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 1-17 have been presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. Acknowledgement is made to the information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 7/27/2023. The information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
3. Claims 15 & 16 are objected to because of the following informalities, which appear to be minor draft errors including grammatical and/or lack of antecedent basis problems.
Regarding claim 15, punctuation is missing at the end of the claim.
Regarding claim 16, the claim appears incomplete as the claim recites “the vehicle of claim 14, wherein the traction battery aging cost is a function of the duration and the one” (emphasis added). It is unclear what “and the one” is referring to.
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.
4. Claims 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cun et al. (US 2021/0046841 A1), hereinafter Cun, in view of Sridhar et al. (US 2009/0246596 A1), hereinafter Sridhar.
Regarding claim 1, Cun discloses a vehicle (102 – electric vehicle) comprising:
a traction battery (106 - battery) [0027]; and
a controller programmed to, responsive to a request to DC fast charge a traction battery at a charge station that offers a plurality of DC fast charge rates each with a cost per unit time that increases as the rate increases, generate output, indicating a cost to charge the traction battery at the rate, and charge the traction battery at a selected one of the rates [0034, 0085, 0089, & 0090].
Regarding claim 8, Cun discloses a method comprising:
after receiving a request to DC fast charge a traction battery (106 - battery) at a charge station that offers a plurality of DC fast charge rates each with a cost per unit time that increases as the rate increases, charging the traction battery at one of the rates automatically selected according to a total cost that includes portions representing a power cost for the charge, and a user's time cost for the charge such that the total cost is less than a threshold cost [0034, 0065-0067 & 0071-0074].
Regarding claim 13, Cun discloses a vehicle control system comprising:
a controller programmed to charge a traction battery (106 - battery) at one of a plurality of DC fast charge rates selected such that the one corresponds to a parameter for the traction battery, that is based on a duration of the charge, less than a threshold value [0034, 0065-0067 & 0071-0074].
With respect to claims 1, 8, & 13, the teachings of Cun have been discussed above.
Cun is silent with respect to explicitly disclosing considering the aging parameter of the battery with the charge cost, as recited in claims 1, 8, & 13.
Sridhar teaches, regarding claims 1, 8, & 13, considering the aging parameter of the battery with the charge cost [0028, 0033, & 0037].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to provide the aging parameters features of Sridhar within the system of Cun for at least the benefit of reducing unnecessary wear and tear on the battery by accounting for any charging parameters that would adversely impact battery lifetime [0029 & 0037].
Regarding claim 2, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is further programmed to automatically select one of the rates according to user defined criteria to identify the selected one of the rates [0064 & 0094].
Regarding claim 3, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the output further indicates a duration to charge the traction battery at the rate [0052, 0054, 0061 & 0065].
Regarding claim 4, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cost includes a portion representing a user's per unit time value [0034 & 0036-0038].
Regarding claim 5, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 4, wherein the controller is further programmed to receive input defining the user's per unit time value [0055, 0064, 0090, & 0091].
Regarding claim 6, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cost includes a portion representing a product of a user's per unit time value and a difference between a charge duration at the rate and a charge duration at a maximum of the rates that correspond to the aging parameters that are less than the threshold value [0065-0067 & 0071-0074].
Regarding claim 7, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 1, wherein the controller is further programmed to receive input defining the threshold value [0064-0067 & 0094].
Regarding claim 9, Cun, as modified above, discloses the method of claim 8 further comprising receiving input defining the threshold cost [0064-0067 & 0094].
Regarding claim 10, Cun, as modified above, discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the user's time cost is a product of a user's per unit time value and a duration of the charge [0034 & 0036-0038].
Regarding claim 11, Cun, as modified above, discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the traction battery aging cost is a function of a duration of the charge and the one of the rates [0052, 0054, 0061 & 0065].
Regarding claim 12, Cun, as modified above, discloses the method of claim 8, responsive to a state of charge of the traction battery exceeding a threshold state of charge, generating output indicating a recommendation to switch to non-DC fast charge [0065-0067 & 0071-0074].
Regarding claim 14, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle control system of claim 13, wherein the controller is further programmed to charge at the one selected such that a total cost of the charge is less than a threshold cost and wherein the total cost includes portions representing a power cost for the charge, a user's time cost for the charge, and a traction battery aging cost for the charge [0065-0067 & 0071-0074].
Regarding claim 15, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 14, wherein the user's time cost is a product of a user's per unit time value and the duration [0052, 0054, 0061 & 0065].
Regarding claim 16, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 14, wherein the traction battery aging cost is a function of the duration and the one [0052, 0054, 0061 & 0065].
Regarding claim 17, Cun, as modified above, discloses the vehicle of claim 14, wherein the total cost is user defined [0055, 0064, 0090, & 0091].
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
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 and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas K. Pham can be reached on (571) 272-3689. 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.
/PAULTEP SAVUSDIPHOL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
Prosecution Insights