DETAILED ACTION
This is the second Office action of Application No. 18/403,236 in response to the amendment filed on April 27, 2026. Claims 1-6, 8-14, and 16-20 are pending. By the amendment, claims 1-4, 8, 11-13, 16-17, and 20 have been amended. Claims 7 and 15 are canceled.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-5, 8-14, and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lenz (WIPO Publication 2021093917) in view of Randall (US Patent Publication 20240025261). Note, this application is a continuation-in-part of 17/217,746 and the claims noted in this rejection are directed to the current collector device and thus the priority is directed to the filing date of this instant application (18/403,236), see MPEP 2133.01.
Regarding claim 1, Lenz discloses a vehicle power transfer system (Fig. 1) comprising: a current collector device (5) configured to be mounted on a vehicle and to receive electrical energy from an offboard power source for powering one or more operations of the vehicle, the current collector device being movable relative to the vehicle; one or more actuators (actuator system 8) mechanically connected to the current collector device; and a controller (control unit 9) comprising one or more processors and operatively connected to the one or more actuators, the controller configured to determine an occurrence of a designated extend event (e.g. “the control unit 9 which contain information about the vehicle position, the vehicle orientation and / or contact line position and / or orientation. In particular, the data stored in the control unit 9 can be continuously determined and stored. In addition, in the control unit 9, for example also danger spots or the like, be stored, so that when corresponding positions P are reached, predetermined actions can be carried out and, for example, an automatic wire-off process can be initiated. The data stored in this way in the control unit 9 can be used to check the relationship between the individual characteristic values and a specific movement of the pantographs 5 can be derived therefrom”), and to control the one or more actuators (“control unit 9 is provided, by means of which the movements of the current collectors 5, in particular continuously, are controlled”) to move the current collector device in an extending direction away from the vehicle for electrically connecting to a current-carrying device of the offboard power source in response to the occurrence of the designated extend event (“With the help of a corresponding actuators 8, the pantograph 5 can be raised, lowered or pivoted as required”). Lenz discloses the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated extend event in response to determining, based on signals generated by one or more sensors (10).
Lenz does not disclose that a state of charge (SOC) of the electrical energy storage device is below a threshold SOC value.
Randall discloses the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated extend event (Fig. 1) in response to determining, based on signals generated by one or more energy storage sensors that monitor an electrical energy storage device onboard the vehicle, that a state of charge (SOC) of the electrical energy storage device is below a threshold SOC value (paragraph [0021]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lenz to incorporate the state of charge sensor of Randall with a reasonable expectation of success to have the recognized advantage of maintaining power storage to distribute to the rest of the systems (paragraph [0021]).
Regarding claim 2, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated extend event in response to one of: detecting that the vehicle is stationary; or determining that the vehicle is moving slower than a designated vehicle speed threshold (“For example, if the vehicle 1 stops at a bus stop and goes into what is known as kneeling, the pantograph position can be corrected by the tilt angle β. “).
Regarding claim 3, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, further comprising a force sensor mounted on the current collector device to measure a force exerted on the current collector device by the current-carrying device of the offboard power source, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated extend event in response to a value of the force being less than a designated force threshold (claim 29, “ Current collector system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure force between the current collector (5), and in particular the current collector head (7) of the current collector (5), and the contact line (4) is adjustable while driving.”).
Regarding claim 4, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, further comprising a location determining device operably connected to the controller and configured to generate location signals as the vehicle travels along a route, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated extend event in response to determining, based on the location signals, that the vehicle is approaching the current-carrying device of the offboard power source (e.g. “In particular, pantograph systems in which the pantograph movements based on a knowledge-based system as well as location-specific data and / or error compensations can be controlled along a predetermined movement path can be understood as actively controllable within the meaning of the present invention.”).
Regarding claim 5, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the current collector device is configured to be mounted to a roof of the vehicle (shown in Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 8, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated extend event in response to determining, based on at least one of image data generated by a camera or sensor signals generated by one or more guidance sensors, that the current collector device is aligned with the current-carrying device of the offboard power source (“As is shown by way of example in FIGS. 2a and b, the position P and orientation at the stop can for example by means of magnets 11 arranged in the roadway and magnetic sensors 10 arranged on the vehicle 1 or, for example, by sensors 10, such as cameras or the like a of a vehicle 1 can be determined. This can also be helpful in particular for applications such as driverless driving. The orientation a of the vehicle 1 and in particular the angle a between the vehicle 1 and a curb 12 can be determined via the magnets 11 and / or the sensors 10. This information can then be taken into account in the control of the movements of the pantograph 5 and a reliable connection process can thus be carried out”).
Regarding claim 9, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to generate an alert signal that is communicated to an output device to notify an operator about the occurrence of the designated extend event (“If the active regulation of the pantographs 5 cannot prevent derailment, an early warning can be sent to the bus driver. When driving through a switch, the control unit 9 could, for example, check the change in direction of the horizontal angles of the current collectors 5 with the steering angle of the front wheels of the vehicle 1 for plausibility. A wrongly set point could be detected early and automatic wiring suggested to the bus driver. Alternatively, automatic wiring could also be initiated.”).
Regarding claim 10, Lenz discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine an occurrence of a designated retract event, and to control the one or more actuators to move the current collector device in a retracting direction toward the vehicle for electrically isolating the current collector device in response to the occurrence of the designated retract event (“With the help of a corresponding actuators 8, the pantograph 5 can be raised, lowered or pivoted as required”).
Regarding claim 11, Lenz discloses a vehicle power transfer system (Fig. 1) comprising: a current collector device (5) configured to be mounted on a vehicle and to receive electrical energy from an offboard power source for powering one or more operations of the vehicle, the current collector device being movable relative to the vehicle; one or more actuators (actuator system 8) mechanically connected to the current collector device; and a controller (control unit 9) comprising one or more processors and operatively connected to the one or more actuators, the controller configured to determine an occurrence of a designated retract event (e.g. “the control unit 9 which contain information about the vehicle position, the vehicle orientation and / or contact line position and / or orientation. In particular, the data stored in the control unit 9 can be continuously determined and stored. In addition, in the control unit 9, for example also danger spots or the like, be stored, so that when corresponding positions P are reached, predetermined actions can be carried out and, for example, an automatic wire-off process can be initiated. The data stored in this way in the control unit 9 can be used to check the relationship between the individual characteristic values and a specific movement of the pantographs 5 can be derived therefrom”), and to control the one or more actuators (“control unit 9 is provided, by means of which the movements of the current collectors 5, in particular continuously, are controlled”) to move the current collector device in a retracting direction toward the vehicle from an extended position in response to the occurrence of the designated retract event (“With the help of a corresponding actuators 8, the pantograph 5 can be raised, lowered or pivoted as required”). Lenz discloses the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to determining (sensor 10).
Lenz does not disclose determining that at least one of (i) a state of charge (SOC) of an electrical energy storage device onboard the vehicle is at least a threshold SOC value.
Randall discloses the vehicle power transfer wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event (Fig. 1) in response to determining that at least one of (i) a state of charge (SOC) of an electrical energy storage device onboard the vehicle is at least a threshold SOC value or (ii) a current-carrying device of the offboard power source that is electrically connected to the current collector device has ceased transferring electrical energy to the current collector device (paragraph [0021]).
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lenz to incorporate the state of charge sensor of Randall with a reasonable expectation of success to have the recognized advantage of recognizing when the vehicle is charged (paragraph [0021]).
Regarding claim 12, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to one of: detecting that the vehicle is moving; determining that the vehicle is moving faster than a designated vehicle speed threshold; or determining that a wind speed in an ambient environment of the vehicle exceeds a threshold wind speed (“data stored in the control unit, in particular vehicle, route and / or contact line data, can be evaluated for the detection of danger spots. The analysis of this data can identify problem areas and derailment risks, e.g. B. can be determined as a function of the vehicle speed. Finally, standardized countermeasures can be programmed and called”).
Regarding claim 13, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, further comprising a force sensor mounted on the current collector device to measure a force exerted on the current collector device by a current-carrying device of the offboard power source, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to a value of the force being greater than a designated force threshold (claim 29, “ Current collector system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pressure force between the current collector (5), and in particular the current collector head (7) of the current collector (5), and the contact line (4) is adjustable while driving.”).
Regarding claim 14, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, further comprising a location determining device operably connected to the controller and configured to generate location signals as the vehicle travels along a route, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to determining, based on the location signals, that the vehicle is greater than a threshold distance from the offboard power source (e.g. “In particular, pantograph systems in which the pantograph movements based on a knowledge-based system as well as location-specific data and / or error compensations can be controlled along a predetermined movement path can be understood as actively controllable within the meaning of the present invention.”).
Regarding claim 16, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, wherein the current collector device is configured to be mounted to a roof (Fig. 1) of the vehicle and to project above the roof in the extended position, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to determining that the vehicle is approaching a segment of a route that has one or more height restrictions (e.g. “In order to be able to enable fully automatic connection at any position, the height of the contact line in relation to position P can in particular be continuously measured and stored in the control unit 9.”).
Regarding claim 17, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to determining, based on at least one of image data generated by a camera or sensor signals generated by one or more guidance sensors, that the current collector device is misaligned with a current-carrying device of the offboard power source (“As is shown by way of example in FIGS. 2a and b, the position P and orientation at the stop can for example by means of magnets 11 arranged in the roadway and magnetic sensors 10 arranged on the vehicle 1 or, for example, by sensors 10, such as cameras or the like a of a vehicle 1 can be determined. This can also be helpful in particular for applications such as driverless driving. The orientation a of the vehicle 1 and in particular the angle a between the vehicle 1 and a curb 12 can be determined via the magnets 11 and / or the sensors 10. This information can then be taken into account in the control of the movements of the pantograph 5 and a reliable connection process can thus be carried out”).
Regarding claim 18, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses he vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to generate an alert signal that is communicated to an output device to notify an operator about the occurrence of the designated retract event (“If the active regulation of the pantographs 5 cannot prevent derailment, an early warning can be sent to the bus driver. When driving through a switch, the control unit 9 could, for example, check the change in direction of the horizontal angles of the current collectors 5 with the steering angle of the front wheels of the vehicle 1 for plausibility. A wrongly set point could be detected early and automatic wiring suggested to the bus driver. Alternatively, automatic wiring could also be initiated.”).
Regarding claim 19, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to determine an occurrence of a designated extend event, and to control the one or more actuators to move the current collector device in an extending direction away from the vehicle for electrically connecting to a current-carrying device of the offboard power source in response to the occurrence of the designated extend event (“With the help of a corresponding actuators 8, the pantograph 5 can be raised, lowered or pivoted as required”).
Regarding claim 20, Lenz discloses a method comprising: determining, via one or more processors (control unit 9), an occurrence of a designated extend event (e.g. “the control unit 9 which contain information about the vehicle position, the vehicle orientation and / or contact line position and / or orientation. In particular, the data stored in the control unit 9 can be continuously determined and stored. In addition, in the control unit 9, for example also danger spots or the like, be stored, so that when corresponding positions P are reached, predetermined actions can be carried out and, for example, an automatic wire-off process can be initiated. The data stored in this way in the control unit 9 can be used to check the relationship between the individual characteristic values and a specific movement of the pantographs 5 can be derived therefrom”) while a current collector device (5) mounted on a vehicle is in a retracted position relative to the vehicle; in response to determining the occurrence of the designated extend event, controlling one or more actuators onboard the vehicle to move the current collector device in an extending direction away from the vehicle for electrically connecting to a current-carrying device of an offboard power source for powering one or more operations of the vehicle (“With the help of a corresponding actuators 8, the pantograph 5 can be raised, lowered or pivoted as required”); determining, via the one or more processors, an occurrence of a designated retract event while the current collector device is in an extended position relative to the vehicle; and in response to determining the occurrence of the designated retract event, controlling the one or more actuators to move the current collector device in a retracting direction toward the vehicle for electrically isolating the current collector device (“With the help of a corresponding actuators 8, the pantograph 5 can be raised, lowered or pivoted as required”). Lenz discloses the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event in response to determining (sensor 10).
Lenz does not disclose determining that at least one of (i) a state of charge (SOC) of an electrical energy storage device onboard the vehicle is at least a threshold SOC value.
Randall discloses the vehicle power transfer wherein the controller is configured to determine the occurrence of the designated retract event (Fig. 1) in response to determining that at least one of (i) a state of charge (SOC) of an electrical energy storage device onboard the vehicle is at least a threshold SOC value or (ii) a current-carrying device of the offboard power source that is electrically connected to the current collector device has ceased transferring electrical energy to the current collector device (paragraph [0021])
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lenz (WIPO Publication 2021093917) in view of Randall (US Patent Publication 20240025261). Note, this application is a continuation-in-part of 17/217,746 and the claims noted in this rejection are directed to the current collector device and thus the priority is directed to the filing date of this instant application (18/403,236), see MPEP 2133.01.
Regarding claim 6, Lenz, as modified by Randall, discloses the vehicle power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the current collector device is configured to be mounted to a body of the vehicle.
Lenz, as modified by Randall, does not disclose mounted to an underbody, however it would be obvious to modify the location of the current collector device to match the current-carrying device.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Lenz to incorporate the current collector device is configured to be mounted to an underbody with a reasonable expectation of success to have the location of the current collector device to match the current-carrying device. Furthermore, it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention involves only routine skill in the art (MPEP 2144.04(VI)(C)).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 7-8, filed 4/27/2026, with respect to the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejections by Lenz (WIPO Publication 2021093917) have been fully considered and are persuasive. More specifically, the amendments includes limitations that were rejected on the 35 U.S.C. 103 only, thus making the 102 rejection no longer relevant. The 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments filed 4/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. On page 8, section III first two paragraphs regarding claim 6 and the 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lenz (WIPO Publication 2021093917), the arguments are directed that Lenz does not disclose the features (hence, the 103 rejection by the examiner), however no arguments were made that this would not be obvious to modify and thus is being treated as a general allegation and not persuasive. Regarding the 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lenz (WIPO Publication 2021093917) in view of Randall (US Patent Publication 20240025261), particularly it has been established, above, that Lenz does not disclose the amended limitation. However to note, Lenz does disclose an automatic current collector that is automatically extended via control unit (9) based on sensors (10) and a battery, but does not explicitly state using state of charge. Thus, Lenz has the ability to “(ii) how that determination would then be used to control one or more actuators to extend a current collector device” (applicant’s arguments page 9, lines 20-22) as Lenz teaches that based on a determination to extend the actuator (Lenz, e.g. claims 8-9). Regarding Randall, as all that is required for modifying is the type of sensor signal (i.e. state of charge), this is disclosed in paragraph [0021], “state-of-charge”. The arguments on page 9, lines 1-13, the examiner agrees that the SOC is mostly for informational purposes. However, Lenz provides the disclosure of extending based on sensor data and Randall is providing the disclosure that SOC can be used as the signal. In other words, in reference to page 9, line 18-19 of the arguments, the response to (i) is Lenz discloses the occurrence of a designated extend event and Randall discloses using SOC of the signal. Furthermore, it is well understood that when batteries are low they need to be recharged whether it be automatically or manually. Evidence that this is known is provided in Vogt (US Patent Publication 20170315557) which discloses a charging system for autonomous vehicles and paragraph [0004]: “after extended use of the electric or hybrid electric vehicle, the state of charge of the battery may become low and need to be recharged. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods that identify a low state of charge of a battery of the vehicle, and automatically charge the battery”. Thus, the 103 rejections above remains.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Weitersberger (European document EP4019361) discloses vehicle with current collector (18) and state of charge management.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/LORI WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3655
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