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 .
Drawings
The drawings are also objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show descriptive labels for Figure 2. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled "Replacement Sheet" in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 3 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuno (US 2016/0114693) in view of Logvinov et al. (US 2016/0075245), hereinafter Logvinov.
As to claims 1 and 10, Tsuno discloses in figures 1-7, an arrangement comprising [see figures 1-7]:
an energy unit for an electric vehicle [vehicle battery (14); see ¶0022];
a charging station [station (10); see ¶0022]; and
an electrical connection that is established between the energy unit and the charging station [electrical connection between the charging station (10) and vehicle (12) via connection (28); see ¶0021, ¶0051], a communication link [communication link between vehicle controller (12a) and Staton controller (24a)]
at least one parameter and/or command concerning discharging or charging of an energy store of the energy unit between the energy unit and the charging station and/or between the charging station and the energy unit [battery discharging and charging command is initiated by the controller based on battery state of charge; see ¶0028, ¶0050, ¶0060], and wherein the charging station is configured to carry out the discharging or charging of the energy store of the energy unit, taking into account the at least one transferred parameter and/or command; see ¶0037-0038, ¶0044, ¶0050, ¶0071; and also see S32 [.
Tsuno does not disclose explicitly, a communication link according to the ISO 15118-2 communication protocol, wherein communication interfaces of the energy unit and of the charging station are configured to transfer, by use of a value-added service of the ISO 15118-2 communication protocol,
Logvinov discloses in figures 1-14, a communication link according to the ISO 15118-2 communication protocol, wherein communication interfaces of the energy unit and of the charging station are configured to transfer, by use of a value-added service of the ISO 15118-2 communication protocol [different standard communications are disclosed, such as ISO 15118-2; see ¶0026],
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Tsuno’s communication means and use standard ISO communications in Tsuno’s apparatus as taught by Logvinov in order to provide highly secure and reliable communication between the vehicle and the charging station.
As to claim 3, Tsuno discloses in figures 1-5, wherein the at least one parameter involves at least one present limit value concerning the discharging or charging of the energy store of the electric vehicle [when the power consumption of the electrical load is increased, charge discharge process is terminated; see ¶0061].
Noted: The method steps will be met during the normal operation of the apparatus described above.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Logvinov, and in view of KR20210051997, hereinafter 997’.
As to claim 2, Tsuno discloses all of the claim limitations except, wherein the at least one command involves a request for the bidirectional energy exchange.
997’ discloses in figures 1-2, wherein the at least one command involves a request for the bidirectional energy exchange. [power exchange request command is exchanged; see steps ¶0038-0039].
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to initiate energy exchange request in Tsuno’s apparatus as taught by 997’ in order to safely and reliably charge the vehicle battery and prevent the power energy waste caused by unnecessary communication.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over in view of Tsuno in view of Logvinov, and in view of JP2018125901, hereinafter 901’.
As to claim 4, Tsuno discloses all of the claim limitations except, wherein the at least one parameter and/or command is regularly re-determined and/or re-transferred after a predefined time period elapses.
901’ discloses in figure 1, wherein the at least one parameter and/or command is regularly re-determined and/or re-transferred after a predefined time period elapses [¶0037, ¶0049].
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Tsuno’s communications and send commands regularity in a predetermined time elapses as taught by 901’ in order to effectively control the charging process and efficiently charge the vehicle battery.
Claims 5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuno (in view of Logvinov, and in view of DE102016220783, hereinafter 783’.
As to claim 5, Tsuno discloses all of the claim limitations except, wherein the charging station also transfers a connection status to the energy unit, the connection status involving information concerning whether or not the charging station is connected to a supply network at the present point in time.
783’ discloses in figures 1-3, wherein the charging station also transfers a connection status to the energy unit, the connection status involving information concerning whether or not the charging station is connected to a supply network at the present point in time [see ¶0006 and ¶0021; the vehicle battery reacts the connection status].
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Tsuno’s apparatus and allow connection status communications between the vehicle and the charging station as taught by 783’ in order to provide robust intelligent charging system.
As to claim 7, 783’ discloses in figures 1-3, wherein the at least one parameter that is transferred from the energy unit to the charging station comprises at least one of the following variables: a minimum charging voltage; a minimum charging current; a maximum charging current; a minimum charging capacity; a maximum charging capacity; a minimum discharging current; a maximum discharging current; a minimum discharging capacity; a maximum discharging capacity; a quantity of energy for reaching a target state of charge; a quantity of energy for reaching a minimum state of charge; a quantity of energy for reaching a maximum state of charge; a quantity of energy that is available for discharging until a predefined state of charge range for the cyclical discharging and charging is departed from; a quantity of energy that is to be charged until a predefined state of charge range for the cyclical discharging and charging is reached; and/or a target state of charge [see ¶0019 ].
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Tsuno’s apparatus and use state of charge of the battery as a target or threshold value during charging taught by 783’ in order to provide robust intelligent charging system and extend battery life without overcharging.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuno in view of Logvinov, and in view of Adelman (US 2014/0081490).
As to claim 6, Tsuno discloses all of the claim inventions except, wherein the energy store of the energy unit is cyclically discharged and recharged within a bidirectionally chargeable and dischargeable state of charge range.
Adelman discloses in figures 1-15, wherein the energy store of the energy unit is cyclically discharged and recharged within a bidirectionally chargeable and dischargeable state of charge range [see ¶0068 and Claim 12]; cyclically charging and discharging disclosed].
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to cyclically charge and discharge Tsuno’s battery as taught by Adelman in order to extend battery life.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tsuno in view of Logvinov, and in view of Lee (US 2023/0202325).
As to claim 8. Tsuno discloses all of the claim limitations except, wherein the at least one parameter that is transferred from the charging station to the energy unit comprises at least one of the following variables: a minimum possible discharging current of the charging station; a maximum possible discharging current of the charging station; and/or a maximum possible discharging capacity of the charging station.
Lee discloses in figures 1-13, wherein the at least one parameter that is transferred from the charging station to the energy unit comprises at least one of the following variables [see ¶0114]: a minimum possible discharging current of the charging station; a maximum possible discharging current of the charging station; and/or a maximum possible discharging capacity of the charging station [maximum transmit power is transferred from the charging station to the vehicle; wherein the charging power is directly related with the charging current , see ¶00114]
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Tsuno’s apparatus and allow exchanging information such as charging power and communication protocol version between the charging station and the vehicle information as taught by Lee in order to effectively charge vehicle battery.
As to claim 9, Lee discloses in figures 1-13, wherein, before the at least one parameter and/or command are transferred on the vehicle side, an availability of the value-added service and/or a version of the value-added service for the charging station is queried, the transfer taking place only when the value-added service is provided and/or a predefined version can be provided [see ¶0014; charging power, communication protocol is communicated].
It would have been obvious to one ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention was made to modify Tsuno’s apparatus and allow exchanging information such as charging power and communication protocol version between the charging station and the vehicle information as taught by Lee in order to effectively charge vehicle battery.
It is also noted that all the claimed elements of applicant' s inventions were known in the prior art (e.g. charging station, vehicle battery, communication, exchanging information, etc.,) and one skilled in the art could have combined the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention, proper motivation/rationale to combine is as given in the office action. See KSR, 127 S. Ct. at 1740, 82 USPQ2d at 1396.
Conclusion
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/SAMUEL BERHANU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
