DETAILED ACTION
This action is in reply to the request for continued examination filed November 6th, 2025. Claims 1-16 are currently pending.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on November 6th, 2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 3 recites the limitation "a start position" and “a target position” in line 2. This creates an antecedent basis issue as it is unclear if the start and target positions are the same or different from the start and target positions from claim 1. For the sake of the prior art rejection below, the examiner interprets that the start and target positions from claim 3 are the same as the ones from claim 1.
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.
Claims 1-5, 8, 9, and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over an embodiment of previously cited of record Rhodes et al. (US Pub. No. 20160221456 A1), herein after Rhodes, as evidenced by another embodiment of Rhodes, and further in view of previously cited of record Aykol et al. (US Pub. No. 20200269719 A1), herein after Aykol.
Regarding claim 1, Rhodes teaches [a] method for optimizing a service life of a drive battery of an electric motor vehicle, comprising the following steps (Rhodes: Para. 0006, teaching a system and method for improving a battery life of a vehicle; and Para. 0015, teaching that the vehicle may be an electric vehicle): receiving drive battery charging state signals representing a drive battery charging state of the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0020, teaching a system that monitors a battery's characteristics such as charge level and transmits signals to a Battery Energy Control Module that contains information on the battery's characteristics); generating care… signals based on the drive battery charging state signals and based on at least one recommendation for drive battery care to optimize a service life of the drive battery of the electric motor vehicle, wherein the care… signals represent a care… for caring for the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0028, teaching that a partial charge level of the battery is controlled during inactivity of the vehicle to improve the battery life); and outputting the generated care… signals (Rhodes: Para. 0032, teaching that the battery is charged or discharged to the partial charge level during inactivity).
The main embodiment of Rhodes is silent to the care being suggestions that might not be implemented, however this feature is well known in the art as evidenced by another embodiment of Rhodes which teaches that the charging operations may be confirmed by a driver via a user interface (Rhodes; Para. 0034 and 0041) for the benefit of adjusting the charge level according to the user’s needs.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the filing of the application to include in the battery life optimization processes of the main embodiment of Rhodes a way for the optimizations to become suggestions that need confirmation from a user before implementation, as taught by the second embodiment of Rhodes, for the benefit of adjusting the charge level according to the user’s needs.
Rhodes is silent to wherein the care suggestion signals are generated to optimize the service life of the drive battery at one or more positions along a planned route of the electric motor vehicle, wherein each position is selected from a start position, a target position, and intermediate positions along the route.
In a similar field, Aykol teaches wherein the care suggestion signals are generated to optimize the service life of the drive battery at one or more positions along a planned route of the electric motor vehicle, wherein each position is selected from a start position, a target position, and intermediate positions along the route (Aykol: Para. 0084, teaching determining a charge level for recharging a vehicle's battery based on the required charge level to reach charging stations between the vehicle's start location to the destination) for the benefit of improving the vehicle’s ability to travel distances beyond what a single charge of their battery could sustain.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes to optimize the battery’s recharging at multiple locations along a route, as taught by Aykol, for the benefit of improving the vehicle’s ability to travel distances beyond what a single charge of their battery could sustain.
Regarding claim 2, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, further comprising implementing the care suggestion based on the output care suggestion signals (Rhodes: Para. 0032, teaching that the battery is charged or discharged to the partial charge level during inactivity).
Regarding claim 3, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein route signals representing a route of the electric motor vehicle leading from a start position to a target position are received, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the route signals (Rhodes: Para. 0031, teaching that the desired charge level of the battery before use may be based on the route expected to travel by the vehicle by calculating the distance between a starting point and an end point).
Regarding claim 4, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for a predetermined minimum drive battery charging state, wherein the drive battery charging state is compared to the predetermined minimum drive battery charging state, wherein when the drive battery charging state is less than, or less than or equal to, the predetermined minimum drive battery charging state, the care suggestion includes charging the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0032, teaching that the battery is charged to the partial charge level during inactivity when the state of charge level of the battery is below the partial charge level).
Regarding claim 5, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one recommendation recommends a recommendation for a predetermined maximum drive battery charging state, wherein the drive battery charging state is compared to the predetermined maximum drive battery charging state, wherein when the drive battery charging state is greater than, or greater than or equal to, the predetermined maximum drive battery charging state, the care suggestion includes discharging the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0032, teaching that the battery is discharged to the partial charge level during inactivity when the state of charge level of the battery is above the partial charge level).
Regarding claim 8, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein ambient temperature signals representing an ambient temperature of the drive battery are received, wherein the recommendation includes a predetermined ambient temperature range of the drive battery for charging and/or discharging the drive battery, wherein it is ascertained whether an ambient temperature is within the predetermined ambient temperature range, and wherein the care suggestion signals are ascertained based the ascertainment (Rhodes: Para. 0020, teaching that the characteristics of the battery can include their temperature; and Para. 0026, teaching that the temperature of the battery is controlled to predetermined levels).
Regarding claim 9, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 8, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 8, wherein when the ambient temperature is outside of the predetermined ambient temperature range, the care suggestion includes activating a drive battery air conditioner of the electric motor vehicle in order to heat the drive battery when the ambient temperature is below the predetermined ambient temperature range and/or to cool the drive battery when the ambient temperature is above the predetermined ambient temperature range (Rhodes: Para. 0020, teaching that the characteristics of the battery can include their temperature; and Para. 0026, teaching that the temperature of the battery is controlled to predetermined levels).
Regarding claim 12, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein trip planning signals representing a future trip plan for the electric motor vehicle are received, wherein a duration of a planned standing time of the electric motor vehicle, in which, according to the future trip plan, the electric motor vehicle is not driven, is ascertained based on the trip planning signals, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for a standing time threshold value from which the drive battery charging state of the drive battery is to be within a predetermined drive battery charging state range at standstill of the electric motor vehicle, wherein it is ascertained whether the ascertained planned standing time is within the predetermined drive battery charging state range at standstill of the electric motor vehicle (Rhodes: Para. 0031, teaching that the desired charge level of the battery before use may be based on the route expected to travel by the vehicle by calculating the amount of time that the trip will take; Para. 0033, teaching that before and after the trip the battery is maintained at a partial charge level based on how long the vehicle is expected to be inactive; and Para. 0036, teaching that the partial charge level determined by determining how long the vehicle will be inactive in correlation to how long it will take to charge the battery from the partial charge level to the charge level required for the trip), and wherein: i) when the drive battery charging state is below the predetermined drive battery charging state range at standstill of the electric motor vehicle, the care suggestion includes charging the drive battery until the drive battery charging state of the drive battery is within the predetermined drive battery charging state range at standstill of the electric motor vehicle (Rhodes: Para. 0042, teaching that during periods of inactivity the battery is charged to the partial charge level if the charge level of the battery is below the partial charge level), and/or ii) when the drive battery charging state is above the predetermined drive battery charging state range at standstill of the electric motor vehicle, the care suggestion includes discharging the drive battery until the drive battery charging state of the drive battery is within the predetermined drive battery charging state range at standstill of the electric vehicle battery (Rhodes: Para. 0042, teaching that during periods of inactivity the battery is discharged to the partial charge level if the charge level of the battery is above the partial charge level).
Regarding claim 13, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein when the care suggestion includes discharging the drive battery, the care suggestion includes charging an off-board storage battery with electrical energy generated based on the discharging of the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0026, teaching that the battery in the vehicle may be discharged to an external device such as a power source).
Regarding claim 14, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, and Rhodes goes on to further teach [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein when the care suggestion includes charging the drive battery, the care suggestion includes charging the drive battery with electrical energy generated based on discharging an off-board storage battery (Rhodes: Para. 0015, teaching that an external power source may be used to charge the battery of the vehicle).
Regarding claim 15, Rhodes teaches [a] device configured to optimize a service life of a drive battery of an electric motor vehicle, the device being configured to (Rhodes: Para. 0006, teaching a system and method for improving a battery life of a vehicle; and Para. 0015, teaching that the vehicle may be an electric vehicle): receive drive battery charging state signals representing a drive battery charging state of the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0020, teaching a system that monitors a battery's characteristics such as charge level and transmits signals to a Battery Energy Control Module that contains information on the battery's characteristics); generate care… signals based on the drive battery charging state signals and based on at least one recommendation for drive battery care to optimize a service life of the drive battery of the electric motor vehicle, wherein the care… signals represent a care… for caring for the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0028, teaching that a partial charge level of the battery is controlled during inactivity of the vehicle to improve the battery life); and output the generated care… signals (Rhodes: Para. 0032, teaching that the battery is charged or discharged to the partial charge level during inactivity).
The main embodiment of Rhodes is silent to the care being suggestions that might not be implemented, however this feature is well known in the art as evidenced by another embodiment of Rhodes which teaches that the charging operations may be confirmed by a driver via a user interface (Rhodes; Para. 0034 and 0041) for the benefit of adjusting the charge level according to the user’s needs.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the filing of the application to include in the battery life optimization processes of the main embodiment of Rhodes a way for the optimizations to become suggestions that need confirmation from a user before implementation, as taught by the second embodiment of Rhodes, for the benefit of adjusting the charge level according to the user’s needs.
Rhodes is silent to wherein the care suggestion signals are generated to optimize the service life of the drive battery at one or more positions along a planned route of the electric motor vehicle, wherein each position is selected from a start position, a target position, and intermediate positions along the route.
In a similar field, Aykol teaches wherein the care suggestion signals are generated to optimize the service life of the drive battery at one or more positions along a planned route of the electric motor vehicle, wherein each position is selected from a start position, a target position, and intermediate positions along the route (Aykol: Para. 0084, teaching determining a charge level for recharging a vehicle's battery based on the required charge level to reach charging stations between the vehicle's start location to the destination) for the benefit of improving the vehicle’s ability to travel distances beyond what a single charge of their battery could sustain.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes to optimize the battery’s recharging at multiple locations along a route, as taught by Aykol, for the benefit of improving the vehicle’s ability to travel distances beyond what a single charge of their battery could sustain.
Regarding claim 16, Rhodes teaches [a] non-transitory machine-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for optimizing a service life of a drive battery of an electric motor vehicle, the computer program, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform the following steps (Rhodes: Para. 0006, teaching a system and method for improving a battery life of a vehicle; Para. 0015, teaching that the vehicle may be an electric vehicle; and Para. 0044, teaching that the methods of the invention can be stored in existing programmable computer hardware): receiving drive battery charging state signals representing a drive battery charging state of the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0020, teaching a system that monitors a battery's characteristics such as charge level and transmits signals to a Battery Energy Control Module that contains information on the battery's characteristics); generating care… signals based on the drive battery charging state signals and based on at least one recommendation for drive battery care to optimize a service life of the drive battery of the electric motor vehicle, wherein the care… signals represent a care… for caring for the drive battery (Rhodes: Para. 0028, teaching that a partial charge level of the battery is controlled during inactivity of the vehicle to improve the battery life); and outputting the generated care… signals (Rhodes: Para. 0032, teaching that the battery is charged or discharged to the partial charge level during inactivity).
The main embodiment of Rhodes is silent to the care being suggestions that might not be implemented, however this feature is well known in the art as evidenced by another embodiment of Rhodes which teaches that the charging operations may be confirmed by a driver via a user interface (Rhodes; Para. 0034 and 0041) for the benefit of adjusting the charge level according to the user’s needs.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the filing of the application to include in the battery life optimization processes of the main embodiment of Rhodes a way for the optimizations to become suggestions that need confirmation from a user before implementation, as taught by the second embodiment of Rhodes, for the benefit of adjusting the charge level according to the user’s needs.
Rhodes is silent to wherein the care suggestion signals are generated to optimize the service life of the drive battery at one or more positions along a planned route of the electric motor vehicle, wherein each position is selected from a start position, a target position, and intermediate positions along the route.
In a similar field, Aykol teaches wherein the care suggestion signals are generated to optimize the service life of the drive battery at one or more positions along a planned route of the electric motor vehicle, wherein each position is selected from a start position, a target position, and intermediate positions along the route (Aykol: Para. 0084, teaching determining a charge level for recharging a vehicle's battery based on the required charge level to reach charging stations between the vehicle's start location to the destination) for the benefit of improving the vehicle’s ability to travel distances beyond what a single charge of their battery could sustain.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes to optimize the battery’s recharging at multiple locations along a route, as taught by Aykol, for the benefit of improving the vehicle’s ability to travel distances beyond what a single charge of their battery could sustain.
Claims 6, 7, 10, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rhodes in view of Aykol as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of previously cited of record Sukhatankar et al. (US Pub. No. 20220105793 A1), herein after Sukhatankar.
Regarding claim 6, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, however they are silent to [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein rapid charging history signals representing a rapid charging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for use of rapid charges of the drive battery, wherein the rapid charging history is compared to the recommended use of rapid charges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison.
In a similar field, Sukhatankar teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein rapid charging history signals representing a rapid charging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for use of rapid charges of the drive battery, wherein the rapid charging history is compared to the recommended use of rapid charges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison (Sukhatankar: Para. 0597, teaching that a battery monitoring circuit monitors the status of the battery including a battery's state of charge, state of health, and history; Para. 0614, teaching that the system adjusts the operations of the battery to charge or discharge the battery and whether to do so at a rapid or slow rate; Para. 0802, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 includes the battery status such as the state of charge; and Para. 0803, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 are used to determine the operations of the battery that should be implemented by optimizing them based on historical parameters such that the electrical load of the vehicle are at optimal values) for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes in view of Aykol to consider the history of charging and discharging events and whether the battery should experience rapid or slow charging or discharging, as taught by Sukhatankar, for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
Regarding claim 7, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, however they are silent to [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein rapid discharging history signals representing a rapid discharging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for use of rapid discharges, wherein the rapid discharging history is compared to the recommended use of rapid discharges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison.
In a similar field, Sukhatankar teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein rapid discharging history signals representing a rapid discharging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for use of rapid discharges, wherein the rapid discharging history is compared to the recommended use of rapid discharges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison (Sukhatankar: Para. 0597, teaching that a battery monitoring circuit monitors the status of the battery including a battery's state of charge, state of health, and history; Para. 0614, teaching that the system adjusts the operations of the battery to charge or discharge the battery and whether to do so at a rapid or slow rate; Para. 0802, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 includes the battery status such as the state of charge; and Para. 0803, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 are used to determine the operations of the battery that should be implemented by optimizing them based on historical parameters such that the electrical load of the vehicle are at optimal values) for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes in view of Aykol to consider the history of charging and discharging events and whether the battery should experience rapid or slow charging or discharging, as taught by Sukhatankar, for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
Regarding claim 10, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, however they are silent to [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein care suggestion slow charging history signals representing a slow charging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for use of slow charges, wherein the slow charging history is compared to the recommended use of slow charges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison.
In a similar field, Sukhatankar teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein care suggestion slow charging history signals representing a slow charging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for use of slow charges, wherein the slow charging history is compared to the recommended use of slow charges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison (Sukhatankar: Para. 0597, teaching that a battery monitoring circuit monitors the status of the battery including a battery's state of charge, state of health, and history; Para. 0614, teaching that the system adjusts the operations of the battery to charge or discharge the battery and whether to do so at a rapid or slow rate; Para. 0802, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 includes the battery status such as the state of charge; and Para. 0803, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 are used to determine the operations of the battery that should be implemented by optimizing them based on historical parameters such that the electrical load of the vehicle are at optimal values) for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes in view of Aykol to consider the history of charging and discharging events and whether the battery should experience rapid or slow charging or discharging, as taught by Sukhatankar, for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
Regarding claim 11, Rhodes and Aykol remains as applied as in claim 1, however they are silent to [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein care suggestion slow discharging history signals representing a slow discharging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for recommended use of slow discharges, wherein the slow discharging history is compared to the recommended use of slow discharges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison.
In a similar field, Sukhatankar teaches [t]he method according to claim 1, wherein care suggestion slow discharging history signals representing a slow discharging history of the drive battery are received, wherein the at least one recommendation includes a recommendation for recommended use of slow discharges, wherein the slow discharging history is compared to the recommended use of slow discharges, and wherein the care suggestion signals are generated based on the comparison (Sukhatankar: Para. 0597, teaching that a battery monitoring circuit monitors the status of the battery including a battery's state of charge, state of health, and history; Para. 0614, teaching that the system adjusts the operations of the battery to charge or discharge the battery and whether to do so at a rapid or slow rate; Para. 0802, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 includes the battery status such as the state of charge; and Para. 0803, teaching that the vehicle operating parameters 20710 are used to determine the operations of the battery that should be implemented by optimizing them based on historical parameters such that the electrical load of the vehicle are at optimal values) for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the applicant’s claimed invention to modify the battery life improvement method from Rhodes in view of Aykol to consider the history of charging and discharging events and whether the battery should experience rapid or slow charging or discharging, as taught by Sukhatankar, for the benefit of improving the life expectancy of the battery while balancing the needs of the driver.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed October 30th, 2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant's arguments filed October 30th, 2025 with respect to the rejections of claims 1, 15, and 16 under 103 in light of the amendments have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Rhodes in view of Aykol.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Cyr et al. (US Pub. No. 20200284599 A1) discloses generating a route for an electric or hybrid vehicle that takes into account the vehicle’s charge and has the vehicle stop to recharge at charging stations along the route.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Aaron K McCullers whose telephone number is (571)272-3523. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, Roughly 9 AM - 6 PM ET.
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/A.K.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3663
/ANGELA Y ORTIZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3663