DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 2, 9, and 16 have been cancelled.
Claims 1, 3-4, 8, 10-11, 15, and 17-20 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered by the examiner.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 21 December 2025 and 21 March 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
101 Rejection:
Applicant’s arguments have been considered and have been deemed persuasive by the examiner. While the now cancelled claims 2, 9, and 16 was eligible under 35 USC 101 as per the rationale provided by the examiner in office action mailed 28 September 2025, when considering the BRI of the newly amended claim, the examiner has determined that the BRI of the newly added claim limitations in presently amended claims 1, 8, 15 does not encompass the same scope of invention outlined in now cancelled dependent claims 2, 9, and 16. Specifically, the examiner asserts that he newly amended claims merely constitute a recitation of nonfunctional descriptive material, merely describing the intended use of the energy that is being detected rather that incorporating an electric vehicle batter capable of detecting how much energy is used to charge said battery. Thus, as BRI of the present claims are merely directing to the act of generically detecting a first amount of energy, the examiner must reassert that said process can reasonably be performed using the human mind as thus remains ineligible under 35 USC 101.
Prior Art Rejection:
Applicant’s arguments have been considered and have been deemed unpersuasive based upon the rationale provided in the following prior art rejection.
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.
Claims 1, 3-8, 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
In the instant case, claim 1 and 3-7 are directed towards a method, claims 8 and 10-14 are directed to a system/apparatus, and claims 15 and 17-20 are directed towards a non-transitory computer readable medium. Therefore, these claims fall within the four statutory categories of invention.
Claim 1 recites the following:
A method comprising:
detecting a first amount of energy that is used to charge an electric vehicle (EV) battery installed in a vehicle during a predetermined period of time;
detecting at least one source of the first amount of energy;
detecting a second amount of energy that is consumed from the EV battery by the vehicle during the predetermined period of time;
generating a digital token that includes a value based on the first amount of energy, the second amount of energy, and the at least one source of the first amount of energy; and
downloading software to the vehicle based on the value stored in the digital token and installing the software on the vehicle.
Regarding Step 2A Prong One, the claims recite the abstract idea of performing a mental process. Specifically, the claims recite the limitations underlined above which recite method steps which can be reasonably performed by the human mind i.e. observation, detection, and recording of information which is grouped within the Mental Process grouping of abstract ideas in prong one of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.04) because the claims involve the process of performing actions which can reasonably be performed by the human mind. Accordingly, the claims recite an abstract idea (See pages 7, 10, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, et al., US Supreme Court, No. 13-298, June 19, 2014; 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, 84 Fed. Reg. 50, 53-54 (January 7, 2019)).
Regarding Step 2A Prong Two, the recited abstract idea is not integrated into a practical application because, when analyzed under prong two of step 2A of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.04(d)), the additional element(s) of the claim(s) such as a “digital token” and “digital wallet” merely use(s) a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea. Specifically, the “digital token” and “digital wallet” perform(s) the steps or functions underlined above. The use of a processor/computer as a tool to implement the abstract idea does not integrate the abstract idea into a practical application because it requires no more than a computer performing functions that correspond to acts required to carry out the abstract idea. The additional elements do not involve improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)), the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition (Vanda Memo), the claims do not apply the abstract idea with, or by use of, a particular machine (MPEP 2106.05(b)), the claims do not effect a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing (MPEP 2106.05(c)), and the claims do not apply or use the abstract idea in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception (MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo). Therefore, the claims do not, for example, purport to improve the functioning of a computer. Nor do they effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field. Accordingly, the additional elements do not impose any meaningful limits on practicing the abstract idea, and the claims are directed to an abstract idea.
The claim(s) do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because, when analyzed under step 2B of the Alice/Mayo test (See MPEP § 2106.05), the additional element(s) of a “digital token” and “digital wallet” amounts to no more than using a computer or processor to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. As discussed above, taking the claim elements separately, the “digital token” and “digital wallet” perform(s) the steps or functions underlined above. These functions correspond to the actions required to perform the abstract idea. Viewed as a whole, the combination of elements recited in the claims merely recite risk mitigation. Therefore, the use of these additional elements does no more than employ the computer as a tool to automate and/or implement the abstract idea. The use of a computer or processor to merely automate and/or implement the abstract idea cannot provide significantly more than the abstract idea itself (MPEP 2106.05(I)(A)(f) & (h)). Therefore, the claim is not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 3-7, 10-14, and 17-20 further describe the recited abstract idea. The dependent claims do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application or that provide significantly more than the abstract idea. Specifically:
Claims 3, 10, and 17 merely further describes that the generic energy data storage system is located at a residential location.
Claims 4-5, 11-12, and 18-19 merely further describes how the detected information is gathered without reciting additional elements which prevent the method from reasonably being performed by the human mind.
Claims 6, 13, and 20 recite the additional element of an AI model. However, the AI model is not contained within the scope of the claim as the method is merely directed towards the process of making a determination based on information output by an AI model rather than performing an analysis using said AI model. Thus, simply observing information output by an AI model can reasonably be performed by the human mind and thus the claims are still directed towards a mental process without placing the recited abstract idea into practical application nor amounting to significantly more.
Claims 7 and 14 merely implement the recited mental process using a generic blockchain computing system without integrating the recited abstract idea into practical application nor amounting to significantly more.
Therefore, as the dependent claims do not include additional elements that integrate the abstract idea into a practical application nor provide significantly more than the abstract idea, the dependent claims are also not patent eligible.\
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-5, 7-8, and 10-12, 14-15 and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Joao (US 20250065862 A1) in view of Beckmann et al. (US 20200076198 A1).
Regarding Claims 1, 8, and 15, Joao discloses:
A method comprising:
detecting a first amount of energy during a predetermined period of time (See Joao: Para. [0390] – “the electric road/vehicle recharging system computer 60 can record, store, and/or process information regarding the recharging of the vehicle's battery 40B or batteries 40B by or with the plug-in recharging system 70B of the road/vehicle recharging system(s) 70, and/or the time, and the amount of time, the vehicle battery 40B or batteries 40B were recharged thereat”);
detecting at least one source of the first amount of energy (See Joao: Para. [0390] – “at step 1005, the vehicle's RFID reader system 90, or RFID reader of the same, can read the RFID tag 95 assigned to the plug-in recharging system 70B, when the vehicle parks adjacent to, or on, the plug-in recharging system 70B and/or when the vehicle exits from or leaves the plug-in recharging system 70B, and, in and for each instance, in and for each instance, the vehicle computer 30 can record, store, and/or process, information regarding the recharging of the vehicle's battery 40B or batteries 40B by or with the plug-in recharging system 70B of the electric road/vehicle recharging system(s) 70”);
detecting a second amount of energy that is consumed duringthe predetermined period of time (See Joao: Para. [0092] – “the present invention can continuously and/or automatically monitor, and/or can determine or ascertain, the charge state or charge level of the battery or batteries of the electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle and/or the fuel cell fuel amount or fuel cell of the fuel cell or fuel cells in the electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle”; See Joao: Para. [0390] – “information regarding the recharging of the vehicle's battery 40B or batteries 40B by or with the plug-in recharging system 70B of the electric road/vehicle recharging system(s) 70, and/or the time, and the amount of time, the vehicle battery 40B or batteries 40B were recharged thereat”);
downloading software to the vehicle and installing the software on the vehicle (See Joao: Para. [0340] – “In a preferred embodiment, the database 60H can store, contain, and/or include any and/or all data and/or information, software programs, software applications or “apps”, processing routines, or algorithms, needed, required, or desired, for enabling, and/or for facilitating the operation of, the electric road/vehicle recharging system computer 60 to control and/or to monitor the operation of any electric road or electric road segment, and/or any plug-in recharging power system(s), any electric road (“eroad”) inductive charging system(s), any eroad inductive coil system(s), any eroad, road, or roadside, inductive charging coil(s), any eroad electric rail contact charging system(s), any eroad charging rails and/or charging conductors, any fuel cell fuel dispensing system(s), any fuel cell fuel tank(s), and/or any mobile recharging vehicle(s) or drone(s), associated with, or assigned to, the electric road/vehicle recharging system computer 60.”).
However, Joao fails to explicitly disclose:
generating a digital token that includes a value based on the first amount of energy, the second amount of energy, and the at least one source of the first amount of energy; and
Wherein the energy is used to charge an electric vehicle (EV) battery installed in a vehicle
Downloading and installing based on the value stored in the digital token
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Beckmann discloses:
generating a digital token that includes a value based on an amount of energy transferred and a source of energy (See Beckmann: Para. [0050-0051] – “a digital currency token identifier 1004, a moved into used container indication 1006, allocated energy 1008, payment amount 1010, and transaction status 1012. The used container 1000 may be created and updated, for example, based on information electrically received from remote consumers, an energy reservoir, etc. … The digital currency token identifier 1004 might comprise a specific digital coin value, a pointer to where the digital coin value is stored, etc. and could be based on or associated with the digital currency token identifier 904 stored in the available container 900. The moved into used container indication 806 might comprise, for example, a date and time indicating when the coin in that particular slot was moved from the available container 900 into the used container 1000. The allocated energy 1008 might define an amount of energy represented by that particular slot or entry (e.g., an amount of energy used by a microgrid consumer)”); and
Wherein the energy is used to charge an electric vehicle (EV) battery installed in a vehicle (See Beckmann: Para. [0025] – “The energy reservoir might be adapted to store energy generated by a local renewable energy source coupled to the microgrid (e.g., solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric energy sources, electric vehicle batteries, etc.).”)
Downloading and installing based on the value stored in the digital token (See Beckmann: Para. [0047] – “The reserve container slot identifier 802 may be, for example, a unique alphanumeric code identifying a location or position within the container 800. The digital currency token identifier 804 might comprise a specific digital coin value, a pointer to where the digital coin value is stored, etc. The received indication 806 might comprise, for example, a date and time indicating when the coin in that particular slot was received from a remote token creation platform.”)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify the system of Joao to store the detected first and second amount of energy, in combination with information of the source of the energy within the digital token disclosed by Beckmann yielding the predictable result of an increase in the security of the invention by leveraging the compatibility of the digital token with a blockchain for storage purposes.
Additionally, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the system of Joao to download and install software to communicate with a specific remote token creation platform based upon the token value identifier disclosed by Beckmann yielding the predictable result in an increase in the flexibility of the system by enabling it to interact with multiple different token creation platforms and systems.
Regarding Claims 3, 10, and 17, the combination discloses:
the detecting the first amount of energy comprises detecting an amount of charge stored within the EV battery by at least one renewable energy source (See Beckmann: Para. [0048] – “The available container 900 may be created and updated, for example, based on information electrically received from an energy reservoir or battery, a local renewable energy resource, etc.”)
the detecting the second amount of energy comprises detecting an amount of chrage that is consumed by components of the vehicle (See Beckmann: Para. [0065] – “In one embodiment, the various seasons as well as geographic location at the community where the plurality of energy resource systems are located are also the factors which are taken into consideration with respect to the energy transfer mechanism”).
Regarding Claims 4, 11, and 18, the combination discloses:
wherein the detecting the at least one source comprises querying a charging point of the vehicle during a charging operation in which energy is transferred from the charging point to the vehicle (See Beckmann: Para. [0063] – “In such case, the battery vehicles could be programmed via Global Positioning Satellite (“GPS”) systems to locate and dock with one or more charging stations associated with the large renewable energy resource associated with the energy management systems”) and
receiving an identifier of a source of the energy from the charging point in response to the querying (See Beckmann: Para. [0050-0051] – “a digital currency token identifier 1004, a moved into used container indication 1006, allocated energy 1008, payment amount 1010, and transaction status 1012. The used container 1000 may be created and updated, for example, based on information electrically received from remote consumers, an energy reservoir, etc. … The digital currency token identifier 1004 might comprise a specific digital coin value, a pointer to where the digital coin value is stored, etc. and could be based on or associated with the digital currency token identifier 904 stored in the available container 900. The moved into used container indication 806 might comprise, for example, a date and time indicating when the coin in that particular slot was moved from the available container 900 into the used container 1000. The allocated energy 1008 might define an amount of energy represented by that particular slot or entry (e.g., an amount of energy used by a microgrid consumer)”).
Regarding Claims 5, 12, and 19, the combination discloses:
wherein the detecting the at least one source comprises monitoring energy transferred to a residential energy storage system at a location (See Beckmann: Para. [0047] – “The reserve container slot identifier 802 may be, for example, a unique alphanumeric code identifying a location or position within the container 800”) and
identifying a renewable energy source at the location which transferred the energy to the residential energy storage system (See Beckmann: Para. [0048] – “The available container 900 may be created and updated, for example, based on information electrically received from an energy reservoir or battery, a local renewable energy resource, etc.”).
Regarding Claims 7 and 14, the combination discloses:
generating a blockchain transaction comprising an identifier of the digital wallet, the digital token, and an identifier of a receiver (See Beckmann: Para. [0037] – “Similarly, the energy reservoir controller 350 may record information about an energy transaction in a secure, distributed ledger 390 (e.g., utilizing blockchain technology).”), and
submitting the blockchain transaction to a blockchain peer of a blockchain ledger via a client of the blockchain ledger (See Beckmann: Para. [0027] – “Various aspects of the digital currency tokens and/or energy transaction with a consumer may be stored in a secure, distributed ledger 190, such as a ledger that utilizes “blockchain” technology. As used herein, the term “blockchain” may refer to a list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block may contain, for example, a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp, transaction data, etc. As a result, a blockchain may be resistant to data modification or tampering allowing parties to efficiently record information in a verifiable and permanent way”).
Claim(s) 6, 13, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Joao in view of Beckmann in further view of Dowling (US 20240067038 A1)
Regarding Claims 6, 13, and 20, the combination of Joao and Beckmann discloses the method of claim 1 but fails to explicitly disclose:
determining an efficiency of the first amount of energy based on execution of an artificial intelligence (AI) model on the at least one source of the first amount of energy and a geographic location of the at least one source, wherein the generating the digital token further comprises generating the digital token based on the efficiency of the first amount of energy.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Dowling discloses:
determining an efficiency of the first amount of energy based on execution of an artificial intelligence (AI) model on the at least one source of the first amount of energy and a geographic location of the at least one source, wherein the generating the digital token further comprises generating the digital token based on the efficiency of the first amount of energy (See Dowling: Para. [0034] – “The devices and systems for managing the energy consumption of an electric mining vehicle may include power management logic that can calculate an estimated energy requirement for an energy storage device mounted on the vehicle such that the vehicle can complete a desired mission or task based on information provided from the external environment of the vehicle, the operational status of the vehicle, the energy utilization efficiency of the vehicle … In some variations, the devices and systems may include one or more processors (e.g., a microprocessor) that can perform the power management logic, and use machine learning and other artificial intelligence techniques to develop and improve virtual models that may be used in predicting the energy consumption for a particular electric mining vehicle and associated energy storage device traveling over a particular energy zone between nodes in the mine, and/or the energy consumption for one or more electric mining vehicles,”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to implement the efficiency determination via Artificial Intelligence model functionality disclosed by Dowling to determine the data stored in the digital token disclosed by the combination of Joao and Beckmann yielding the predictable result of a more robust invention by containing additionally relevant data within the stored digital token.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS K PHAN whose telephone number is (571)272-6748. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 1 pm-9 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Neha Patel can be reached at 571-270-1492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NICHOLAS K PHAN/Examiner, Art Unit 3699
Prosecution Insights