Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/285,881

CONTROL UNIT FOR CONTROLLING A FLOW OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY BETWEEN ONE OR MORE ELECTRICAL ENERGY REPOSITORIES AND A POWER GRID

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Oct 06, 2023
Examiner
LAUGHLIN, NATHAN L
Art Unit
2119
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Scania Cv AB
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 3m
To Grant
77%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allow Rate
504 granted / 754 resolved
+11.8% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 3m
Avg Prosecution
35 currently pending
Career history
789
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.7%
-36.3% vs TC avg
§103
48.5%
+8.5% vs TC avg
§102
23.0%
-17.0% vs TC avg
§112
20.4%
-19.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 754 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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. Claims 1-15 and 17 are pending. Claims 1-15 and 17 are rejected below. 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. Claim(s) s 1-15 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) FILLIN "Insert either \“(a)(1)\” or \“(a)(2)\” or both. If paragraph (a)(2) of 35 U.S.C. 102 is applicable, use form paragraph 7.15.01.aia, 7.15.02.aia or 7.15.03.aia where applicable." \d "[ 2 ]" as being anticipated by Hardy (U.S. PG Pub. 2020/0101850) . As to claim 1, Hardy teaches a method performed by a control unit for controlling a flow of electrical energy between one or more electrical energy repositories and a power grid (abstract) , wherein each of the one or more electrical energy repositories (vehicle batteries) is electrically coupled to a respective internal load, the method comprising: charging the one or more electrical energy repositories [0144 At 930, the charging of the battery 120 of the first vehicle 104A may be controlled. The electric charge management device 102 may be configured to control the charging of the battery 120. The battery 120 of the first vehicle 104A may be charged until the current SOC corresponds to the sufficient excess energy amount for the electric energy transfer.] , wherein the repositories are charged based on a set of parameters [0114] , wherein energy is drawn from the power grid to charge the one or more electrical energy repositories [element 108B charging station attached to grid 110] , wherein the one or more electrical energy repositories are charged to a respective first threshold level of energy, wherein the first respective threshold level of energy is indicated by the set of parameters [0143] ; and controlling a flow of energy to the power grid, wherein the flow of energy is controlled using the set of parameters [ 0148 the second energy amount, as the excess energy amount, between the third discharge level and the current SOC of the battery 120 may be determined based on the extracted future date-time period. The electric charge management device 102 may be configured to determine the second energy amount as the excess energy amount on the future date-time period] , wherein energy is drawn from any of the one or more electrical energy repositories to the power grid [ 0157 the first vehicle 104A may be controlled to transfer the determined second energy amount to the selected external electric power system. The electric charge management device 102 may be configured to control the first vehicle 104A to transfer the second energy amount (excess energy amount in the battery 120) to the selected external electric power system at the updated first energy cost.] , wherein energy is drawn from any of the energy repositories in a first period between a respective first time (when 926 is determined as yes) , indicative of when the respective first threshold level of energy is reached (926 above third threshold) , and a respective second time, indicative of when energy is expected to be drawn from the one or more electrical energy repositories to the respective internal load [0135-0136 user operations of a vehicle] , wherein the set of parameters is determined using a trained model [0052] . Claims 11, 13, 14, 15, and 17 have similar subject matter and are rejected for similar reasoning. [0028] discusses using cloud severs. As to claim 2, Hardy teaches wherein the trained model is trained using training data indicative of characteristics of the one or more electrical energy repositories [ 0020, 0052] , wherein the determined set of parameters further includes at least a respective second threshold level of energy indicative of energy required by the respective internal load [ 0020, 0052 operations of a vehicle] . As to claim 3, Hardy teaches wherein the trained model is trained further using training data indicative of characteristics of the power grid, wherein the characteristics of the power grid includes at least electrical energy utilization of the power grid over time [ 0045, 0052] . As to claim 4, Hardy teaches wherein the one or more electrical energy repositories comprises one or more vehicles, wherein the vehicles are provided with batteries for storing electrical energy and are provided with internal loads in the form of electrical drive units configured to drive the vehicle using the batteries, wherein the trained model is further trained using data indicative of characteristics of the one or more vehicles [ 0018, 0020, 0052] . As to claim 5, Hardy teaches wherein characteristics of the one or more vehicles comprises at least one of: data indicative of a selection of any of battery models, power demand of electrical drive units, traffic conditions for the vehicles, behavior of the drivers of the vehicles, or geographical routes of the vehicles [ 0052] . As to claim 6, Hardy teaches wherein the determined set of parameters further comprises: the first time (see claim 1) ; and the second time (see claim 1) ; and a third time indicative of a target time for ending the flow of energy to the power grid [ 0046] ; and/or a fourth time indicative of a target time for re-initiating charge, for each of the one or more electrical energy repositories [0023] . As to claim 7, Hardy teaches wherein the method further comprises re-initiating charging of the one or more electrical energy repositories using the set of parameters, wherein energy is drawn from the power grid to charge the one or more electrical energy repositories (steps 926, 928, 930) , wherein the one or more electrical energy repositories are charged to the respective second threshold level of energy in a second period between the respective fourth time to the corresponding second time (fig. 9 this will occur once the vehicles battery has been discharge below third level as show in step 926) . As to claim 8, Hardy teaches wherein the fourth time is determined equal to the third time (this seems to be showing a charging right after the discharging which seems the way the flowchart 9 does it) . As to claim 9, Hardy teaches wherein the fourth time is determined with a delay relative to the third time (this seems to be showing a charging right after the discharging which can be done by the user [0038]) . As to claim 10, Hardy teaches wherein the first respective threshold level of energy is determined equal to the respective second threshold level of energy [0086 the SOC of third discharge of step 926 including the user plurality of operations needed ] . As to claim 12, Hardy teaches further comprising a transceiver communicatively coupled to a communications network and configured exchange messages at least with one or more other units electrically coupled to the power grid (fig. 1) . Other Prior Art of Record The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Mallia (U.S. Pat. 11,381,101) teaches charging a battery at specific times. Ko (U.S. Pat. 10,434,892) teaches charging and discharging a vehicle battery based on temperature. Yokoyama (U.S. PG Pub. 2019/0288347) teaches having a short-term discharge and a continuous discharge modes for a vehicle battery. Yokoyama (U.S. PG Pub. 2019/028 0509 ) teaches basing discharge event on power requests from another. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT NATHAN L LAUGHLIN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-1042 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday 8AM-4PM . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Mohammad Ali can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-4105 . 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. /NATHAN L LAUGHLIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Oct 06, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 13, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12572126
METHOD FOR SETTING PARAMETERS OF PLC SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Mar 10, 2026
Patent 12557250
INTELLIGENT DUAL PURPOSE HEAT EXCHANGER AND FAN WALL FOR A DATACENTER COOLING SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Feb 17, 2026
Patent 12535239
MACHINE LEARNING DEVICE, DEMAND CONTROL SYSTEM AND AIR-CONDITIONER CONTROL SYSTEM
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 27, 2026
Patent 12526168
CONTROL DEVICE FOR A BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEM HAVING GLOBAL DATA MANAGEMENT
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 13, 2026
Patent 12517482
Power Management With Dynamic Rectifier Apportionment
2y 5m to grant Granted Jan 06, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

AI Strategy Recommendation

Get an AI-powered prosecution strategy using examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Powered by AI — typically takes 5-10 seconds

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
67%
Grant Probability
77%
With Interview (+10.2%)
3y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 754 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month