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 . The instant application with Application Number 18/303,793 filed on 04/20/2023 is presented for examination. Claims 1-19 are pending.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because, the claimed invention is directed to a mental process of “receiving stat data” and “calculating a service quality index” without significantly more. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims recite receiving state data and calculating a service quality index. The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because despite the fact that method/step of receiving state data of at least one electrical charging station, and/or method/step of calculating a service quality index of charging station, the operation or performance is used data to be calculated. Therefore, the claims are directed ‘information’ only or mathematical ‘calculation’ that is subject to an abstract idea.
Double Patenting
The non-statutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A non-statutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the claims at issue are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a non-statutory double patenting ground provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The USPTO internet Web site contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit http://www.uspto.gov/forms/. The filing date of the application will determine what form should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission.
Claim 1 is rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1 and 2 of the co-pending application number 118/164,659. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because they both deal with a monitoring and management method for electric vehicle charging stations. The examined claim 1 of the instant application is anticipated by the co-pending application of 18/164,659.
Claim 1 of instant appl.no. US 18/303,793
Claims 1/2 of co-pending appl.no.US 18/164,659
A monitoring and management method for a roaming charging station operator for use in a server, comprising: receiving state data of at least one electric vehicle charging station corresponding to a charging station operator via a network; calculating a service quality index of the charging station operator or the at least one electric vehicle (EV) charging station according to the state data corresponding to the at least one electric vehicle charging station; and providing a user interface to display the service quality index of the charging station operator or the at least one electric vehicle charging station.
A charging management method for electric vehicle charging stations for use in a server, comprising: performing at least one charging operation at an electric vehicle (EV) charging station by at least one electric vehicle, thereby generating at least one charging data; receiving the at least one charging data corresponding to the at least one charging operation through a network; and analyzing a usage index corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station according to the at least one charging data.
2. calculating a charging station usage reward for a charging point…corresponding to the electric vehicle charging station based on the usage index.
Claims 2-9 of the instant application are dependent on rejected instant claim 1 above; hence rejected, at least, for their dependency on rejected claim 1.
Claims 10 and 19 of the instant application are similar to claims 10 and 19 of the co-pending application 18/164,659 respectively. Therefore, are rejected on the ground of non-statutory double patenting as described above.
Applicant is advice to consider similar co-pending application numbers 16/829,022 and 18/060,989 as they are also similar to the instant application.
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 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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Sato et al. (US 2010/0076825) (Hereinafter, Sato).
With respect to claims 1, 10 and 19, Sato discloses a monitoring and management method/system for a roaming charging station (Fig. 1, 0201) operator for use in a server (Fig. 1, 0217: Para. # 0049), comprising: receiving state data of at least one electric vehicle charging station corresponding to a charging station operator via a network (Para. # 0061, 0062: corresponding to a data 0803 is estimated, charging quantities within a dashed area 0804 are averaged);
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calculating a service quality index of the charging station (Para. # The charge management central server 0217 makes a means not shown report the computed points to the user of the charge station 0201) operator or the at least one electric vehicle charging station according to the state data corresponding to the at least one electric vehicle charging station (Para. # 0076 and 0077); and providing a user interface to display the service quality index of the charging station operator or the at least one electric vehicle charging station (Para. # 0077: Interface device attached to a front panel of the charge station 0201 as shown in FIG. 12. The HMI device has an LED display 1201 and number input buttons 1202, with which a user of the charge station 0201).
With respect to claims 2 and 11, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, further comprising: determining whether the service quality index is lower than a predetermined value (Para. # 0066: a structure framework used to evaluate, measure, and improve service performance); and when the service quality index is lower than the predetermined value (Para. # 0052: the table 0401 also includes a chargeable quantity 0404 which indicates a restriction condition of a chargeable quantity for each time zone 0402), suspending the roaming charging operation at the at least one electric vehicle charging station corresponding to the charging station operator (217 is a charging roaming system management).
With respect to claims 3-4 and 12-13, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, further comprising: transmitting a removal instruction to at least one E-mobility service provider via the network; and in response to the removal instruction, removing the at least one electric vehicle charging station corresponding to the charging station operator from a roaming charging list by the at least one E-mobility service provider, wherein the roaming charging list records a plurality of candidate electric vehicle charging stations where at least one member of the at least one E-mobility service provider can perform roaming charging (Para. # 0087: a charge action is also restricted by a capacity of power distribution line in a zone 1503, a capacity of power distribution in a zone 1504 located upstream of the zone 1503, and an installation capacity of a distributing substation 1505).
With respect to claims 5 and 14, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, further wherein the state data includes a usage status, an offline status, or a failure status corresponding to the at least one electric vehicle charging station (Par. # 009: power installations is attempted by changing timer-controlled parameters via off-line operations on a case-by-case basis).
With respect to claims 6 and 15, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, further comprising: determining whether there is a charging dispute between the charging station operator and at least one E-mobility service provider and the charging dispute cannot be resolved within a predetermined period; and when there is a charging dispute between the charging station operator and the at least one E-mobility service provider and the charging dispute cannot be resolved within the predetermined period, suspending the roaming charging operation at the at least one electric vehicle charging station of the charging station operator (Para. # 0010-0012: a charging plan for each charging battery should be created at least according to the information on a recommended charge time zone and charge quantity which is provided from a viewpoint of the whole power system; and in a charge/discharge management program for the purpose of increasing a social benefit, it is required that each of the customers can enjoy a merit according to his/her participation in the program).
With respect to claims 7 and 16, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, further comprising re-enabling the roaming charging operation at the at least one electric vehicle charging station of the charging station operator when the charging dispute is resolved (Para. # 0076: a dispatch control system which is a server used by an operator of managing electrical vehicles for business use, to thereby manage a charge/discharge action of the electric vehicles for business use).
With respect to claims 8 and 17, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, further comprising: receiving an application corresponding to the charging dispute from the at least one E-mobility service provider through an interface; and notifying the charging station operator to handle the charging dispute within the predetermined period through the interface (Para. # 0084: the charge/discharge reward information (see FIG. 4) created by the charge management central server 0217 herein includes the charge reward rate 0403, chargeable quantity 0404, discharge reward rate 0405).
With respect to claims 9 and 18, Sato discloses the monitoring and management method/system as described above, wherein the server belongs to a charging roaming management platform, and the method further comprises: determining whether the charging station operator fulfills a payment contract between the charging station operator and the charging roaming management platform; and when the payment contract is not fulfilled, suspending the roaming charging operation at the at least one electric charging station of the charging station operator (Para. # 0054 and 0056).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YALKEW FANTU whose telephone number is (571)272-8928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00AM-4:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DREW A DUNN can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YALKEW FANTU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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