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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to application 18/550,125 filed 9/11/23. Claims 1-10, 12, 14-19, 21-23, and 25 are pending with claims 1 and 23 in independent form.
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 –
Claim(s) 1-3, 5, 7, 15-17, and 23-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cole et al. US 2020/0139820 A1.
Cole teaches:
Re: claim 1, Apparatus for transferring electrical power to or from an electric vehicle ([0019]), comprising: a housing (floor unit 8) configured to be installed at or above ground level in a space in which an electric vehicle may be parked (fig. 1; [0021]), such that when parked the electric vehicle is positioned on or over the housing; a first connector (electrical connector 34) engageable with a second connector (connector 38) on the electric vehicle (EV 4), the first connector (electrical connector 34) being disposed in the housing (fig. 1; [0019]); one or more sensors (sensors 316, 318, 320) configured to detect a current position of the second connector relative to the first connector ([0029]); an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the first connector ([0027]-[0032]); a controller (controller [0029]-[0034]) configured to receive information from the one or more sensors indicative of the current position of the first connector relative to the second connector, determine an adjustment required to align the first connector with the second connector in dependence on the information received from the one or more sensors, control the adjustment mechanism in accordance with the determined adjustment to align the first and second connectors ([0028]-[0029]), and engage the first connector with the second connector once aligned to thereby make an electrical connection for transferring electrical power to or from the electric vehicle ([0030]-[0031]); and a power circuit configured to transfer electrical power to or from the electric vehicle via said electrical connection (fig. 1 and 6; [0020], [0023]).
Re: claim 2, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of the controller, power circuit, adjustment mechanism and one or more sensors are disposed in the housing (fig. 1, floor unit 8; [0019]).
Re: claim 3, The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller, power circuit, adjustment mechanism and one or more sensors are disposed in the housing, such that the apparatus can be installed in and/or removed from said space as a single unit (fig. 1, floor unit 8; [0019]).
Re: claim 5, The apparatus of any one of The apparatus of claim 1 comprising: one or more power storage units for storing electrical power, wherein the power circuit is configured to transfer electrical power between the one or more power storage units and the electric vehicle via said electrical connection ([0003]-[0004], [0019]-[0020]).
Re: claim 7, The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more power storage units are disposed in the housing ([0003]-[0004], [0019]-[0020]).
Re: claim 15, The apparatus of claim 1, comprising: means for detecting and/or removing an obstruction from a path between the first and second connectors ([0039]).
Re: claim 16, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first connector is configured to be extendable in a first direction towards the second connector to engage the first connector with the second connector, and wherein the adjustment mechanism is configured to move the first connector in a plane inclined with respect to the first direction to adjust the position of the first connector ([0026], [0028], [0030]).
Re: claim 17, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electric vehicle is an automobile ([0019]).
Re: claim 23, A control method of an electric vehicle charging apparatus ([0019]) comprising a housing (floor unit 8) configured to be installed at or above ground level in a space in which an electric vehicle may be parked (fig. 1; [0021]), such that when parked the electric vehicle is positioned on or over the housing, a first connector (electrical connector 34) engageable with a second (connector 38) on the electric vehicle (EV 4), the first connector (electrical connector 34) being disposed in the housing (fig. 1; [0019]), one or more sensors (sensors 316, 318, 320) configured to detect a current position of the second connector relative to the first connector ([0029]), an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the first connector ([0027]-[0032]), and a power circuit configured to transfer electrical power to or from the electric vehicle ([0019], [0023]), the method comprising: receiving information from the one or more sensors indicative of the current position of the first connector relative to the second connector ([0029]); determining an adjustment required to align the first connector with the second connector in dependence on the information received from the one or more sensors ([0028]-[0029]); controlling the adjustment mechanism in accordance with the determined adjustment to align the first and second connectors ([0028]-[0029]); engaging the first connector with the second connector once aligned to thereby make an electrical connection for transferring electrical power to or from the electric vehicle ([0028]-[0029]); and transferring electrical power to or from the electric vehicle via said electrical connection, using the power circuit ([0019], [0023]).
Re: claim 25, A non-volatile computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of a method according to claim 23 ([0030]-[0035]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole et al. US 2020/0139820 A1.
The teachings of Cole have been discussed above.
Cole fails to specifically teach:
Re: claim 4, The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising at least one ramp on one or more sides of the housing so as to allow the electric vehicle to be driven up the at least one ramp and over the housing when parking in the space.
However, Maier teaches:
Re: claim 4, The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising at least one ramp on one or more sides of the housing so as to allow the electric vehicle to be driven up the at least one ramp and over the housing when parking in the space (fig. 7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the ramp of Maier into the apparatus of Cole as an obvious matter of design choice with the benefit of providing a means of raising a vehicle if the charging equipment is required to have an elevation.
Claim(s) 8, 10, and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole et al. US 2020/0139820 A1 in view of Masuda US 2018/0236889 A1.
The teachings of Cole have been discussed above.
Cole fails to specifically teach:
Re: claim 8, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are disposed so as to capture an image of the underside of the electric vehicle when the electric vehicle is situated in the space above the first connector, and/or wherein the controller is configured to use a machine learning algorithm to assign the captured image to one of a plurality of image classes each corresponding to a different position of the second connector in the captured image, and is configured to determine the required adjustment by retrieving a stored predetermined adjustment associated with the assigned image class.
Re: claim 10, The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is configured to transmit the captured image to the electric vehicle in which the electric vehicle is being parked in the space above the first connector, to assist a user5of the electric vehicle in approximately aligning the second connector with the first connector, and/or wherein the captured image comprises an image captured at visible wavelengths or an infrared image, or an ultrasound image.
Re: claim 12, The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the apparatus is configured to transmit information indicative of a range of the adjustment mechanism to the electric vehicle, and/or wherein the information indicative of a range of the adjustment mechanism comprises a bounding box overlaid on the captured image to indicate an area within which the first connector is capable of being positioned by the adjustment mechanism.
However, Masuda teaches:
Re: claim 8, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are disposed so as to capture an image of the underside of the electric vehicle ( fig. 1, camera 14) when the electric vehicle is situated in the space above the first connector ([0038]), and/or wherein the controller is configured to use a machine learning algorithm to assign the captured image to one of a plurality of image classes each corresponding to a different position of the second connector in the captured image, and is configured to determine the required adjustment by retrieving a stored predetermined adjustment associated with the assigned image class.
Re: claim 10, The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is configured to transmit the captured image to the electric vehicle in which the electric vehicle is being parked in the space above the first connector, to assist a user5of the electric vehicle in approximately aligning the second connector with the first connector, and/or wherein the captured image comprises an image captured at visible wavelengths or an infrared image, or an ultrasound image ([0038]).
Re: claim 12, The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is configured to transmit information indicative of a range of the adjustment mechanism to the electric vehicle, and/or wherein the information indicative of a range of the adjustment mechanism comprises a bounding box overlaid on the captured image to indicate an area within which the first connector is capable of being positioned by the adjustment mechanism ([0038], [0040]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Masuda into the apparatus of Cole as an obvious matter of design choice for the benefit of visually clearing the bottom of the vehicle before attempting the recharge operation.
Claim(s) 14, 18, and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cole et al. US 2020/0139820 A1.
The teachings of Cole have been discussed above.
Cole teaches wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the electric vehicle is positioned such that the second connector is beyond a range of the adjustment mechanism ([0029]-[0030], [0036]).
Cole fails to specifically teach:
Re: claim 14, The apparatus of claim 1, and is configured to transmit a misalignment notification message to the electric vehicle in dependence on a determination that the second connector is beyond a range of the adjustment mechanism.
Re: claim 18, The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether a vehicle parked in the space above the first connector is compatible with the first connector, and to automatically take an action in response to a determination that the vehicle is incompatible with the first connector.
Re: claim 22, The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the action comprises one or more of: activating an alarm; automatically issuing a parking violation notice; and alerting an authority to the presence of an incompatible vehicle in the space.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to transmit a misalignment notification to the system of Cole as an obvious matter of design choice as using a misalignment notification message is well-known in the art of vehicle charging with the benefit of alerting a user that a failure has occurred and/or possible user intervention is required.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate compatibility teachings with an alarm into the apparatus of Cole as an obvious matter of design choice for the benefit of alerting the user to potential inoperability issues due to connectors that are unknown or incapable of being recharged.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
Claims 1-10, 12, 14-19, 21-23 and 25 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-18 of U.S. Patent No. 12,275,322 B2. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the claims of the instant application recite similar limitations of the ‘322 Patent. For instance, in claim 1 of the instant application and in the ‘322 Patent, the applicant claims:
Application No. 18/550,125
Patent No. 12,275,322 B2
Apparatus for transferring electrical power to or from an electric vehicle, comprising: a housing configured to be installed at or above ground level in a space in which an electric vehicle may be parked, such that when parked the electric vehicle is positioned on or over the housing; a first connector engageable with a second connector on the electric vehicle, the first connector being disposed in the housing; one or more sensors configured to detect a current position of the second connector relative to the first connector; an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the first connector; a controller configured to receive information from the one or more sensors indicative of the current position of the first connector relative to the second connector, determine an adjustment required to align the first connector with the second connector in dependence on the information received from the one or more sensors, control the adjustment mechanism in accordance with the determined adjustment to align the first and second connectors, and engage the first connector with the second connector once aligned to thereby make an electrical connection for transferring electrical power to or from the electric vehicle; and a power circuit configured to transfer electrical power to or from the electric vehicle via said electrical connection.
Apparatus for transferring electrical power to or from an electric vehicle, comprising: a first connector engageable with a second connector on an electric vehicle, the first connector being disposed beneath a space in which the electric vehicle may be parked; one or more sensors configured to detect a current position of the second connector relative to the first connector, wherein the one or more sensors are disposed so as to capture an image of the underside of the electric vehicle when the electric vehicle is situated in the space above the first connector; an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a position of the first connector; a controller configured to receive information from the one or more sensors indicative of the current position of the first connector relative to the second connector, determine an adjustment required to align the first connector with the second connector in dependence on the information received from the one or more sensors, control the adjustment mechanism in accordance with the determined adjustment to align the first and second connectors, and engage the first connector with the second connector once aligned to thereby make an electrical connection for transferring electrical power to or from the electric vehicle; and a power circuit configured to transfer electrical power to or from the electric vehicle via said electrical connection, wherein the controller is configured to use a machine learning algorithm to assign the captured image to one of a plurality of image classes each corresponding to a different position of the second connector in the captured image, and is configured to determine the required adjustment by retrieving a stored predetermined adjustment associated with the assigned image class.
Therefore, in respect to above discussions, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the teachings of claims 1-18 of the ‘322 Patent as a general teaching for an apparatus for transferring electrical power to a vehicle, to perform the same function and method as claimed in the instant application. The claims of the instant application obviously encompass the claimed invention of the ‘322 patent and differ only in terminology. The claims of the instant application are broader in scope than the claims of the ‘322 patent.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 19 and 21 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 and overcoming the double patenting rejection.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art, in conjunction with all the other limitations of the claims: With respect to claim 6 and all its dependencies, wherein the one or more power storage units are arranged so as to be charged using electrical power received from a power supply and to subsequently provide said electrical power to the electric vehicle, and wherein the one or more power storage units are configured to supply the electrical power to the electric vehicle at a higher current than a maximum current provided by the power supply, such that a time required to charge the electric vehicle from the one or more power storage units is less than a corresponding time that would be required to charge the electric vehicle by the same amount from the power supply, when combined with all the limitations of claims 1 and 5 from which it depends. With respect to claim 19 and all its dependencies, wherein the controller is configured to analyze an image captured by the one or more sensors to determine whether the vehicle is an internal combustion engine vehicle, and is configured to determine that the vehicle is incompatible with the first connector in dependence on a determination that the vehicle is an internal combustion engine vehicle, and/or wherein the controller is configured to apply an image recognition algorithm to the image captured by the one or more sensors to detect one or more features indicative of an internal combustion engine vehicle, when combined with all the limitations of claims 1 and 18 from which it depends. With respect to claim 21 and all its dependencies, wherein the one or more sensors include an air sensor for detecting a characteristic of air, and the controller is configured to determine that the vehicle is incompatible with the first connector in dependence on the air sensor detecting a characteristic indicative of an exhaust emission of an internal combustion engine vehicle, when combined with all the limitations of claims 1 and 18 from which it depends. The prior art of record fails to provide sufficient teaching or motivation to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the additionally recited features of these claims in the combinations as claimed.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTY A HAUPT whose telephone number is (571)272-8545 and email address is kristy.haupt@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Sun 5:30 AM- 10PM; Flex during day.
If all attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Lee, can be reached at telephone number 571-272-2398. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KRISTY A HAUPT/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
KAH
Prosecution Insights