DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. Specifically, the claimed invention is directed to functional descriptive material: computer programs representing computer listings per se.
Computer programs claimed as computer listings per se, i.e., the descriptions or expressions of the programs, are not physical “things.” They are neither computer components nor statutory processes, as they are not “acts” being performed. Such claimed computer programs do not define any structural and functional interrelationships between the computer program and other claimed elements of a computer which permit the computer program’s functionality to be realized. In contrast, a claimed non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program is a computer element which defines structural and functional interrelationships between the computer program and the rest of the computer which permit the computer program’s functionality to be realized, and is thus statutory. See Lowry, 32 F.3d at 1583-84, 32 USPQ2d at 1035.
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.
Claims 1, 2, and 9-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagamura JP 6832254 B2.
Nagamura discloses:
1. An apparatus, comprising:
at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
determine a target amount of energy to be charged to an electric device (e.g., [0064]-[0066]: “required charging energy”);
receive, from a charging station, a charging report associated with a current reporting interval (e.g., [0079]-[0087]: “(Step S1320) The smart meter 310 sends power consumption status information to the server 10 for each time period”, “the charging plant generation unit 160 updates the charging plan information…for each time period”, Fig. 15 #1320);
estimate a remaining charging time based on at least the charging report associated with the current reporting interval and the target amount of energy (e.g., [0074]-[0075]: “charging end time Te”);
set a maximum charging rate for a subsequent reporting interval, in response to determining that the remaining charging time is lower than or equal to a threshold (e.g., [0079]-[0089]: “if…it is anticipated that charging cannot be completed by the scheduled charging completion time Te…the charging plan generation unit 160 may update the charging plan information PL to charge in the shortest possible time”, Figs. 7, 14, 15, 19);
transmit an indication of the maximum charging rate to the charging station (e.g., [0049]-[0051], [0072]-[0073], Figs. 5, 7).
2. The apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
determine a charge stop time based on the remaining charging time;
transmit a stop charging command to the charging station, in response to reaching the charge stop time, or means for transmitting transmit an indication of the charge stop time to the charging station (e.g., [0074], [0102]-[0105], see the calculation of charge end time Te).
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
determine an adjusted length for the subsequent reporting interval, wherein the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval is shorter than a length of the current reporting interval; and
transmit an indication of the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval to the charging station (e.g., [0078]: “the charging plan generation unit 160 can shorten the time interval for estimating power consumption, and thus generate more accurate charging plan information PL”).
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
determine the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval, in response to determining that the remaining charging time is lower than or equal to the threshold (e.g., [0078]: “the charging plan generation unit 160 can shorten the time interval for estimating power consumption, and thus generate more accurate charging plan information PL”).
11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval is dependent on the remaining charging time, wherein the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval is proportional to the remaining charging time, or wherein the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval is substantially half of the current reporting interval (e.g., [0078]: “the charging plan generation unit 160 can shorten the time interval for estimating power consumption, and thus generate more accurate charging plan information PL”, “charge for 10 or 20 minutes out of 30 minutes”).
12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
determine the adjusted length of the subsequent reporting interval, in response to determining that the charging station supports dynamic adjustment of reporting interval (e.g., [0078]: “the charging plan generation unit 160 can shorten the time interval for estimating power consumption, and thus generate more accurate charging plan information PL”).
13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electric device comprises an electric vehicle (e.g., [0013]).
14. A method comprising:
determining a target amount of energy to be charged to an electric device (e.g., [0064]-[0066]: “required charging energy”);
receiving, from a charging station, a charging report associated with a current reporting interval (e.g., [0079]-[0087]: “(Step S1320) The smart meter 310 sends power consumption status information to the server 10 for each time period”, “the charging plant generation unit 160 updates the charging plan information…for each time period”, Fig. 15 #1320);
estimating a remaining charging time based on at least the charging report associated with the current reporting interval and the target amount of energy (e.g., [0074]-[0075]: “charging end time Te”);
setting a maximum charging rate for a subsequent reporting interval, in response to determining that the remaining charging time is lower than or equal to a threshold (e.g., [0079]-[0089]: “if…it is anticipated that charging cannot be completed by the scheduled charging completion time Te…the charging plan generation unit 160 may update the charging plan information PL to charge in the shortest possible time”, Figs. 7, 14, 15, 19); and
transmitting an indication of the maximum charging rate to the charging station (e.g., [0049]-[0051], [0072]-[0073], Figs. 5, 7).
15. A computer program comprising program code configured to cause an apparatus at least to:
determine a target amount of energy to be charged to an electric device (e.g., [0064]-[0066]: “required charging energy”);
receive, from a charging station, a charging report associated with a current reporting interval (e.g., [0079]-[0087]: “(Step S1320) The smart meter 310 sends power consumption status information to the server 10 for each time period”, “the charging plant generation unit 160 updates the charging plan information…for each time period”, Fig. 15 #1320);
estimate a remaining charging time based on at least the charging report associated with the current reporting interval and the target amount of energy (e.g., [0074]-[0075]: “charging end time Te”);
set a maximum charging rate for a subsequent reporting interval, in response to determining that the remaining charging time is lower than or equal to a threshold (e.g., [0079]-[0089]: “if…it is anticipated that charging cannot be completed by the scheduled charging completion time Te…the charging plan generation unit 160 may update the charging plan information PL to charge in the shortest possible time”, Figs. 7, 14, 15, 19); and
transmit an indication of the maximum charging rate to the charging station (e.g., [0049]-[0051], [0072]-[0073], Figs. 5, 7).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to teach or fairly suggest the features recited in claims 3 and 4, in combination with the remaining features and elements of the claimed invention.
Claims 5-8 depend from claim 3 and are allowable by virtue of this dependency.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kiessling et al. US 2021/0086647 discloses systems for controlling electric vehicle charging across multiple customers and multiple fleets of electric vehicles. These systems may implement machine learning to determine distinct charging strategies for a plurality of charging depots. Scheduling methods systems, and devices disclosed herein do not require fixed electric vehicle arrival times but may instead update charging strategies in real time based on changes in a state of a system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RYAN A JARRETT whose telephone number is (571)272-3742. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00-5:30.
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/RYAN A JARRETT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116
06/08/26
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