DETAILED ACTION
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 Office Action is in response to the application filed on 01/18/2024. Claims 1-8 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted 1/18/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-8 are objected to because of the following informalities:
As to claims 2-8, which recites “the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 1” and “the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 2” lack antecedent basis.
Examiner will examine/interpret as “the power supply system according to claim”.
Appropriate correction required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 1-2 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitagawa (US 20250313358) in view of Nakatsuka (US 20210086649).
As to claim 1, Kitagawa discloses a power supply system (Fig. 6,16) comprising: a flying body (Fig. 2B) including: a propeller (propellers 12a and 12b); a propeller driving motor to drive the propeller (motor 14); a power control circuit to supply electric power to the propeller driving motor (power buffer 9); a power generator to generate the electric power (electric generator 8); an engine to drive the power generator (internal combustion engine 7a); a fuel tank to store fuel to be supplied to the engine (fuel tank 7b); and a power suppling device to supply the electric power generated by the power generator to a power supply target to be supplied with the electric power (power supply 76. [0053] The power supply 76 supplies power to the implement 200 from driving energy sources such as … an electric generator 8 included in the multicopter 10.); a control unit to control various operations of the flying body (controller 4a);
and an operation management unit to manage flight operations of the flying body (Fig. 6 [0137] The management device 600 determines routes that each multicopter 100 should move along… and transmits that route information to each multicopter 100 or user's terminal device 400. The multicopters 100 capable of automatic flight move based on the received route information), the operation management unit being configured to fly the flying body (Fig. 6 [0137]).
The embodiment in Kitagawa (Fig. 2B) does not disclose/teach a battery to store the electric power
However Kitagawa teaches an embodiment where a battery to store the electric power (Fig. 4 battery 52)
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the power supply system of Kitagawa to include a battery to store the electric power in order to store electric power to be supplied to the motors and other electronic elements ([0060] of Kitagawa).
Kitagawa does not disclose/teach the operation management unit being configured to fly the flying body to a location of the power supply target upon receipt of a request for power supply, and the control unit being configured to, after the flying body arrives at the location, generate the electric power by the power generator and supply the generated electric power to the power supply target via the power suppling device based on a command from the operation management unit.
Nakatsuka teaches the operation management unit (automatic driving control device 100) being configured to fly the flying body to a location of the power supply target upon receipt of a request for power supply ([0088] The communication control unit 146 controls the communication device 20 and broadcast transmits information for requesting electric power supply (Fig. 2 automatic driving control device 100..) controls the communication device 20 and broadcast transmits information for requesting electric power supply (hereinafter, electric power supply request information) to…. The electric power supply request information includes, … requests electric power supply. [0142] The flying object dt flies to the host vehicle M on the basis of the electric power supply permission information. When the host vehicle M receives the electric power supply from the flying object dt, the host vehicle M transmits the electric power supply request information to the flying object dt. The flying object dt flies to the host vehicle M on the basis of the electric power supply request information), and the control unit being configured to, after the flying body arrives at the location, generate the electric power and supply the generated electric power to the power supply target via the power suppling device based on a command from the operation management unit ([0142] The flying object dt moves to the host vehicle M on the basis of the electric power supply request information or the electric power supply permission information…. The flying object dt supplies or receives electric power to or from the host vehicle M using the resonator RT).
Although Nakatsuka does not specifically state the power is supplied from the generator, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for Nakatsuka to supply the power from the generator in order to maintain the battery state of charge to use for other components in the UAV.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the operation management unit of Kitagawa to be configured to fly the flying body to a location of the power supply target upon receipt of a request for power supply, and the control unit being configured to, after the flying body arrives at the location, generate the electric power by the power generator and supply the generated electric power to the power supply target via the power suppling device based on a command from the operation management unit in order to supply immediate power target without the user having to locate a stationary charging device.
As to claim 2 Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka teaches the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 1 wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target while the flying body is flying ([0086] while flying the multicopter 100 while supplying power to the implement 200 via the power supply 76).
As to claim 5 Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka teaches the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 1, wherein the power supply request is received by an operation management server in the operation management unit via the internet ([0050] of Nakatsuka The communication device 20 uses, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (a registered trademark), dedicated short range communication (DSRC), or the like, and communicates with other vehicle present in the vicinity of the host vehicle M or communicates with various types of server devices via wireless base stations).
As to claim 6 Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka teaches the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 2, to wherein the power supply request is received by an operation management server in the operation management unit via the internet ([0050] of Nakatsuka The communication device 20 uses, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (a registered trademark), dedicated short range communication (DSRC), or the like, and communicates with other vehicle present in the vicinity of the host vehicle M or communicates with various types of server devices via wireless base stations).
As to claims 7 and 8 Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka teaches power supply system using a flying body according to claim 1 and the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 2.
Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka does not disclose/teach wherein the power suppling device is configured to calculate a required amount of electric power for the power supply target, and if it is determined that the power suppling device is unable to supply electric power until the required amount of electric power is reached, it transmits a request for supplement to the operation management unit, and upon receipt of the supplement request, the operation management unit flies as many flying bodies as needed to supply electric power to reach the required amount of electric power to the location of the power supply target.
However using multiple charging sources (i.e multiple battery packs or charging device) to fully charge a device is old and well-known to ensure the device being charge is sufficiently charged to the desired charge level.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the power suppling device of Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka to be configured to calculate a required amount of electric power for the power supply target, and if it is determined that the power suppling device is unable to supply electric power until the required amount of electric power is reached, it transmits a request for supplement to the operation management unit, and upon receipt of the supplement request, the operation management unit flies as many flying bodies as needed to supply electric power to reach the required amount of electric power to the location of the power supply target in order to ensure the device being charge is sufficiently charged to the desired charge level.
Claims 3-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kitagawa (US 20250313358) in view of Nakatsuka (US 20210086649) in view of Phan (US 20170327224)
As to claim 3 Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka teaches the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 1.
Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka does not disclose/teach wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target ([0142] of Nakatsuka) while setting aside an amount of electric power that allows the flying body to fly to a predetermined return position.
Phan teaches wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target while setting aside an amount of electric power that allows the flying body to fly to a predetermined return position ([0101] FIG. 12 shows an example flight pattern of a UAV with a hybrid generator system 500. In the example flight pattern shown in FIG. 12, the UAV 900, with hybrid system 500 coupled thereto, begins at location A loaded with fuel ready to fly. The UAV 900 then travels from location A to location B and lands at location B. The UAV 900 then uses hybrid system 500 to generate power for local use at location B, thereby acting as a portable flying generator. When power is no longer needed, the UAV 900 returns back to location A).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the power supply system of Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka to wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target while setting aside an amount of electric power that allows the flying body to fly to a predetermined return position in order to ensure enough power for a return flight to be recharged or refueled.
As to claim 4 Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka teaches the power supply system using a flying body according to claim 2.
Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka does not disclose/teach wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target while setting aside an amount of electric power that allows the flying body to fly to a predetermined return position.
Phan teaches wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target while setting aside an amount of electric power that allows the flying body to fly to a predetermined return position ([0101] FIG. 12 shows an example flight pattern of a UAV with a hybrid generator system 500. In the example flight pattern shown in FIG. 12, the UAV 900, with hybrid system 500 coupled thereto, begins at location A loaded with fuel ready to fly. The UAV 900 then travels from location A to location B and lands at location B. The UAV 900 then uses hybrid system 500 to generate power for local use at location B, thereby acting as a portable flying generator. When power is no longer needed, the UAV 900 returns back to location A).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the power supply system of Kitagawa in view of Nakatsuka to wherein the flying body is configured to supply the electric power to the power supply target while setting aside an amount of electric power that allows the flying body to fly to a predetermined return position in order to ensure enough power for a return flight to be recharged or refueled.
Conclusion and Related Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 9704409 is cited for having various embodiments include methods for piggybacking an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a vehicle (e.g., motor vehicles and trailers coupled to motor vehicles) to reach a destination. Various embodiments may include determining whether to dock on a vehicle. One or more candidate vehicles may be identified for docking. Travel profile characteristics of the one or more candidate vehicles may be identified. A first vehicle may be selected from the one or more candidate vehicles based on one or more travel profile characteristics that assist the UAV in reaching the UAV destination. The UAV may dock with the first vehicle. While docked to the first vehicle the UAV may charge an onboard battery via an electrical connection in a docking structure or by harvesting energy in the wind caused by movement of the vehicle by configuring the UAV rotors to charge the battery.
US 20230146302 is cited for having the generator is configured to power the electrically powered load, and wherein the generator is configured to charge the energy storage.
US 20250321598 is cited for having the ([0053]) in the example shown in FIG. 1C, the multicopter 10 includes power supply 76. The power supply 76 supplies power to the implement 200 from driving energy sources such as a battery 52 or an electric generator 8 included in the multicopter 10.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TYNESE V MCDANIEL whose telephone number is (313)446-6579. The examiner can normally be reached on M to F, 9am to 530pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TYNESE V MCDANIEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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