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
Claims 1-6 are currently pending and have been examined in this application. This communication is the first action on the merits.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy of the foreign priority application JP 2019-196764 has been received.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 11/19/2024 and 06/09/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements is being considered by the examiner.
Summary of Examination
Claim Interpretation
The terms “parking control unit” and “result detection unit” are interpreted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), as they have no defining structure in the claim to provide the associated functions.
The term “storage unit” uses a nonce term, but does not appear to be performing a function and, therefore, does not qualify for a means plus function interpretation.
35 U.S.C. § 101
Claims 1-6 are eligible under Step 2A, Prong II for being integrated into a practical application.
35 U.S.C. § 102
Claims 1-2 and 6 are anticipated in view of the prior art applied below.
35 U.S.C. § 103
Claims 3-5 are obvious in view of the combination of the prior art applied below.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
In claim 1, the “parking control unit” in the limitation “a parking control unit configured to execute parking control for automatic parking” invokes 112(f) as unit is a term that does not have definite structure which enables the vehicle to be automatically parked.
In claim 1, the “result detection unit” in the limitation “ a result detection unit configured to detect transmission result information” invokes 112(f) as unit is a term that does not have definite structure which enables the transmission result information to be detected.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
A review of the specification shows that the following appears to be the corresponding structure described in the specification to these claim limitations:
“[0032] The parking control device 30 includes an input and output unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a calculation unit 33. The calculation unit 33 is implemented by, for example, a central processing unit (CPU).”
“[0040] The charging result detection unit 37 detects the charging result information of non-contact charging based on a current value and a voltage value acquired by a current and voltage sensor”
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tauchi et al. (JP 2016-141161 A), hereinafter Tauchi.
With respect to claims 1 and 6, Tauchi discloses a parking control device for a vehicle capable of non-contact power transmission in which power is transmitted in a non-contact manner between a first coil disposed in a parking space and a second coil provided in the vehicle, (see at least Fig. 1, [0013-0014] “a power receiving coil that receives electric power from the non-contact charger 50… a power transmission coil that transmits electric power in a non-contact manner”)
the parking control device comprising: a parking control unit configured to execute parking control for automatically parking the vehicle in a target parking position where the first coil and the second coil face each other in the parking space; (see at least [0037] “The automatic control unit 111… controls the car A to automatically travel along the target trajectory and park at the target parking position.” [0030] “The vehicle position with respect to the non-contact charger 50 at which the efficiency of non-contact charging is maximized is a target parking position.”)
and a result detection unit configured to detect transmission result information of the non-contact power transmission executed at the target parking position, (see at least [0040] “The efficiency specification unit 115… specifies the efficiency of the non-contact charging at the vehicle position.”)
wherein the parking control unit is configured to store, in a storage unit, parking position information of the vehicle during execution of the non-contact power transmission in association with the transmission result information each time the non-contact power transmission is executed in the parking space, (see at least [0029] “The correspondence relationship storage unit 104 stores a correspondence relationship between the efficiency of the wireless charging of the vehicle A from the wireless charger 50 and the vehicle position with respect to the wireless charger 50.”)
and offset the target parking position of the parking control executed in the parking space based on past parking position information and the transmission result information stored in the storage unit. (see at least [0123] “the vehicle position at which the efficiency of the non-contact charging is maximized is specified using the correspondence relationship… stored in the correspondence relationship storage unit 104… specified by searching for a position at which the efficiency of the non-contact charging… is equal to or greater than a threshold value.”)
With respect to claim 2, Tauchi discloses the transmission result information includes at least one of a charging output and a charging efficiency, or at least one of a power feeding output and a power feeding efficiency, (see at least [0040] “The efficiency specification unit 115… specifies the efficiency of the non-contact charging at the vehicle position.” [0110] “the efficiency of the non-contact charging may be sequentially specified from the ratio between the power actually received by the power receiving pad 20 and the power to be transmitted from the non-contact charger 50”)
and the parking control unit is configured to offset the target parking position of the parking control executed in the parking space to a position where at least one of the charging output and the charging efficiency, or at least one of the power feeding output and the power feeding efficiency is optimal. (see at least [0122-0123] “it is also possible to automatically park the vehicle at the vehicle position where the efficiency of the non-contact charging is maximized and to further increase the efficiency of the non-contact charging.”)
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.
Claim3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tauchi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yasui (JP 2017-093129 A), hereinafter Yasui.
With respect to claim 3, Tauchi discloses the parking control unit is configured to offset the target parking position of the parking control executed in the parking space (see at least [0110] “In the learning stage process… the efficiency-determining unit 115d sequentially determines the efficiencies of the current non-contact charging” [0123] “the correspondence relationship between the efficiency of the non-contact charging of the vehicle A from the non-contact charger 50 and the vehicle position with respect to the non-contact charger 50 stored in the correspondence relationship storage unit 104”)
and search for an optimal position for the non-contact power transmission in the parking space based on the parking position information and the transmission result information stored in the storage unit. (see at least [0123] “the vehicle position at which the efficiency of the non-contact charging is maximized is specified using the correspondence relationship… may be specified by searching for a position at which the efficiency of the non-contact charging… is equal to or greater than a threshold value.”)
Tauchi discloses a parking control to search for a maximum efficiency for a non-contact charger, but does not explicitly disclose the method of the automated search.
However, Yasui teaches the parking control unit is configured to offset the target parking position of the parking control executed in the parking space by a predetermined distance each time the non-contact power transmission is executed in the parking space, (see at least [0028] “The control unit 24 acquires the travel distance Δx of the vehicle 20 and also acquires the transmission efficiency E at predetermined sampling intervals.”)
As both are in the same field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the maximum efficiency position searching of Tauchi to include the efficiency sampling intervals disclosed in Yasui, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to reduce the time of position searching so that the vehicle position could be easily aligned, see Yasui [0013].
Claims 4 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tauchi in view of Yasui as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of Saita (US 2018/0287416 A1), hereinafter Saita.
With respect to claim 4, Tauchi discloses a parking control to search for a maximum efficiency for a non-contact charger, but does not explicitly disclose the method of the automated search.
However, Saita teaches the parking control unit is configured to offset the target parking position in a first direction and search for a position in the first direction of the optimal position, (see at least [0078] “drives the vehicle 20 backward (backward traveling) before the pairing… so that the vehicle body center line 25 of the own vehicle 20 coincides with an x-axis of the power transmission pad 21 of the charging station 30.”Note: The first adjustment is to the vehicle being at y=0 so it is traveling on the x-axis.)
and after the position in the first direction of the optimal position is searched and set, offset the target parking position in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and search for a position in the second direction of the optimal position. (see at least [0100] “positioning is completed when the vehicle 20 travels straight backward along the x-axis and the distance x becomes x=0.” Note: After adjusting the y-position to y=0, the vehicle moves until the x-position is also 0.)
As both are in the same field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the maximum efficiency position searching of Tauchi to include the directional adjustment disclosed in Saita, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to ensure the deviation in the x-axis direction is minimal due to x-position deviation having a greater influence on voltage value, see Saita [0109-0110].
With respect to claim 5, Tauchi discloses a parking control to search for a maximum efficiency for a non-contact charger, but does not explicitly disclose the method of the automated search.
However, Saita teaches the parking control unit is configured to simultaneously offset the target parking position in a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and search for a position in the first direction and a position in the second direction of the optimal position. (see at least [0191-0195] “Obtaining x-axis Position x and y-axis Position y…when a current coordinate position ra(x, y) is obtained on the assumption that a power transmission coil in a power transmission pad 21′ is a power transmission coil 11′ with a circular shape”)
As both are in the same field of endeavor, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the maximum efficiency position searching of Tauchi to include the directional adjustment disclosed in Saita, with reasonable expectation of success. The motivation for doing so would have been to provide an alternative method for identifying an optimal position minimizing the deviation in both directions based on the shape of the coil being circular and having a smaller area, see Saita Fig. 13, [0109, 0192].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Saita (US 2018/0375367 A1) discloses a signal expressing that charging is performed at the charging station at a desired position, transmit t the electric vehicle, the height information of the primary coil of the charging station at the desired position from the road surface.
Sakakibara (US 2021/0291683 A1) discloses a parking aid system aids in alignment parking of a vehicle to a parking space, calculates the target position based on the position of the first peak P1.
Sakai et al (US 2022/007357 A1) discloses a parking assist apparatus is configured to perform parking control so as to park a vehicle in a parking region provided with a wireless power transmitter and stopping the parking control in a case in which the foreign object information is acquired.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHELLEY MARIE OSTERHOUT whose telephone number is (703)756-1595. The examiner can normally be reached Mon to Fri 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM.
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/S.M.O./Examiner, Art Unit 3669
/NAVID Z. MEHDIZADEH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3669