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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 06/20/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1-20 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.
Regarding claims 1 and 11, the phrase "likelihood" renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, the phrase "e.g." renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitation(s) following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Regarding claims 2, 8, 10, 12, 18 and 20, the phrase "it" renders the claims indefinite because the metes and bounds of the claimed invention are not clear. Thus, the claims are indefinite.
Regarding claims 3, 7, 13 and 17, the phrase "its" renders the claims indefinite because the metes and bounds of the claimed invention are not clear. Thus, the claims are indefinite.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-10, 11-15, 17-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner et al. US 2024/0025265 (hereinafter Wagner) in view of HE et al. US 2017/0203667 (hereinafter He).
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Wagner discloses an electric vehicle (EV) charging management system configured for managing charging of an electric vehicle (EV) [claim 31, abstract, ¶¶ 0001, 0005; an apparatus for providing a storage capacity reserve in a traction battery for an electrically driven motor vehicle for an upcoming downhill drive],
the EV charging management system comprising:
an EV charging system for charging a battery (Abstract and ¶¶ 0010-0012, 0015; traction battery 20 is charged by external charging source 60); and
an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) of the EV charging system (¶¶ 0010-0011; during an external charging process, e.g., at a charging station) which is based on a charging station altitude at which the EVSE is charging the battery (¶¶ 0010-0012; the method comprises detecting whether an electric charging operation of the traction battery by means of an external charging source is imminent, and determining one or more possible downhill routes for an imminent
downhill drive after the electric charging operation …the amount of recuperated energy may be optimized to ensure recuperative continuous braking during the upcoming downhill drive without overcharging the traction battery, and preferably to avoid or at least reduce the use of braking resistors),
an EV route stored in the EV charging management system (¶¶ 0010, 0020, 0079; including predicting or estimating one or more amounts of recuperated energy that will be recuperated by the motor vehicle along each of the determined downhill routes, and setting… the highest amount of recuperated energy may be selected from the predicted amounts of recuperated energy recuperated by the motor vehicle along each of the determined downhill routes) and a likelihood (interpret as “might” or “might not”) that the EV will go downhill when travel commences after charging ends, in which the EV will start travelling without regenerative charging in place (¶ 0083; the continuous braking provided by a recuperative braking operation of the electric machine 22 could not be used on the return trip to the valley), as the EV goes downhill (¶ 0083; The motor vehicle 50, travels to a mountain village and arrives at the destination with a low state of charge of the traction battery 20. If the traction battery 20 were now fully charged at an external charging source 60, the continuous braking provided by a recuperative braking operation of the electric machine 22 could not be used on the return trip to the valley),
wherein the EV charging system comprising, a processor and a memory storing software (SW) instructions that, when executed by the processor (¶¶ 0077, 0079, 0095; the apparatus 10 includes a control apparatus 12 configured to perform the method; the navigation system 14 is used to provide topography data, and the display and input apparatus 16 is used to provide a loading dialog for a user of the motor vehicle 50), cause
the EV charging system to:
determine a safe and efficient state of charge (SoC), which is not to be exceeded (¶ 0097; a maximum battery state of charge of the traction battery 20 for the charging process using the external charging source 60 is determined depending on the predicted amounts of recuperated energy), by adjusting a SoC limit based on the charging station altitude of an EV charging site or location and an expected route of the EV to provide an altitude and route adjusted target SoC for the EV (¶¶ 0010-0011; predicting or estimating one or more amounts of recuperated energy that will be recuperated by the motor vehicle along each of the determined downhill routes, and setting, e.g., lowering, a maximum battery state of charge of the traction battery for the charging process by means of the external charging source in dependence on the predicted amount or amounts of recuperated energy… in anticipation of the energy that may be recuperated during the downhill drive after the charging process, the maximum battery state of charge for the charging process, i.e. the state of charge up to which the traction battery is charged to during the next external charging process, is deliberately lowered in order to maintain a storage capacity reserve in the traction battery).
Wagner does not teach an EV charging system for charging a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery.
However, He further discloses the traction battery pack 124 can be recharge by an external power source 136. The external power source 136 may include an electrical outlet connected to the power grid in ¶ 0021. The battery pack 124 includes an array of lithium-ion battery cells in ¶ 0017.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wagner to incorporate with the teaching of He by including an array of lithium-ion battery cells in the system, because it would be advantageous to enable longer runtimes in compact vehicles and low self-discharge rate.
Regarding claims 2 and 12, Wagner discloses wherein the memory storing software (SW) instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the EV charging management system (¶¶ 0077, 0079, 0095; the apparatus 10 includes a control apparatus 12 configured to perform the method; the navigation system 14 is used to provide topography data, and the display and input apparatus 16 is used to provide a loading dialog for a user of the motor vehicle 50) to:
reduce a probability of the EV reaching a state in which it cannot (interpret as “can” or “cannot”) leverage advantages of regenerative breaking due to the charging station altitude at which it charges (¶ 0083), and
an EV route followed after charging by adjusting a maximum SoC to which the EV is to be charged according to expected gains in a vehicle SoC through regenerative breaking on a planned roue of the EV, so the vehicle SoC never goes above a pre-determined safe threshold (¶¶ 0010-0011; in anticipation of the energy that may be recuperated during the downhill drive after the charging process, the maximum battery state of charge for the charging process, i.e. the state of charge up to which the traction battery is charged to during the next external charging process, is deliberately lowered in order to maintain a storage capacity reserve in the traction battery).
Regarding claims 3 and 13, Wagner discloses wherein the EV charging management system that adjusts the charging station altitude and route adjusted target SoC based on the charging station altitude (claim 19; the determining of a maximum battery state of charge comprises a manual selection by a user via a charging dialog of one of the determined downhill routes and/or one of the predicted amounts of recuperated energy, and the maximum battery state of charge is determined depending on the selected downhill route and/or the selected amount of recuperated energy) and the EV route relies on the vehicle SoC which is acquired either directly from a vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) through its Application Programming Interface (API) or via a telematics dongle (¶ 0095; the amounts of recuperated energy may be predicted using a stored motor vehicle model that takes into account at least one of the following parameters for the upcoming downhill drive: a gradient, a speed of the motor vehicle 50, a load of the motor vehicle 50, weather and temperature data, and an energy consumption of motor vehicle consumers).
Regarding claims 4 and 14, Wagner discloses wherein the charging station altitude of the EV charging site or location is determined based on a physical address in which the EVSE such as an EV charger is located (claim 25; comprises detecting a current location of the motor vehicle and checking whether the detected location corresponds to a location category suitable for an electric charging operation, for example a charging station).
Regarding claims 5 and 15, Wagner discloses wherein an expected altitude decrease in the EV route is calculated using a routing algorithm (claim 16; determining one or more possible downhill routes for an upcoming downhill drive after the electric charging operation) and a destination entered by a driver or a fleet manager (¶ 0083; The motor vehicle travels to a mountain village and arrives at the destination with a low state of charge of the traction battery).
Regarding claims 7 and 17, Wagner discloses wherein an expected SoC gain in the EV route is calculated by measuring a SoC variation of a specific vehicle model either directly through its API or through a telematics dongle (¶¶ 0010, 0067; predicting or estimating one or more amounts of recuperated energy that will be recuperated by the motor vehicle along each of the determined downhill routes; a navigation system for providing topographic data and preferably for determining one or more of one or more possible downhill routes for an upcoming downhill trip following a loading operation of the motor vehicle).
Regarding claims 8 and 18, Wagner discloses wherein if a specific vehicle in that route does not have API connectivity or a dongle, losses for vehicles of the same model for which there is data can be used
or if a vehicle never travelled a specific route but travelled routes with similar loss of elevation that would cause a SoC gain (¶ 0010; the method comprises detecting whether an electric charging operation of the traction battery by means of an external charging source is imminent, and determining one or more possible downhill routes for an imminent downhill drive after the electric charging operation), that value can be (interpret as “can be” or “cannot be”) used instead
or if a vehicle always charges to full SoC in a certain location, not allowing to learn how much SoC is gained, an administrator can set the vehicle to start a test trip on a relative low SoC, EV model dependent (e.g. 60%), which ensures that it will be possible to observe what is a maximum SoC gain during the EV route, and whether at any point the vehicle SoC exceeds a stating SoC in that test trip.
Regarding claims 9 and 19, Wagner discloses wherein a target charging session SoC for a vehicle in a location and an expected route is set so that at no point during that route the vehicle SoC exceeds a maximum safe SoC for that vehicle model (¶ 0019; the maximum battery state of charge may be used to reliably terminate charging processes at a higher location automatically at a battery state of charge equal to the maximum battery state of charge, thus providing sufficient storage capacity to absorb recuperated energy when driving further downhill),
wherein the maximum safe SoC for a certain vehicle is provided by an EV manufacturer (¶ 0018; When the maximum battery state of charge is reached, the external charging process is automatically terminated by the motor vehicle. It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide maximum safe SoC of the battery pack by an EV manufacturer).
Regarding claims 10 and 20, Wagner discloses wherein the EV charging management system that adjusts the charging station altitude and route adjusted target SoC based on the charging station altitude and the EV route relies on an algorithm (¶ 0036; the stored motor vehicle model may be evaluated by appropriate algorithms to determine the amount of recuperated energy) in which no machine learning is required and it is based on a mathematical derivative of a height curve such that positives slopes and negatives slopes are weighted with different efficiency factors (¶¶ 0030, 0031, 0034, 0036; the stored motor vehicle model can comprise one or more multi-dimensional characteristic diagrams. The maps can take into account the parameters and the relationship between the parameters).
Claim(s) 6 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wagner in view of He as applied to claims 4 or 14 above, and further in view of SHIN et al. US 2021/0001746 (hereinafter Shin).
Regarding claims 6 and 16, Wagner in view of He does not disclose wherein an expected altitude decrease in the EV route is estimated through machine learning based on historic travel patterns of the EV when leaving the EV charging site or location.
However, Shin further discloses wherein an expected altitude decrease (¶ 0042; downhill road travel of the vehicle is predicted) in the EV route is estimated through machine learning (¶¶ 0050-0053; when the vehicle 10 travels on a downhill road, the battery management system 200 may execute re-learning of the learned full SOC value based on an SOC value corresponding to a time when the downhill road travel ends or whether or not there is restriction of regenerative braking at the end time of the downhill road travel) based on historic travel patterns of the EV when leaving the EV charging site or location (Abstract and ¶¶ 0041, 0047-0049, 0067-0070: a storage for storing a hilly area recharging station list comprising position information of hilly area recharging stations and learned full SOC values; the previously-stored hilly area recharging station list may include position information as to recharging stations located in hilly areas. The position information as to recharging stations located in hilly areas may be repetitively updated through learning).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wagner in view of He to incorporate with the teaching of Shin by executing re-learning of the learned full SOC value when downhill road travel of the vehicle is predicted, because it would be advantageous to enhance fuel efficiency and safety by restricting a full state of charge (SOC) of a battery in downhill road travel environment while limiting regenerative braking restriction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ogawa
US 2017/0088117
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZIXUAN ZHOU whose telephone number is (571)272-6739. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/ZIXUAN ZHOU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 09/26/2026
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