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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the application filed on November 13th, 2023 and the amendments and response filed 10/09/2025.
Claims 1, 10, 13 are currently amended.
Claim 5 has been previously amended.
No claims have been added.
Claims 3 and 14 have been cancelled.
Claims 1-2, 4-13, and 15-20 are currently pending and have been examined.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS(s)) submitted on 11/13/2023 has been received and considered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-12, filed 3/09/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1 and 10 under 35 USC 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive regarding the cited prior art not disclosing “wherein the target SOC value includes a for-after-blow-performing SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value” as required by the newly amended claims, as none of Ichishi, Schlumpp, or Huh disclose the additive target combination SOC values for after-blow performing and travel. Therefore, the prior rejections have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new grounds of rejection is made in view of Ichishi et al (US 20110067422), Schlumpp (WO 2018166910), and Mühleisen (US 20230134575).
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 text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6, 7, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichishi et al (US 20110067422, hereinafter “Ichishi”) in view of Schlumpp (WO 2018166910, hereinafter “Schlumpp,” all citations and excerpts taken from the attached machine translation) and Mühleisen (US 20230134575, hereinafter “Mühleisen”).
Regarding Claim 1, Ichishi teaches:
An apparatus for performing an after-blow function (Ichishi ¶ 0022 “In view of the foregoing and other problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning device to restrict odor generation and bacteria growth at air-conditioning start time by drying an indoor heat exchanger with preventing a battery death while a vehicle is parked,”)
in a hybrid vehicle, the apparatus comprising: an air conditioner (Ichishi ¶ 0090 lines 2-3 “An air-conditioning device 100 of FIG. 1 is used for a hybrid car in the first embodiment.,”)
configured to operate based on power from a battery; (Ichishi ¶ 0105 “The indoor blower 14 has a blower case, a fan 16 and a direct-current motor (corresponding to a blower motor) 15. A rotation speed of the direct-current motor 15 is set in response to a voltage applied to the direct-current motor 15. That is, an amount of air blown by the indoor blower 14 is controlled by controlling the voltage applied to the direct-current motor 15 based on a control signal output from the air-conditioning ECU 50,” and ¶ 0108 “The compressor 2 is driven by an electric motor, and its rotation number is controllable. An amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 is variable in accordance with the rotation number. Alternating current voltage is applied to the compressor 2, and a frequency of the voltage is adjusted by the inverter 80. Thus, rotation speed of the electric motor is controlled. Direct current power is supplied to the inverter 80 from the in-vehicle battery 102, and the air-conditioning ECU 50 controls the inverter 80,” describing and Fig 1 showing battery power being used to operate the blower and the compressor of the air conditioning system)
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and a controller configured to predict a target state-of-charge (SOC) value based on setting information for the after-blow function (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
which is performed using the air conditioner, (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 11-18 “The indoor heat exchanger is disposed in an air-conditioning case, and heat exchange medium flows through the heat exchanger so as to cool a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The blower is disposed in the air-conditioning case so as to perform a dry control for the heat exchanger by sending air to the heat exchanger such that the heat exchanger is dried without flowing the heat exchange medium while the vehicle is parked,”)
and for-use-in-target-SOC value-prediction information which is used in predicting the target SOC value for securing an SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function, […] (Ichishi ¶ 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power,”)
[…] ensuring that the SOC value at the destination at which the after-blow function is performed ensures the SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function, wherein the target SOC value includes a for-after-blow-performing SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function […] (Ichishi ¶ 0026 lines 1-4 “Accordingly, there is no worries for battery death because the blower in the air-conditioning case is activated using the power remained in the battery with the predetermined amount,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] and to control the hybrid vehicle's traveling to a destination so that a current SOC value of the battery becomes the target SOC value, […]
[…] and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and to control the hybrid vehicle's traveling to a destination so that a current SOC value of the battery becomes the target SOC value, […] and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, […] (Schlumpp Pg 2 lines 25-27 “Vehicle speed and an estimated route profile can be used to determine a resulting change in a state of charge of the traction battery and set a setpoint for the state of charge, the setpoint for the state of charge is used to control the electric motor and / or the internal combustion engine,” teaching control to reach a setpoint for the state of charge based on travel parameters)
Ichishi and Schlumpp are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger drying with battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine, with Ichishi’s calculated necessary residual battery power amount analogously used as Schlumpp’s state of charge setpoint. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by enabling efficient battery use (Schlumpp Pg 2 line 33) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
The combination of Ichishi and Schlumpp does not teach:
[…] and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi and Schlumpp, Mühleisen teaches:
[…] wherein the target SOC value includes a […]-performing SOC value necessary to perform the […] function and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the […]-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value. (Mühleisen ¶ 0010-0011 “Some embodiments include a method for operating a drive system of a hybrid vehicle, in which a controller of a drive system of a hybrid vehicle reserves electrical energy stored in a traction battery of the drive system and intended for an electrical heating of a catalyst of the drive system. In this way, the controller makes sure that the electrically heatable catalyst can achieve a working temperature upon starting a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle. Some embodiments include a method for operating a drive system of a hybrid vehicle, in which a controller of a drive system of a hybrid vehicle reserves electrical energy stored in a traction battery of the drive system and intended for an electrical heating of a catalyst of the drive system. In this way, the controller makes sure that the electrically heatable catalyst can achieve a working temperature upon starting a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle,” teaching the reservation of battery SOC in anticipation of an after-park vehicle operation that is analogous to reserving Ichishi’s SOC value necessary for performing an after-blow function; ¶ 0019 “Ideally, the reserved electrical energy will be determined during a trip of the hybrid vehicle in dependence on a distance of the hybrid vehicle from a trip destination as provided by a navigation system of the hybrid vehicle. In this way, the efficiency of the hybrid vehicle may differ, depending on the distance, i.e., at the start of a trip of the hybrid vehicle the controller will determine a different reserved electrical energy than toward the end of the trip or midway during the trip. During the trip, the controller can constantly provide the optimal efficiency of the hybrid vehicle which is possible each time,” teaching adaptive motor and battery control during the trip analogous to Schlumpp’s route-based SOC setpoint, and ¶ 0039-0040 “the operating method as described herein reserves a variable electrical energy 20 for the electrical heating of the catalyst 12, which corresponds at most to the constant electrical energy 20 in the prior art and which is usually less than the constant electrical energy 20 in the prior art. Accordingly, the energy 21 which can be used for the driving or stored by recuperation is likewise variable. The variable usable or storable energy 21 corresponds at minimum to the constant usable or storable energy 21 of previous technologies and it is usually greater than the constant usable or storable energy 21 of the previous technologies,” and Fig. 2 together showing that the total reserved SOC for the after-park operation (20) and driving during the trip (21) is additive)“)
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Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen are all considered analogous because they all relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger drying with battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi and Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine with the simple addition of Mühleisen’s combination of a reserved SOC for an after-park operation analogous to Ichishi’s after-blow operation and an adaptive SOC for driving operations analogous to Schlumpp’s SOC setpoint to result in a combined adaptive SOC reserve. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by increasing efficiency and improving the environmental footprint of the hybrid vehicle through adaptive control (Mühleisen ¶ 0024) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
Regarding Claim 4, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to predict an initial target SOC value based on initial setting information (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
and initial for-use-in-target- SOC value-prediction information […] (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] and to update the initial target SOC value in response that at least one of the setting information and the for-use-in-target-SOC value-prediction information is changed while the hybrid vehicle drives.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and to update the initial target SOC value in response that at least one of the setting information and the for-use-in-target-SOC value-prediction information is changed while the hybrid vehicle drives. (Schlumpp Pg 4 ¶ 4 “According to an advantageous embodiment, the course of the desired value for the state of charge is recalculated after a recuperation phase of the vehicle. It is advantageous in this case that, in the event of unexpected recuperation phases, the energy available therefrom is taken into account in the calculation of the setpoint values and is therefore completely usable.”)
Ichishi and Schlumpp are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s recalculation after recuperation phases. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by ensuring usability of the system even after unexpected changes (Schlumpp Pg 4 ¶ 4 lines 2-4).
Regarding Claim 6, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to perform the after-blow function in response that the hybrid vehicle arrives at the destination and an ignition (IG) OFF state is attained (Ichishi ¶ 0140 lines 1-5 “As shown in FIG. 4, when the processing is started, it is judged whether an ignition switch (hereinafter referred as IG switch) is shifted from ON to OFF at S40. That is, if the IG switch is shifted from ON to OFF, the car is determined to have been parked,” teaching a condition of ignition off while parked (analogous to arrival at the destination) and ¶ 0203 “FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing details of blower voltage determination and evaporator dry control of the third embodiment. S80, S82, S83, S85 and S81 of FIG. 8 are similar to S40, S42, S43, S45 and S41 of FIG. 4.”)
and where a predetermined condition is satisfied. (Ichishi ¶ 0146 “When it is judged that the predetermined time has passed, it is judged whether the evaporator 7 has condensation water before the parking at S43 corresponding to a condensation determining portion. Specifically, it is judged whether ON-time (operation time) of the compressor 2 is longer than a predetermined time (5 minutes, for example) in a last time operation when the IG switch is maintained as ON,” teaching a predetermined condition of a minimum time that the air conditioner compressor operates before the vehicle stops)
Regarding Claim 7, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 6 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to perform the after-blow function in response that humidity at the destination, (Ichishi ¶ 0153 “Next, at S46, a predetermined drying time is set using a function of the outside air temperature Tam detected by the outside air sensor 41 and an outside air humidity detected by an outside air humidity sensor 461 of FIG. 2. The predetermined drying time is presumed in a manner that the evaporator 7 is sufficiently dried if only the indoor blower 14 is operated for this predetermined drying time,” teaching a predetermined condition of humidity influencing the drying time of the dry control)
a difference between inside air and outside air, (Ichishi ¶ 0043 “For example, the air-conditioning device includes an air inlet switching portion located upstream of the heat exchanger so as to switch an air inlet mode between an inside air circulation mode to circulate air inside of the vehicle and an outside air introduction mode to introduce air outside of the vehicle; and a predicting portion to predict which mode is able to finish the dry control earlier between the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode. The dry control is performed with a mode predicted by the predicting portion,” teaching predetermined condition of a difference between inside and outside air condition affecting the operation of the dry control)
and time during which the air conditioner operates while the hybrid vehicle travels satisfy the predetermined condition. (Ichishi ¶ 0146 “When it is judged that the predetermined time has passed, it is judged whether the evaporator 7 has condensation water before the parking at S43 corresponding to a condensation determining portion. Specifically, it is judged whether ON-time (operation time) of the compressor 2 is longer than a predetermined time (5 minutes, for example) in a last time operation when the IG switch is maintained as ON,” teaching a predetermined condition of a minimum time that the air conditioner compressor operates before the vehicle stops)
Regarding Claim 10, Ichishi teaches:
A system for performing an after-blow function, the system comprising: (Ichishi ¶ 0022 “In view of the foregoing and other problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning device to restrict odor generation and bacteria growth at air-conditioning start time by drying an indoor heat exchanger with preventing a battery death while a vehicle is parked,”)
a user input interface (Ichishi ¶ 0324 “Further, operation signals are input into the air-conditioning control device 350 from air-conditioning operation switch arranged on a consol panel 360 […] The console panel 360 is located adjacent to an instrument panel on a front part of the passenger compartment,”)
configured to receive setting information input from a user; (Ichishi ¶ 0162 “At this time, as shown in S51, a state of the present control mode is determined to be an automatic mode or not. When the present control mode is a manual mode, an inside air circulation mode (REC) with an outside air introduction rate of 0%, or an outside air introduction mode (FRS) with an outside air introduction rate of 100% is selected at S55 based on a signal input from an occupant of the car,”)
a for-use-in-target-SoC-prediction information provision unit configured to provide for- use-in target state-of-state (SOC) value prediction information which is used in predicting a target SOC value (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
for securing an SOC value necessary to perform after-blow; (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
and an apparatus for performing the after-blow function in a hybrid vehicle, the apparatus including: an air conditioner (Ichishi ¶ 0090 lines 2-3 “An air-conditioning device 100 of FIG. 1 is used for a hybrid car in the first embodiment.,”)
configured to operate based on power from a battery; (Ichishi ¶ 0105 “The indoor blower 14 has a blower case, a fan 16 and a direct-current motor (corresponding to a blower motor) 15. A rotation speed of the direct-current motor 15 is set in response to a voltage applied to the direct-current motor 15. That is, an amount of air blown by the indoor blower 14 is controlled by controlling the voltage applied to the direct-current motor 15 based on a control signal output from the air-conditioning ECU 50,” and ¶ 0108 “The compressor 2 is driven by an electric motor, and its rotation number is controllable. An amount of refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 is variable in accordance with the rotation number. Alternating current voltage is applied to the compressor 2, and a frequency of the voltage is adjusted by the inverter 80. Thus, rotation speed of the electric motor is controlled. Direct current power is supplied to the inverter 80 from the in-vehicle battery 102, and the air-conditioning ECU 50 controls the inverter 80,” describing and Fig 1 showing battery power being used to operate the blower and the compressor of the air conditioning system)
and a controller configured to predict a target state-of-charge (SOC) value based on setting information (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
for the after-blow function which is performed using the air conditioner, (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 11-18 “The indoor heat exchanger is disposed in an air-conditioning case, and heat exchange medium flows through the heat exchanger so as to cool a passenger compartment of the vehicle. The blower is disposed in the air-conditioning case so as to perform a dry control for the heat exchanger by sending air to the heat exchanger such that the heat exchanger is dried without flowing the heat exchange medium while the vehicle is parked,”)
and for-use-in-target-SOC value-prediction information which is used in predicting the target SOC value for securing an SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function, […] (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
[…] ensuring that the SOC value at the destination at which the after-blow function is performed ensures the SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function, wherein the target SOC value includes a for-after-blow-performing SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function, […] (Ichishi 0026 lines 1-4 “Accordingly, there is no worries for battery death because the blower in the air-conditioning case is activated using the power remained in the battery with the predetermined amount,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] and to control the hybrid vehicle's traveling to a destination so that a current SOC value of the battery becomes the target SOC value, […]
[…] and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and to control the hybrid vehicle's traveling to a destination so that a current SOC value of the battery becomes the target SOC value, […] and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, […] (Schlumpp Pg 2 lines 25-27 “Vehicle speed and an estimated route profile can be used to determine a resulting change in a state of charge of the traction battery and set a setpoint for the state of charge, the setpoint for the state of charge is used to control the electric motor and / or the internal combustion engine,”)
Ichishi and Schlumpp are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger drying with battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine, with Ichishi’s calculated necessary residual battery power amount analogously used as Schlumpp’s state of charge setpoint. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by enabling efficient battery use (Schlumpp Pg 2 line 33) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
The combination of Ichishi and Schlumpp does not teach:
[…] and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi and Schlumpp, Mühleisen teaches:
[…] wherein the target SOC value includes a […]-performing SOC value necessary to perform the […] function and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the […]-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value. (Mühleisen ¶ 0010-0011 “Some embodiments include a method for operating a drive system of a hybrid vehicle, in which a controller of a drive system of a hybrid vehicle reserves electrical energy stored in a traction battery of the drive system and intended for an electrical heating of a catalyst of the drive system. In this way, the controller makes sure that the electrically heatable catalyst can achieve a working temperature upon starting a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle. Some embodiments include a method for operating a drive system of a hybrid vehicle, in which a controller of a drive system of a hybrid vehicle reserves electrical energy stored in a traction battery of the drive system and intended for an electrical heating of a catalyst of the drive system. In this way, the controller makes sure that the electrically heatable catalyst can achieve a working temperature upon starting a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle,” teaching the reservation of battery SOC in anticipation of an after-park vehicle operation that is analogous to reserving Ichishi’s SOC value necessary for performing an after-blow function; ¶ 0019 “Ideally, the reserved electrical energy will be determined during a trip of the hybrid vehicle in dependence on a distance of the hybrid vehicle from a trip destination as provided by a navigation system of the hybrid vehicle. In this way, the efficiency of the hybrid vehicle may differ, depending on the distance, i.e., at the start of a trip of the hybrid vehicle the controller will determine a different reserved electrical energy than toward the end of the trip or midway during the trip. During the trip, the controller can constantly provide the optimal efficiency of the hybrid vehicle which is possible each time,” teaching adaptive motor and battery control during the trip analogous to Schlumpp’s route-based SOC setpoint, and ¶ 0039-0040 “the operating method as described herein reserves a variable electrical energy 20 for the electrical heating of the catalyst 12, which corresponds at most to the constant electrical energy 20 in the prior art and which is usually less than the constant electrical energy 20 in the prior art. Accordingly, the energy 21 which can be used for the driving or stored by recuperation is likewise variable. The variable usable or storable energy 21 corresponds at minimum to the constant usable or storable energy 21 of previous technologies and it is usually greater than the constant usable or storable energy 21 of the previous technologies,” and Fig. 2 together showing that the total reserved SOC for the after-park operation (20) and driving during the trip (21) is additive)“)
Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen are all considered analogous because they all relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger drying with battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi and Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine with the simple addition of Mühleisen’s combination of a reserved SOC for an after-park operation analogous to Ichishi’s after-blow operation and an adaptive SOC for driving operations analogous to Schlumpp’s SOC setpoint to result in a combined adaptive SOC reserve. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by increasing efficiency and improving the environmental footprint of the hybrid vehicle through adaptive control (Mühleisen ¶ 0024) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
Claim(s) 2, 8-9, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichishi in view of Schlumpp and Mühleisen and further in view of Park et al (US 20220048362, hereinafter “Park”).
Regarding Claim 2, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein the setting information includes after-blow performing-non-performing information, […] (Ichishi ¶ 0040 “Accordingly, the dry control is unnecessary when the condensation determining portion determines that the heat exchanger has no condensation water in the last air-conditioning time, such that waste of power consumed for the blower can be reduced.,”)
[…] after-blow duration time information, […] (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] after-blow strength-level information, […]
[…] and destination information.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Park teaches:
[…] after-blow strength-level information, […] (Park ¶ 0014 lines 5-7 “setting, by a driver, the after-blow operation condition, and the driver sets […] the preset intensity.”)
Ichishi and Park are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle after-blow systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control time setting to perform drying of the heat exchanger of Ichishi with the addition of Park’s driver-set intensity. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by allowing the driver to prioritize the intensity setting to their own preference.
The combination of Ichishi and Park does not teach:
[…] and destination information.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi and Park, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and destination information. (Schlumpp Pg 2 lines 25-27 “Vehicle speed and an estimated route profile can be used to determine a resulting change in a state of charge of the traction battery and set a setpoint for the state of charge, the setpoint for the state of charge is used to control the electric motor and / or the internal combustion engine,”)
Ichishi, Park, and Schlumpp are all considered analogous because they all relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control settings of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s use of estimated route profile as an input. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by enabling efficient battery use (Schlumpp Pg 2 line 33).
Regarding Claim 8, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 6 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to perform the after-blow function based […] after-blow duration time information that are included in the setting information. (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] on after-blow strength-level information and […]
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Park teaches:
[…] on after-blow strength-level information and […] (Park ¶ 0014 lines 5-7 “setting, by a driver, the after-blow operation condition, and the driver sets […] the preset intensity.”)
Ichishi and Park are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle after-blow systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control time setting to perform drying of the heat exchanger of Ichishi with the addition of Park’s driver-set intensity. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by allowing the driver to prioritize the intensity setting to their own preference.
Regarding Claim 9, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 6 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to perform the after-blow function based on […] after-blow performing time information, (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
which is generated while the target SOC value is determined. (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] after-blow strength-level information, which is included in the setting information,
and […]
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Park teaches:
[…] after-blow strength-level information, which is included in the setting information,
and […] (Park ¶ 0014 lines 5-7 “setting, by a driver, the after-blow operation condition, and the driver sets […] the preset intensity,” teaching the intensity as a setting value)
Ichishi and Park are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle after-blow systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control time setting to perform drying of the heat exchanger of Ichishi with the addition of Park’s driver-set intensity. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by allowing the driver to prioritize the intensity setting to their own preference.
Regarding Claim 12, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 10 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
[…] and the apparatus is a hybrid control unit (HCU). […] (Ichishi ¶ 0092 lines 1-3 “Moreover, the hybrid car has a hybrid electronic control unit 70 (hereinafter referred as hybrid ECU 70) to output a control signal to the engine ECU 60,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
wherein the user input interface is a user setting menu (USM), […]
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Park teaches:
wherein the user input interface is a user setting menu (USM), […] (Park ¶ 0067 “FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a case in which the after-blow function is set to operate automatically when certain conditions are satisfied through a setting screen operation of the air conditioner operation unit when a separate after-blow button is not provided on the control unit of the in-vehicle air conditioner,” emphasis added, teaching selection of settings through a setting screen, analogous to a user menu)
Ichishi and Park are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle after-blow systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control time setting to perform drying of the heat exchanger of Ichishi with the addition of Park’s driver setting selection. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by allowing the driver to prioritize the intensity setting to their own preference.
The combination of Ichishi and Park does not teach:
[…] and destination information.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi and Park, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and destination information. (Schlumpp Pg 2 lines 25-27 “Vehicle speed and an estimated route profile can be used to determine a resulting change in a state of charge of the traction battery and set a setpoint for the state of charge, the setpoint for the state of charge is used to control the electric motor and / or the internal combustion engine,”)
Ichishi, Park, and Schlumpp are all considered analogous because they all relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control settings of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s use of estimated route profile as an input. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by enabling efficient battery use (Schlumpp Pg 2 line 33).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichishi in view of Schlumpp and Mühleisen and further in view of Huh et al (US 20190023259, hereinafter “Huh”).
Regarding Claim 11, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 10 as described above. Ichishi does not teach:
wherein the apparatus is configured to enable the SOC value at the destination to become the target SOC value by controlling an engine control unit, a motor control unit,
a transmission control unit,
a battery management system,
and an engine clutch.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp teaches:
wherein the apparatus is configured to enable the SOC value at the destination to become the target SOC value by controlling an engine control […], a motor control […] a battery management […] (Schlumpp Pg 2 lines 24-27 “a control unit, with an expected Vehicle speed and an estimated route profile can be used to determine a resulting change in a state of charge of the traction battery and set a setpoint for the state of charge, the setpoint for the state of charge is used to control the electric motor and / or the internal combustion engine,” teaching control of the engine, the motor, and the battery)
Ichishi and Schlumpp are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s control of the vehicle’s electric motor, internal combustion engine, and battery. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by enabling efficient battery use (Schlumpp Pg 2 line 33).
The combination of Ichishi and Schlumpp does not teach:
[…engine control] unit […motor control] unit, a transmission control unit, [… battery management] system, and an engine clutch.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi and Schlumpp, Huh teaches:
[…engine control] unit […motor control] unit, a transmission control unit, [… battery management] system, and an engine clutch. (Huh ¶ 0047 lines 2-8 “In particular, the engine 10 and the driving motor 11 are connected to each other while an engine clutch 130 is interposed therebetween such that power may be transmitted therebetween, and the driving motor 11 and the automatic transmission 12 are directly connected to each other. In addition, the hybrid electric vehicle may include, in addition to an engine control module (not illustrated) connected to the engine 10, a driving motor control module (not illustrated) connected to the driving motor 11, and an automatic transmission control module (not illustrated) connected to the automatic transmission 120, […] a battery control module (not illustrated) connected to a battery 14,” emphasis added)
Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Huh are all considered analogous because they all relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi and Schlumpp’s control of the vehicle’s electric motor, internal combustion engine, and battery with the addition of Huh’s engine clutch, engine control module, driving motor control module, automatic transmission control module, and battery control module. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated combining prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results (MPEP 2143(I)(A)).
Claim(s) 5, 13, and 15-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichishi in view of Schlumpp and Mühleisen and further in view of Kim (US 8330424, hereinafter “Kim”).
Regarding Claim 5, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Mühleisen teaches the elements of Claim 1 as described above. Ichishi does not teach:
wherein the controller is configured to continuously obtain a current SOC value while the hybrid vehicle travels, and in response that the current SOC value falls short of the target SOC value, to enable charging-oriented traveling so that the current SOC value becomes the target SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Kim teaches:
wherein the controller is configured to continuously obtain a current SOC value while the hybrid vehicle travels, and in response that the current SOC value falls short of the target SOC value, to enable charging-oriented traveling so that the current SOC value becomes the target SOC value. (Kim Col 4 lines 7-25 “The SOC strategy value is determined in accordance with a final SOC compensation value calculated based on the outside air temperature at the destination such that the SOC value, obtained by subtracting the SOC compensation value from the current SOC value, considering the outside air temperature at the destination, falls within the range of 0 to 100. For example, when the current SOC value is 42, the current outside air temperature is 25.degree. C., and the outside air temperature at the destination is recognized as 35.degree. C., a strategy control (feed-forward control), in which the battery is charged in advance in the expectation that the use of the air conditioner is increased when the vehicle reaches the destination, is performed. That is, if the estimated amount of power to be consumed by the air conditioner at the temperature of the destination (i.e., an SOC comparison value SOC_Comp) is 5, the strategy determination input value for determining the SOC strategy value is 37, a value in the low range 1, which is obtained by subtracting the SOC comparison value SOC_Comp 5, from the current SOC value 42.” and Col 4 lines 26-30 “In the case where the SOC strategy value is above the normal range 2 (SOC 40 to 70), the hybrid vehicle operates in a discharge operating point. Whereas, when the SOC strategy value is below the normal range, the hybrid vehicle operates in a charge operating point,” teaching SOC strategy determination using a current SOC value which changes to a charging strategy when the current SOC falls below a forecasted need based on Air Conditioner use, analogous to the after-blow function energy need forecasting)
Ichishi and Kim are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Kim’s change to a charging strategy if the current state of charge falls below Ichishi’s estimated need. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by providing an efficient SOC balancing control (Kim col 4 lines 42-44).
Regarding Claim 13, Ichishi teaches:
A method of operating an apparatus for performing an after-blow function, (Ichishi ¶ 0022 “In view of the foregoing and other problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning device to restrict odor generation and bacteria growth at air-conditioning start time by drying an indoor heat exchanger with preventing a battery death while a vehicle is parked,”)
the apparatus being mounted in a hybrid vehicle, (Ichishi ¶ 0090 lines 2-3 “An air-conditioning device 100 of FIG. 1 is used for a hybrid car in the first embodiment.,”)
the method comprising: predicting, by a controller, a target state-of-charge (SOC) value for securing an SOC value necessary to perform after-blow based on setting information (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
and for-use-in- target-SOC value-prediction information; […] (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
[…] and performing, by the controller, the after-blow function in response that the hybrid vehicle arrives at a destination, wherein in the predicting of the target SOC value, a for-after-blow-performing SOC value necessary to perform the after-blow function is predicted, […] (Ichishi ¶ 0140 lines 1-5 “As shown in FIG. 4, when the processing is started, it is judged whether an ignition switch (hereinafter referred as IG switch) is shifted from ON to OFF at S40. That is, if the IG switch is shifted from ON to OFF, the car is determined to have been parked,” teaching a condition of ignition off while parked (analogous to arrival at the destination) and ¶ 0203 “FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing details of blower voltage determination and evaporator dry control of the third embodiment. S80, S82, S83, S85 and S81 of FIG. 8 are similar to S40, S42, S43, S45 and S41 of FIG. 4.”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] comparing, by the controller, a current SOC value which is obtained while the hybrid vehicle travels and the target SOC value; performing, by the controller, control so that charging-oriented traveling is enabled, in response that the current SOC value falls short of the target SOC value; […] a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination is predicted, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, […] (Schlumpp Pg 2 lines 25-27 “Vehicle speed and an estimated route profile can be used to determine a resulting change in a state of charge of the traction battery and set a setpoint for the state of charge, the setpoint for the state of charge is used to control the electric motor and / or the internal combustion engine,” teaching control to reach a setpoint for the state of charge based on travel parameters)
Ichishi and Schlumpp are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger drying with battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine, with Ichishi’s calculated necessary residual battery power amount analogously used as Schlumpp’s state of charge setpoint. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by enabling efficient battery use (Schlumpp Pg 2 line 33) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
The combination of Ichishi and Schlumpp does not teach:
[…] comparing, by the controller, a current SOC value which is obtained while the hybrid vehicle travels and the target SOC value; performing, by the controller, control so that charging-oriented traveling is enabled, in response that the current SOC value falls short of the target SOC value; […] and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the for-after-blow-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi and Schlumpp, Kim teaches:
[…] comparing, by the controller, a current SOC value which is obtained while the hybrid vehicle travels and the target SOC value; performing, by the controller, control so that charging-oriented traveling is enabled, in response that the current SOC value falls short of the target SOC value; […] (Kim Col 4 lines 7-25 “The SOC strategy value is determined in accordance with a final SOC compensation value calculated based on the outside air temperature at the destination such that the SOC value, obtained by subtracting the SOC compensation value from the current SOC value, considering the outside air temperature at the destination, falls within the range of 0 to 100. For example, when the current SOC value is 42, the current outside air temperature is 25.degree. C., and the outside air temperature at the destination is recognized as 35.degree. C., a strategy control (feed-forward control), in which the battery is charged in advance in the expectation that the use of the air conditioner is increased when the vehicle reaches the destination, is performed. That is, if the estimated amount of power to be consumed by the air conditioner at the temperature of the destination (i.e., an SOC comparison value SOC_Comp) is 5, the strategy determination input value for determining the SOC strategy value is 37, a value in the low range 1, which is obtained by subtracting the SOC comparison value SOC_Comp 5, from the current SOC value 42.” and Col 4 lines 26-30 “In the case where the SOC strategy value is above the normal range 2 (SOC 40 to 70), the hybrid vehicle operates in a discharge operating point. Whereas, when the SOC strategy value is below the normal range, the hybrid vehicle operates in a charge operating point,” teaching SOC strategy determination using a current SOC value which changes to a charging strategy when the current SOC falls below a forecasted need based on Air Conditioner use, analogous to the after-blow function energy need forecasting)
Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Kim are all considered analogous because all both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi and Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine with the addition of Kim’s change to a charging strategy if the current state of charge falls below Ichishi and Schlumpp’s estimated need. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by providing an efficient SOC balancing control (Kim col 4 lines 42-44) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp, and Kim, Mühleisen teaches:
[…] wherein the target SOC value includes a […]-performing SOC value necessary to perform the […] function and a for-motor-driving SOC value necessary for motor driving while the hybrid vehicle drives to the destination, and the target SOC value is predicted by adding the […]-performing SOC value and the for-motor-driving SOC value. (Mühleisen ¶ 0010-0011 “Some embodiments include a method for operating a drive system of a hybrid vehicle, in which a controller of a drive system of a hybrid vehicle reserves electrical energy stored in a traction battery of the drive system and intended for an electrical heating of a catalyst of the drive system. In this way, the controller makes sure that the electrically heatable catalyst can achieve a working temperature upon starting a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle. Some embodiments include a method for operating a drive system of a hybrid vehicle, in which a controller of a drive system of a hybrid vehicle reserves electrical energy stored in a traction battery of the drive system and intended for an electrical heating of a catalyst of the drive system. In this way, the controller makes sure that the electrically heatable catalyst can achieve a working temperature upon starting a combustion engine of the hybrid vehicle,” teaching the reservation of battery SOC in anticipation of an after-park vehicle operation that is analogous to reserving Ichishi’s SOC value necessary for performing an after-blow function; ¶ 0019 “Ideally, the reserved electrical energy will be determined during a trip of the hybrid vehicle in dependence on a distance of the hybrid vehicle from a trip destination as provided by a navigation system of the hybrid vehicle. In this way, the efficiency of the hybrid vehicle may differ, depending on the distance, i.e., at the start of a trip of the hybrid vehicle the controller will determine a different reserved electrical energy than toward the end of the trip or midway during the trip. During the trip, the controller can constantly provide the optimal efficiency of the hybrid vehicle which is possible each time,” teaching adaptive motor and battery control during the trip analogous to Schlumpp’s route-based SOC setpoint, and ¶ 0039-0040 “the operating method as described herein reserves a variable electrical energy 20 for the electrical heating of the catalyst 12, which corresponds at most to the constant electrical energy 20 in the prior art and which is usually less than the constant electrical energy 20 in the prior art. Accordingly, the energy 21 which can be used for the driving or stored by recuperation is likewise variable. The variable usable or storable energy 21 corresponds at minimum to the constant usable or storable energy 21 of previous technologies and it is usually greater than the constant usable or storable energy 21 of the previous technologies,” and Fig. 2 together showing that the total reserved SOC for the after-park operation (20) and driving during the trip (21) is additive)“)
Ichishi, Schlumpp, Kim, and Mühleisen are all considered analogous because they all relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the heat exchanger drying with battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi, Schlumpp’s use of vehicle speed, estimated route profile, and state of charge setpoint to control the vehicle’s electric motor and/or internal combustion engine, and Kim’s adaptive charging control with the simple addition of Mühleisen’s combination of a reserved SOC for an after-park operation analogous to Ichishi’s after-blow operation and an adaptive SOC for driving operations analogous to Schlumpp’s SOC setpoint to result in a combined adaptive SOC reserve. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by increasing efficiency and improving the environmental footprint of the hybrid vehicle through adaptive control (Mühleisen ¶ 0024) according to MPEP 2143(I)(G).
Regarding Claim 15, the combination of Ichishi Schlumpp, Mühleisen and Kim teaches the elements of Claim 13 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein in the predicting of the target SOC value, an initial target SOC value is predicted based on initial setting information (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
and initial for-use- in-target-SOC value-prediction information, […] (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] and the initial target SOC value is updated in response that at least one of the setting information and the for-use-in-target-SOC value- prediction information is changed while the hybrid vehicle drives.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Schlumpp teaches:
[…] and the initial target SOC value is updated in response that at least one of the setting information and the for-use-in-target-SOC value- prediction information is changed while the hybrid vehicle drives. (Schlumpp Pg 4 ¶ 4 “According to an advantageous embodiment, the course of the desired value for the state of charge is recalculated after a recuperation phase of the vehicle. It is advantageous in this case that, in the event of unexpected recuperation phases, the energy available therefrom is taken into account in the calculation of the setpoint values and is therefore completely usable.”)
Ichishi and Schlumpp are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Schlumpp’s recalculation after recuperation phases. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by ensuring usability of the system even after unexpected changes (Schlumpp Pg 4 ¶ 4 lines 2-4).
Regarding Claim 16, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, Mühleisen and Kim teaches the elements of Claim 13 as described above. Ichishi does not teach:
wherein the comparing of the current SOC value which is obtained while the hybrid vehicle travels and the target SOC value is performed after the charging-oriented traveling is enabled.
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Kim teaches:
wherein the comparing of the current SOC value which is obtained while the hybrid vehicle travels and the target SOC value is performed after the charging-oriented traveling is enabled. (Kim Col 4 lines 7-25 “The SOC strategy value is determined in accordance with a final SOC compensation value calculated based on the outside air temperature at the destination such that the SOC value, obtained by subtracting the SOC compensation value from the current SOC value, considering the outside air temperature at the destination, falls within the range of 0 to 100. For example, when the current SOC value is 42, the current outside air temperature is 25.degree. C., and the outside air temperature at the destination is recognized as 35.degree. C., a strategy control (feed-forward control), in which the battery is charged in advance in the expectation that the use of the air conditioner is increased when the vehicle reaches the destination, is performed. That is, if the estimated amount of power to be consumed by the air conditioner at the temperature of the destination (i.e., an SOC comparison value SOC_Comp) is 5, the strategy determination input value for determining the SOC strategy value is 37, a value in the low range 1, which is obtained by subtracting the SOC comparison value SOC_Comp 5, from the current SOC value 42.” and Col 4 lines 26-30 “In the case where the SOC strategy value is above the normal range 2 (SOC 40 to 70), the hybrid vehicle operates in a discharge operating point. Whereas, when the SOC strategy value is below the normal range, the hybrid vehicle operates in a charge operating point,” teaching SOC strategy determination using a current SOC value which changes to a charging strategy when the current SOC falls below a forecasted need based on Air Conditioner use, analogous to the after-blow function energy need forecasting, which includes comparison performed after the charge operating point is enabled)
Ichishi and Kim are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle state of charge control. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the battery residual quantity judging portion of Ichishi with the addition of Kim’s change to a charging strategy if the current state of charge falls below Ichishi’s estimated need. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by providing an efficient SOC balancing control (Kim col 4 lines 42-44).
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, Mühleisen, and Kim teaches the elements of Claim 13 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein in the performing of the after-blow function, in response that the hybrid vehicle arrives at the destination (Ichishi ¶ 0140 lines 1-5 “As shown in FIG. 4, when the processing is started, it is judged whether an ignition switch (hereinafter referred as IG switch) is shifted from ON to OFF at S40. That is, if the IG switch is shifted from ON to OFF, the car is determined to have been parked,” teaching a condition being parked (analogous to arrival at the destination) and ¶ 0203 “FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing details of blower voltage determination and evaporator dry control of the third embodiment. S80, S82, S83, S85 and S81 of FIG. 8 are similar to S40, S42, S43, S45 and S41 of FIG. 4.”)
and a preset condition is satisfied, the after-blow function is performed. (Ichishi ¶ 0146 “When it is judged that the predetermined time has passed, it is judged whether the evaporator 7 has condensation water before the parking at S43 corresponding to a condensation determining portion. Specifically, it is judged whether ON-time (operation time) of the compressor 2 is longer than a predetermined time (5 minutes, for example) in a last time operation when the IG switch is maintained as ON,” teaching a predetermined condition of a minimum time that the air conditioner compressor operates before the vehicle stops)
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, Mühleisen, and Kim teaches the elements of Claim 17 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein in the performing of the after-blow function, in response that the hybrid vehicle is in an ignition (IG) OFF state (Ichishi ¶ 0140 lines 1-5 “As shown in FIG. 4, when the processing is started, it is judged whether an ignition switch (hereinafter referred as IG switch) is shifted from ON to OFF at S40. That is, if the IG switch is shifted from ON to OFF, the car is determined to have been parked,” teaching a condition being parked (analogous to arrival at the destination) and ¶ 0203 “FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing details of blower voltage determination and evaporator dry control of the third embodiment. S80, S82, S83, S85 and S81 of FIG. 8 are similar to S40, S42, S43, S45 and S41 of FIG. 4.”)
and humidity at the destination, (Ichishi ¶ 0153 “Next, at S46, a predetermined drying time is set using a function of the outside air temperature Tam detected by the outside air sensor 41 and an outside air humidity detected by an outside air humidity sensor 461 of FIG. 2. The predetermined drying time is presumed in a manner that the evaporator 7 is sufficiently dried if only the indoor blower 14 is operated for this predetermined drying time,” teaching a predetermined condition of humidity influencing the drying time of the dry control)
a difference between inside air and outside air, (Ichishi ¶ 0043 “For example, the air-conditioning device includes an air inlet switching portion located upstream of the heat exchanger so as to switch an air inlet mode between an inside air circulation mode to circulate air inside of the vehicle and an outside air introduction mode to introduce air outside of the vehicle; and a predicting portion to predict which mode is able to finish the dry control earlier between the inside air circulation mode and the outside air introduction mode. The dry control is performed with a mode predicted by the predicting portion,” teaching predetermined condition of a difference between inside and outside air condition affecting the operation of the dry control)
and time during which an air conditioner operates while the hybrid vehicle travels satisfy a preset condition, the after- blow function is performed. (Ichishi ¶ 0146 “When it is judged that the predetermined time has passed, it is judged whether the evaporator 7 has condensation water before the parking at S43 corresponding to a condensation determining portion. Specifically, it is judged whether ON-time (operation time) of the compressor 2 is longer than a predetermined time (5 minutes, for example) in a last time operation when the IG switch is maintained as ON,” teaching a predetermined condition of a minimum time that the air conditioner compressor operates before the vehicle stops)
Claim(s) 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichishi in view of Schlumpp, Mühleisen, and Kim and further in view of Park.
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, Mühleisen, and Kim teaches the elements of Claim 17 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein in the performing of the after-blow function, the after-blow function is performed based on […] after-blow duration time information that are included in the setting information. (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] after-blow strength-level information and […]
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Park teaches:
[…] after-blow strength-level information and […] (Park ¶ 0014 lines 5-7 “setting, by a driver, the after-blow operation condition, and the driver sets […] the preset intensity.”)
Ichishi and Park are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle after-blow systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control time setting to perform drying of the heat exchanger of Ichishi with the addition of Park’s driver-set intensity. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by allowing the driver to prioritize the intensity setting to their own preference.
Regarding Claim 20, the combination of Ichishi, Schlumpp, Mühleisen, and Kim teaches the elements of Claim 17 as described above. Ichishi further teaches:
wherein in the performing of the after-blow function, the after-blow function is performed based on […] after-blow performing time information, (Ichishi 0031-0032 “For example, the estimating portion is a time setting portion to set a time, for which air is sent to perform the drying of the heat exchanger, based on a state of air flowing upstream of the heat exchanger. Accordingly, the heat exchanger is dried for only the set time, such that the heat exchanger can be properly dried with the minimum power.,”)
which is generated while the target SOC value is determined. (Ichishi ¶ 0025 lines 6-10 “a vehicle having a battery residual quantity judging portion to judge whether a residual quantity of electric power in the battery is equal to or larger than a predetermined quantity necessary for a dry control of indoor heat exchanger,” the predetermined quantity being a setting value for the target SOC)
Ichishi does not teach:
[…] after-blow strength-level information, which is included in the setting information, and […]
Within the same field of endeavor as Ichishi, Park teaches:
[…] after-blow strength-level information, which is included in the setting information, and […] (Park ¶ 0014 lines 5-7 “setting, by a driver, the after-blow operation condition, and the driver sets […] the preset intensity,” teaching the intensity as a setting value)
Ichishi and Park are considered analogous because they both relate to hybrid vehicle after-blow systems. Therefore, it would have been obvious to someone of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the dry control time setting to perform drying of the heat exchanger of Ichishi with the addition of Park’s driver-set intensity. This modification would be made with a reasonable expectation of success as motivated by allowing the driver to prioritize the intensity setting to their own preference.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
As indicated in the previous office action, Huh also teaches the calculation of a target SOC based on route information as found in the independent claims, similarly to Schlumpp.
Joly et al (DE 102016005115) teaches a similar state-of-charge prediction and maintenance system to Mühleisen which specifically reserves a variable portion of SOC for climate control based on temperature and humidity conditions, including reserving a target state of charge “if it is determined that at least one climate control device of the motor vehicle for at least a predefinable period of time is activated or remains activated,” which includes the circumstances of after-blow as described in Ichishi, with Fig. 2 showing the climate control device 34 reserving SOC range 18 where MHEV (driving) functions in range 26, showing an additive range of reserved power. Mühleisen was selected for the rejection based on more explicit descriptions of reserving battery power for both driving functions during travel and for after-parking operations, but Joly equally applies in teaching similar prediction and reservation of SOC.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZACHARY E GLADE whose telephone number is (703)756-1502. The examiner can normally be reached 4-5-9 7:30-16:30.
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/ZACHARY E. F. GLADE/Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/KITO R ROBINSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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