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
The communication is in response to application 18/526,978 filed on 08/17/2026. Claims 1, 9 and 15 have been amended. Claim 3 is canceled. Claims 1-2 and 4-20 are pending and examined in the instant office action. The rejections are as stated below.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed 08/17/2026, with respect to 103 rejections of claims 1-2 and 4-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made Sun et al., US 20190064793A1, in view of Diller et al., US 5487002A and in view of Matsunaga et al., US 20150134206A1.
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) 1-2 and 4-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al., US 20190064793A1, in view of Diller et al., US 5487002A and in view of Matsunaga et al., US 20150134206A1, hereinafter referred to as Sun, Diller and Matsunaga, respectively.
Regarding claim 1, Sun discloses a vehicle (Vehicle – See at least ¶13), comprising:
a computer system configured to (A computer system – See at least ¶14):
determine a destination (The vehicle motion control processing module can also obtain or be configured with the geographical location of a destination to which the vehicle is intending to travel – See at least ¶41 and FIG. 2);
estimate, for each of a plurality of predetermined routes to the destination, a second amount of energy to be used during driving of the vehicle to the destination (Generating a plurality of potential routings to a destination, generates corresponding vehicle motion control operations for the respective routings, predicts energy consumption for the respective routings and related vehicle motion control operations, and selects a routing and related motion controls based on the predicted energy consumption – See at least ¶41-44); and
dynamically control operating conditions to facilitate autonomous driving of the vehicle using artificial intelligence to cause the vehicle operation to operate more efficiently (Determines predicted energy consumption using machine-learning techniques and dynamically selects and modifies vehicle motion control operations, including speed, acceleration, torque, throttle, braking, and other vehicle operating conditions, to reduce vehicle energy consumption with the selected controls being provided to the autonomous vehicle control system – See at least ¶42-44).
Sun fails to disclose a battery stack; a plurality of components powered by the battery stack, the plurality of components including a motor and one or more electrical devices; determine a first amount of available energy in the battery stack; and keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy by selecting one of the plurality of predetermined routes that keeps the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy.
However, Diller teaches:
a battery stack (a battery pack comprising a plurality of batteries of the electric vehicle – See at least col. 3, lines 43-49 and col. 4, lines 27-43)
a plurality of components powered by the battery stack, the plurality of components including a motor and one or more electrical devices (wherein the electric vehicle includes a battery pack as its energy storage system and the EMS controls motor controller, which activates the traction motor, HVAC system and external lighting system – See at least col. 3, lines 43-49 and col. 4, lines 8-17);
determine a first amount of available energy in the battery stack (The EMS determines if sufficient energy is remaining to complete the route proposed by the navigator. If sufficient energy remains an energy consumed value is provided to the navigator which is received as a response by the navigator – See at least col. 15, lines 35-40 and col. 16 lines 25-32); and
keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy by selecting one of the plurality of predetermined routes that keeps the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy (Calculates the energy required for a trip and determines whether the trip can be made using the energy available in the battery pack, and when sufficient energy is available for a route, evaluates additional candidate routes and selects the most energy efficient route – See at least col. 15, lines 32-44 and col. 16, lines 25-41).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Sun and include the feature of a battery stack; a plurality of components powered by the battery stack, the plurality of components including a motor and one or more electrical devices; determine a first amount of available energy in the battery stack; and keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy by selecting one of the plurality of predetermined routes that keeps the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, as taught by Diller, to provide an energy management system for optimum use of an electric vehicle by allowing the driver to select performance modes, driving profiles and destinations while informing the driver of vehicle status, range, navigational route capability and vehicle efficiency control.
The combination of Sun and Diller fail to disclose dynamically control operating conditions to facilitate autonomous driving of the vehicle using artificial intelligence to cause the plurality of components including the motor and the one or more electrical devices to operate more efficiently.
However, Matsunaga teaches dynamically control operating conditions to cause the plurality of components including the motor and the one or more electrical devices to operate more efficiently (Determines a required travel energy amount and dynamically controls an electrical device, including an air conditioner output when the required travel energy amount is high so that stored electrical power in the battery can be utilized for operation of the motor, and permitting increased air conditioner output when the required travel energy amount is lower, thereby coordinating operation of the motor and the electrical device to improve vehicle energy utilization – See at least ¶68-72).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Sun and include the feature of dynamically control operating conditions to cause the plurality of components including the motor and the one or more electrical devices to operate more efficiently, as taught by Matsunaga, to provide a vehicle energy management device capable of controlling vehicle devices with good energy efficiency.
*Claims 9 and 15 are rejected under same rationale as claim 1 above.
Regarding claim 2, Sun discloses wherein the plurality of components being controlled based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy includes at least one sensor configured in the vehicle (Vehicle sensor subsystem 144 includes an IMU, GPS transceiver, Radar, Lidar, cameras and other sensors, and one or more sensors may be separately or collectively actuated. Computing system may control the vehicle sensor subsystem – See at least ¶23, 29 and 32).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Sun and Diller fail to disclose wherein the plurality of components being controlled based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy include an air conditioning unit.
However, Matsunaga teaches wherein the plurality of components being controlled based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy include an air conditioning unit (Prepares an output power control plan for an air conditioner based on required travel energy and increases or reduces air conditioner output accordingly – See at least ¶68-72).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Sun and Diller and include the feature of wherein the plurality of components being controlled based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy include an air conditioning unit, as taught by Matsunaga, to provide a vehicle energy management device capable of controlling vehicle devices with good energy efficiency.
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Sun and Diller fail to disclose wherein the plurality of components being controlled, based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, includes a heating system.
However, Matsunaga teaches wherein the plurality of components being controlled, based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, includes a heating system (FIG. 5 shows the required travel energy amount calculated when creating the control plan for the vehicle devices in terms of variation over time, instead of those amounts in the respective sections. In this case, it is assumed that the air conditioner operates in a heater mode to raise the temperature of the vehicle interior – See at least ¶67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Sun and Diller and include the feature of wherein the plurality of components being controlled, based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, includes a heating system, as taught by Matsunaga, to provide a vehicle energy management device capable of controlling vehicle devices with good energy efficiency.
Regarding claim 6, Sun fails to disclose wherein the plurality of components being controlled, based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, includes a ventilation system.
However, Diller teaches wherein the plurality of components being controlled, based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, includes a ventilation system (Vehicle subsystem including heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system 56 and external lighting system 58 are sensed and controlled by the EMS based on inputs from the driver interface – See at least col. 4, lines 10-15).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Sun and include the feature of wherein the plurality of components being controlled, based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy, includes a ventilation system, as taught by Diller, to provide an energy management system for optimum use of an electric vehicle by allowing the driver to select performance modes, driving profiles and destinations while informing the driver of vehicle status, range, navigational route capability and vehicle efficiency control.
Regarding claim 7, Sun discloses wherein the plurality of components being controlled based at least in part on keeping the second amount of energy to be used smaller than the first amount of available energy include a multimedia system (As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle control system and the energy-optimized motion planning module can also receive data, object processing control parameters, and training content from user mobile devices, which can be located inside or proximately to the vehicle. The user mobile devices can represent standard mobile devices, such as cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDA's), MP3 players, tablet computing devices (e.g., iPad™), laptop computers, CD players, and other mobile devices, which can produce, receive, and/or deliver data, object processing control parameters, and content for the in-vehicle control system and the energy-optimized motion planning module – See at least ¶17).
Regarding claim 8, Sun discloses wherein the operating conditions of the plurality of components include a speed of the vehicle (The vehicle energy consumption model is provided in an example embodiment to anticipate or predict and score the likely effects to the vehicle's energy consumption based on the vehicle's changes in speed – See at least ¶43).
Regarding claim 10, Sun discloses wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes selecting a route to the destination (Once the predicted energy consumption scores are generated for each of the plurality of potential routings and related motion controls, the vehicle motion control processing module can select the potential routing and related motion controls with the lowest predicted energy consumption score – See at least ¶44).
Regarding claim 11, Sun fails to disclose wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes changing the destination of the vehicle.
However, Diller teaches wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes changing the destination of the vehicle (If the energy required for the trip will exceed the available battery energy, the EMS identifies to the navigator the street segment indicating where the vehicle will "run out' of energy. The navigator will then employ an alternate route scheme for identifying a destination with a charging station with a lower mileage requirement than the energy exhaustion point – See at least col. 15, lines 40-45).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Sun and include the feature of wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes changing the destination of the vehicle, as taught by Diller, to provide an energy management system for optimum use of an electric vehicle by allowing the driver to select performance modes, driving profiles and destinations while informing the driver of vehicle status, range, navigational route capability and vehicle efficiency control.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Sun and Diller fail to disclose wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes turning off a component of the vehicle.
However, Matsunaga teaches wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes turning off a component of the vehicle (In addition, when the own vehicle approaches the destination point (end point of the travel route) (when the distance between the current location and the destination point is equal to or less than a specific value, or the difference between the current time and the estimated arrival time at the destination point is equal to or less than a specific value), unnecessary use of the air conditioner may be prevented by planning to limit the output power of the air conditioner (in FIG. 5, the plan is such that the output power of the air conditioner is made zero when the vehicle enters the section D10, which is a section immediately before the destination point) – See at least ¶70).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Sun and Diller and include the feature of wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes turning off a component of the vehicle, as taught by Matsunaga, to provide a vehicle energy management device capable of controlling vehicle devices with good energy efficiency.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Sun and Diller fail to disclose wherein the component is configured to facilitate autonomous driving of the vehicle, to heat the vehicle, to condition air in the vehicle.
However, Matsunaga teaches wherein the component is configured to facilitate autonomous driving of the vehicle, to heat the vehicle, to condition air in the vehicle (FIG. 5 shows the required travel energy amount calculated when creating the control plan for the vehicle devices in terms of variation over time, instead of those amounts in the respective sections. In this case, it is assumed that the air conditioner operates in a heater mode to raise the temperature of the vehicle interior – See at least ¶67).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Sun and Diller and include the feature of wherein the component is configured to facilitate autonomous driving of the vehicle, to heat the vehicle, to condition air in the vehicle, as taught by Matsunaga, to provide a vehicle energy management device capable of controlling vehicle devices with good energy efficiency.
Regarding claim 14, Sun discloses wherein the controlling of the operating conditions of the plurality of components includes reducing a speed of the vehicle (For example, the vehicle motion control processing module can modify the related vehicle motion control operations to cause the vehicle to travel at a lower speed – See at least ¶44).
Regarding claim 16, Sun discloses wherein the second amount of energy to be used is estimated based at least in part on inclination information of a route to the destination (Vehicle operational variables (Such as speed, acceleration, and road grade/inclination) and model-calibrated parameters (such as cold-start coefficients and engine-friction factor) are utilized as input data – See at least ¶40-42).
Regarding claim 17, Sun discloses wherein the second amount of energy to be used is estimated based at least in part on traffic information of a route to the destination (Combined with environmental map information (e.g., geographical location, elevation information, roadway information, traffic information, energy refilling/recharging locations, and the like) and a predefined vehicle energy consumption model, an autonomous vehicle motion control output, optimized relative to the vehicle energy consumption model and the sensor data, is generated using an energy-optimized autonomous vehicle motion planning system – See at least ¶40).
Regarding claim 18, Sun discloses wherein the second amount of energy to be used is estimated based at least in part on speed information of a route to the destination (Identifies vehicle speed as sensor information and expressly uses speed as an operational variable input to the vehicle energy consumption model for predicting energy consumption for the potential routes – See at least ¶40-42).
Regarding claim 19, Sun discloses wherein the second amount of energy to be used is estimated based at least in part on temperature information of a route to the destination (External sensors can collect data regarding external circumstances of the autonomous vehicle, including the position of a vehicle in front of the autonomous vehicle (to determine drafting characteristics), road inclination, road surface friction, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, external temperature, and the like – See at least ¶40).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sun et al., US 20190064793A1, in view of Diller et al., US 5487002A, in view of Matsunaga et al., US 20150134206A1, as applied to claim 15 above and further in view of Meyer et al., US 20160061611A1, hereinafter referred to as Sun, Diller, Matsunaga and Meyer, respectively.
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Sun, Diller and Matsunaga fail to disclose wherein the second amount of energy to be used is estimated based at least in part on estimated stop time on a route to the destination.”
However, Meyer teaches “wherein the second amount of energy to be used is estimated based at least in part on estimated stop time on a route to the destination” (energy prediction tool may provide an accurate energy consumption prediction for the vehicle based on historical energy consumption information for the vehicle, external information that may affect energy consumption by the vehicle, vehicle systems information that may affect energy consumption by the vehicle, and/or selected road segment information. For example, the energy prediction tool may rely on a speed prediction model and stop prediction model in order to predict the energy consumption for the vehicle based, at least in part, on a predicted speed of the vehicle traveling along a road segment and a predicted number of stops for the vehicle as it travels along the road segment – See at least ¶16).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the combination of Sun, Diller and Matsunaga and include the feature of wherein the second amount is estimated based at least in part on estimated stop time on a route to the destination, as taught by Meyer, to identify a plurality of alternative feasible routes based, at least in part, on shortest distance or shortest transit time.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Uyeki et al., (US 20120109515 A1) discloses a vehicle navigation system is provided to determine a traveling route from a current vehicle location to a destination location at least partially according to the present state of charge of the vehicle battery. If the present SOC is insufficient to reach the destination using shortest time or shortest distance routes, the navigation system preferentially selects low speed routes over higher speed routes in determining the traveling route.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MAHMOUD M KAZIMI whose telephone number is (571)272-3436. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Erin Bishop can be reached at 5712703713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MAHMOUD M KAZIMI/Examiner, Art Unit 3665
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