Referring to Claim 5: Ricci does not specifically teach that the driving route of the electric vehicle is adapted to achieve at least one of the flattest road surface on average during charging, the least frequent adaptations of the recharging configuration of the electric vehicle, or a combination thereof. However, Nelson teaches vehicle charging lanes, wherein “the vehicle (e.g., mobile device 122) may generate an alternate route to the destination that includes a charging station 181 or additional charging stations,” (Para. [0076]). Further, as an example of adapting to achieve the least frequent adaptations of the recharging configuration, Nelson teaches, “Vehicles may adjust their routes accordingly in a variety of techniques. For example, vehicles . . . traveling on the road segment from C to E may slow down in order to receive more charging there so that the road segment from G to B can be avoided or the charging lane therein may be avoided. Other vehicles may opt to turn around or otherwise head for node A to take the direct route from node A to B with no charging available.” (Para. [0071]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Ricci to adapt the driving route of the electric vehicle by a variety of techniques, including avoiding charging lanes, as taught by Nelson, in order to avoid the need to adapt the configuration when charging is not necessary or not desired with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ricci in view of Hanson et al. (US 2023/0226937 A1).
Referring to Claim 6: Ricci does not specifically teach that adapting the current driving trajectory of the electric vehicle comprises at least one of changing a lane, adjusting a lateral position within a lane, or a combination thereof. However, Hanson teaches roadway charging coil alignment and monitoring, wherein adapting the current driving trajectory of the electric vehicle comprises at least one of changing a lane, adjusting a lateral position within a lane, or a combination thereof (Para. [0018]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, for Ricci to adapt the driving trajectory of the electric vehicle by changing lanes, as taught by Hanson, in order to optimize charging across a group of vehicles with a reasonable expectation of success.
Regarding the instant system claims 10-18, note that the execution of method claims 1-9, respectively, inherently requires a system as recited in claims 10-18.
Conclusion
The references made of record and not relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure because the references relate to inductive charging of vehicles:
US-20120186927-A1, US-20170028854-A1, US-20170136907-A1, US-20170136897-A1 OR US-20170136905-A1, US-20180194239-A1, US-5595271-A, US-5669470-A, US-5821728-A, US-10124690-B2, and US-10189363-B2.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY L KUHFUSS whose telephone number is (571)270-7858. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10:00am to 6:00 pm CDT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Samuel (Joe) Morano can be reached on (571)272-6682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ZACHARY L KUHFUSS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
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