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 .
1. Claims 1-10 have been presented for examination.
Priority
2. The instant application claims benefit of US Provisional Application No. 63/436,065, filed 12/29/2022.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
3. Claims 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, & 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Katayama et al. (US 2017/0182902 A1), hereinafter Katayama.
Regarding claim 1, Katayama discloses
a dual-standard AC smart charging pile, comprising:
a first charging gun (13-1 – charging connector/gun) comprising a charging port conforming to a first specification [0039 & Fig. 1];
a first power supply circuit electrically connected to the first charging gun and configured to provide power to the first charging gun based on the first specification [0039-0041 & Fig. 1];
a second charging gun (13-2 or 13-3 - charging connector/gun) comprising a charging port conforming to a second specification different from the first specification [0039 & Fig. 1];
a second power supply circuit electrically connected to the second charging gun and configured to provide power to the second charging gun based on the second specification [0039-0041 & Fig. 1]; and
a signal processing circuit (12 – control unit) electrically connected to the first power supply circuit and the second power supply circuit, and configured to control one or both of the first power supply circuit and the second power supply circuit according to one or both of a first trigger time point of the first charging gun and a second trigger time point of the second charging gun [0039-0041 & 0046-0051].
Regarding claim 4, Katayama discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 1, wherein the first power supply circuit comprises:
a first charging communication circuit electrically connected to the first charging gun and the signal processing circuit, and the second power supply circuit comprises: a second charging communication circuit electrically connected to the second charging gun and the signal processing circuit [0039-0042], and
the signal processing circuit is configured to: when the first charging gun is connected to a first electric vehicle, obtain a first communication signal of the first electric vehicle through the first charging communication circuit to obtain the first trigger time point, and then control the first charging gun to output power through controlling the first power supply circuit according to the first specification and the first communication signal [0045-0051 & 0066-0068]; and
when the second charging gun is connected to a second electric vehicle, obtain a second communication signal of the second electric vehicle through the second charging communication circuit to obtain the second trigger time point, and then control the second charging gun to output power through controlling the second power supply circuit according to the second specification and the second communication signal [0045-0051, 0066-0068, & 0079].
Regarding claim 5, Katayama discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 4, wherein the first power supply circuit further comprises:
a first relay (17-1 - relay) electrically connected to the first charging gun, and configured to provide power to the first charging gun [0041 & Fig. 1]; and
a first switch control circuit electrically connected to the first relay and the signal processing circuit, and being controlled by the signal processing circuit to adjust the first relay to be in a disabled state or an enabled state [0039-0042]; and
the second power supply circuit further comprises: a second relay (17-2, or 17-3 - relay) electrically connected to the second charging gun, and configured to provide power to the second charging gun [0041 & Fig. 1]; and
a second switch control circuit electrically connected to the second relay and the signal processing circuit, and being controlled by the signal processing circuit to adjust the second relay to be in a disabled state or an enabled state [0039-0042].
Regarding claim 7, Katayama discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 1, further comprising:
a communication unit electrically connected to the signal processing circuit, and configured to receive a user setting command, wherein the signal processing circuit is further configured to control one or both of the first charging power and/or the second charging power of the first power supply circuit and the second power supply circuit according to the user setting command [0045, 0054, 0059, 0068, 0082, & 0083].
Regarding claim 9, Katayama discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 7, further comprising a human-computer interaction device electrically connected to the communication unit, wherein the human-computer interaction device has a graphical user interface for receiving the user setting command [0045, 0054, 0059, 0068, 0082, & 0083].
Regarding claim 10, Katayama discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 1, wherein the first specification is a charging specification according to one of SAE J1772 (Type 1), IEC 62196 (Type 2), GBT 20234.2-2015 and North American Charging Standard (NACS), and the second specification is a charging specification according to another one of SAE J1772 (Type 1), IEC 62196 (Type 2), GBT 20234.2-2015 and the NACS [0042 & 0079].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
4. Claims 2, 3, 6, & 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katayama in view of Nergaard et al. (US 2013/0057210 A1), hereinafter Nergaard.
With respect to claim 1, the teachings of Katayama have been discussed above.
Katayama is silent with respect to explicitly disclosing details regarding controlling the power distribution output based on trigger times for the various power supply circuits, as recited in claims 2 & 3.
Nergaard teaches, regarding claim 2 & 3, details regarding controlling the power distribution output based on trigger times for the various power supply circuits [0009, 0027, 0029, 0034-0036, & 0043].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to further employ the power distribution control features of Nergaard within the system of Katayama for at least the benefit of improving efficiency in simultaneously charging multiple vehicles [0007].
Regarding claim 6, Nergaard, as modified above, discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 1, further comprising:
a first current detection circuit electrically connected to the first power supply circuit and the signal processing circuit, and configured to detect first charging power of the first power supply circuit and send a detection result of the first charging power back to the signal processing circuit, so that the signal processing circuit controls the first power supply circuit to adjust the first charging power; and a second current detection circuit electrically connected to the second power supply circuit and the signal processing circuit, and configured to detect second charging power of the second power supply circuit and send a detection result of the second charging power back to the signal processing circuit, so that the signal processing circuit controls the second power supply circuit to adjust the first charging power, wherein a sum of the first charging power and the second charging power is not greater than a maximum charging power [0025, 0027, 0034-0036, & 0041-0044].
Regarding claim 8, Nergaard, as modified above, discloses the dual-standard AC smart charging pile of claim 7, wherein the signal processing circuit is configured to:
obtain a first user setting command associated with a first electric vehicle; obtain a second user setting command associated with a second electric vehicle; compare the first user setting command and the second user setting command to generate priority information [0034 & 0037-0042];
generate a first weighted ratio and a second weighted ratio according to the priority information; and allocate a maximum charging power according to the first weighted ratio and the second weighted ratio, so as to adjust the first charging power and the second charging power [0034 & 0037-0042].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL whose telephone number is (571)270-1301. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F,7-3 EST. If the examiner cannot be reached by telephone, he can be reached through the following email address: paultep.savusdiphol@uspto.gov
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael G. Lee can be reached on (571) 272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Prosecution Insights