DETAILED ACTION
Summary
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This is a first Office Action on the merits.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Claim Objections
Claims 3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 3, line 5, please amend “the departure time” to recite “a departure time”;
In claim 4, line 4, se amend “correcting the charge amount” to recite “correcting a charging amount”;
In claim 9, line 3, please amend “correcting the charge amount” to recite “correcting a charging amount”;
In claim 11, line 3, please amend “the departure time” to recite “a departure time”;
In claim 12, line 2, please amend “correcting the charge amount” to recite “correcting a charging amount”;
In claim 15, line 2, please amend “correcting the charge amount” to recite “correcting a charging amount”;
In claim 17, line 5, please amend “the departure time” to recite “a departure time”;
In claim 18, line 4, please amend “correcting the charge amount” to recite “correcting a charging amount”;
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3, 6-8 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by PANASONIC IP MAN CORP, JP 2021-078248 (hereinafter referred to as PANASONIC).
Re claims 1, 6, and 7:
PANASONIC discloses a charging and discharging management device comprising a processor configured to execute operations comprising:
Acquiring schedule information on movement of a user of an electric vehicle (i.e., usage management system receives a user’s request regarding the electric vehicle 100, the request including a user’s planned trip to a destination [0015] [0034] [0047] [0048]);
Calculating a movement distance of the electric vehicle on the basis of the schedule information (i.e., planned travel distance the user uses the electric vehicle for the trip [0048]);
Calculating electric energy required for moving the electric vehicle from the movement distance (i.e., required electric energy can be estimated from the planned travel distance [0049] [0081]); and
Creating a charging schedule for a plurality of electric vehicles so that the total of charging power of the plurality of electric vehicles that are simultaneously charged does not exceed a predetermined threshold value, on the basis of the required energy of each electric vehicle (i.e., determination unit 233 determines the charging schedule so that the total electric power used for charging the plurality of electric vehicles does not exceed the threshold value [0058] [0066] [0067] [0088] [0089]).
Re claims 2, 10, and 16:
PANASONIC discloses the charging and discharging device, method, and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium of claims 1, 6, and 7, wherein the creating a charging schedule further comprises creating the charging schedule so that charging of the electric vehicle is completed before a departure time of the electric vehicle (i.e., the determination unit determines the charging schedule such that the electric vehicle is charged to a predetermined value before the start time of the usage schedule [0061]-[0065]).
Re claims 3, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20:
PANASONIC discloses the charging and discharging device, method, and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium of claims 2, 7, 10, and 16, the processor further configured to execute operations comprising:
Transmitting an alert to a user of the electronic vehicle that is not able to complete charging before the departure time (i.e., the user may be notified that the electric energy of the electric vehicle is less than the planned use amount [0052]. Additionally, the usage management system may notify the user through terminal device 50 that the electric vehicle cannot be charged according to the charging schedule [0074]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 4, 9, 12, 15, and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PANASONIC, JP 2021-078248 in view of MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LTD (hereinafter referred to as MITSUBISHI), JP2014-096928.
Re claim 4, 9, 12, 15, and 18:
PANASONIC teaches the charging and discharging device, method, and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium of claims 1, 6, and 7, but does not teach correcting a charging amount of the electric vehicle of a certain user on the basis of a use history of the electric vehicle of the user.
MITSUBISHI a charging schedule management device configured to correct a charging amount of an electric vehicle based on a use history of the electric vehicle (i.e., the charge schedule management device stores a user use history within a predetermined period in which identification information of the user and power consumption of the electric vehicle by the user are associated, and the estimation means adjusts the charge amount based on the user use history [0008] [0024] [0026] [0038] [0041] [0045]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of MITSUBISHI in the device, method and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium of PANASONIC to further include correction of a charging amount of the electric vehicle based on a use history of the electric vehicle. Incorporating user use history to correct a charging amount would be advantageous to facilitate charging of the electric vehicle based on a user’s actual historical usage of the electric vehicle to ensure the electric vehicle will have sufficient charge for the user’s next planned usage of the vehicle.
Claim(s) 5, 13, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over PANASONIC, JP 2021-078248 in view of PANASONIC, JP 2015-095983 (hereinafter referred to as PANASONIC 2015).
Re claims 5, 13, and 19:
PANASONIC teaches the charging and discharging device, method, and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium of claims 1, 6, and 7, but does not teach the creating a charging schedule further comprises determining an electric vehicle in which a charging amount calculated from the required electric energy and a residual capacity of a storage battery becomes a negative value as an electric vehicle to be discharged.
PANASONIC 2015 teaches a charge/discharge determination unit determines an electric vehicle to be discharged based on the schedule information stored in the storage unit, the remaining charge amount and the required charge amount of the battery acquired from the charge/discharge circuit. When the required charge amount is less than the charge storage amount, a discharge amount for discharging the surplus is obtained [0029] [0044]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further incorporate the teachings of PANASONIC 2015 in the device, method and computer-readable non-transitory recording medium of PANASONIC such that an electric vehicle to be discharged is determined when a charging amount calculated from the required electric energy and a residual capacity of a storage battery becomes a negative value. Such incorporation would make it possible to reduce the electricity bill for a commercial power source (PANASONIC 2015 [0009] [0044]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
MANNEPALLI, US 2022/0305942, teaches a system and method for scheduling electric charging for vehicles [abstract].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA A GUDORF whose telephone number is (571)270-7607. If the Examiner cannot be reached by telephone, she can be reached through the following e-mail address: laura.gudorf@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 6:00-4:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham, can be reached at telephone number (571)272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAURA A GUDORF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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