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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Claims 1-15 are pending and claim 6 is canceled. Claim 1 is amended.
Response to Arguments
The 103 rejection of the claims are withdrawn in view of the claim amendments.
The 101 rejection of the claims is reinstated after further review and consideration. The examiner considers the claims to be directed toward the financial practice of arbitrage, as applied to the electrical power industry and specifically to electric vehicles.
The 112 rejection is withdrawn in view of the claim amendments.
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(s) 1-5 and 7-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s):
1. A server apparatus comprising:
a communication interface; and
a controller configured to:
communicate using the communication interface;
transmit, when a power sale price corresponding to a predetermined electrical energy of a battery of a vehicle is equal to or higher than a power purchase price corresponding to the predetermined electrical energy, permission information to enable sale of power of the predetermined electrical energy from the battery; and
receive a request for discharging that includes identification information identifying a user and the vehicle, and an electrical energy to be discharged.
The underlined limitations represent certain methods of organizing human activity, fundamental economic principles because the claims recite the concept of arbitrage.
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claims add by including the use of a server apparatus to execute the abstract idea. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because the server apparatus. The claims merely apply the concept of arbitrage to the field of electric vehicle power charging and discharging.
The remaining claims merely narrow the abstract idea by performing determinations of when to discharge power and at what prices.
Claims 2 and 15 narrows the discharging by transmitting a plan.
Claims 3, 5 and 7 narrow the determination of satisfaction of the predetermined condition.
Claim 5 narrows the power sale prices.
Claim 8 introduces an optional terminal apparatus for communicating with the controller, adding to the concept of using the words “apply it”.
Claim 9 narrows the permission information.
Claim 10 narrows the discharge information but generally recites that it enables power transmission.
Claim 11 narrows the predetermined condition and the power purchase price.
Claims 12-14 narrow the predetermined condition, and deriving the power sale price.
As a whole and in combination, the claims comprise the abstract idea with the words apply it and are therefore patent-ineligible.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WILLIAM E RANKINS whose telephone number is (571)270-3465. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-530 M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Bennett Sigmond can be reached on 303-297-4411. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/WILLIAM E RANKINS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3694
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