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(s) (IDS) submitted on 2/12/2024 has been considered by the examiner.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6, 8-10, 13, 15-17, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Chen et al. (US 20180370379 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Chen teaches a method (Fig. 2) comprising:
determining a charging window to charge an electric vehicle (EV) battery of a vehicle from a first charge level to a second charge level (¶[41] “the battery status parameter may indicate the SOC of the battery, and the charging current may be determined to be an amount suitable to restore full (or any predetermined level of) charge to battery pack 32 in a given amount of time”);
determining a delivery window during which an item will be delivered to the vehicle based on the charging window (¶[43] “Charge station controller 42 may then coordinate with the selected content delivery system to determine content to be delivered to the user based on the determined charging parameter(s) (step 70). For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”); and
dispatching a delivery of the item to the vehicle (¶[44] “Process 60 further includes delivering the determined content to the user while transmitting charge current to battery pack 32 to recharge battery pack 32 (step 72)”).
Regarding Claim 2, Chen teaches the method of claim 1.
Chen further teaches determining a type of a charging point (¶[42] “In other embodiments, the charging parameters may be received directly from the user, for example, via user interface 24 and/or mobile device 50. In still further embodiments, charge station controller 42 may access stored preset user preferences and/or a user profile stored, for example, in cloud database 19”) used to charge the vehicle and a type of the vehicle (¶[39] “The battery status parameters may be any parameter indicating a feature of battery pack 32, such as a state of charge (SOC), identification, model number, serial number, etc”), and
wherein the charging window is based on the type of the charging point and the type of the vehicle; and predicting the delivery window based on the type of the charging point and the type of the vehicle (¶[49-50] “For a further example, in other embodiments, the processor may determine how long a charging operation will take to fully recharge battery pack 32. [0050] The amount of time determined to be available or required for a given charging operation may then be used by infotainment circuitry 26 to determine the content displayed to the user, for example, at step 84”).
Regarding Claim 3, Chen teaches the method of claim 1.
Chen further teaches determining whether the item is consumable by a vehicle occupant of the vehicle during the charging window (¶[43] For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”), and
wherein the item is one or more of content and a consumable product (¶[21] “The rich content available to the user via the user interface(s) may include, but is not limited to, movies, video games, television shows, audio programs, or other digital content available locally or on the Internet, etc”).
Regarding Claim 6, Chen teaches the method of claim 1.
Chen further teaches determining to perform the dispatching when the delivery window will be completed prior to the vehicle achieving the second charge level (¶[43] “Charge station controller 42 may then coordinate with the selected content delivery system to determine content to be delivered to the user based on the determined charging parameter(s) (step 70). For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”).
Regarding Claim 8, Chen teaches a system comprising a memory and a processor configured to:
determine a charging window to charge an electric vehicle (EV) battery of a vehicle from a first charge level to a second charge level (¶[41] “the battery status parameter may indicate the SOC of the battery, and the charging current may be determined to be an amount suitable to restore full (or any predetermined level of) charge to battery pack 32 in a given amount of time”);
determine a delivery window during which an item will be delivered to the vehicle based on the charging window (¶[43] “Charge station controller 42 may then coordinate with the selected content delivery system to determine content to be delivered to the user based on the determined charging parameter(s) (step 70). For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”); and
dispatch a delivery of the item to the vehicle (¶[44] “Process 60 further includes delivering the determined content to the user while transmitting charge current to battery pack 32 to recharge battery pack 32 (step 72)”).
Regarding Claim 9, Chen teaches the system of claim 8.
Chen further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine a type of a charging point used to charge the vehicle (¶[42] “In other embodiments, the charging parameters may be received directly from the user, for example, via user interface 24 and/or mobile device 50. In still further embodiments, charge station controller 42 may access stored preset user preferences and/or a user profile stored, for example, in cloud database 19”) and a type of the vehicle (¶[39] “The battery status parameters may be any parameter indicating a feature of battery pack 32, such as a state of charge (SOC), identification, model number, serial number, etc”), and
wherein the charging window is based on the type of the charging point and the type of the vehicle; and
predict the delivery window based on the type of the charging point and the type of the vehicle (¶[49-50] “For a further example, in other embodiments, the processor may determine how long a charging operation will take to fully recharge battery pack 32. [0050] The amount of time determined to be available or required for a given charging operation may then be used by infotainment circuitry 26 to determine the content displayed to the user, for example, at step 84”).
Regarding Claim 10, Chen teaches the system of claim 8.
Chen further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine whether the item is consumable by a vehicle occupant of the vehicle during the charging window (¶[43] For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”), and
wherein the item is one or more of content and a consumable product (¶[21] “The rich content available to the user via the user interface(s) may include, but is not limited to, movies, video games, television shows, audio programs, or other digital content available locally or on the Internet, etc”).
Regarding Claim 13, Chen teaches the system of claim 8.
Chen further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine to perform the dispatch when the delivery window will be completed prior to the vehicle achieving the second charge level (¶[43] “Charge station controller 42 may then coordinate with the selected content delivery system to determine content to be delivered to the user based on the determined charging parameter(s) (step 70). For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”).
Regarding Claim 15, Chen teaches a non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions (¶[72] “The computer-implemented methods may be executed, for example, by at least one processor that executes instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium”) that when executed cause a processor to perform:
determining a charging window to charge an electric vehicle (EV) battery of a vehicle from a first charge level to a second charge level (¶[41] “the battery status parameter may indicate the SOC of the battery, and the charging current may be determined to be an amount suitable to restore full (or any predetermined level of) charge to battery pack 32 in a given amount of time”);
determining a delivery window during which an item will be delivered to the vehicle based on the charging window (¶[43] “Charge station controller 42 may then coordinate with the selected content delivery system to determine content to be delivered to the user based on the determined charging parameter(s) (step 70). For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”); and
dispatching a delivery of the item to the vehicle (¶[44] “Process 60 further includes delivering the determined content to the user while transmitting charge current to battery pack 32 to recharge battery pack 32 (step 72)”).
Regarding Claim 16, Chen teaches the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15.
Chen further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
determining a type of a charging point used to charge the vehicle (¶[42] “In other embodiments, the charging parameters may be received directly from the user, for example, via user interface 24 and/or mobile device 50. In still further embodiments, charge station controller 42 may access stored preset user preferences and/or a user profile stored, for example, in cloud database 19”) and a type of the vehicle (¶[39] “The battery status parameters may be any parameter indicating a feature of battery pack 32, such as a state of charge (SOC), identification, model number, serial number, etc”), and
wherein the charging window is based on the type of the charging point and the type of the vehicle; and
predicting the delivery window based on the type of the charging point and the type of the vehicle (¶[49-50] “For a further example, in other embodiments, the processor may determine how long a charging operation will take to fully recharge battery pack 32. [0050] The amount of time determined to be available or required for a given charging operation may then be used by infotainment circuitry 26 to determine the content displayed to the user, for example, at step 84”).
Regarding Claim 17, Chen teaches the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15.
Chen further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
determining whether the item is consumable by a vehicle occupant of the vehicle during the charging window (¶[43] For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”), and
wherein the item is one or more of content and a consumable product (¶[21] “The rich content available to the user via the user interface(s) may include, but is not limited to, movies, video games, television shows, audio programs, or other digital content available locally or on the Internet, etc”).
Regarding Claim 20, Chen teaches the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15.
Chen further teaches wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
determining to perform the dispatching when the delivery window will be completed prior to the vehicle achieving the second charge level (¶[43] “Charge station controller 42 may then coordinate with the selected content delivery system to determine content to be delivered to the user based on the determined charging parameter(s) (step 70). For example, charge station controller 42 and/or the content delivery system (e.g., mobile device 50, vehicle infotainment system 22, etc.) may select content that has a time duration similar to the time duration used to charge battery pack 32 of vehicle 12”).
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) 4-5, 7, 11-12, 14 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 20180370379 A1) in view of Madrid et al. (US 20190294135 A1)
Regarding Claim 4, Chen teaches the method of claim 3.
Chen does not explicitly teach subtracting an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window
determining the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determining the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable.
Madrid teaches subtracting an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window (¶[4] “The reservation request may include the reservation start time and a reservation end time and the controller may be further programmed to generate an estimated vehicle download time and, responsive to the estimated vehicle download time exceeding an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the reservation end time and the reservation start time”)
determining the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determining the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable (¶[8] “The reservation request may include an arrival time and a departure time and the method may further include, responsive to the download time being less than an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the departure time and the arrival time, notifying a requestor of sufficient time for downloading”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide subtracting an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window
determining the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determining the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable,
in order to prevent starting a download that is longer than the charging window.
Regarding Claim 5, Chen teaches the method of claim 1.
Chen does not explicitly teach determining a location of the item;
determining a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item; and
determining whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window.
Madrid teaches determining a location of the item (¶[48] “The server 260 may also include a library of audio and video files”);
determining a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item (¶[49] “As described, the charge controller 244 may be in communication with the network 161 and the electrified vehicle 231. The charge controller 244 may provide a communication link between the server 260 and the electrified vehicle 231. This communication channel may be utilized for transferring content including software updates to the electrified vehicle 231 during charging”); and
determining whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window (¶[4] “The reservation request may include the reservation start time and a reservation end time and the controller may be further programmed to generate an estimated vehicle download time and, responsive to the estimated vehicle download time exceeding an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the reservation end time and the reservation start time, generate output to notify a requestor of insufficient time for downloading”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide determining a location of the item; determining a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item; and
determining whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window,
in order to avoid starting a download that will not be finished during the charging period.
Regarding Claim 7, Chen teaches the method of claim 1.
Chen does not explicitly teach determining the first charge level of the vehicle is above a threshold first charge level; and cancelling the delivery.
Madrid teaches cancelling the delivery (if the download window is too short) (¶[56] “If the download time exceeds the available download time, a notification or alert may be provided to the operator on the nomadic device 153 that insufficient time is available for the download. In such a case, the download may be cancelled”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide cancelling the delivery if the delivery window is too short in order to avoid using unnecessary computing resources and bandwidth. The combination does not explicitly teach determining the first charge level of the vehicle is above a threshold first charge level, however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the charging window will be short if the vehicle is already close to fully charged.
Regarding Claim 11, Chen teaches the system of claim 10.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is further configured to:
subtract an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window;
determine the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and determine the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable.
Madrid teaches to subtract an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window (¶[4] “The reservation request may include the reservation start time and a reservation end time and the controller may be further programmed to generate an estimated vehicle download time and, responsive to the estimated vehicle download time exceeding an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the reservation end time and the reservation start time”)
determine the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determine the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable (¶[8] “The reservation request may include an arrival time and a departure time and the method may further include, responsive to the download time being less than an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the departure time and the arrival time, notifying a requestor of sufficient time for downloading”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide subtract an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window
determine the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determine the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable,
in order to prevent starting a download that is longer than the charging window.
Regarding Claim 12, Chen teaches the system of claim 8.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a location of the item;
determine a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item; and
determine whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window.
Madrid teaches to determine a location of the item (¶[48] “The server 260 may also include a library of audio and video files”);
determine a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item (¶[49] “As described, the charge controller 244 may be in communication with the network 161 and the electrified vehicle 231. The charge controller 244 may provide a communication link between the server 260 and the electrified vehicle 231. This communication channel may be utilized for transferring content including software updates to the electrified vehicle 231 during charging”); and
determine whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window (¶[4] “The reservation request may include the reservation start time and a reservation end time and the controller may be further programmed to generate an estimated vehicle download time and, responsive to the estimated vehicle download time exceeding an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the reservation end time and the reservation start time, generate output to notify a requestor of insufficient time for downloading”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a location of the item;
determine a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item; and
determine whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window,
in order to avoid starting a download that will not be finished during the charging period.
Regarding Claim 14, Chen teaches the system of claim 8.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine the first charge level of the vehicle is above a threshold first charge level; and
cancel the delivery.
Madrid teaches cancelling the delivery (if the download window is too short) (¶[56] “If the download time exceeds the available download time, a notification or alert may be provided to the operator on the nomadic device 153 that insufficient time is available for the download. In such a case, the download may be cancelled”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide cancelling the delivery if the delivery window is too short in order to avoid using unnecessary computing resources and bandwidth. The combination does not explicitly teach determining the first charge level of the vehicle is above a threshold first charge level, however it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the charging window will be short if the vehicle is already close to fully charged.
Regarding Claim 18, Chen teaches the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
subtracting an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window;
determining the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determining the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable.
Madrid teaches subtracting an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window (¶[4] “The reservation request may include the reservation start time and a reservation end time and the controller may be further programmed to generate an estimated vehicle download time and, responsive to the estimated vehicle download time exceeding an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the reservation end time and the reservation start time”)
determining the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determining the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable (¶[8] “The reservation request may include an arrival time and a departure time and the method may further include, responsive to the download time being less than an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the departure time and the arrival time, notifying a requestor of sufficient time for downloading”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide subtracting an amount of time for the delivery from the charging window to identify a remaining time window
determining the item may be consumed during the remaining time window; and
determining the dispatching of the delivery is acceptable,
in order to prevent starting a download that is longer than the charging window.
Regarding Claim 19, Chen teaches the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15.
Chen does not explicitly teach wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
determining a location of the item;
determining a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item; and
determining whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window.
Madrid teaches determining a location of the item (¶[48] “The server 260 may also include a library of audio and video files”);
determining a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item (¶[49] “As described, the charge controller 244 may be in communication with the network 161 and the electrified vehicle 231. The charge controller 244 may provide a communication link between the server 260 and the electrified vehicle 231. This communication channel may be utilized for transferring content including software updates to the electrified vehicle 231 during charging”); and
determining whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window (¶[4] “The reservation request may include the reservation start time and a reservation end time and the controller may be further programmed to generate an estimated vehicle download time and, responsive to the estimated vehicle download time exceeding an amount of time corresponding to a difference between the reservation end time and the reservation start time, generate output to notify a requestor of insufficient time for downloading”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Chen to incorporate the teachings of Madrid to provide herein the processor is further configured to perform:
determining a location of the item;
determining a status of a delivery vehicle associated with the item; and
determining whether to perform the dispatching of the delivery of the item to the vehicle based on the location, the status and the delivery window being shorter than the charging window,
in order to avoid starting a download that will not be finished during the charging period.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AIMAN BICKIYA whose telephone number is (571)270-0555. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 - 6 PM EST.
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/A.B./Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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