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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The IDSes filed 12/26/23 and 12/30/25 have both been considered and placed of record. The initialed copies are attached herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The claims lack the transitional phrase required in USPTO claim drafting practice. The transitional phrase may include “comprising” (open-ended), “consisting of” (closed-ended) and “consisting essentially of” (partially opened). The phrase acts as a legal bridge between the preamble and the “body” of a claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tsuchiya (US 2021/0170902A1).
Re claim 1, the reference discloses an electricity feeding control server 30 used to control electricity feed-out at a vehicle that is capable of performing external charge and the electricity feed-out (para 84) , the external charge charging an on-board electricity storage device with electricity externally supplied, the electricity feed-out feeding electricity from the electricity storage device to external equipment, wherein when a remaining charge of the electricity storage device becomes a first remaining charge during the electricity feed-out, the electricity feeding control server transmits an instruction to stop the electricity feed-out to the vehicle (para 127), the first remaining charge being a lower limit of the remaining charge of the electricity storage device at which the vehicle manages to travel from a current position of the vehicle to a charging facility where the external charge of the electricity storage device is possible by using electricity from outside of the vehicle (para 151).
Re claim 5, the reference discloses a vehicle lending system in which a vehicle that is capable of external charge and electricity feed-out is lent to a user who desires to use the vehicle (para 72), the external charge charging an on-board electricity storage device with electricity externally supplied, the electricity feed-out feeding electricity from the electricity storage device to external equipment, the vehicle lending system comprising an electricity feeding control server 30 used to control the electricity feed-out at the vehicle (para 84), wherein: when a remaining charge of the electricity storage device becomes a first remaining charge during the electricity feed-out, the electricity feeding control server transmits an instruction to stop the electricity feed-out to the vehicle (para 127), the first remaining charge being a lower limit of the remaining charge of the electricity storage device at which the vehicle manages to travel from a current position of the vehicle to a charging facility where the external charge of the electricity storage device is possible by using electricity from outside of the vehicle; and when the instruction to stop is received, the vehicle stops the electricity feed-out (para 151).
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 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuchiya (US 2021/0170902A1).
Re claim 2, the reference is silent on sending a message to a user when the SOC falls below a threshold. Official notice is taken of the fact that it is a common knowledge in the charging/discharging art to alert the user as to the condition of the device especially in situation where the remaining charge is low at a critical threshold so the user can take appropriate action. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have notified the user the battery level so the user may take appropriate action to prevent damage to the device.
Re claim 3, the reference is silent on confirming the input from the user before controlling the device. Official notice is taken of the fact that it is a common knowledge in the control system art to allow the user the capability of taking control of the device before action is taken by the device. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have confirmed the user’s input before continued the control sequence affecting the device.
Re claim 4, the reference is silent on charging a financial fee based on the SOC. Official notice is taken of the fact that charging different fees based on the scarcity of resources would be considered as a the business strategy. It would have been well within the skill of one versed in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have implemented a pricing ladder depending on the availability of resources.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to the Examiner at the below-listed number. The Examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Thu from 7:00am-5:00pm.
The Examiner’s SPE is Drew Dunn and he can be reached at 571.272.2312. The fax number for the organization where this application is assigned is 571.273.8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866.217.9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800.786.9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571.272.1000.
/EDWARD TSO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 571.272.2087
Prosecution Insights