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 .
Status
Claims 1-20 (Original) are pending for prosecution on the merits.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(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, 7 and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by
Pollica et al. US 20240042874.
Regarding claim 1, Pollica discloses a charging port [Fig. 1A, 117] for a vehicle [Fig. 1A, 100b], comprising:
a housing [Fig. 2C, 2D (see reproduced below), the housing for EV port 117] comprising a plurality of electrically insulated contact supports including contact supports for a first alternating current (AC) phase, contact supports for a second AC phase, contact supports for a third AC phase, contact supports for a neutral line, and contact supports for two DC lines [Fig. 2C and 2D, Type 2 or Combo 2 connectors/ ports support three phase AC and/or DC. Par. 0058. Insulated supports are implicitly present due to the contacts L1, L2, D1, D2 etc.].
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Regarding claim 7, Pollica discloses the charging port for the vehicle of claim 1, where the charging port is electrically coupled to an AC to DC converter [Fig. 12A, e.g., AC/DC 1505a].
Regarding claim 8, Pollica discloses the charging port for the vehicle of claim 7, where the AC to DC converter [Fig. 12A, e.g., AC/DC 1505a] converts three phase AC power to DC power [par. 0058].
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 9 and 12-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mackenzie et al. US 20220072967 in view of Pollica et al. US 20240042874.
Regarding claim 9, Mackenzie discloses a method for supplying electric power from a grid [par. 0037 power is transferred between vehicle and grid], comprising:
inserting a first electric coupler [Fig. 1, charger coupler 24] into a recess [Fig. 2, inlet port 26] of a vehicle charging port [charge port assembly 18] during a first condition [par. 0038];
inserting an adapter [Fig. 3 (see reproduced below), EVSE connector 32] into the recess [inlet port 26] of the vehicle charging port during a second condition [par. 0042]; and
inserting a second electric coupler [Fig. 1, charger coupler 24] into the adapter [charger coupler 24 can accommodate two couplers; one into port 36 and one into port 38], the second electric coupler different than the first electric coupler [pars. 0042-0047].
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Mackenzie does not disclose supplying electric power from a vehicle.
Pollica discloses supplying electric power from a vehicle [Fig. 4A, BEV 100b, pars. 0023, 0060].
Mackenzie and Pollica are analogous EV’s which receive charging power through a connector from an EVSE. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate V2G capability, as taught by Pollica, into Mackenzie’s charging system for the benefit of using EV’s as power sources [Pollica, par. 0060].
Regarding claim 12, Mackenzie discloses: further comprising supplying electric power to the vehicle via the first electric coupler [par. 0048].
Regarding claim 13, Mackenzie discloses: where the electric power is AC electric power [par. 0040]; and Pollica discloses the use of three phase AC power [par. 0058].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate three phase capability, as taught by Pollica, into Mackenzie’s charging system for the benefit of providing more power during AC charging.
Regarding claim 14, Mackenzie discloses: further comprising supplying electric power to the vehicle via the second electric coupler [par. 0048].
Regarding claim 15, Mackenzie discloses: where the electric power is single phase electric power [par. 0040].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 16-20 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art does not disclose or suggest, “16. A charging port for a vehicle, comprising: a housing configured to receive a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J3068 coupler without an adapter and the adapter without the SAE J3068 coupler via a single SAE J3068 coupler receiving port, the housing also configured to accept a Combined Charging System (CCS) DC coupler”. Claims 17-20 depend from 16 and are allowable for the same reasons.
Claims 2-6, 10-11 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art does not disclose or suggest, “2. The charging port for the vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a recess in the housing, the recess configured to receive a SAE J1772 coupler during a first condition, the recess configured to receive an adapter during a second condition”. Claims 3-6 depend from 2 and are allowable for the same reasons.
The prior art does not disclose or suggest, “10. The method of claim 9, where the adapter is inserted into a port in the vehicle charging port and the port is configured to receive a SAE J3068 coupler”. Claim 11 depends from 10 and is allowable for the same reasons.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20250091456 belongs to the instant assignee and is cited for background relevance.
US 20260038313, US 20160144728 are representative of the art in which multiple varieties of connectors can be used to charge EV’s.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD V MURALIDAR whose telephone number is (571)272- 8933. The examiner can normally be reached M - W 9:30 am to 6:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are
unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be contacted 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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RICHARD V. MURALIDAR
Primary Examiner Art Unit 2859
/RICHARD V MURALIDAR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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