DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
2. Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
3. The Information Disclosure Statement filed on April 25, 2024 has been considered. An initialed copy of the Form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Flack (2010/0277127) in view of Rohrman (4,760,622).
With respect to claim 1, Flack teaches a cable management system for an electric vehicle charging station, the cable management system comprising (EV charging station 100 having a transmission-cable drive mechanism for extending and retracting an EV charging cable: paragraphs 0003-0005 and 0015 and figure 1): a pulley rotatably mounted to a support structure (drive pulleys supported within charging-station housing 110, including pulleys 170, 271/272, 521-523; paragraphs 0015-0016 and 0020; figures 1, 2, and 5A-5D), the pulley having a first portion with a first guide groove with a constant radius (pulleys have circumferential troughs for guiding cables: paragraph 0015 and 0027); a charging cable having a first end connected to a charging connector and a second end connected to a power supply (transmission cable 160 extends between the current source within power-converter housing 140 and handle-connector assembly 124, which connects to an EV charging receptacle: paragraphs 0019-0020, 0023-0025; figures 1 and 4), wherein a first wire is connected to a portion between the first end and the second end of the charging cable (a nonconductive tow cable connects to the transmission cable through a cable collar. The cable collar connects the tow cable to a portion of the transmission cable so that the tow cable can extend or retract the transmission cable: paragraph 0027), and wherein the first wire is guided within the first guide groove (the two cable uses one or more powered wheels, pulleys, or rollers: paragraph 0027; claims 3 and 16; the pulley necessarily guides the two cable along its circumferential cable-receiving surface or trough); and a mechanical counterforce system configured to counteract at least a weight of the charging cable between the pulley and the charging connector (lower pulleys 531-533 having attached weights 541-543; replacing or augmenting the weights with springs that pull downward on the lower pulleys; the gravity or spring force retracts transmission cable 160 into the looping-pulley assembly and thereby counteracts the cable’s weight: paragraph 0020; figures 5A-5B), wherein the mechanical counterforce system is connected with the pulley via a second wire guided within the second guide groove (optional second tow cable, independent from the extending tow cable, for retracting transmission cable 160: paragraph 0027).
With respect to claim 9, Flack teaches the cable management system, wherein the mechanical counterforce system includes at least one of a counterweight and a spring (the mechanical counterforce system may include weights 541-543 and/or springs acting on the pulley arrangement to retract and support the charging cable: paragraph 0020).
With respect to claim 12; claim 12 is essentially the electric vehicle charging station of claim 1 and contains the same cable-management limitations. Refer the to the rejection above regarding claim 1.
Flack’s teachings above fail to specifically teach the pulley having a first portion with a first guide groove having a constant radius and a second portion with a second guide groove having a dynamic radium around the rotation axis of the pulley, wherein the first wire connected to the charging cable is guided within the first guide groove and the mechanical counterforce system being connected with the pulley though a second wire guided within the second guide groove.
With respect to claim 1, Rohman teaches a compound winding apparatus including a portion 71 and a conical pulley portion 73 fixed for rotation together on shaft 74 (column 7, lines 26-43). The drum portion includes a drum 77 having a uniform or constant diameter, while the conical pulley portion includes a continuous spiral groove 76 having an effective radius that changes as the groove extends around the rotational axis 82 (column 7, lines 41-51). A second cable 80 is guided on the constant-diameter drum portion 77 and is connected to the load-side cable system through movable bracket 52 (column 7, lines 52-60). A separate third cable 83 is guided within the spiral groove 76 and connected to spring 27, which provides the counterbalancing force (column 7, line 60 – column 8, line 5). Rohrman further teaches that the changing effective radius of the spiral-grooved pulley compensates for changes in spring force to provide a substantially uniform counterbalancing force (column 8, lines 48-55).
With respect to claim 2, Rohrman teaches the cable management system, wherein the second guide groove is a spiral guide groove (conical pulley portion 73 includes a continuous spiral groove 76 extending around the rotational axis 82: column 7, lines 47-51).
With respect to claim 3, Rohrman teaches the cable management system, wherein the second guide groove is provided over two or more turns of the pulley (conical pulley portion 73 includes a continuous spiral groove 76 extending through multiple turns around axis 82, as shown in figure 3 and described in column 7, lines 47-51).
With respect to claim 5, Rohrman teaches the cable management system, wherein a minimum of the dynamic radius is smaller than the constant radius of the first guide groove (figure 3 shows that the minimum radius of spiral groove 76 is smaller than the constant radium of drum 77; column 7, lines 41-51).
With respect to claim 6, Rohrman teaches the cable management system of claim 1, wherein a maximum of the dynamic radius is larger than the constant radius of the first guide groove (figure 3, column 7, lines 41-51).
With respect to claim 10, Rohrman teaches the cable management system, wherein the mechanical counterforce system is a separate system (the mechanical counterforce system is a separate system. Specifically, spring 27 is disposed separately from compound winding means 72 and is connected to the spiral-grooved pulley portion through cable means 83: column 6, lines 49-56; column 7, line 60 – column 8, line 5; figure 2).
With respect to claim 13, Rohrman teaches the cable management system, wherein the second guide groove is provided over three or more turns of the pulley (conical pulley portion 73 includes a continuous spiral groove 76 extending through at least three turns around axis 82: figure 3; column 7, lines 47-51).
With respect to claim 15, Rohrman teaches the cable management system, wherein a radial distance of a bottom of the second guide groove from the rotation axis changes over a length of the second guide groove (conical pulley portion 73 includes a continuous spiral groove 76 whose radius becomes increasingly smaller as the groove travels around axis 82: column 7 lines 47-51)
In view of Rohrman’s teachings, it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify Flack’s cable-supporting pully arrangement to include Rohrman’s compound winding apparatus. One would be motivated to make this modification to compensate for changes in the force produced by the counterforce system and thereby provide a more uniform supporting force as the charging cable is extended and retracted.
6. Claims 4, 7, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Flack in combination with Rohrman and in further view of Rohrman’s own teachings.
Flack’s teachings in combination with the teachings of Rohrman are disclosed above. The combination however, does not expressly teach that the second wire is fixed at the minimum-radius portion of the second guide groove, with the dynamic radius increasing from the fixation toward the wire exit and in an axial direction away from the first portion.
With respect to claims 4, 7, and 8, Rohrman teaches that the spring-side cable is affixed to the conical spiral-grooved pulley and is adapted to wind into and out of the spiral groove as the spring extends and contracts (column 3, lines 63-65). Rohrman further teaches that the effective radius and configuration of the spiral-grooved pulley are predetermined based upon the spring-force gradient to compensate for changes in spring force and provide a substantially constant biasing force (column 14, line 65 – column 15, line 9).
In view of Rohrman’s teachings, it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to configure the spiral groove with the spring-side wire fixed at its minimum-radius portion and with the groove radius increasing toward the wire exit and axially away from the constant-radius portion. modify the compound pulley arrangement of Flack as modified by Rohrman to integrate a spring winding mechanism on the pulley, as is taught by Hager. One would be motivated to select this orientation so that the changing effective radius compensates for changes in the spring force while accommodating the desired winding direction and cable routing.
7. Claims 11 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Flack in combination with Rohrman and in further view of Hager (2023/0216328).
Flack’s teachings in combination with the teachings of Rohrman are disclosed above. The combination however fails to specifically teach the cable management system, wherein the mechanical counterforce system is integrated on the pulley and
wherein the mechanical counterforce system is integrated on the pulley in form of a spring mechanism.
With respect to claims 11 and 14, Hager teaches an EV charging device having a cable reel equipped with a winding mechanism comprising an integrated spring. The spring applies a counterforce against unrolling of the charging cable so that the charging cable remains under tension and is automatically wound onto the cable reel (paragraphs 0009-0012). Hager further teaches that a leaf spring is provided inside the cable reel and generates the counterforce when the charging cable is withdrawn (paragraphs 0027-0029).
In view of Hager’s teachings, it would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the compound pulley arrangement of Flack as modified by Rohrman to integrate a spring winding mechanism on the pulley, as is taught by Hager. One would be motivated to make this modification to provide a compact, self-contained counterforce mechanism that maintains tension on the charging cable and automatically retracts the charging cable after use.
Conclusion
8. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure: See attached PTO form 892, Refence Cited.
9. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Allyson N. Trail whose telephone number is (571) 272-2406. The examiner can normally be reached between the hours of 7:30AM to 4:00PM Monday thru Friday.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham, can be reached on (571) 272-3689. The fax phone number for this Group is (571) 273-8300.
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/ALLYSON N TRAIL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2876
September 29, 2026
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