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 .
Status of Claims
This action is in response to the amendments filed on 05/18/2026. Wherein Claims 1-3 and 5-20 are amended. Claims 1-20 are rejected.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information Disclosure Statements filed on 03/25/2026 and 07/08/2026 have been considered. An initialed copy of form 1449 for each is enclosed herewith.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see REMARKS, filed 05/18/2026, with respect to the double patenting rejections have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the previous double patenting rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, with respect to the rejection of claims 1-20, under 35 USC §103, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Therefore, the previous rejections have been maintained.
With respect to amended claim 1, the Applicant argues:
Considering Shin, Kempton, and ISO 15118-2 together, there is still no teaching or suggestion of the combination of features recited in currently amended claim 1. None of the references discloses a controller of an EVSE that sends to the EV, in a communication, a power limit parameter that defines a maximum amount of power that can be discharged by the EV in a BPT operation between that EV and that EVSE, where the EV implements that parameter so that it operates as a generator in accordance with a grid code implemented at the EVSE location, and where the EV controls its BPT by limiting discharge from its onboard battery so that the discharged power does not exceed that maximum amount. The specific EV-side receipt and implementation of a grid-code-driven power limit parameter for generator operation recited in currently amended claim 1 is not taught or suggested by Shin, Kempton, ISO 15118-2, or any combination of them under a proper broadest reasonable interpretation.
Examiner cordially disagrees.
Kempton teaches an EVSE that receives static and dynamic attributes from a DSO. These attributes include maximum amounts of transfer power, account settings, grid codes, and other similar information. When the EVE is connected to the EVSE, a two communication occurs where information from both parties is sent to the other so that the system can determine the parameters of each party. One of the attributes of the EVSE is a reverse flow limit, which may be set to zero, when specific events occur. From this data the correct amount of power is transferred between the from the grid through EVSE to the EVE or from the EVE through EVSE to the grid.
Therefore, the Examiner understands Kempton as teaching the amended claim language and has maintained the previous rejections under 35 USC §103.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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, 11, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin (US 2023/0311700 A1, “Shin”) in view of Kempton (US 2011/0202217 A1, “Kempton”)
Regarding claims 1, 10, and 17, Shin discloses target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same and teaches:
A system, located on an electric vehicle (EV), comprising: (The EV charging infrastructure shown in the drawing constitutes a vehicle-grid integration (VGI) system that supplies electrical energy from a power grid to the EV 100 so as to enable the EV 100 to charge a battery therein as well as provides the electrical energy stored in the battery of the EV 100 to a building electrically connected to the power grid or a specific device – See least ¶ [0081])
at least one processor; and (EVCC 120 is a processor used to control the power transfer amount to the EV – See at least ¶ [0141])
a memory coupled to the at least one processor and having instructions stored thereon, wherein, in response to the at least one processor executing the instructions, the instructions facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
receiving, in a communication, a control signal, wherein the control signal is received from a system remotely located from the EV and comprises a control setting; and [] (Next, the target power transfer amount may be set, and a charging schedule may be established (step 406). The setting of the target power transfer amount and the establishment of the charging schedule may be performed by an exchange of a ChargeParameterDiscoveryReq/Res message pair. That is, the EVCC 120 may transmit the ChargeParameterDiscoveryReq( ) message to the SECC 220 to request applicable charging parameters, and the SECC 220 may respond to the EVCC 120 with the ChargeParameterDiscoveryRes() message. Through successive message exchanges, the EVCC 120 and the SECC 220 may set the target power transfer amount and establish the charging schedule – See at least ¶ [0115])
implementing the control setting at the EV to control a bidirectional power transfer (BPT) operation performed at the EV, [] (After the target power transfer amount is set and the charging schedule is established, the charging may be performed (step 408) – See at least ¶ [0116])
Shin does not explicitly teach A system, located on an electric vehicle (EV), comprising a memory coupled to the at least one processor and having instructions stored thereon, wherein, in response to the at least one processor executing the instructions, the instructions facilitate performance of operations. However, Kempton discloses electric vehicle equipment for grid-integrated vehicles and teaches:
A system, located on an electric vehicle (EV), comprising: (the electric vehicle contains a system, e.g., EVE 102 – See at least ¶ [0042] and Fig. 2)
at least one processor; and (EVE 102 contains microcomputer 210, i.e., a processor – See at least ¶ [0042] and Fig. 2)
a memory coupled to the at least one processor and having instructions stored thereon, wherein, in response to the at least one processor executing the instructions, the instructions facilitate performance of operations, comprising: (EVE 102 contains memory 212 – See at least ¶ [0042] and Fig. 2; the memory contains instructions for microcomputer 210 – See at least ¶ [0046])
receiving, in a communication, a control signal, wherein the control signal is received from a system remotely located from the EV and comprises a control setting; and (Referring to FIG. 2, EVE 102 includes VL 103, a battery 202, a power electronics module (PEM) 204, a vehicle management system (VMS) 206, and vehicle mating inlet 250. VL 103 includes a microcomputer 210, a memory 212, and a command module 214. VL 103 may be configured to communicate, determine provisions of grid services, control Such provisions – See at least ¶ [0042] Microcomputer 210 is configured and programmed to provide the following functionality: (1) two-way communication with EVSE 104; (2) processing EVSE attributes received from EVSE 104; (3) executing instruction stored in memory 212: (a) to predicatively model the usage of EVE 102 and track interactions with the driver of grid-integrated vehicle; (b) to evaluate grid, battery and vehicle conditions, and ( c) to determine whether and when to command EVE 102 to absorb or provide real power or reactive power. Microcomputer 210 may include a programming/communications port 211 for communication with a display, touch screen or programming device (not shown) for programming VL 103. – See at least ¶ [0047]) wherein the control signal is generated at an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) in response to a digital input received at the EVSE from a distribution system operator (DSO) (Microprocessor 304 includes a programming/communication port 305, for example, for downloading static information during installation of EVSE 104, regarding the building, electrical, circuit, safety authorizations, distribution company, meter account, and other information. Some of this information may be authorized only by DSO electricians or electrical inspectors. The static information may include: (1) grid location information indicating the location of EVSE 104 within the grid network; (2) a charging business model indicating whether charging of a vehicle is free, is to be charged, or other options described above; (3) a unique EVSE ID; (4) whether the internet connection from the building or EVSE location has a fixed IP address and if so, what is the IP number, or a dynamic IP assigned by DHCP or other internet protocol; (5) a forward flow limit indicating the maximum allowable flow of power into EVE 102 of a grid-integrated vehicle from EVSE 104; (6) a reverse flow limit indicating the maximum allowable flow of power into EVSE 104 from EVE 102 of a grid-integrated vehicle; (7) an emergency power flag indicating if emergency power may be supplied by EVE 102 of a grid-integrated vehicle 204 to EVSE 104 (the static information setting of the emergency power flag may require an inspector to Verify that an isolation Switch has been installed at the location); (8) an authorized CAN-bus flag indicating whether a CAN-bus protocol may be extended to EVSE 104. – See at least ¶ [0037-[0038]]) or grid protection device, the digital input instructing one of ceasing active power export or limiting active power export at a location of the EV; and (SAE J1772 and IEC 62196-2 specify that power provided over the pins in the contactor is in response to the pilot signal indicating a connection with the grid-integrated vehicle EVE 102. In accordance with aspects of this invention, power may be energized by contactor 302, and adds additional controls this contactor may carry out, specifically, ground-fault detection signal indicating no ground faults, current overload detection indicating that current drawn is not excessive, and account authorization signal indicating authorization for this grid-integrated vehicle EVE 102 to draw power from this EVSE 104. The contactor 302 may be a normally opened device Such that unless each of the signals indicates that contactor 302 is to be closed, contactor 302 remains open to stop power flow between the grid and grid integrated vehicle – See at least ¶ [0073])
implementing the control setting at the EV to control a bidirectional power transfer (BPT) operation performed at the EV, wherein: (EVE 102 may plug into EVSE 104 which may result in a two-way flow of information and a one or two-way flow of power – See at least ¶ [0070])
the control setting comprises a maximum allowed discharge power for the BPT operation, (At step 616, EVE 102 sends EVE attributes to the EVSE 104. In an exemplary embodiment, VL 103 sends the following exemplary attributes to EVSE 104: (1) a unique grid-integrated vehicleID, (2) allowed billing and other commercial relationships such as valid account numbers or authorization codes for purchase of electricity and parking time, (3) code compliance of this vehicle, such as IEEE 949 certification for anti-islanding, and (4) technical capabilities of the vehicle, including maximum power output, whether it can produce power independently of grid power ("emergency power mode”), and others, (5) whether it is approved for dispatch by an aggregation server, (6) assurance (or not) of neutral when power is provided by vehicle, and (7) any accounts and authorizations to be credited for grid services – See at least ¶ [0114]) including a value of zero watts in response to the digital input instruction ceasing active power export, and (A representative of the load-serving entity may inspect (determine) the size of the distribution transformer and building loads and may enter EVSE attributes into microprocessor 304 via port 305 for storage in EVSE static memory 306, for the attribute of reverse flow limit (e.g., grid-integrated vehicle to grid current limit). The reverse flow limit may be set at a different level than (and may be higher than) the forward flow limit. The reverse flow limit may be set to Zero to indicate that supply of power to EVSE 104 from grid-integrated vehicle with EVE 102 is not allowed. The reverse flow authorization may be contingent on the vehicle type being certified as conforming to IEEE 929 anti-islanding. – See at least ¶ [0066])
implementing the control setting at the EV comprises adjusting an active power discharge from a battery located onboard the EV during the BPT operation to not exceed the maximum allowed discharge power, including reducing the active power to zero watts in response to the maximum allowed discharge power being zero watts, thereby causing the EV to cease active power export to an electrical grid in accordance with a grid code implemented at the electrical grid. (At step 729, EVE 102 determines whether to charge and/or which local services to provide. In an exemplary embodiment, VL 103 decides to provide local grid services, based on EVE operational parameters, including EVSE attributes and driving schedule in VL memory 212 by sensing local grid conditions such as frequency, Voltage or reactive power. In another exemplary embodiment, VL 103 may deter mine from EVE operational parameters in memory 212 to set charging current to Zero and wait for off-peak electric rates, then charge up to the charge needed for the next trip beginning when those rates go into effect – See at least ¶ [0139])
In summary, Shin discloses a vehicle system that contains a processor. Shin does not explicitly teach that the processor is coupled to memory located on the vehicle itself. Kempton discloses electric vehicle equipment for grid-integrated vehicles and teaches an on-vehicle system that contains a processor coupled to a memory and instructions for the processor stored on the couple memory. Kempton further provides for this system to perform the various functions required for obtaining EVSE attributes and performing charging functions.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to have modified the target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same of Shin to provide for the electric vehicle equipment for grid-integrated vehicles, as taught in Kempton, to maximize range while again minimizing wear to achieve that range. (At Kempton ¶ [0084])
Regarding claims 2, and 11, Shin further teaches:
wherein the communication is configured per a specification in accordance with one of International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 15118-2, ISO 15118-20, or a specification defining communication between the EV and the EVSE. (The SECC 220 and the EVCC 120 may communicate with each other in an application layer, i.e., in an OSI layer 3 and higher layers according to an ISO 15118-20 standard, for example – See at least ¶ [0097])
Regarding claim 3, Shin further teaches:
wherein the control signal is received via hardware configured to connect the EV with the EVSE. (The EVSE 210 may include a supply equipment communication controller (SECC) 220, a supply-side power circuit 230, a power line communications (PLC) module 240, and a gateway 280 – See at least ¶ [0096]; The SECC 220, which is a high-level controller, may communicate with an EV communication controller(EVCC) 120 in the EV device 110 through power line communications (PLC) or a wireless LAN (WLAN) – See at least ¶ [0097]; The PLC module 240 may modulate a signal transmitted to the EV device 110 through the power line communications and demodulate a signal received from the EV device 110 through the power line communications. Although not shown in the drawing, the EVSE 210 may further include a control pilot transceiver capable of transmitting a control signal to the EV device 110 through a cable connecting the EVSE 210 and the EV device 110 and receiving a control signal from the EV device 110 – See at least ¶ [0099])
Regarding claims 6 and 14, Shin does not explicitly teach, but Kempton further teaches:
wherein the control setting comprises the maximum allowed discharge power equal to a value of zero, and implementing the control setting at the EV comprises terminating the BPT operation by preventing further discharge of the electrical energy from the battery to the grid. (A representative of the load-serving entity may inspect (determine) the size of the distribution transformer and building loads and may enter EVSE attributes into microprocessor 304 via port 305 for storage in EVSE static memory 306, for the attribute of reverse flow limit (e.g., grid-integrated vehicle to grid current limit). The reverse flow limit may be set at a different level than (and may be higher than) the forward flow limit. The reverse flow limit may be set to zero to indicate that supply of power to EVSE 104 from grid-integrated vehicle with EVE 102 is not allowed – See at least ¶ [0066])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to have modified the target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same of Shin to provide for the electric vehicle equipment for grid-integrated vehicles, as taught in Kempton, to maximize range while again minimizing wear to achieve that range. (At Kempton ¶ [0084])
Regarding claims 7 and 15, Shin further teaches:
wherein the electrical grid is configured to receive energy discharged from a battery located onboard the EV. (provided is a method of changing the target power transfer amount, which allows the EV user to change the target power transfer amount by accessing the EVSE from outside the EV through a network or by directly accessing the EVSE while the charging is in progress or in a standby state, so that the power transfer is accomplished according to an updated target power transfer amount – See at least ¶ [0006])
Regarding claims 8, 16, and 20, Shin does not explicitly teach, but Kempton further teaches:
wherein the EV is certified as a generator unit for the electrical grid in accordance with the grid code implemented at the electrical grid when the EV adjusts active power discharge from the battery in accordance with the maximum allowed discharge power. (A representative of the load-serving entity may inspect (determine) the size of the distribution transformer and building loads and may enter EVSE attributes into microprocessor 304 via port 305 for storage in EVSE static memory 306, for the attribute of reverse flow limit (e.g., grid-integrated vehicle to grid current limit). The reverse flow limit may be set at a different level than (and may be higher than) the forward flow limit. The reverse flow limit may be set to zero to indicate that supply of power to EVSE 104 from grid-integrated vehicle with EVE 102 is not allowed. The reverse flow authorization may be contingent on the vehicle type being certified as conforming to IEEE 929 anti-islanding. – See at least ¶ [0066])
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to have modified the target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same of Shin to provide for the electric vehicle equipment for grid-integrated vehicles, as taught in Kempton, to maximize range while again minimizing wear to achieve that range. (At Kempton ¶ [0084])
Regarding claim 9, Shin further teaches:
wherein the battery is configured to provide electrical power to a motor located on the EV, and the motor is configured to propel the EV. ("Electric Vehicle (EV)": An automobile, as defined in 49 CFR 523.3, intended for highway use, powered by an electric motor that draws current from an on-vehicle energy storage device, such as a battery, which is rechargeable from an off-vehicle source, such as residential or public electric service or an on-vehicle fuel powered generator. The EV may be a four or more wheeled vehicle manufactured for use primarily on public streets or roads – See at least ¶ [0058])
Regarding claim 18, Shin further teaches:
wherein the communication comprises the control signal configured per a specification in accordance with one of International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 15118-2, ISO 15118-20, or a specification defining communication between the EV and the EVSE, and wherein (The SECC 220 and the EVCC 120 may communicate with each other in an application layer, i.e., in an OSI layer 3 and higher layers according to an ISO 15118-20 standard, for example – See at least ¶ [0097]) the electrical grid configured to receive energy discharged from the battery located onboard the EV. (provided is a method of changing the target power transfer amount, which allows the EV user to change the target power transfer amount by accessing the EVSE from outside the EV through a network or by directly accessing the EVSE while the charging is in progress or in a standby state, so that the power transfer is accomplished according to an updated target power transfer amount – See at least ¶ [0006])
Claim(s) 4, 5, 12, 13, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin in view of Kempton, as applied to claims 1, 10, and 17, and in further view of ISO 15118-2 (Road Vehicles – Vehicle-to-Grid Communication Interface – Par 2: Network and Application Protocol Requirements, “ISO”)
Regarding claims 4 and 12, the combination of Shin and Kempton does not explicitly teach wherein the hardware is configured per a specification in accordance with one of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61851, IEC 61851-1, or a specification defining compliance of hardware implemented to connect the EV to the EVSE.
wherein the hardware is configured per a specification in accordance with one of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61851, IEC 61851-1, or a specification defining compliance of hardware implemented to connect the EV to the EVSE. (Any functional safety related risks occurring through overvoltage and overcurrent (accidental or purposeful) need to be addressed by implementing the related electrical safety standards (e.g. IEC 61851 and ISO 17409) – See at least pg. 20)
In summary, Shin does not explicitly teach wherein the hardware is configured per a specification in accordance with one of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61851, IEC 61851-1, or a specification defining compliance of hardware implemented to connect the EV to the EVSE. However, Shin discloses using ISO 15118, which teaches implementing the electrical safety standards found in IEC 61851.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to have modified the target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same of Shin and Kempton to provide for the safety related standards, as taught in ISO, to protect against overvoltage and overcurrent. (At ISO pg. 20)
Regarding claims 5 and 13, the combination of Shin and Kempton does not explicitly teach, but ISO further teaches:
wherein the communication comprising the control signal is a digital signal. (When transmitting V2G messages defined in this standard by using XML all V2G Entities shall use encoding format according to definitions in W3C EXI 1.0. The Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) format allows to use and process XML-based messages on a binary level, i.e., digital signals – See at least pg. 36-37)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to have modified the target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same of Shin and Kempton to provide for the safety related standards, as taught in ISO, to achieve very efficient encodings for a broad range of use cases. (At ISO pg. 37)
Regarding claim 19, Shin further teaches:
wherein the communication comprising the control signal is [] signal received at the EV via hardware configured to connect the EV with the EVSE, (The EVSE 210 may include a supply equipment communication controller (SECC) 220, a supply-side power circuit 230, a power line communications (PLC) module 240, and a gateway 280 – See at least ¶ [0096]; The SECC 220, which is a high-level controller, may communicate with an EV communication controller(EVCC) 120 in the EV device 110 through power line communications (PLC) or a wireless LAN (WLAN) – See at least ¶ [0097]; The PLC module 240 may modulate a signal transmitted to the EV device 110 through the power line communications and demodulate a signal received from the EV device 110 through the power line communications. Although not shown in the drawing, the EVSE 210 may further include a control pilot transceiver capable of transmitting a control signal to the EV device 110 through a cable connecting the EVSE 210 and the EV device 110 and receiving a control signal from the EV device 110 – See at least ¶ [0099]) and []
Shin does not explicitly teach, but ISO further teaches:
wherein the communication comprising the control signal is a digital signal received [] (When transmitting V2G messages defined in this standard by using XML all V2G Entities shall use encoding format according to definitions in W3C EXI 1.0. The Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) format allows to use and process XML-based messages on a binary level, i.e., digital signals – See at least pg. 36-37)
the hardware is configured per a specification in accordance with one of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61851, IEC 61851-1, or a specification defining compliance of hardware implemented to connect the EV to the EVSE. (Any functional safety related risks occurring through overvoltage and overcurrent (accidental or purposeful) need to be addressed by implementing the related electrical safety standards (e.g. IEC 61851 and ISO 17409) – See at least pg. 20)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to have modified the target power transmission amount changing method and power transmitting apparatus for implementing the same of Shin and Kempton to provide for the safety related standards, as taught in ISO, to protect against overvoltage and overcurrent. (At ISO pg. 20)
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
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/C.L.C./Examiner, Art Unit 3662
/ANISS CHAD/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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