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 .
Specification
The specification is objected to under 37 C.F.R. §1.71(a) because it contains numerous grammatical errors, inconsistent terminology, and incorrect reference numerals. The informalities are as follows:
¶[0038] recites “store power receiving therefrom” and “by discharging and output the power” which should be revised to “store power received therefrom” and “by discharging and outputting the power,” respectively. ¶[0047] contains the duplicated phrase “may, … may receive”.
¶s[0050, 0051, 0053 and 0060] incorrectly identify the power charging/discharging facility with reference numeral 110, whereas, in Fig. 1, 110 designates an e-mobility and 120 designates the power charging/discharging facility.
Throughout the specification such as in ¶’s[0027, 0035, 0039], the terminology “integrated control/risk prediction server 140” and “integrated control/risk analysis server 140” are used interchangeably. It should be clarified if these components identify the same thing.
¶[0058] incorrectly refers to authentication result information generated by “authentication portion 308.” The disclosed authentication portion is 306, while 308 identifies the payment processing unit.
¶[0060] contains a grammatically incorrect phrase “based on through the communication portion 302 various pieces of information,” and refers to an undefined “ESS 112” which hasn’t been labelled in any figures. ¶[0065] recites “based on the receive identification information,” which should be revised to “based on the received identification information.” .
¶[0067] incorrectly describes an e-mobility that receives charging power as a “power providing e-mobility”; it should be identified as a “power receiving e-mobility.” ¶[0068] incorrectly refers to “event data recording portion 128,” whereas the event data recording portion is identified, in Fig. 2, as 218.
¶s[0070-0073] repeatedly identify the integrated control/risk analysis server as 130, although 130 identifies the communication network and the integrated control/risk analysis server is identified as 140. ¶[0074] recites that technologies “may be embodiment by hardware,” which should be corrected to “may be embodied by hardware.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 1-20 are objected to because the phrase “the sensor portion comprising one or more sensors of a camera sensor, a shock detection sensor….” is grammatically incorrect and does not clearly express the intended selection. The phrase should be amended to recite, for example, “one or more sensors selected from a camera sensor, a shock detection sensor ….”. The phrase “a power line for charging power supporting providing of the charging power” should also be revised to “a charging power line configured to support provision of the charging power” or comparable language.
Claims 7 and 8 are objected to because of grammatical informalities. In claim 7, “another first e-mobility” should be replaced with “another e-mobility” or “a third e-mobility.” In claim 8, “configured to control the providing of the charging power or the receiving of the discharge power … to be prevented” should be revised to “configured to prevent the providing of the charging power or the receiving of the discharge power.”
Claim 12 is objected to because it recites “configured to communicate with a server through an external communication network server” which should be amended to recite communication “with a server through an external communication network,” consistent with the remaining language of the claim.
Claims 15 and 16 are objected to because of grammatical informalities. In claim 15, “each of e-mobilities that are preregistered” should be revised to “each of the preregistered e-mobilities.” In claim 16, “a predetermined electronic money” should be revised to “a predetermined amount of electronic money.” The paired language “to/from … from/to” should be amended to explicitly state the transfer direction for a billing and a reverse-billing transaction.
Claim 17 is objected to because it recites that the risk prediction portion is recited as generating “a risk prediction signal … based on the risk prediction model and event data recording device”. It is unclear how the signal is based on the physical “event data recording device,” as opposed to event data received from the event data recording device.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(b) as indefinite. Claim 12 depends from claim 1 but recites “the electronic fingerprint” and “the electronic fingerprint generation portion.” Neither an electronic fingerprint nor an electronic fingerprint generation portion is introduced in claim 1. Those limitations are introduced in claim 11, but claim 12 does not depend from claim 11. Consequently, the scope of claim 12 is uncertain because it is unclear whether the claim implicitly requires the electronic-fingerprint limitations of claim 11 or whether some other unidentified component generates the recited fingerprint. The rejection may be overcome by changing the dependency of claim 12 to claim 11 or by expressly introducing the electronic fingerprint generation portion in claim 12.
Claims 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §112(b) as indefinite. Claim 18 depends directly from claim 14 but refers to “the risk prediction portion” and “the risk prediction signal.” Neither limitation is introduced in claim 14; both are introduced only in claim 17. Claim 19 inherits this deficiency through its dependency from claim 18. Claim 18 appears intended to depend from claim 17, and claim 19 should retain dependency through the corrected claim 18.
Claim 9 is additionally subject to rejection under 35 U.S.C. §112(b) because the scope of “a delete-proof function” is not reasonably clear. The specification in ¶[0051] explains that information may be maintained in a delete-proof state for a predetermined period and then automatically deleted permanently, whereas claim 9 contains no retention period or other boundary defining when a device is “delete-proof.” Applicant should define the term or recite the relevant retention limitation expressly.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 14 recites “according to claim 1” which makes it dependent from claim 1. But claim 14 does not include every limitation of claim 1 and does not further limit the same claimed power charging/discharging facility. Instead, claim 14 changes the claimed subject matter to a server device. A dependent claim must refer to a previously presented claim and specify a further limitation while incorporating all limitations of the referenced claim.
Applicant may cancel the claim(s), amend the claim(s) to place the claim(s) in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim(s) in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim(s) complies with the statutory requirements.
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 –
(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.
Claims 1, 4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated over Haas (U.S. 20170237944).
Regarding independent Claim 1, Haas teaches the following:
A power charging/discharging facility (Fig. 1 - Smart Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) 10; Fig. 2 – smart EVSE 200; abstract mentions of an electric vehicle charging station {interpreted as charging/discharging facility});
provides charging power to a first e-mobility (¶[48] discloses that smart EVSE 10 is used to charge an electric vehicle),
the power charging/discharging facility comprising:
a sensor portion, the sensor portion comprising one or more sensors of a camera sensor, a shock detection sensor, a vibration detection sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a rain sensor, and an electric leakage sensor (Fig. 1 – sensor 52, camera unit {or sensor} 12, video camera 15, image camera 17, Fig. 2 – camera unit 205, camera 220; abstract, ¶[10, 22, 46] discloses that the sensor 52 and camera unit 12 can be provided internally to the smart EVSE 10 or installed externally);
an event data recording device for the power charging/discharging facility (Fig. 1 - media storage device 50 in combination with processor 47, ¶[20, 38, 40]);
and a power line for charging power supporting providing of the charging power from the power charging/discharging facility to the first e-mobility (Fig. 2 – connector 206, charging cable 208, ¶[62]),
wherein the event data recording device comprises:
a housing (Fig. 2 – housing 202 containing the storage device, Fig. 5 – enclosure 500);
a data receiving portion configured to continuously receive event data about the power charging/discharging facility wherein the event data comprises one or more pieces of measurement information from the one or more sensors of the sensor portion (¶[61] discloses that a smart EVSE may be with integrated a camera {sensor} that is connected to a server via a network that can receive authentication information from a network; ¶[64] discloses that the built-in camera unit 205 includes a processor 235 configured to receive authentication information of a user over the communications network; The built-in camera unit 205 further includes a storage device 245 configured to store camera data 247; Fig. 2)
and a data recording portion configured to store the event data (Fig. 2 – storage device 245; ¶[64] discloses that the built-in camera unit 205 further includes a storage device 245 configured to store, camera data 247, the authentication information 240 locally at the smart EVSE 200 and store EVSE usage information 250)
Regarding dependent Claim 4, Haas teaches of a power charging/discharging facility wherein the event data (Fig. 1 - media storage device 50 in combination with processor 47) further comprise information about the providing of the charging power from the power charging/discharging facility to the first e-mobility, and the information about the providing of the charging power comprises a time when the providing of the charging power occurs, an amount of the charging power provided (¶’s[20, 38, 40] disclose that the smart EVSE 10 may further include a media storage device 50 {or the event data} to … store EVSE usage information including a specific time when the smart EVSE 10 is used and an amount of energy {or charging power} used at the specific time.)
and billing information about the providing of the charging power (Fig. 1 and ¶[48-50] disclose of a transaction module 72 coupled to the payment module 67. The transaction module 72 conducts monetary transactions through a billing center 75. The transaction module 72 enables verifying authorization for executing each transaction at the billing center 75.)
Regarding dependent Claim 6, Haas teaches of a power charging/discharging facility mentioned in claim 1, where a power system is connected to the camera unit 12 through an AC-DC power supply converter ¶[37] {power connection}. The EVSE 10 receives power through the 120 V AC wall outlet {or the grid power system} and provides that power to the vehicle.
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 2, 5, 7 and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hishida et al. (U.S. 20210380014).
Regarding dependent Claim 2, Haas is silent to a power charging/discharging facility that discharges power from a second e-mobility, and further comprising a power line for discharge power to support receiving of the discharge power from the second e- mobility.
Hishida teaches a power charging/discharging facility (Fig. 1 – 20) that discharges power from an e-mobility, further comprising a power line for discharge power (¶[32] disclose that vehicle 30 is connected to the charging and discharging facility 20 through a charging and discharging cable 22 … The vehicle 30 releases the power … by discharge of the battery 32, via the charging and discharging cable 22 {power line} and the charging and discharging facility 20.)
Haas and Hishida are analogous art since they both deal with vehicle charging stations.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Haas with Hishida, to discharge power from a e-mobility through a discharge power line to sell power back to the power grid and receive credit for the sale, thereby providing a financial return to the user ¶[67].
Regarding dependent Claim 5, Haas teaches of an event data comprising information about the receiving of the discharge power from an e- mobility to the power charging/discharging facility (¶’s[20, 38, 40] disclose that the smart EVSE 10 includes a media storage device 50 {or the event data} to … store EVSE usage information including a specific time when the smart EVSE 10 is used and an amount of energy {being interpreted as discharging power} used at the specific time.)
Haas is silent to information about the receiving of the discharge power comprising a time when the receiving of the discharge power occurs, an amount of the discharge power received, and reverse billing information about the receiving of the discharge power.
Hishida teaches information about the receiving of the discharge power comprising a time when the receiving of the discharge power occurs, an amount of the discharge power received, and reverse billing information about the receiving of the discharge power (¶’s[43, 64-68] disclose a user information storage unit 48 which includes a user information storage unit 282, a vehicle information storage unit 284, and a performance information storage unit 286 (Fig. 2) which stores information such as connection start and end time between the vehicle and power facility, amount of power transmission and reception between them {being interpreted as event data}, The consideration control unit 200 calculates the amount of payment to the user based on … a buying unit price … and a selling unit price {reverse billing}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Hishida, to incorporate all the above information for receiving the discharge power into an event data. The reason for performing the modification would have been to provide an incentive to encourage seamless user participation in V2G and connect the vehicle to the power network ¶[68,69] with seamless integration.
Regarding dependent Claim 7, Haas doesn’t disclose an ESS, wherein the discharge power received from the second e-mobility is stored in the ESS or provided to another first e-mobility connected to the power charging/discharging facility as charging power for the another first e-mobility.
Hishida teaches of an ESS {Fig.1 – stationary battery 14} wherein the discharge power received from an e-mobility is stored in the ESS or provided to another first e-mobility connected to the power charging/discharging facility (¶[31, 35] mentions that the stationary battery 14 is used to accumulate energy in the driving power source of a vehicle and a management server 40 is used to control charge and discharge of the battery 32 and the stationary battery 14, … to balance power supply and demand in the power network 10 {being interpreted as receiving discharge power from an e-mobility and storing in the ESS}. ¶s[74, 75] also mention that consideration control unit 200 permits the charge of the battery 32 of the vehicle 30 with the stationary battery 14 {being interpreted as the ESS providing power to charge another e-mobility}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the teaching of Haas with Hishida, to incorporate an ESS, in which power received from a second e-mobility can be stored, or from which power can be extracted to charge another e-mobility, so as to provide uninterrupted service at all times, especially, at a time of emergency or a disaster ¶[74].
Regarding dependent Claim 14, Haas discloses of a communication portion configured to communicate with a server according to a predetermined communication protocol through an external communication network (Fig. 1 – communication module 20; ¶[10, 20, 35] disclose of a communication module which is configured to communicate acquired data … to a server over a Local Area Network or a mobile device of a user over a cellular network, or communicate over a public network infrastructure by connecting to Internet or a networked communications system, or communicate … over a combination of one or more public networks and one or more private networks);
an information recording portion configured to receive and store the event data (Fig. 2 – processor 235, storage device 245; ¶[64] discloses that the built-in camera unit 205 includes a processor 235 configured to receive authentication information and a storage device 245 configured to store camera data 247, the authentication information 240 locally) from each event data recording device (Fig. 1 - media storage device 50 in combination with processor 47, ¶[20, 38, 40]);
Haas is silent to a plurality of power charging/discharging facilities being connected to the server device.
Hishida discloses a plurality of power charging/discharging facilities being connected to the server device (Fig. 1 - charging and discharging facilities 20; ¶[29,36] disclose a plurality of charging and discharging facilities 20 and management server 40 where management server controls at least one of the vehicle 30 and the charging and discharging facility 20 and communicate with a power trading server 50 through an external communication network such as the Internet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN, a power line communication line, a mobile phone line, or the like to cause the battery of the vehicle to be charged or discharged).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Hishida, to include a plurality of charging and discharging facilities. The reason for performing the modification would have been to be able to manage a large number of vehicles without directly interacting with a large number of the users, thereby ensuring a vehicle to grid (V2G) capacity by the vehicle while reducing management cost of the user ¶[40, 93].
Regarding dependent Claim 15, Haas doesn’t teach a mobile device database storing identification information of each of preregistered e-mobilities; an authentication portion configured to receive identification information of a predetermined e-mobility through the communication portion, and to authenticate the e-mobility through a comparison between the received identification information and the mobile device database; a billing/reverse billing table storing a billing reference about an e-mobility that received charging power from the power charging/discharging facility and a reverse billing reference about an e-mobility that provides discharge power to the power charging/discharging facility; and a payment processing unit configured to perform a billing or reverse billing process about the e-mobility, based on a request from the e-mobility that is authenticated and the billing/reverse billing table.
Hishida teaches a mobile device database storing identification information of each of e-mobilities that are preregistered (Fig. 2; ¶[43-44] disclose a storage unit 48 including a vehicle information storage unit 284 {interpreted as mobile device database} which stores information indicating correspondences between the plurality of users and the plurality of vehicles including the batteries);
an authentication portion configured to receive identification information of a predetermined e-mobility through the communication portion, and to authenticate the e-mobility through a comparison between the received identification information and the mobile device database (¶’s[56-57] disclose that in the vehicle information, a user ID, a vehicle ID, and an upper limit power for charging and discharging are associated. As the vehicle ID, the identification information of the vehicle is stored {or received} when the user terminal 82 transmits the identification information of the user to the management server 40, the management server 40 identifies {or authenticates} the user associated… and transmits the V2G information… based on the V2G schedule information which is registered by the identified user, the participation information associated with the schedule information, and the vehicle information ¶[77] {being interpreted as comparison between the received identification information and the mobile device database});
a billing/reverse billing table storing a billing reference about an e-mobility that received charging power from the power charging/discharging facility and a reverse billing reference about an e-mobility that provides discharge power to the power charging/discharging facility (Fig. 4 – 8, 11);
a payment processing unit configured to perform a billing or reverse billing process about the e-mobility, based on a request from the e-mobility that is authenticated and the billing/reverse billing table (¶’s[64-68] disclose a consideration control unit 200 {or a payment processing unit} calculates the amount of payment to the user based on … a buying unit price {billing}… and a selling unit price {reverse billing}).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Hishida, so as to incorporate a mobile device database, an authentication portion, a billing/reverse billing unit and a payment processing unit, so as to facilitate financial transaction between the user and the server.
Regarding dependent Claim 16, Haas disclose of a credit card based monetary transactions {or electronic wallet} in ¶’s[5, 49-50]. A billing center may be associated with one or more credit companies enabling them to retrieve data from one or more databases.
Haas only discloses electronic money being transferred one way from the user to the power facility and is silent to electronic money being transferred the other way.
Hishida discloses an electronic wallet information registered for each e-mobility, and the billing or reverse billing process by the payment processing unit is performed by transferring a predetermined electronic money to/from an electronic wallet registered for the e-mobility from/to another predetermined electronic wallet (¶[45] discloses a monetary point system {being interpreted as electronic money/credit} which can be associated with each user ID and can be transferred to and from the user ID and the power facility ¶[70 -75]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Hishida, so as to incorporate an electronic wallet in the mobile device database taught by Haas, so as to facilitate effortless financial transactions and enhance user experience.
Claims 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hishida et al. (U.S. 20210380014), further in view of Javaid (U.S. 20200215929).
Regarding dependent Claim 3, Haas teaches the power charging/discharging facility of claim 2, further comprising an identification information acquisition portion configured to acquire identification information of the first or second e-mobility and an authentication portion configured to authenticate the first or second e-mobility using the identification information (¶’s[7, 9, 52] disclose of using a camera unit 12 as a biometric input device to acquire at least one biometric characteristic of the user to enable identification of the user, where the payment module 67 enables authenticating the user by biometric identification by searching through a biometric database operatively associated with the payment module 67; ¶[54] discloses an image analysis module 77 to analyze the acquired camera or image data of the user for identifying the user by making a security or an identity determination.);
Hass further teaches of a billing process of the power exchange (Fig. 1 and ¶[49] disclose of a transaction module 72 coupled to the payment module 67. The transaction module 72 conducts monetary transactions through a billing center 75. The transaction module 72 enables verifying authorization for executing each transaction at the billing center 75.)
Haas doesn’t explicitly teach of a payment processing unit configured to perform a reverse billing process based on discharging request; an operation control unit configured to control the charging power to be provided from the power charging/discharging facility to the first e-mobility through the power line for charging power, and the discharge power to be received from the second e-mobility to the power charging/discharging facility through the power line for discharge power.
Hishida discloses of a payment processing unit configured to perform a reverse billing process (Fig. 1; ¶[67] discloses when the net amount of power from the vehicle 30 to the power network 10 is positive, the consideration control unit 200 {being interpreted as payment processing unit} calculates the amount of payment to the user based on the amount of power transmission and reception and a buying unit price. When the net amount of power is negative, the consideration control unit 200 calculates a billing amount to the user based on the amount of power transmission and reception and a selling unit price {reverse billing}).
Hishida further discloses of an operation control unit configured to control the charging power to be provided from the power charging/discharging facility to the first e-mobility through the power line for charging power, and the discharge power to be received from the second e-mobility to the power charging/discharging facility through the power line for discharge power (¶[46] discloses a power transmission and reception control unit 220 {operation control unit} causes the vehicle 30 … to perform the power transmission and reception to and from the power network 10 according to the power demand of the power network through the charging and discharging cable 22, mentioned in ¶[32]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas in view of Hishida, to incorporate a reverse billing process, so as to provide monetary incentive (¶[45]) for the users to sell their power back to the facility.
Haas as modified is silent to a request receiving portion configured to receive a first request from the first e-mobility or a second request from the second e-mobility; the first request comprising information about a charging power providing request to the first e-mobility and a charging power amount, and the second request comprising information about a discharge power receiving request from the second e-mobility and a discharge power amount.
Javaid teaches a request receiving portion configured to receive a first request from the first e-mobility or a second request from the second e-mobility; the first request comprising information about a charging power providing request to the first e-mobility and a charging power amount, and the second request comprising information about a discharge power receiving request from the second e-mobility and a discharge power amount (Fig. 6, 7, 9; ¶’s[56, 57] disclose a first vehicle 302 in a buy mode and a second vehicle 304 in a sell mode where the first vehicle 302 communicates a request to buy energy 310 by, in one aspect, the V2V network to the second vehicle 304; the user can enter buy mode {being interpreted as charging power providing request}, and identify a second vehicle from which to buy power where a display shows a buy status 78 with the amount of charge {charging power amount} and the cost per unit of power that the user has opted to purchase (Fig. 6). If the user chooses, the vehicle can be put in a selling mode (being interpreted as discharging power request}, and can sell up to about 70% of its capacity {discharge power amount} while still being capable of reaching its destination without needing to refuel (Fig. 7 – 140; ¶’s [43, 47, 48])).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Haas and Hishida, so as to incorporate a power charging and discharging system that facilitates power transfer between different e-mobilities, so as to increase the ease of charging an electric vehicle with apparatus that allows for dynamic charging ¶[24], as suggested by Javaid.
Claim 8 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hishida et al. (U.S. 20210380014), further in view of Aiken et al. (U.S. 20130030594).
Regarding dependent Claim 8, Haas as modified teaches of a power charging / discharging facility of claim 2, comprising a communication portion configured to communicate with a server through an external communication network according to a predetermined communication protocol (Fig. 1 – communication module 20; ¶[10, 20, 35] disclose of a communication module which is configured to communicate acquired data … to a server over a Local Area Network or a mobile device of a user over a cellular network, or communicate over a public network infrastructure by connecting to Internet or a networked communications system, or communicate … over a combination of one or more public networks and one or more private networks);
Haas as modified is silent to an emergency operation control unit configured to prevent charging or discharging, based on a signal received through the external communication network and the communication portion.
Aiken discloses an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) meter 20 {or emergency operation control unit} with a head end 6 (Fig. 1) linked with a network management system (NMS), wherein, in response to receiving the first set of instructions (from the AMI meter 20) to modify the amount of power supplied to the charging outlet 14, the EVCS controller 22 may modify the amount of power supplied to the charging outlet 14, and may provide a second set of instructions to disconnect the power supplied … to the charging outlet 14 in response receiving the first set of instructions from the AMI meter 20 (abstract, ¶[16]) {which is equivalent to an emergency operation control unit configured to prevent charging or discharging, based on a received signal.}
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Haas in view of Aiken, to incorporate an emergency operation control unit, so as to trigger a safety function when excessive electrical current is detected ¶[15].
Regarding dependent Claim 20, Hass as modified is silent to a server device implemented by a plurality of distributed computers.
Aiken teaches in ¶[15] of a conventional network management system (NMS) designed to configure and control distributions to a plurality of computing devices {or computers} across an electrical network ¶’s[15, 26].
With regards to Claim 20, Hass in view of Hishida as modified by Aiken teaches of the server being connected by a plurality of computers.
Claim 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Ross et al. (U.S. 20210380014)
Regarding dependent Claim 9, Hass is silent to teaching a data recording device of write once read many (WORM) type with a delete-proof function.
Ross teaches of a computer-readable media store data of write-once, read many (WORM) type, such that data can be stored to them but not erased or overwritten ¶[23]. Ross further discloses that storage media can be made tamper-resistant such that it is difficult or impossible to alter or erase data stored to them, or to prevent reading data except by authorized means ¶[24].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Ross to incorporate a WORM type data recording device to prevent data from being read by unauthorized personnel ¶[24], thus enhancing the security of the system.
Regarding dependent Claim 10, Hass teaches data recording portion configured to store the event data for each predetermined write unit, and the data recording portion is further configured to store the event data by applying encryption for each write unit of the event data (¶[41] discloses that all data collected from an on-charging station camera unit 12 may be stored encrypted on the media storage device 50 which may be transferred to a local computer via VPN/Firewall that is connected to an uplink port on the network switch. All data transfers into and from the camera system may go through the VPN/Firewall).
Hass is silent to a decryption key corresponding to an encryption key being accessible only by a specific person granted predetermined authority.
Ross teaches of system with a decryption key corresponding to an encryption key being accessible only by a specific person granted predetermined authority (¶[23] discloses that some forms of media may be encrypted, such that data is written to them encrypted by an encryption key … and data read from them is scrambled unless decrypted with the corresponding decryption key).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Ross to incorporate a data recording device with encryption and decryption key, so as to prevent data from being read, altered or erased by unauthorized personnel, ¶[24], thus enhancing the security of the system.
Claim 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Kim et al. (U.S. 20200278948).
Regarding dependent Claim 11, Hass teaches that all data collected from an on-charging station camera unit 12 may be stored encrypted on the media storage device 50 which may be transferred to a local computer via VPN/Firewall that is connected to an uplink port on the network switch ¶[41].
Hass is silent to an electronic fingerprint generation portion configured to generate an electronic fingerprint for each write unit of the event data.
Kim discloses generating an electronic fingerprint such as a hash value of an image generated by an image information processor as to protect the privacy of an individual related to the image while verifying the authenticity and integrity of the image (abstract, ¶[2, 6]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas in view of Kim, to incorporate an electronic fingerprint portion so as to effectively prevent illegal collection, alteration, and use of the electronic file ¶[6].
Regarding dependent Claim 12, Haas discloses of a communication portion configured to communicate with a server through an external communication network according to a predetermined communication protocol (Fig. 1 – communication module 20; ¶[10, 20, 35] disclose of a communication module which is configured to communicate acquired data … to a server over a Local Area Network or a mobile device of a user over a cellular network, or communicate over a public network infrastructure by connecting to Internet or a networked communications system, or communicate … over a combination of one or more public networks and one or more private networks);
Hass is silent to transmitting electronic fingerprint to an external electronic fingerprint server.
Kim teaches that electronic fingerprint management apparatus 100 may be a public cloud server when the network via which the original electronic fingerprint and the derived electronic fingerprint are transmitted is a common network such as the Internet or a private cloud server with a dedicated closed network ¶[74].
With regards to Claim 12, Haas as modified by Kim teaches of transmitting electronic fingerprint data via a communication network server.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hirakawa et al. (U.S. 20100047673).
Regarding dependent Claim 13, Haas discloses of a housing (Fig. 2 – housing 202, ¶[62] discloses that housing 202 contains the circuitry of the EVSE charging station, Fig. 1 - enclosure 45, Fig. 5 – enclosure 500);
Haas is silent to the housing being heat-resistant and made of titanium.
Hirakawa discloses in ¶[32] of a battery accommodation {or housing} which is nonflammable and heat resistant and made of titanium. Hirakawa discloses that such arrangement protects the battery from combustion or short-circuit mishap or from abnormal conditions of ejecting gas at extreme temperature and pressure (abstract, ¶[2, 3, 10, 41]).
Although Hirakawa doesn’t explicitly mention the heat resistance temperature of 1500 C or more, one of ordinary skill in the art would be able to do a simple substitution of a known robust, inflammable housing material for another to obtain predictable result of increased heat and fire resistance, consistence with the rationale articulated in KSR. Furthermore, Titanium is known to remain solid until 1660 C which exceeds the claim 1500 C temperature limit.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Haas with Hirakawa to incorporate a heat and fire resistance housing made of titanium for enhanced safety and protection of the battery components.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hishida et al. (U.S. 20210380014), further in view of Pal et al. (U.S. 20170011298).
Regarding dependent Claim 17, Haas as modified is silent to a server device of claim 14, comprising a risk prediction model portion configured to generate and store a risk prediction model for the power charging/discharging facility.
Pal discloses real time sensor data and analytics data {or event data} from a real time IOT system 400 (Fig. 4) which comprises one or more sensors associated with a real-time data feed platform 422 associated with a distributed real-time computation system 420 …and a machine learning engine 404 coupled to a predictive analytics engine 426 ¶’s[58-59]. One or more of machine operational condition data, machine historical operational data and machine specific information from one or more locations is received and analyzed, through a real-time data feed platform 422 associated with a distributed real-time computation system. A set of analytical predictions for machine maintenance is generated, through a machine learning engine and a predictive analytics engine, for one of a repair and operation of the machine {this whole working system can be interpreted as risk prediction model portion}.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Haas with Pal, to incorporate a risk prediction model. The reason for performing the modification would have been to employ machine diagnostic and prognostic information for better optimization of performance, improved efficiency and better prediction of failure or taking preventive maintenance in advance of a failure ¶’s[5-7].
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hishida et al. (U.S. 20210380014), Aiken et al. (U.S. 20130030594), further in view of Pal et al. (U.S. 20170011298).
Regarding dependent Claim 18, Haas as modified by Hishida is silent to an emergency operation control unit configured to prevent charging or discharging, based on a risk prediction signal.
Aiken discloses of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) meter 20 {or emergency operation control unit}, wherein, in response to receiving the first set of instructions (from the AMI meter 20) to modify the amount of power supplied to the charging outlet 14, the EVCS controller 22 may modify the amount of power supplied to the charging outlet 14, and may provide a second set of instructions to disconnect the power supplied … to the charging outlet (abstract, ¶[16]) {which is equivalent to an emergency operation control unit configured to prevent charging or discharging, based on a received signal.}
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Haas, as suggested by Aiken, to incorporate an emergency operation control unit to order to provide a safety function when excessive electrical current is detected ¶[15].
The combination is silent to a server device of claim 14, with a risk prediction model portion configured to generate a risk prediction signal for the power charging/discharging facility.
Pal discloses real time sensor data and analytics data from a real time IOT system 400 (Fig. 4). One or more of machine operational condition data, machine historical operational data and machine specific information from one or more locations is received and analyzed, through a real-time data feed platform 422 associated with a distributed real-time computation system¶’s[58-59]. A set of analytical predictions for machine maintenance is generated, through a machine learning engine and a predictive analytics engine, for one of a repair and operation of the machine {this whole working system can be interpreted as risk prediction model portion}.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the combination with Pal, to incorporate a risk prediction model to an emergency control signal generation portion, so as to employ machine diagnostic and/or prognostic information for better prediction of failure or taking preventive maintenance in advance of a failure ¶’s[5-7].
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Haas (U.S. 20170237944) in view of Hishida et al. (U.S. 20210380014), Aiken et al. (U.S. 20130030594), Pal et al. (U.S. 20170011298), further in view of Chase et al. (U.S. 20180304760 A1) and Li et al. (U.S. 20200156493)
Regarding dependent Claim 19, Haas as modified is silent to the server comprising a power charging/discharging facility database storing identification information and position information of each of a plurality of power charging/discharging facilities.
Chase discloses a power charging/discharging facility database storing identification information and position information of each of a plurality of power charging/discharging facilities (abstract, ¶’s[86, 89] disclose a remote control system 300 including computer server 320 … sends and receives the necessary data for guiding and charging the fleet of autonomous vehicles 100. Vehicle charging control system 140 transmits to remote control system - vehicle ID 142, real-time vehicle location data 144 and real-time power charge status data 146 {being interpreted as storing identification information}. Station charging control system 260 transmits to remote control system - station ID 264, station location data 266 {position information} and real-time station availability data 268. Remote control system 300 communicates with station charging control systems 260 and vehicle charging control systems 140 via communication links that are established by means of suitable communication protocols (e.g., BLUETOOTH®, WI-FI®, ZIGBEE®, Ethernet, SAP®, SAS®, ATP, GSM, TCP/IP, etc.);
a remote control system 300 terminates the power charging session based on the real-time power charge status data {being interpreted as operation stop information} of the selected vehicle (abstract, ¶’s [30, 31]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Haas with Chase to incorporate database storing identification information and position information of each of a plurality of power charging/discharging facilities, so as to maximize the overall efficiency of the fleet of vehicles by ensuring that the vehicles in the fleet are adequately charged, minimize downtime for the vehicles in the field and reduce human intervention or assistance ¶[4, 7].
Haas as modified is silent to a server configured to provide map information of plurality of power facilities.
Li discloses of a server being in communication with an online map cloud server so that it can send the occupation state of the charging apparatus to the online map cloud server ¶[19] and based on the information provided by the online map cloud server, other vehicles can obtain the occupation state of this charging apparatus, so a vehicle, which was planned to come to this charging apparatus to charge its battery, can go to other charging apparatus ¶[46].
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have further modified Haas with Li to incorporate map information of plurality of power facilities, so as to enhance user experience.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Sadano et al. (U.S. 20200231063) discloses of a bidirectional power transmission system with a power cable between a vehicle provided with a driving power source and a power consumer. The power transfer managing system includes: a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of charge/discharge facilities, a managing server, a power generation facility, and a plurality of user terminals ¶[17].
Taylor et al. (U.S. 20150134142) discloses of a vehicle event data processing system that detects events such as impacts, accidents, breakdowns, and types of driving behaviors, stores the data in a memory device and communicates to the user's mobile device, dashboard display and/or backend systems over wired and/or wireless communication channels (abstract).
Nakamura et al. (U.S. 20160039296) discloses of a charging and discharging control apparatus which is installed in the electric motor vehicle to provide communication with an external charging and discharging installation and to perform charging and discharging processing on the storage apparatus. The charging and discharging control apparatus determines, a current value and time duration for which charging and discharging are performed based on various conditions such as storage capacity and temperature of the storage apparatus, rated capacity of the storage apparatus, rated capacity of the external charging and discharging installation, an electric rate and available electric power (abstract).
Watson (U.S. 20200180465) discloses of a system for controlling charging of a battery of a user's electric vehicle from a power source. The system includes a server and a charging cable having a communications module for wirelessly communicating with the server. A data signal is received at the server which includes a cable specification and location data indicating the location at which the charging cable is coupled to the power source. A charging schedule is generated by the server based on the cable specification, the location data and power grid information. The charging schedule is transmitted by the server to a communication module. The charging cable causes charging of the electric energy storage system according to the charging schedule (abstract, ¶[18]).
Lowenthal et al. (U.S. 20090174365) discloses a system for network-controlled charging of electric vehicles comprising charge transfer devices and electric vehicle operators with wireless communication. The charge transfer devices are connected by a local area network to a data control unit, which is connected to a server. The server stores consumer profiles and utility company power grid load data.
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/TAWHID M PRANTO/Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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