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 .
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.
Joint Inventors
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on December 4th, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2 Line 14: “the obtaining the congestion status” should be revised to “the obtaining of the congestion status”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2 and 4, along with claims 3 and 6-8 due to dependency, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The terms “vicinity” in claim 2 and “partial” in claim 4 are relative terms which render the claims indefinite. The terms “vicinity” and “partial” are not defined by the claims, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
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 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mariyasagayam (EP Patent Pub. No. 2 717 016 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Mariyasagayam discloses a route guidance system comprising:
a navigation device that searches for a driving route to a destination based on the destination and a transit point, and provides route guidance using the searched driving route, the navigation device including a processor that performs information processing (See 0002, “[…] providing route assistance services for electric vehicles […] taking into account a navigation route from a start location to a destination location being traveled by the respective electric vehicle based on shortest distances towards available charging stations […]” See also 0079, “[…] navigation may be managed by the service center SC server(s) when there is no or limited navigation capability. Also, when devices have navigation capabilities, a navigation device can be included in the user system and can be interfaced with the in-vehicle network control means […]”); and
a management server that manages an operational status of a plurality of energy filling stations, and stores a congestion status database in a memory that stores information, the congestion status database storing a congestion status of each of the plurality of energy filling stations (See 0011, “[…] providing charging station data for a plurality of charging stations indicative of respective locations of a plurality of charging stations […]” See also 0032-0033, “[…] determination of the risk parameter may be further based on a number of currently occupied charging spots at the first charging station indicated in the charging station data […] may be further based on a total number of charging spots at the first charging station in the charging station data […]” See also 0061, “[…] service center SC may comprise one or more connected server computers and databases and is configured to provide route assistance […]” See also 0069, “[…] charging station or charging station provider provides data information to the service center SC server(s) via the communication network NTW about the current charging conditions such as maximum number of charging spots, currently occupied spots, rate at which charging is happening […]” See also 0082, “[…] memory unit 130 stores user data 131, charging station data 132 and traffic data […]” See also 0088, “Charging station data 132 further includes data such as number of vehicles arriving over a period of time and also the number of vehicles leaving the charging station […]” Examiner notes there is clear support for a management server storing information regarding the congestion status at a plurality of charging stations, which is an energy filling station), wherein
the processor
obtains the congestion status of each of the plurality of energy filling stations from the congestion status database of the management server (See 0011, 0032-0033 and 0069 as referenced above); and
estimates a waiting time period at each of the plurality of energy filling stations based on the obtained congestion status (See 0048-0050, “[…] determining an expected minimal queuing time based on a minimal value of the determined liberation times (or expected remaining charging durations) and the estimated travel time […] comparison of the estimated travel time of the first electric vehicle to the second charging station and the sum of the estimated travel time of the first electric vehicle to the first charging station and the expected minimal queuing time […]”);
for each of the plurality of energy filling stations, searches for a filling station inclusive driving route incorporating one of the plurality of energy filling stations as the transit point (See 0019-0022, “[…] assist route selection by associating a risk parameter (risk factor) for charging at a charging station along a planned route of a first electric vehicle […] a new route based on other subsequent charging stations may then be selected and proposed […] to determine associated risk parameters (risk factors) for charging at a specific first charging station along the travel route […] when the risk parameter (risk factor) for a certain first electric vehicle exceeds a pre- determined threshold value, a suitable alternative route towards another charging station can re-calculated and advised […]”), and
calculates a required time period to reach the destination, including the waiting time period, for each of the searched filling station inclusive driving routes (See Fig. 8 shown below and 0119, “[…] a time-to-reach-factor TTRF (auxiliary parameter) is calculated.” See also 0127-0129, “[…] the server -side apparatus/system determines an estimate of a number FCS of available charging spots at the time of arrival of the assisted electric vehicle EVEGO at the identified charging station based on the number FC - OC of currently available charging spots and the number OC of currently occupied charging spots […] may determine, for each currently occupied charging spot for which the estimated travel time ETREGO of the assisted electric vehicle EVEGO to the identified charging station is shorter than the respective expected remaining charging duration […]” See also 0130, “[…] estimating a number FCS of available charging spots at a charging station and for determining one or more liberations times LT and an expected minimal queuing time MQT.”), and
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provides the route guidance using the filling station inclusive driving route with the shortest required time period (See 0002 and 0048 as referenced above. See also 0084, “[…] suggest the best route with least amount of charging necessary (e.g. depending on the charging stations present along the route). The best route need not necessarily be the fastest or the shortest route - and at such situations, if the user desires only the shortest or fastest route, the server may provide assistance for that route […]”).
Regarding Claim 2, Mariyasagayam further discloses the route guidance system according to claim 1, wherein
the memory of the management server stores a service information database that includes a location and service information of each of the plurality of energy filling stations (See 0064-0065, “[…] service center SC is configured to communicate via the communication network NTW with the one or more traffic centers TC, the one or more power stations PS, the one or more charging stations and the one or more electric vehicles […] configured to exchange data with the one or more traffic centers TC, the one or more power stations PS, the one or more charging stations and the one or more electric vehicles […] may store location information indicating locations of the charging stations CS pre-loaded into a memory means or a database or the location information on locations of charging stations may be received, automatically or upon request, from directly from charging stations or from a charging station service provider providing services in connection with one or more charging stations, such as e.g. reservation services. Charging station data may therefore be pre-stored at the service center SC and/or received (upon request or automatically on a regular basis) from charging stations and/or charging station service providers.” See also 0105, “[…] the server-side apparatus/system receives the current position of the electric vehicle of the user, the travelling direction thereof and/or the final destination. This information may be obtained, for example, in two ways, i.e. the vehicle may send travel information details during request for service provision […]”),
the processor
searches for a reference driving route to the destination based on the destination and the transit point (See 0002 and 0079 as referenced above);
obtains the location of each of the plurality of energy filling stations from the service information database of the management server (See 0011 and 0064-0065 as referenced above);
searches for a plurality of energy filling stations located in the vicinity of the reference driving route (See 0035-0036, “[…] travelling in the direction of the first charging station (the risk parameter preferably increasing with increasing number electric vehicles located in the perimeter of the first charging station and travelling in the direction of the first charging station) […] a perimeter region for the first charging station, the first charging station being located in the perimeter region […] travelling towards the first charging station. Preferably, the deciding, whether to re-route one or more first electric vehicles, is then based on electric vehicle data for electric vehicles located in the perimeter region and travelling towards the first charging station […] ”); and
sets the searched plurality of energy filling stations as a plurality of filling station candidates (See 0011, 0032-0033 and 0069 as referenced above. See also 0019, “[…] a new route based on other subsequent charging stations may then be selected and proposed […]” See also 0022, “[…] respective risk parameter (risk factor) exceeds the threshold value can be decided to be re-routed to one or more other charging stations for avoiding overloading of the first charging station.” Examiner notes subsequent charging stations being potential destinations for new routes due to information regarding issues at an initial charging station means every other charging station in the plurality of charging stations is a candidate); and
the obtaining the congestion status of each of the plurality of energy filling stations is to obtain the congestion status of each of the plurality of filling station candidates from the congestion status database of the management server, the estimating of the waiting time period is to estimate the waiting time period at each of the plurality of filling station candidates based on the obtained congestion status (See 0011, 0032-0033, 0048-0050 and 0069 as referenced above),
the searching for the filling station inclusive driving route is to search for the filling station inclusive driving route incorporating one of the plurality of filling station candidates as the transit point for each of the plurality of filling station candidates (See 0019-0022 and 0035-0036 as referenced above).
Regarding Claim 5, Mariyasagayam further discloses the route guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the energy filling station is a charging station or a hydrogen station (See 0011, “[…] providing charging station data for a plurality of charging stations indicative of respective locations of a plurality of charging stations for electric vehicles.”).
Regarding Claim 6, Mariyasagayam further discloses the route guidance system according to claim 2, wherein the energy filling station is a charging station or a hydrogen station (See 0011, “[…] providing charging station data for a plurality of charging stations indicative of respective locations of a plurality of charging stations for electric vehicles.”).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 3-4 and 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Mariyasagayam (EP Patent Pub. No. 2 717 016 A1) in view of Hiruta et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2011/0224900 A1), herein “Hiruta”.
Regarding Claim 3, Mariyasagayam discloses the route guidance system according to claim 2, wherein the processor
after setting the plurality of filling station candidates, obtains the service information of each of the plurality of filling station candidates from the service information database of the management server (See 0011, 0064-0065 and 0105 as referenced above); and
the obtaining of the congestion status of each of the plurality of energy filling stations is to obtain the congestion status of each of the plurality of reset filling station candidates from the congestion status database of the management server (See 0011, 0032-0033 and 0069 as referenced above),
the estimating of the waiting time period is to estimate the waiting time period at each of the reset filling station candidates based on the obtained congestion status (See 0048-0050 as referenced above),
the searching for the filling station inclusive driving route is to search for the filling station inclusive driving route incorporating one of the reset filling station candidates as the transit point for each of the plurality of reset filling station candidates (See 0019-0022 and 0035-0036 as referenced above).
But does not explicitly disclose the processor resets the plurality of filling station candidates by excluding out-of-service filling station candidates from the plurality of filling station candidates.
Hiruta, in a similar field of endeavor, teaches the processor resets the plurality of filling station candidates by excluding out-of-service filling station candidates from the plurality of filling station candidates (See 0049, “[…] charging station information acquisition device 170 obtains, from an external provider 175, charging station position information and information indicating availability conditions at the charging stations.” See also 0087-0088, “[…] display information indicating the availability conditions of the individual charging stations, obtained from an external source […] a display of charging station availability conditions. The availability condition information is obtained from an external operation management center responsible for managing charging station availability conditions […] the charging station with the shortest wait time, based upon the charging station availability conditions […]” Examiner notes the availability conditions being zero is the same as that respective charging station being out-of-service).
In view of Hiruta’s teachings, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include, with route assistance through correspondence between a plurality of charging stations and congestion-derived waiting times for travel time determination as disclosed by Mariyasagayam, exclusion of out-of-service charging station candidates, with a reasonable expectation of success, since both inventions are directed towards providing route assistance for electric vehicles including charging station data parameters for route evaluation and comparison. Removing unavailable charging stations, for whatever reason, in the candidate selection process improves system efficiency and route accuracy. Furthermore, it has been held that omission of an element and its function in a combination where the remaining elements perform the same function as before involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding Claim 4, Mariyasagayam further discloses the route guidance system according to claim 3, wherein
in the congestion status database, the congestion status of each of the plurality of energy filling stations is associated with the day of the week and the time of day (See 0141, “[…] threshold RFTH may be a predetermined constant or, more preferably, it may be a variable number and may be dependent on the size of the charging station (i.e. number of charging spots) and/or the average number of vehicles travelling through the charging station, the time, the day, the month or season of the year.”),
the processor searches a partial driving route to the plurality of reset filling station candidates and calculates the arrival time at each of the plurality of reset filling station candidates (See Fig. 8 shown above, 0002, 0079, 0119 and 0127-0130 as referenced above),
the estimating of the waiting time period is to refer to the congestion status database and estimate the waiting time period at the arrival time to the reset filling station candidate (See 0048-0050 as referenced above).
Regarding Claim 7, Mariyasagayam further discloses the route guidance system according to claim 3, wherein the energy filling station is a charging station or a hydrogen station (See 0011, “[…] providing charging station data for a plurality of charging stations indicative of respective locations of a plurality of charging stations for electric vehicles.”).
Regarding Claim 8, Mariyasagayam further discloses the route guidance system according to claim 4, wherein the energy filling station is a charging station or a hydrogen station (See 0011, “[…] providing charging station data for a plurality of charging stations indicative of respective locations of a plurality of charging stations for electric vehicles.”).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Ishikawa et al. (US Patent Pub. No. 2006/0064235 A1); Mayer et al. (CA Patent Pub. No. 2 648 972 A1), herein “Mayer”
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bryant Tang whose telephone number is (571)270-0145. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 CST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Worden can be reached at (571)272-4876. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRYANT TANG/Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/JASON HOLLOWAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658
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