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 of Claims
This FINAL communication is in response to application No. 18/524,251 filed on 12/19/2022. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been examined. Claims 1-15, 17, and 19-20 have been rejected as follows.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 01/09/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. JP2022-077030, filed on 19 December 2022.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's amendment and/or arguments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 USC 103 as set forth in the office action of 13 November 2025 have been considered and are NOT PERSUASIVE.
The applicant argues Carpenter does not teach claim 18 as the art does not mention a wake time by a controller to charge a low voltage battery by a high voltage battery. The applicant respectfully disagrees. Paragraph 13 of Carpenter states, “A body control module, for example, may be programmed to periodically become active during key off and issue wake up signals via a Controller Area Network (CAN) or otherwise to a hybrid powertrain control module. Once active, the hybrid powertrain control module may be tasked with initiating any scheduled traction battery charge events that are to take place at that time. If, for example, a user has scheduled a traction battery charge event to take place between 2 AM and 5 AM, and the hybrid powertrain control module becomes active (is woken up) at 12 AM, it will inhibit steps to initiate charging of the traction battery. If the hybrid powertrain control module becomes active at 2:05 AM, it will take steps to initiate charging of the traction battery according to the schedule.” The art describes a wake time controlled by a control module or controller which initiates the charging of a low voltage battery from a high voltage battery such as a traction battery pack.
Furthermore, Applicant’s amendments and/or arguments with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20 under 35 USC 103 as set forth in the office action of 13 November 2025 have been considered but are moot because the new ground(s) of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kurnik (US 20150332526 A1) in view of Kent (US 20230073436 A1), Ando (US 20200377055 A1).and Carpenter (US 20220032900 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Kurnik teaches and an activation controller to store a programmable wake time, (see at least [0005];"An exemplary embodiment of an electronic control module for a vehicle is also provided. The electronic control module includes a processor, a wake up timer operatively associated with the processor, and a nonvolatile memory element configured to store wake up request information associated with wake up requests managed by the processor. ")
the activation controller to switch the vehicle controller to a powered-on state from the powered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from the off state to the on state at the wake time. (See at least [0035]; "Thus, when the wake up timer 304 reaches the set wake up time, it initiates a wake up procedure wherein operating power/voltage is applied to the controller hardware, which in turn causes the controller to transition to its powered up state.")
Kurnik does not explicitly disclose An electric vehicle comprising:an electric motor for propelling the vehicle; a vehicle controller to control operation of the electric vehicle when the electric vehicle is in an on state and enter a powered-off state when the electric vehicle is in an off state, - a high-voltage (HV) battery to provide electric power to the electric motor; and a low-voltage (LV) battery to provide electric power to the activation controller,wherein:the vehicle controller is powered from the HV battery via a direct current to direct current (DC/DC) converter when the electric vehicle is in the on state, and electrically disconnected from the HV battery when the vehicle is in the off state; andwhen the electric vehicle is in the off state, upon expiration of a battery charging interval, the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller to the powered-on state from apowered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from an off state to an on state, and perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery.
However, Kent discloses a vehicle controller to control operation of the electric vehicle when the electric vehicle is in an on state and enter a powered-off state when the electric vehicle is in an off state. (see at least [0004]; "in order to reduce unnecessary power consumption by the controllers when the vehicle is not in use, it may be advantageous to turn off the controllers (or enter a sleep state) when a user leaves the vehicle and to turn on (or wake up) the controllers when the user returns to the vehicle")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Kent which teaches a controller to control operations of an electric vehicle when it is powered on, but power off when the electrical vehicle is in an off state in order to allow functionality to the vehicle for the desired operations when on, yet conserve battery by shutting off when the vehicle is also off.
Kurnik and Kent, in combination, do not explicitly teach Kurnik does not explicitly disclose An electric vehicle comprising:an electric motor for propelling the vehicle; - a high-voltage (HV) battery to provide electric power to the electric motor; and a low-voltage (LV) battery to provide electric power to the activation controller,wherein:the vehicle controller is powered from the HV battery via a direct current to direct current (DC/DC) converter when the electric vehicle is in the on state, and electrically disconnected from the HV battery when the vehicle is in the off state; andwhen the electric vehicle is in the off state, upon expiration of a battery charging interval, the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller to the powered-on state from apowered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from an off state to an on state, and perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery.
However, Ando teaches An electric vehicle comprising:an electric motor for propelling the vehicle; (see at least [0044]; "In addition, in a case where the vehicle is an electric vehicle, the high-voltage ECU 101 can control the rotation rate of the drive motor 1041 by transmitting a signal for controlling the drive voltage, the drive current, the drive frequency, or the like of the drive motor 1041 of the drive device 104")
- a high-voltage (HV) battery to provide electric power to the electric motor; and (see at least [0006]; " a high-voltage electric power source with which the drive unit is operable,") Ando
a low-voltage (LV) battery to provide electric power to the activation controller, (see at least [00046]; "Meanwhile, the low-voltage ECU 102 is a computer that controls a device that operates when there is electric power supplied from the low-voltage battery 502")
wherein:the vehicle controller is powered from the HV battery via a direct current to direct current (DC/DC) converter when the electric vehicle is in the on state, and (see at least [0080];"In addition, the high-voltage ECU 101 can be activated when there is electric power supplied from the high-voltage battery 501 via the DC-to-DC converter 503")
electrically disconnected from the HV battery when the vehicle is in the off state; and (see at least [0087, 0084]; "In the driving mode M3, the DC-to-DC converter 503 is in an operating state and electric power is supplied from the high-voltage battery 501 and the low-voltage battery 502 to the entire systems of the vehicle platform 100 and the vehicle control interface 300…Since the DC-to-DC converter 503 is in the stopped state, supply of electric power from the high-voltage battery 501 to each device is cut off.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Ando which teaches a low voltage battery to provide power to an activation controller and the vehicle controller powered from the HV battery and to disconnect the HV battery in the off state to preserve HV charge in the off state, as well as allow the low voltage battery to run separately from the HV battery and power the activation controller separately from the on state of the vehicle to charge the battery.
Ando, Kurnik and Kent do not explicitly disclose when the electric vehicle is in the off state, upon expiration of a battery charging interval, the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller to the powered-on state from apowered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from an off state to an on state, and perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery.
However, Carpenter teaches when the electric vehicle is in the off state, upon expiration of a battery charging interval, the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller to the powered-on state from apowered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from an off state to an on state, and perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery. (see at least [0013, 0020]; " (see at least [0013]; "A body control module, for example, may be programmed to periodically become active during key off and issue wake up signals via a Controller Area Network (CAN) or otherwise to a hybrid powertrain control module. Once active, the hybrid powertrain control module may be tasked with initiating any scheduled traction battery charge events that are to take place at that time… An output of the DC/DC converter module 48 may be electrically coupled to an auxiliary battery 50 (e.g., 12V battery) for charging the auxiliary battery 50.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Carpenter which teaches powering on upon expiration of a battery charging interval when a vehicle is in the off state to initiate a charging operation in order to ensure the batteries remain optimally charged to optimize the operating length of time of the vehicle.
Regarding claim 2, Kurnik teaches The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wake time is programmable by the vehicle controller. (see at least [0005]; " An exemplary embodiment of an electronic control module for a vehicle is also provided. The electronic control module includes a processor, a wake up timer operatively associated with the processor, and a nonvolatile memory element configured to store wake up request information associated with wake up requests managed by the processor.")
Regarding claim 3, Kurnik teaches The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller is a main body controller. (See at least [0019];" In certain embodiments, an ECU 102 may be suitably configured to function as a body control module,")
Regarding claim 4, Kurnik teaches The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the activation controller is the only controller of the electric vehicle which is powered-on when the electric vehicle is in the off state. (see at least [0023]; "To this end, the wake up timer 204 may be considered to be an “always on” component that remains operational regardless of the engine-on or engine-off state of the vehicle, and regardless of the power-up or power-down state of the processor 202…)
Regarding claim 5, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wake time is based on a user designated time.
However, Carpenter teaches The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wake time is based on a user designated time. (see at least [0024, 0017]; "The electrified vehicle 30 may include an interface 66 (e.g., touch screen, cellular transceiver, etc.) configured to receive user input defining a desired plug-in charge time, and a plurality of controllers 68 (e.g., a body controller, brake controller, central timing controller, hybrid powertrain controller, suspension controller, etc.). One or more of these controllers 68 may perform the algorithms contemplated herein…With reference to FIG. 1, a controller, e.g., a body controller, issues a wake up signal, upon waking up during key off, for other controllers at operation 10 and monitors via sensors (e.g., current sensors, voltage sensors, etc.) whether the current and/or voltage on the communication line carrying the wake up signal is within range at operation")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Carpenter which teaches a wake time being based on a time designated by a user in order to perform an operation such as charging for an electric vehicle according to the user’s schedule so that it is at a desired charge rate at a desired time, without interfering with travel by needing a to charge at a time the user needs to drive to a destination.
Regarding claim 6, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 5, wherein the user designated time is specified in a user entry of a local task schedule stored by the activation controller or the vehicle controller.
However, Carpenter discloses The electric vehicle of claim 5, wherein the user designated time is specified in a user entry of a local task schedule stored by the activation controller or the vehicle controller. (see at least [0024, 0013, 0025];"The electrified vehicle 30 may include an interface 66 (e.g., touch screen, cellular transceiver, etc.) configured to receive user input defining a desired plug-in charge time…Once active, the hybrid powertrain control module may be tasked with initiating any scheduled traction battery charge events that are to take place… Similarly, the processes, methods, logic, or strategies may be stored as data and instructions executable by a controller…")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Carpenter to store a designated wake time specified by a user in a local task schedule in order to perform an operation such as charging for an electric vehicle according to the user’s schedule so that it is at a desired charge rate at a desired time, without interfering with travel by needing a to charge at a time the user needs to drive to a destination.
Regarding claim 7, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 6, where the user entry of the local task schedule includes the user designated time and has a corresponding designated vehicle operation, upon being turned to the powered-on state from the power-off state by activation controller at the wake time, the vehicle controller to perform the corresponding vehicle operation designated by the user entry.
However, Carpenter teaches The electric vehicle of claim 6, where the user entry of the local task schedule includes the user designated time and has a corresponding designated vehicle operation, upon being turned to the powered-on state from the power-off state by activation controller at the wake time, the vehicle controller to perform the corresponding vehicle operation designated by the user entry. (see at least [0018]; "With reference to FIG. 2, a controller, e.g., a hybrid powertrain controller, determines whether a charge time has been scheduled at operation 20. If yes, the controller determines whether the current time falls within the scheduled charge time at operation 22. If yes, the controller initiates the charging at operation 24. The controller, at operation 26, then enters low power mode. The algorithm them ends. Returning to each of operations 20 and 22, if no, the algorithm then proceeds to operation 26.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Carpenter which teaches a user entry of the local task schedule has a corresponding designated vehicle operation at the wake time in order to perform the desired operation at an appropriate or desired timeline – such as charging in the middle of the night when the user is not planning to travel.
Regarding claim 10, Kurnik teaches The electric vehicle of claim 7, where the designated vehicle operation comprises a status report of one or more operating parameters of the electric vehicle, including operating parameters of the HV battery of the electric vehicle. (see at least [0022]; " For example, the processor 202 could be designed to check the status of a battery subsystem or a fuel subsystem while the vehicle is parked")
Regarding claim 11, Kurnik teaches The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wake time is based on a wake interval. (see at least [0029]; "The methodology described herein collects wake up requests from onboard vehicle subsystems, ECUs, and/or processing tasks, and handles the requests during a controller shutdown procedure to set the next wake up time for the controller. During the controller shutdown procedure, the closest (in time) requested wake up time is given priority, and other wake up requests are queued in the event that the highest priority wake up request is cancelled before shutdown occurs. While the controller is awake, timer information is analyzed to determine whether a programmed wake up time has passed. If so, then the next requested wake up time will become current. If a requested wake up time is within a predetermined, short amount of time (e.g., ten seconds), then the controller will not be allowed to shut down until after that wake up request has been serviced. ")
Regarding claim 14, Kurnik teaches The electric vehicle of claim 11, wherein the wake interval is fixed over time. (see at least [0050]; " Accordingly, the process 400 may analyze and program relative wake up times that contemplate any elapsed time that has been recorded between engine shut down and the controller power down procedure. Assume, for example, that the wake up request designates a wake up time of 60 minutes after engine shut down, and that the controller remains active for 10 minutes after engine shut down. If the requested wake up time is not subjected to any other adjustments, then the wake up timer will be programmed to wake up in 50 minutes. This form of timing offset ensures that wake up requests are serviced in the expected manner regardless of when the controller is actually powered down.")
Regarding claim 17, Kurnik does not disclose The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wake time is based on a battery charging interval.
However, Kent teaches The electric vehicle of claim 16, wherein the wake time is based on a battery charging interval. (see at least [0046]; "For example, IBS 212, while in a stealth state, may periodically wake itself up to monitor conditions of the electric battery 110 (e.g., battery state of charge, battery voltage, etc.) without waking up any other domain controllers 203 (ECUs). If IBS 212 detects a condition that needs to be reported to central gateway 201 (e.g., a low battery condition), IBS 212 sends a notification (e.g., low voltage (LV) state of charge notification 234) to central gateway 201 to inform central gateway 201 of the condition.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Kent which teaches a wake time to be based on a battery charging interval in order to maintain health and charge for the battery so that the electric vehicle is at its maximum capacity when it needs to be used, and does not waste time during its drive state to charge.
Regarding claim 20, Kurnik teaches a vehicle controller for controlling operation of the electric vehicle; (see at least [0019]; "FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic representation of a vehicle 100 that includes at least one onboard electronic control unit (ECU) 102. Although the vehicle 100 is depicted with three ECUs 102, any number may be deployed to suit the needs of the particular embodiment. In certain embodiments, an ECU 102 may be suitably configured to function as a body control module, an engine control module, a powertrain control module, or the like. ")
Kurnik fails to explicitly disclose An electrical system for an electric vehicle, the electrical system comprising: an electric motor for propelling the vehicle; a high-voltage (HV) battery to power the electric vehicle, including the electric motor and the vehicle controller;a low-voltage (LV) battery having a lower voltage than the HV battery; and an activation controller powered from the LV battery, at a wake time for charging the LV battery stored by the activation controller, the activation controller to provide an activation signal to transition the electric vehicle from an off-state, in which the HV battery is electrically disconnected from the electric motor and the vehicle controller, to an active state, where at least the vehicle controller is electrically connected to and powered from the HV battery, to initiate the vehicle controller to perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery.
However, Ando teaches An electrical system for an electric vehicle, the electrical system comprising: an electric motor for propelling the vehicle; (see at least [0044]; "In addition, in a case where the vehicle is an electric vehicle, the high-voltage ECU 101 can control the rotation rate of the drive motor 1041 by transmitting a signal for controlling the drive voltage, the drive current, the drive frequency, or the like of the drive motor 1041 of the drive device 104 (which will be described later) to the drive device 104")
a high-voltage (HV) battery to power the electric motor and the vehicle controller; (see at least [0044] ;"In addition, in a case where the vehicle is an electric vehicle, the high-voltage ECU 101 can control the rotation rate of the drive motor 1041 by transmitting a signal for controlling the drive voltage, the drive current, the drive frequency, or the like of the drive motor 1041 of the drive device 104 (which will be described later) to the drive device 104.")
a low-voltage (LV) battery having a lower voltage than the HV battery; (see at least [0006]; "low-voltage electric power source, which is an electric power source of which the voltage is lower than the voltage of the high-voltage electric power source")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Ando which teaches an electric vehicle with a high voltage and low voltage battery, with the activation controller being powered from the low voltage battery and the vehicle controller is powered from a high volage battery using a DC-DC converter when the vehicle is in the on state, and a high voltage battery being disconnected in the off in order to utilize a low voltage battery to maintain operations when the motor is not running, and only engage the high voltage battery when the vehicle is on in order to maximize the efficiency of both types of batteries and maintain health of the vehicle.
Ando and Kurnik, in combination, do not explicitly disclose an activation controller powered from the LV battery, at a wake time for charging the LV battery stored by the activation controller, the activation controller to provide an activation signal to transition the electric vehicle from an off-state, in which the HV battery is electrically disconnected from the electric motor and the vehicle controller, to an active state, where at least the vehicle controller is electrically connected to and powered from the HV battery, to initiate the vehicle controller to perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery.
However, Carpenter teaches an activation controller powered from the LV battery, at a wake time for charging the LV battery stored by the activation controller, the activation controller to provide an activation signal to transition the electric vehicle from an off-state, in which the HV battery is electrically disconnected from the electric motor and the vehicle controller, to an active state, where at least the vehicle controller is electrically connected to and powered from the HV battery, to initiate the vehicle controller to perform a charging operation of the LV battery from the HV battery. (see at least [0013, 0021,0065]; "A body control module, for example, may be programmed to periodically become active during key off and issue wake up signals via a Controller Area Network (CAN) or otherwise to a hybrid powertrain control module. Once active, the hybrid powertrain control module may be tasked with initiating any scheduled traction battery charge events that are to take place at that time… An output of the DC/DC converter module 48 may be electrically coupled to an auxiliary battery 50 (e.g., 12V battery) for charging the auxiliary battery 50.… The electric power modes are, for example, a “sleep mode (state where vehicle electric power source is cut off)”,
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Carpenter which teaches an activation controller powered by a LV battery which wakes to charge when the HV is electrically disconnected during an off state in order to be able to provide a charge to the controller at a lower rate while preserving the charge of the higher voltage battery.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kurnik (US 20150332526 A1) in view of Kent, Ando and Carpenter further in view of Lefebvre (FR 2986340 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 7, wherein the designated vehicle operation comprises a battery preconditioning operation of the HV battery of the electric vehicle.
However, Lefebvre teaches The electric vehicle of claim 7, wherein the designated vehicle operation comprises a battery preconditioning operation of a high-voltage battery of the electric vehicle. (see at least [042]; " According to one embodiment, the thermal regulation of the range extender is performed during the vehicle is not used in running: during charging of the high voltage traction battery from the external power source, during the thermal preconditioning of the passenger compartment of the vehicle before the departure during taxiing, during the thermal preconditioning phases of the high-voltage traction battery,")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Lefebvre which teaches a preconditioning operation of a high voltage battery in order for the battery to have optimal performance by increasing battery charge and extending the battery life.
Regarding claim 9, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 8, where the vehicle controller performs the battery preconditioning operation only if the electric vehicle is powered from external power equipment.
However, Lefebvre teaches The electric vehicle of claim 8, where the vehicle controller performs the battery preconditioning operation only if the electric vehicle is powered from external power equipment. (see at least [49, 50];" According to one embodiment, the thermal regulation of the range extender is performed during the thermal preconditioning of the vehicle high voltage traction battery, zero energy storage balance, by operating the valves of a fluid circuit of so as to allow the flow of fluid in the heat exchanger. [50] According to one embodiment, the thermal regulation of the range extender is performed during charging of the vehicle's high voltage traction battery from an external power source,… The thermal preconditioning of the main battery (typed "power") and the range extender 50 are battery balances (easement and traction) zero: all the energy required for the realization of the function is only taken from the external electrical installation via the charging cord and charger. The purpose of the thermal preconditioning of the main battery is to take advantage of the connection of the vehicle to the external electrical sector")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Lefebvre which teaches a preconditioning operation of a battery only when connected to external power in order to preserve the energy of the battery for a longer duration of operation for the vehicle.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kurnik (US 20150332526 A1) in view of Kent, Ando and Carpenter further in view of Tillman (US 20200223376 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 11, when the electric vehicle is in the off state, upon expiration of the wake interval, the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller to the powered-on state from the powered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from the off state to the on state, and to initiate the vehicle controller to perform a check for remote user communication with the electric vehicle which was made when the electric vehicle was in the off state.
However, Tillman teaches The electric vehicle of claim 11, when the electric vehicle is in the off state, upon expiration of the wake interval, the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller to the powered-on state from the powered-off state to wake the electric vehicle from the off state to the on state, and to initiate the vehicle controller to perform a check for remote user communication with the electric vehicle which was made when the electric vehicle was in the off state. (see at least [Figure 1, 0018, 0019, 0021]; "The computing platform 104 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile device 140 of the vehicle users/occupants via a wireless connection 184 through a wireless transceiver 136… The computing platform 104 may be further configured to communicate various electronic control units (ECUs) 152 via one or more in-vehicle network 150. The in-vehicle network 150 may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a CAN, an Ethernet network, and a media-oriented system transport (MOST), as some examples… For instance, the PCM 156 may include a vehicle immobilizer (not shown) configured to control the operating state of the vehicle 102. The PCM 156 may be configured to switch the vehicle 102 between an ON state and an OFF state. In the ON state, the vehicle 102 may have both the vehicle engine (or an electric motor) and the transmission active and the vehicle 102 ready to drive. The ECUs 152 and the in-vehicle network 150 may be in a wakeup mode to fully perform vehicle functions. In the OFF state, ECUs 152 and the in-vehicle network 150 may be put into a sleep mode to save power, while some ECUs 152 are allowed to perform limited operations according the vehicle features. For instance, a body control module (BCM) 158 (to be discussed below) may be configured to stay partially active to receive remote input (e.g. door lock/unlock) when the vehicle 102 is in the OFF state. The PCM 156 may be further configured to provide an accessory (ACC) state in which the vehicle engine is not running but some ECUs 152 and the in-vehicle network 150 are waken up to provide limited vehicle features (e.g. radio, telecommunication or the like).")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Tillman which teaches the controller waking the vehicle to check for remote communication from the user in order to ensure continuous accuracy of the desired schedule wake times from the user.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kurnik (US 20150332526 A1) in view of Kent, Ando and Carpenter further in view of Moran (US 20090300595 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 12, to perform
the check for remote user communication, the vehicle controller to download remotely entered user designated times from a memory remote to the electric vehicle to the memory of the activation controller.
However, Moran teaches The electric vehicle of claim 12, to perform the check for remote user communication, the vehicle controller to download remotely entered user designated times from a memory remote to the electric vehicle to the memory of the activation controller. (see at least [0043]; "Also for example, method 300 may include a method of remotely updating control software in a heavy-duty vehicle having at least one programmed controller, the method comprising securing the heavy-duty vehicle, determining that the vehicle is secured, establishing a wireless connection with the heavy-duty vehicle, downloading an updated control software, and updating the heavy-duty vehicle's control software with the updated control software in response to the determining that the vehicle is secured.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Moran to download remotely entered user times in order for the user to be able to program a wake time without having to be inside the vehicle to do in the event they were away from the vehicle or as a matter of convenience.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kurnik (US 20150332526 A1) in view of Kent, Ando and Carpenter further in view of Im (KR 20200104709 A).Regarding claim 15, Kurnik fails to disclose The electric vehicle of claim 11, wherein the wake interval varies over time based on user interactions with the electric vehicle.
However, Im teaches The electric vehicle of claim 11, wherein the wake interval varies over time based on user interactions with the electric vehicle. (see at least [0027]; "Further, the reference time information providing unit 600 may be implemented as a multimedia device such as an AVN (Audio, Video, Navigation) system mounted on a vehicle, and accordingly, a user interface (UI) for receiving the reserved charging time of the battery from the user. Interface).")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Im which teaches a wake interval varying over time based on user interactions to cater the wake times to the behaviors and preferences of the user in order to increase convenience and ease of use of the vehicle.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C 103 as being unpatentable over Kurnik (US 20150332526 A1) in view of Ando and Carpenter further in view of Park (US 20130116876 A1).
Regarding claim 19, Kurnik discloses waking the electric powersport vehicle from the off state to the on state at the wake time by employing the activation controller to turn the vehicle controller from the powered-off state to a powered-on state (see at least [0035]; "Thus, when the wake up timer 304 reaches the set wake up time, it initiates a wake up procedure wherein operating power/voltage is applied to the controller hardware, which in turn causes the controller to transition to its powered up state."
Kurnik does not explicitly disclose A method of operating an electric powersport vehicle having an off state and an on-state, the method comprising: storing a programmable wake time for charging a low-voltage battery of the electric powersport vehicle in an activation controller of the electric vehicle, the activation controller being powered by the low-voltage battery;switching a vehicle controller of the electrical powersport vehicle to a powered-off state to switch the electric powersport vehicle to the off state; in which the vehicle controller is powered by a high-voltage battery of the electric powersport vehicle; and initiating the vehicle controller to perform a charging operation of the low-voltage battery from the high-voltage battery.
However, Carpenter teaches storing a programmable wake time for charging a low-voltage battery of the electric powersport vehicle in an activation controller of the electric vehicle,(see at least [0013, 0021]; "“A body control module, for example, may be programmed to periodically become active during key off and issue wake up signals via a Controller Area Network (CAN) or otherwise to a hybrid powertrain control module. Once active, the hybrid powertrain control module may be tasked with initiating any scheduled traction battery charge events that are to take place at that time…An output of the DC/DC converter module 48 may be electrically coupled to an auxiliary battery 50 (e.g., 12V battery) for charging the auxiliary battery 50.… An output of the DC/DC converter module 48 may be electrically coupled to an auxiliary battery 50 (e.g., 12V battery) for charging the auxiliary battery 50”)
initiating the vehicle controller to perform a charging operation of the low-voltage battery from the high-voltage battery. (see at least [0021]; " An output of the DC/DC converter module 48 may be electrically coupled to an auxiliary battery 50 (e.g., 12V battery) for charging the auxiliary battery 50.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Carpenter which teaches storing a programmable wake time for charging a low voltage battery in order to be able to keep the desired charge for the battery throughout a desired time period of no or little use.
Carpenter and Kurnik, in combination, do not explicitly teach the activation controller being powered by the low-voltage battery; switching a vehicle controller of the electrical powersport vehicle to a powered-off state to switch the electric powersport vehicle to the off state; in which the vehicle controller is powered by a high-voltage battery of the electric powersport vehicle.
However, Ando teaches the activation controller being powered by the low-voltage battery; (see at least [00046]; "Meanwhile, the low-voltage ECU 102 is a computer that controls a device that operates when there is electric power supplied from the low-voltage battery 502")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Ando which teaches a controller being powered by a low voltage battery in order to utilize low voltage when the vehicle is in an off state and not generating more power to preserve charge.
Ando, Carpenter and Kurnik, in combination, switching a vehicle controller of the electrical powersport vehicle to a powered-off state to switch the electric powersport vehicle to the off state;
However, Park teaches switching a vehicle controller of the electrical powersport vehicle to a powered-off state to switch the electric powersport vehicle to the off state; (see at least [0035]; "In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for performing emergency control of an electric vehicle includes: generating, by each of the main controller and the sub controller, control information for vehicle control according to input data from at least one sensor, and outputting the generated control information to a motor control unit; determining whether a malfunction occurs in the motor control unit according to whether there is a response from the motor control unit; and if a malfunction occurs in the motor control unit, cutting off power supplied to the motor control unit through power relay assembly (PRA) control such that the vehicle performs emergency stop.")
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kurnik to incorporate teachings of Park which teaches switching the vehicle controller of the electrical vehicle to a powered-off state which switches the electrical vehicle to the off state in order for the controllers to be able to fulfill the desired wake and shut down times without a key ignition to turn the vehicle off.
Conclusion
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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/HANA VICTORIA HALL/Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/RACHID BENDIDI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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