Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
This Office Action is in response to the application filed on 02/22/2023. Claims 1-13 are presently pending and are presented for examination.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. CN202310181037.8, filed on 02/22/2023.
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.
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by King et al (U.S. Pub. NO. 2019/0067961).
With regard to claim 1, King discloses A vehicle, being a motorcycle or an off-road vehicle, the vehicle comprising: (The reference discloses that other form factors are suitable for use as well such as those of personal transport vehicles, food and beverage vehicles, hospitality vehicles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility task vehicles (UTVs), motorcycles.) (King, [070])
A frame; (The reference includes a utility vehicle body e.g., a chassis, a frame, etc.) (King, Fig. 1, [070])
A plurality of wheels comprising at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel supporting the frame; (The reference discloses the utility vehicle includes a utility vehicle body e.g., a chassis, a frame, a set of tires or wheels.) (King, Fig. 1, [070], [103])
A prime mover system supported by the frame, at least one of the front or rear wheels being rotationally driven by torque from the prime mover system; (The reference discloses the motor system includes a motor controller, an electric motor which is linked to the set of tires.) (King, [073])
At least one first controller supported by the frame and communicating on a CAN bus message protocol network; (The reference a controller area network (CAN) bus through which the motor system and the rechargeable battery system exchange communications such as electronic CAN messages in accordance with the CAN protocol. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is equivalent to the first controller) (King, [073], [077])
At least one second controller supported by the frame, the second controller comprising a microprocessor chip with pins, the second controller having a sleep state and being able to activate out of its sleep state upon receiving an activating signal via a direct hard wired connection to at least one pin of the second controller microprocessor chip, the activating signal not involving a communications protocol; (The reference discloses microprocessors based controllers with sleep/standby states awakened by direct GPIO pin signals bypassing protocol based communication. More specifically the use of the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [082-084], [094])
And a battery supported by the frame supplying electricity to the first and the second controllers. (The reference discloses the wakeup circuit monitors operation of the user controls to determine whether to electrically connect the rechargeable battery, a controller area network (CAN) bus through which the motor system and the rechargeable battery system exchange communications such as electronic CAN messages in accordance with the CAN protocol. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is the first controller and the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [077], [094])
With regard to claim 2, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 1. Additionally, King discloses a vehicle control unit, the vehicle control unit being directly hard wired to the second controller, (The reference discloses wakeup circuitry includes, in an example embodiment, a communications interface, memory, processing circuitry, and additional circuitry. Such components form the control logic and the timer of the wakeup circuit. More specifically the use of the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller) (King, [085])
The vehicle control unit also separately communicating on the CAN bus message protocol network. (The reference discloses the communications interface is constructed and arranged to connect the wakeup circuitry to one or more communications media such as a controller area network (CAN) bus.) (King, [086])
With regard to claim 3, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, King discloses wherein the first controller comprises a remote communication controller connected to the vehicle control unit by the CAN bus message protocol network, (The reference discloses the communications interface is constructed and arranged to connect the wakeup circuitry to one or more communications media such as a controller area network (CAN) bus. may include different media such as wireless communications (i.e., WiFi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc.), infrared, combinations thereof, and so on. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is equivalent to the first controller.) (King, [086])
Wherein the remote communication controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit out of its sleep state via the CAN bus message protocol network after receiving a remote command, (The reference discloses the communications interface is constructed and arranged to connect the wakeup circuitry to one or more communications media such as a controller area network (CAN) bus. may include different media such as wireless communications (i.e., WiFi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc.), infrared, combinations thereof, and so on.) (King, [073], [086])
And then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the second controller out of its sleep state by initiating the activating signal via the direct hard wired connection. (The reference discloses the wakeup circuit outputs an actuator signal that actuates the electromagnetic actuator in a first direction from a first position to a second position that connects respective source contacts to corresponding target contacts to electrically connect the motor system. More specifically the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [081], [086])
With regard to claim 5, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, King discloses wherein the prime mover system comprises a power source, and the second controller comprises a power source controller, wherein when the vehicle is started, a start command of the vehicle is sent to the power source controller and the vehicle control unit both via a direct hard wired connection to activate both the power source controller and the vehicle control unit out of their sleep states. (The reference discloses a maintenance switch, a keyed switch, and an accelerator (or throttle) pedal which are electrically connected in series to the other circuitry of the motion control system. maintenance switch from the ON position to the OFF position and back to the ON position, etc.). In such a situation, the wakeup circuit of the BMS turns on and responds by outputting the actuation signal to close the contactor. As a result of such a wakeup event, the contactor connects the source contacts to the target contacts thus connecting the rechargeable battery to the motor system and waking the motor system. More specifically the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [090], [095])
With regard to claim 6, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, King discloses wherein the first controller is a charger controller, and the second controller is a battery management controller capable of monitoring charging status of a power battery, wherein when a charging port of the vehicle is opened to receive a charging gun, the charger controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit via the CAN bus message protocol network, and then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the battery management controller with an activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection. (The reference discloses the apparatus, in response to the charge management event, connects the rechargeable battery to the connector and disconnect the rechargeable battery from the connector to provide an initial message to the charger through the connector. In some arrangements, the apparatus opens and closes a contactor along the set of charge delivery pathways between the rechargeable battery and the charger to provide a distinct pattern which is discernable by the charger. The communications between battery management system (BMS) and charger may, for example, be provided via a two-wire CAN Bus or similar communications protocol. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is the first controller and the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [085], [175], [183])
With regard to claim 7, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 6. Additionally, King discloses wherein the vehicle control unit can be activated out of its sleep state via an activating signal on the CAN bus message protocol network at a charging appointment time stored in the charger controller. (The reference discloses timer counts from an initial time value to the predefined idle time threshold (a sleep event), the timer outputs a sleep event signal to the control logic of the wakeup circuit which causes the control logic to terminate output of the actuation signal thus disconnecting the rechargeable battery. Expiration of a timer that measures a predefined amount of rechargeable battery charging time.) (King, [030], [098])
With regard to claim 8, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 6. Additionally, King discloses further comprising a motor controller and a gear controller as second controllers, wherein when charging of the vehicle is started the vehicle control unit is capable of activating the motor controller and gear controller out of their sleep states with an activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection. (The reference discloses the wakeup circuit of the BMS turns on and responds by outputting the actuation signal to close the contactor, as a result of such a wakeup event, the contactor connects the source contacts to the target contacts thus connecting the rechargeable battery to the motor system and waking the motor system.) (King, [095])
With regard to claim 10, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, King discloses wherein the vehicle further comprises a power battery for locomotion of the vehicle, and wherein the first controller comprises a body control module which monitors voltage of the battery, and when the voltage of the battery drops lower than a preset voltage value, the body control module is capable of activating the vehicle control unit out of its sleep state via an activating signal on the CAN bus message protocol network, and the vehicle control unit is capable of controlling the power battery to charge the battery. (The reference discloses rechargeable batteries from discharging even due to parasitic loads while the utility vehicles are idle, BMS and the motor system communicate with each other (e.g., exchange communications such as CAN messages) to verify configuration information. The circuitry samples maximum and minimum voltages and temperatures from individual rechargeable modules that form the rechargeable battery and compares these samples to a set of predefined thresholds to determine the current charging state of the rechargeable battery the circuitry provides a control signal to the external charger through the connector.) (King, [097], [110], [141-142])
With regard to claim 11, King discloses all of the limitations of claim 2. Additionally, King discloses wherein when the vehicle is powered off, the second controller is inactivated, and the vehicle control unit and the first controller are both inactivated at the same time via the CAN bus message protocol network. (The reference discloses timer outputs a sleep event signal to the control logic of the wakeup circuit which causes the control logic to terminate output of the actuation signal thus disconnecting the rechargeable battery from the motor system. The BMS and the motor system communicate with each other e.g., exchange communications such as CAN messages. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is the first controller and the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [097-098])
With regard to claim 12, King discloses A method of activating a second controller on a vehicle, comprising: (The reference discloses method for communications between BMS and charger.) (King, Abstract, [185])
Activating a vehicle control unit of a vehicle out of its sleep state via an activating instruction transmitted on a CAN bus message protocol network of the vehicle, the vehicle further comprising: (The reference discloses timer counts from an initial time value to the predefined idle time threshold (a sleep event), the timer outputs a sleep event signal to the control logic of the wakeup circuit which causes the control logic to terminate output of the actuation signal thus disconnecting the rechargeable battery. Expiration of a timer that measures a predefined amount of rechargeable battery charging time.) (King, [030], [098])
A frame; (The reference includes a utility vehicle body e.g., a chassis, a frame, etc.) (King, Fig. 1, [070])
A plurality of wheels comprising at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel supporting the frame; (The reference discloses the utility vehicle includes a utility vehicle body e.g., a chassis, a frame, a set of tires or wheels.) (King, Fig. 1, [070], [103])
A prime mover system supported by the frame, at least one of the front or rear wheels being rotationally driven by torque from the prime mover system; (The reference discloses the motor system includes a motor controller, an electric motor which is linked to the set of tires.) (King, [073])
At least one second controller supported by the frame, the second controller comprising a microprocessor chip with pins, the second controller having a sleep state and being able to activate out of its sleep state upon receiving an activating signal via a direct hard wired connection to at least one pin of the second controller microprocessor chip, the activating signal not involving a communications protocol; (The reference discloses microprocessors based controllers with sleep/standby states awakened by direct GPIO pin signals bypassing protocol based communication. More specifically the use of the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [082-084], [094])
And a battery supported by the frame supplying electricity to the vehicle control unit and the second controller; (The reference discloses the wakeup circuit monitors operation of the user controls to determine whether to electrically connect the rechargeable battery, a controller area network (CAN) bus through which the motor system and the rechargeable battery system exchange communications such as electronic CAN messages in accordance with the CAN protocol. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is the first controller and the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [077], [094])
And activating the second controller out of its sleep state with the activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection. (The reference discloses timer counts from an initial time value to the predefined idle time threshold (a sleep event), the timer outputs a sleep event signal to the control logic of the wakeup circuit which causes the control logic to terminate output of the actuation signal thus disconnecting the rechargeable battery. Expiration of a timer that measures a predefined amount of rechargeable battery charging time. More specifically the use of the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [030], [098])
With regard to claim 13, name discloses A vehicle, being a motorcycle or an off-road vehicle, the vehicle comprising: (The reference discloses that other form factors are suitable for use as well such as those of personal transport vehicles, food and beverage vehicles, hospitality vehicles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility task vehicles (UTVs), motorcycles.) (King, [070])
A frame; (The reference includes a utility vehicle body e.g., a chassis, a frame, etc.) (King, Fig. 1, [070])
A plurality of wheels comprising at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel supporting the frame; (The reference discloses the utility vehicle includes a utility vehicle body e.g., a chassis, a frame, a set of tires or wheels.) (King, Fig. 1, [070], [103])
A prime mover system supported by the frame, at least one of the front or rear wheels being rotationally driven by torque from the prime mover system; (The reference discloses the motor system includes a motor controller, an electric motor which is linked to the set of tires.) (King, [073])
A vehicle control unit supported by the frame and digitally communicating on a local area network using a prioritized messaging protocol, the vehicle control unit having a VCU microprocessor chip with pins; (The reference discloses a motor controller, a controller area network (CAN) bus through which the motor system.) (King, [073], [077])
At least one second controller supported by the frame, the second controller comprising a second controller microprocessor chip with pins, the second controller having a sleep state and being able to activate out of its sleep state upon receiving an activating signal via a direct hard wired connection from at least one pin of the VCU microprocessor chip to at least one pin of the second controller microprocessor chip, the activating signal not involving a communications protocol; (The reference discloses microprocessors based controllers with sleep/standby states awakened by direct GPIO pin signals bypassing protocol based communication. More specifically the use of the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [082-084], [094])
And a battery supported by the frame supplying electricity to the first and the second controllers. (The reference discloses the wakeup circuit monitors operation of the user controls to determine whether to electrically connect the rechargeable battery, a controller area network (CAN) bus through which the motor system and the rechargeable battery system exchange communications such as electronic CAN messages in accordance with the CAN protocol. More specifically the use of the motor controller 40 is the first controller and the wakeup circuit 104 is equivalent to the second controller.) (King, [077], [094])
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.
Claims 4, 9 are rejected under35 U.S.C.103 as being unpatentable over King, as applied to independent claim 1 above, in view Homan et al. (U.S. Pub. NO. 2004/0168449).
With regard to claim 4, King discloses all of the limitation of claim 3, but does not disclose claim limitation. King does not teach wherein the second controller comprises an air conditioning controller and an electric compressor controller, wherein when the remote communication controller receives a command to turn on the air conditioning, the remote communication controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit out of its sleep state via the CAN bus message protocol network, and then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the air conditioning controller and the electric compressor controller the vehicle control unit via the network after receiving a remote command, and then out of their sleep states by initiating the activating signal via the direct hard wired connection.
However, Homan teaches wherein the second controller comprises an air conditioning controller and an electric compressor controller, wherein when the remote communication controller receives a command to turn on the air conditioning, the remote communication controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit out of its sleep state via the CAN bus message protocol network, (The reference discloses the remote button to turn on the A/C, the remote communication controller sends a message over the vehicle's internal network (CAN bus) to the car's main computer (VCU), telling it to wake up and then activate the A/C system, including its electric compressor.) (Homan, [012], [014], [054])
And then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the air conditioning controller and the electric compressor controller the vehicle control unit via the network after receiving a remote command, and then out of their sleep states by initiating the activating signal via the direct hard-wired connection. (The reference discloses a control system for the air conditioner. The air-conditioning ECU, the hybrid ECU and the engine ECU can communicate with each other. In this embodiment, the ECUs are connected to each other through a vehicle local area network (LAN) so that they can communicate with each other.) (Homan, [054])
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified wherein the first controller comprises a remote communication controller connected to the vehicle control unit by the CAN bus message protocol network, Wherein the remote communication controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit out of its sleep state via the CAN bus message protocol network after receiving a remote command, And then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the second controller out of its sleep state by initiating the activating signal via the direct hard wired connection disclosed by King to include the wherein the second controller comprises an air conditioning controller and an electric compressor controller, wherein when the remote communication controller receives a command to turn on the air conditioning, the remote communication controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit out of its sleep state via the CAN bus message protocol network, and then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the air conditioning controller and the electric compressor controller the vehicle control unit via the network after receiving a remote command, and then out of their sleep states by initiating the activating signal via the direct hard wired connection of Homan. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification faced with the limitations of "network only" or "hard-wired only" solutions, the combined approach becomes the most practical and efficient way to manage vehicle electronics, particularly for features like remote start and climate control as suggested by Homan at [054] and King at [073], [077]] [082-084], [085-086], [094].
With regard to claim 9, King discloses all of the limitation of claim 6, but does not disclose claim limitation. King does not teach further comprising a water heating controller as one of the second controllers, wherein during charging of the vehicle the vehicle control unit is capable of activating the water heating controller out of its sleep state with an activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection.
However, Homan teaches further comprising a water heating controller as one of the second controllers, wherein during charging of the vehicle the vehicle control unit is capable of activating the water heating controller out of its sleep state with an activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection;(The reference teaches water heating controller as one of the second controllers. During charging of the vehicle, the vehicle control unit can activate the water heating controller by sending an activating signal via direct hard-wired connection.) (Homan, [052-053])
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified wherein the first controller is a charger controller, and the second controller is a battery management controller capable of monitoring charging status of a power battery, wherein when a charging port of the vehicle is opened to receive a charging gun, the charger controller is capable of activating the vehicle control unit via the CAN bus message protocol network, and then the activated vehicle control unit is capable of activating the battery management controller with an activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection disclosed by King to include the further comprising a water heating controller as one of the second controllers, wherein during charging of the vehicle the vehicle control unit is capable of activating the water heating controller out of its sleep state with an activating signal sent via the direct hard-wired connection of Homan. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification teaches water heating controller as one of the second controllers. During charging of the vehicle, the vehicle control unit can activate the water heating controller by sending an activating signal via direct hard-wired connection as suggested by Homan at [052-053] and King at [073], [077]] [082-084], [085-086], [094].
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALI BAKKAR whose telephone number is (571)272-4321. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday: 7:00 am to 3:30 pm EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Hitesh Patel can be reached on (571) 270-5442.
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/ALI J BAKKAR/Examiner, Art Unit 3667
/Hitesh Patel/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3667
8/12/25
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