DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
This Final office action is in response to Applicant’s amendment filed 12/8/2025. Claims 1 and 4 have been amended. Claims 2 and 3 have been canceled. Claims 1 and 4-8 are pending.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Applicant's arguments filed 12/8/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Additionally, Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action.
Regarding the previously pending 35 USC 101 rejection, the claims as a whole, recite additional elements that integrate the judicial exception into a practical application, under Prong Two of Step 2A of the Alice analysis.
Specifically, independent claim 1 recites, inter alia, the processing unit executes… a process of trading in a power market an adjustment capability for implementing the power adjustment and generating the adjustment request when the adjustment capability is successfully bid in the power market, the adjustment capability is traded in frame units in the power market, generation of a first request when the adjustment capability having a number of frames larger than a predetermined number of frames is successfully bid, and generation of a second request when the adjustment capability having a number of frames equal to or less than the predetermined number of frames is successfully bid.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1 recites “a first request” twice and “a second request” twice, thus making it unclear whether there are multiple first and second requests, or whether they are the same first and second request. 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.
Claims 1 and 4-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furukawa et al (US 20230138275 A1), in view of Pollack et al (US 20080039989 A1).
As per claim 1, Furukawa et al disclose a management device that manages a plurality of power resources (i.e., The aggregation coordinator 11 is a business operator that aggregates the amount of electric power controlled by the resource aggregator 16 and engages in electric power transactions, ¶ 0019), wherein:
each of the power resources is equipped with a power storage device and is configured to be able to participate in power adjustment in a power grid by discharging power of the power storage device to the power grid (i.e., engages in electric power transactions with general transmission-and-distribution operators and retail electric providers. The aggregation coordinator 11 is served by, for example, a power utility company, ¶ 0019);
the management device includes a communication unit configured to communicate with each of the power resources, and a processing unit (i.e., The aggregation coordinator 11 is a business operator that aggregates the amount of electric power controlled by the resource aggregator 16 and engages in electric power transactions, ¶ 0019, including an electric power adjusting device 62 that enables a plurality of electric vehicles participating in a V2G system to share electricity demand more appropriately, ¶ 0034); the processing unit executes
a classification process of classifying each of the power resources into a first resource and a second resource with a capacity of the power storage device of the second resource being larger than the capacity of the power storage device of the first resource (i.e., a plurality of electric vehicles are classified into a group G1 consisting of BEVs and groups G2 and G3 excluding BEVs, and each of which is connected to the power utility grid 12, ¶ 0024. Additionally, In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the group excluding BEVs is further subclassified into smaller groups, a group G2 that is assigned to take care of the short period component D2 and a group G3 that is assigned to take care of the ultra-short period component D3, according to their performance of recovering regenerative energy, in other words, high-output power type characteristics. Thus, each of the group G1 consisting of BEVs and the groups G2 and G3 excluding BEVs may be further subclassified into smaller groups according to various types of characteristics, ¶ 0048), and
a resource selection process of selecting, from among the power resources, an adjustment resource of which participation in the power adjustment is requested through the communication unit, in response to an adjustment request requesting implementation of the power adjustment (i.e., The resource aggregator 16 sends a control signal to the V2G devices V1 to V3 in response to an electric power demand requirement, to control charging and discharging of the electric vehicles connected to the V2G devices V1 to V3, ¶ 0033);
the resource selection process includes a first selection process of preferentially selecting the first resource as the adjustment resource over the second resource when the adjustment request is a first request (i.e., the resource aggregator 16 may control the V2G system so that a group containing electric vehicles equipped with a relatively high capacity on-board battery, such as the group G1 consisting of BEVs, is assigned to take care of the long period component D1, ¶ 0048), and
a second selection process of preferentially selecting the second resource as the adjustment resource over the first resource when the adjustment request is a second request (i.e., The V2G system may be controlled so that a group containing electric vehicles equipped with an on-board battery showing higher performance of recovering regenerative energy, such the groups G2 and G3 excluding BEVs, is assigned to take care of the short period component D2 or the ultra-short period component D3, ¶ 0048);
a power adjustment amount of the second request is larger than a power adjustment amount of the first request; the first request is the adjustment request different from the second request (i.e., When adjusting the electric power demand Dx from the aggregation coordinator 11, it may be necessary to discharge a large amount of electric power from electric vehicles or to charge a large amount of electric power to electric vehicles in such cases where the number of the electric vehicles participating in the V2G system is small, for example. In such cases, it is not necessarily appropriate to control the V2G system so as to charge and discharge a plurality of electric vehicles connected to the power utility grid 12 through the V2G devices V1 to V3 under the same condition, from the viewpoint of minimizing the deterioration, ¶ 0034); and
the second request is the adjustment request for eliminating imbalance that is a difference between a power demand amount and a power supply amount in the power grid (i.e., the process C adjusts the charging and discharging burden on the electric vehicles for each of the groups G1 to G3 when adjusting the electric power demand in the power utility grid 12. Because the electric vehicles are classified into the plurality of groups G1 to G3 based on the charge-discharge capability of the on-board battery, the on-board batteries are prevented from deterioration, ¶ 0045);
wherein a power adjustment period of the second request is shorter than a power adjustment period of the first request (i.e., long period component D1 may be considered to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at a 30-minute period, the short period component D2 to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at 5-minute intervals, and the ultra-short period component D3 to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at 10-second intervals, ¶ 0047).
Furukawa et al does not disclose a process of trading in a power market an adjustment capability for implementing the power adjustment and generating the adjustment request when the adjustment capability is successfully bid in the power market, the adjustment capability is traded in frame units in the power market, generation of a first request when the adjustment capability having the number of frames larger than a predetermined number of frames is successfully bid, and generation of a second request when the adjustment capability having a number of frames equal to or less than the predetermined number of frames is successfully bid.
Pollack et al disclose The bidding/contract manager 720 interacts with the grid operators 404 and their associated energy markets 412 to determine system availability, pricing, service levels, etc. (¶ 0086). The power aggregation system 100 creates contracts outside the system and/or bids into open markets to procure contracts for power services contracts via the web server 718 and contract manager 720. The system 100 then resolves these requests into specific power requirements upon dispatch from the grid operator 404, and communicates these requirements to vehicle owners 408 (¶ 0167).
An exemplary power aggregation system 100 aggregates and controls the load presented by many charging/uploading electric vehicles 200 to provide power services (ancillary energy services) such as regulation and spinning reserves. Thus, it is possible to meet call time requirements of grid operators 404 by summing multiple electric resources 112. For example, twelve operating loads of 5 kW each can be disabled to provide 60 kW of spinning reserves for one hour. However, if each load can be disabled for at most 30 minutes and the minimum call time is two hours, the loads can be disabled in series (three at a time) to provide 15 kW of reserves for two hours (¶ 0113).
Furukawa et al and Pollack et al are concerned with effective power grid management. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a process of trading in a power market an adjustment capability for implementing the power adjustment and generating the adjustment request when the adjustment capability is successfully bid in the power market, the adjustment capability is traded in frame units in the power market, generation of a first request when the adjustment capability having the number of frames larger than a predetermined number of frames is successfully bid, and generation of a second request when the adjustment capability having a number of frames equal to or less than the predetermined number of frames is successfully bid in Furukawa et al, as seen in Pollack et al, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per claim 4, Furukawa et al disclose a length of the frame is 30 minutes; and the predetermined number of frames is one (i.e., long period component D1 may be considered to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at a 30-minute period, ¶ 0047).
As per claim 5, Furukawa et al disclose the first resource is a resource in which discharge power of the power storage device is equal to or less than a threshold discharge power; the second resource is a resource in which the discharge power is larger than the threshold discharge power; (i.e., the vehicle information acquired in the process A may include a charge-discharge capability of the on-board battery mounted in each of the electric vehicles. Then, the process B may classify the electric vehicles into the plurality of groups G1 to G3 based on the charge-discharge capability of the on-board battery, ¶ 0045).
Furukawa et al does not disclose the threshold discharge power is 2 kW or more and 5 kW or less.
An exemplary power aggregation system 100 aggregates and controls the load presented by many charging/uploading electric vehicles 200 to provide power services (ancillary energy services) such as regulation and spinning reserves. Thus, it is possible to meet call time requirements of grid operators 404 by summing multiple electric resources 112. For example, twelve operating loads of 5 kW each can be disabled to provide 60 kW of spinning reserves for one hour. However, if each load can be disabled for at most 30 minutes and the minimum call time is two hours, the loads can be disabled in series (three at a time) to provide 15 kW of reserves for two hours (¶ 0113).
Furukawa et al and Pollack et al are concerned with effective power grid management. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the threshold discharge power is 2 kW or more and 5 kW or less in Furukawa et al, as seen in Pollack et al, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
As per claim 6, Furukawa et al disclose when the adjustment request is the first request, the processing unit selects at least one first resource such that a total discharge power of the at least one first resource selected in the first selection process approaches a power adjustment amount of the adjustment request, and selects at least one second resource to meet a shortage of a first total discharge power with respect to the power adjustment amount of the adjustment request, in a case where the first total discharge power that is a total discharge power of all of the first resources does not reach the power adjustment amount of the adjustment request even when all of the first resources are selected; and when the adjustment request is the second request, the processing unit selects at least one second resource such that a total discharge power of the at least one second resource selected in the second selection process approaches the power adjustment amount of the adjustment request, and selects at least one first resource to meet a shortage of a second total discharge power with respect to the power adjustment amount of the adjustment request, in a case where the second total discharge power that is a total discharge power of all of the second resources does not reach the power adjustment amount of the adjustment request even when all of the second resources are selected (i.e., the resource aggregator 16 utilizes electric vehicles as an energy resource to contribute to demand response (DR). To use electric vehicles as an energy resource, the resource aggregator 16 stores electric power in the electric vehicles when there is a surplus of electric power in the power utility grid, while it transmits the electric power stored in the electric vehicles to the power utility grid when there is a shortfall of electric power in the power utility grid. This makes it possible to adjust the electric power demand in the microgrid (electrical grid) to which the electric vehicles are connected, ¶ 0023).
As per claim 7, Furukawa et al disclose the power resources include a vehicle electrically connected to the power grid via power equipment (i.e., The resource aggregator 16 sends a control signal to the V2G devices V1 to V3 in response to an electric power demand requirement, to control charging and discharging of the electric vehicles connected to the V2G devices V1 to V3, ¶ 0033).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Furukawa et al (US 20230138275 A1), in view of Pollack et al (US 20080039989 A1), in further view of Kuribayashi et al (US 20130057211 A1).
As per claim 8, Furukawa et al does not disclose the power resources include power storage equipment in which the power storage device is a stationary power storage device; the processing unit preferentially selects the power storage equipment as the adjustment resource over the vehicle when implementing the power adjustment in a first time zone, and preferentially selects the vehicle as the adjustment resource over the power storage equipment when implementing the power adjustment in a second time zone; and the first time zone is set as a time zone in which a user of the vehicle is more likely to use the vehicle than in the second time zone.
Kuribayashi et al disclose stationary energy storages 6a to 6i that serve as means that temporarily stores electric power charging demand potentials are distributively located in HEMSs 4a to 4d, electric power aggregators 3a, 3b, and 3c, large capacity energy storage 6, and electrical substation 2. Stationary energy storages 6a to 6i are for example rechargeable batteries located in individual users' houses, rechargeable batteries built in or located in electric power aggregators 3a, 3b, and 3c provided in the small community, parking lot, and rapid charging stand, a large capacity rechargeable battery (NaS battery or the like) located immediately downstream of electrical substation 2 and electric power grid and information communication grid 1 (¶ 0039).
If it is predicted that, since the number of EVs connected to electric power grid and information communication grid 1 is a predetermined number and is very small, a time zone in which charging control cannot be performed(dead time), will occur, EVs are charged with electricity from stationary energy storages 6a to 6i and electric power charging demand potentials that occur in the EVs arc transferred to stationary energy storages 6a to 6i in a time zone in which the number of EVs connected to electric power grid and information communication grid 1 is large, and thus charging control can be sufficiently performed, namely electric power demand control can be performed and stationary energy storages 6a to 6i are charged with electricity in the dead time, and namely electric power demands are created under the control of charging control section 17 (¶ 0042).
Furukawa et al and Kuribayashi et al are concerned with effective power grid management. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the power resources include power storage equipment in which the power storage device is a stationary power storage device; the processing unit preferentially selects the power storage equipment as the adjustment resource over the vehicle when implementing the power adjustment in a first time zone, and preferentially selects the vehicle as the adjustment resource over the power storage equipment when implementing the power adjustment in a second time zone; and the first time zone is set as a time zone in which a user of the vehicle is more likely to use the vehicle than in the second time zone in Furukawa et al, as seen in Kuribayashi et al, since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Response to Arguments
In the Remarks, Applicant argues Amended claim 1 recites, inter alia, "a capacity of [a] power storage device of [a] second resource being larger than [a] capacity of [a] power storage device of [a] first resource ... a second selection process of preferentially selecting the second resource as [an] adjustment resource over the first resource when [an] adjustment request is a second request ... a power adjustment amount of the second request is larger than a power adjustment amount of [a] first request ... a power adjustment period of the second request is shorter than a power adjustment period of the first request".
In contrast, Furukawa discloses, for example, in paragraph [0046]: "[a] resource aggregator 16 may, for example, allow [a] group G1 consisting of battery electric vehicles to serve the role of stably performing charging and discharging at a constant current value in response to [a] demand response. The resource aggregator 16 may allow the vehicles that are not battery electric vehicles to serve the role of contributing to a short-term demand response adjustment."
Paragraphs [0047] and [0048] of Furukawa disclose: "[a] long period component D1 may be considered to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at a 30-minute period, [a] short period component D2 to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at 5-minute intervals, and [an] ultra- short period component D3 to be a waveform capturing the changes in electric power demand at 10-second intervals. Herein, the periods at which the fluctuations of electric power demand Dx are captured may be set as appropriate. ... [T]he resource aggregator 16 may control the V2G system so that a group containing electric vehicles equipped with a relatively high capacity on-board battery, such as the group G1 consisting of BEVs, is assigned to take care of [a] long period component D1. For the group assigned to take care of the long period component D1, the input to and output from the electric vehicles may desirably be changed gradually. This serves to prevent battery deterioration even for the on-board batteries of BEVs that have high- capacity type characteristics." The Examiner respectfully disagrees.
Contrary to Applicant’s assertion and interpretation, Furukawa et al indeed disclose Applicant’s claim language. Specifically, Furukawa et al disclose the V2G system may be controlled so that a group containing electric vehicles equipped with an on-board battery showing higher performance of recovering regenerative energy, such the groups G2 and G3 excluding BEVs, is assigned to take care of the short period component D2 or the ultra-short period component D3. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the group excluding BEVs is further subclassified into smaller groups, a group G2 that is assigned to take care of the short period component D2 and a group G3 that is assigned to take care of the ultra-short period component D3, according to their performance of recovering regenerative energy, in other words, high-output power type characteristics. Thus, each of the group G1 consisting of BEVs and the groups G2 and G3 excluding BEVs may be further subclassified into smaller groups according to various types of characteristics. The electric power adjusting device 62 may adjust the share of electric power demand Dx for each of the groups according to their characteristics, ¶ 0048.
Following, Furukawa et al describes further subclassification beyond BEV, including groups G2 and G3 assigned according “according to their performance of recovering regenerative energy, in other words, high-output power type characteristics.” As such, Furukawa et al discloses not only G1 (BEV) subclassification, but G2 and G3 subclassification based on high-output power type characteristics, and subsequent assignment to short and ultra-short time periods.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDRE D BOYCE whose telephone number is (571)272-6726. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10a-6:30p.
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/ANDRE D BOYCE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3623 January 4, 2026