DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
This office action regarding application number 18/983,456, filed December 17, 2024, is in response to the applicants arguments and amendments filed May 4, 2026. Claims 1, 11, and 20 have been amended. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and are addressed below.
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 .
Response to Arguments
The applicants arguments and amendments to the application have overcome some of the objections and rejections previously set forth in the Non-Final action mailed March 13, 2026. Applicants amendments to the drawings have been deemed sufficient to overcome the previous objections through the correction of minor typographical errors, therefor the objections are withdrawn. Applicants amendments to the specification have been deemed sufficient to overcome the previous objections through the correction of minor typographical errors, therefor the objections are withdrawn. Applicants amendments to claim 1, 11, and 20 have been deemed sufficient to overcome the previous 35 USC 103 rejections through the inclusion of “a high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors, the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection … prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery; verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized; upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port” therefore the rejections are withdrawn. However as this changes the scope of the claims, new art rejections have been made based on the changes in scope. Additionally the applicants arguments have been fully considered but are not fully persuasive for the reasons seen below.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, 11, and 20, specifically arguments in sections A, B, and C of the applicants response have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
On pages 14 the applicant argues “Salter's entire power delivery architecture is built around energy storage device 132 (the internal traction battery) serving as the primary power source. Salter expressly teaches that the charge control module 152, ePTO module 1, and OBG module 4 are all supplied with DC power from energy storage device 132. Salter, [0019], [0023]. Salter's system is designed to combine outputs of these battery-powered modules to supply external power via an aggregation cable. Salter, Abstract. There is no teaching or suggestion in Salter of excluding the internal battery from the power path during external power delivery”, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
MPEP 2142-2144 discusses the requirements for a case of obviousness using 35 USC 103 and provides examples of such cases. MPEP 2111 discusses Broadest Reasonable Interpretation and the interpretation of claims.
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “There is no teaching or suggestion in Salter of excluding the internal battery from the power path during external power delivery”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993). Here the claims do not require excluding the internal battery from the power path, the claims only require that the internal battery is not charged.
As discussed in the rejections below Salter teaches wherein the external battery is charged without charging the internal battery (Paragraph [0010], “FIG. 1 shows an example vehicle configuration that may exchange electrical power with an external device. A electric energy transmission cable and circuitry for transferring electric power from a vehicle to an external load is shown in FIG. 2,” here the system is using the internal battery in order to provide power to an external load) (Paragraph [0069], “At 452, method 400 activates and commands a first DC power source (e.g., the electric power take off module (ePTO)) to a voltage and power output level that has been requested by the user. The electric power take off delivers the requested DC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the DC power to a DC power consumer,”) here the system is determining that the power request can be satisfied by a single source, the ePTO unit, the system is then discharging the internal battery in order to provide power to the external location with charging the internal battery.
Therefore the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches wherein the external battery is charged without charging the internal battery.
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 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.
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.
Claim 1-6, 8-16, and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salter (US-20250196672) in view of Bennett (US 20230356621), further in view of Hao (US 20230150378), and further in view of Hatano (US 20210336467)
Regarding claim 1, Salter teaches an apparatus comprising (Abstract, "Methods and systems are provided for combining output of two or more power sources of an electric vehicle to supply electric power to an electric power consumer that is external of a vehicle.")
a generator (Paragraph [0021], "Control system 14 may communicate with one or more of electric machine 135, electric machine 153, electric machine 127, energy storage device 132, charge control module 152, electric power take off module 1, onboard generator module 4")
a charge port (Paragraph [0011], "An electric vehicle may include a plurality of electric power ports to import and export electric power to and from the electric vehicle.")
an internal battery (Paragraph [0021], "Control system 14 may communicate with one or more of electric machine 135, electric machine 153, electric machine 127, energy storage device 132, charge control module 152, electric power take off module 1, onboard generator module 4")
a processor and a non-transitory machine readable storage medium encoded with program code executable by the processor for (Paragraph [0023], "Charge control module 152 may be controlled via its own dedicated controller 158 that includes non-transitory memory, a processor, inputs/outputs, and random access memory.")
determining whether the charge port is connected to an external battery (Paragraph [0050], "The second plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of electric coupler connection or engagement state with an electric port of a vehicle versus time. The vertical axis represents the connection state of the electric coupler and the electric coupler is fully engaged to the electric port of the vehicle when trace 304 is near the vertical axis arrow," here the system is determining whether the charge port is connected/engagement state)
matching a first voltage produced by the generator to a second voltage of the external battery (Paragraph [0023], "Further, charge control module 152 may step down or up DC voltage supplied from external device 180 to charge electric energy storage device 132. Additionally, charge control module 152 may step up or step down DC voltage from energy storage device 132 supplied to external device 180," here the system can step up or step down a voltage to match a voltage)
and charging the external battery via the charge port and using the generator (Paragraph [0073], "At 416, method 400 activates and commands a first AC power source (e.g., the onboard generator (OBG)) to a voltage (e.g., 120 or 240 volts AC) and power output level that has been requested by the user. The onboard generator module delivers the requested AC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the AC power to a AC power consumer.")
wherein the external battery is charged without charging the internal battery (Paragraph [0010], “FIG. 1 shows an example vehicle configuration that may exchange electrical power with an external device. A electric energy transmission cable and circuitry for transferring electric power from a vehicle to an external load is shown in FIG. 2,” here the system is using the internal battery in order to provide power to an external load) (Paragraph [0069], “At 452, method 400 activates and commands a first DC power source (e.g., the electric power take off module (ePTO)) to a voltage and power output level that has been requested by the user. The electric power take off delivers the requested DC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the DC power to a DC power consumer,” here the system is determining that the power request can be satisfied by a single source, the ePTO unit, the system is then discharging the internal battery in order to provide power to the external location with charging the internal battery).
However Salter does not explicitly teach determining a state of charge of the external battery, and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery.
Bennett teaches systems and methods for v2x charging sessions from a donor vehicle to an external system including
determining a state of charge of the external battery (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” here the system is receiving information from the power recipient including charge limits and charge status/SOC)
based on the determined state of charge of the external battery (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” the system can then further monitor this determined state of the recipient batter to enable is disable energy transfer).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include determining a state of charge of the external battery, and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety of the V2X power system my receiving and monitoring information from the recipient to look for faults and disengage when the desired charge state is reached (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like. When an applicable limit is reached, the V2X charging session is stopped per DIN 70121.”).
However the combination does not explicitly teach a high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection, prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery.
Hao teaches a power control system for a vehicle includes a charge port and a contactor connected to the charge port and including a first plurality of switches including
a high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection (Paragraph [0116], “The ESS 1134 includes first and second battery packs 1114 and 1116 and switches SPC, S5 and S6. The switch SPC is a pre-charge contactor. As can be appreciated, the switches can include mechanical relays and/or solid state switches,” here the system includes pre charge contactors/SPC and main contactors) (Paragraph [0087], “In a pre-charging mode, the switches S3 to S5, S10 to S12 are off, switches S1, S2 S6, and SPC are on, and the buck-boost converter 636 is off.”)
prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery (Paragraph [0060], “In a pre-charging mode in FIGS. 2A and 2D, the switches S1, S2, S6 and the SPC are on, the switches S3, S4, S5, S9, and S10 are off, and the buck-boost converter 36 is off,” here the system includes a pre-charging mode which occurs prior to the main charging operation and the precharge contactors are closed while the main contactors are open).
Salter, Bennett, and Hao are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include a high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection, prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery of Hao in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter and Bennet with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the charging capability of the vehicle by including a plurality of charging modes and reduce wait times (Paragraph [0007], “higher voltage battery systems for charging the battery pack(s) more quickly in an effort to reduce charging times. For example, some fast charging systems can charge the battery pack to 80% capacity in less than one hour. Prior to initiating recharging, some of these charging systems may perform battery pre-conditioning such as heating the battery pack(s) to a predetermined temperature to improve charging efficiency.”).
However the combination does not explicitly teach verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port.
Hatano teaches a charging system for a hybrid electric vehicle which uses a pre-charging process including
verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized (Paragraph [0060], “When the ignition switch G is switched on, the pre-charging unit 106 starts the pre-charge process. As shown in FIG. 4, when the pre-charge process starts, the pre-charging unit 106 proceeds to step S200. In step S200, the pre-charging unit 106 prohibits switching of the positive electrode relay 35 and the negative electrode relay 36 to a closed state,” here the system is initiating a precharging process which includes preventing the main contactors from closing during the process) (Paragraph [0067], “In step S250, the pre-charging unit 106 determines whether the value of the converter output voltage VD detected by the converter voltage sensor 52 is included in the target voltage range VZ,” here after determining the target voltage range the system verifies that the output voltage matches the target value)
upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port (Paragraph [0069], “In step S270, the pre-charging unit 106 shifts the positive electrode relay 35 and the negative electrode relay 36 to a closed state. Subsequently, the pre-charging unit 106 ends the pre-charge process,” here the system after performing the verification and matching step will close the main contactors to allow the current to flow and ending the pre-charging process).
Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port of Hatano in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter, Bennett, and Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety and reliability of the system by performing the precharging process to verify the voltage between two locations (Paragraph [0003], “Before starting to supply the electric load with the power from the first battery, a control device of the electric power system executes a pre-charge process that drives the converter to increase the output voltage, which is supplied from the converter to the electric load, until the output voltage becomes substantially equal to a target voltage in a state in which the relay is breaking the electric connection of the first battery and the electric load. When performing the pre-charge process, the control device sets the target voltage to the output voltage of the first battery detected by the voltage sensor.”).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Salter further teaches wherein the charge port is configured to connect to an external power source for operations to charge the internal battery via the charge port (Paragraph [0011], "An electric vehicle may include a plurality of electric power ports to import and export electric power to and from the electric vehicle.").
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Salter further teaches a charge cable configured to interact with the charge port (See figure 6 showing a charge cable)
the charge cable having a first resistance value, wherein the first resistance value is configured to indicate that the charge port is connected to the external battery (Paragraph [0038], “pin 245 that may be indicative of a predetermined cable/electric coupler identity as function of the resistance values of resistors 250, 212, and 220 when electric coupler 151 is fully engaged with electric port 150”).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Salter further teaches wherein the generator is configured to output a DC voltage (Paragraph [0069], “At 452, method 400 activates and commands a first DC power source (e.g., the electric power take off module (ePTO)) to a voltage and power output level that has been requested by the user. The electric power take off delivers the requested DC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the DC power to a DC power consumer.”) (Paragraph [0035], “Further, via operator interface 15 or display system 18, a user may request AC, DC, AC and DC output power from charge control module 152, electric power take off module 1, and onboard generator module 4.”).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, however Salter does not explicitly teach wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further for responding to charge limits received from the external battery.
Bennett further teaches wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further for responding to charge limits received from the external battery (Paragraph [0031], “It will be appreciated that, in various embodiments and as will be described below, the recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and/or charge status so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer”).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further for responding to charge limits received from the external battery of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety of the V2X power system my receiving and monitoring information from the recipient to look for faults and disengage when the desired charge state is reached (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like. When an applicable limit is reached, the V2X charging session is stopped per DIN 70121.”).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Salter further teaches wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further for: prior to matching the first voltage of the generator to the second voltage of the external battery, disconnecting the internal battery from the generator (See Figure 4 showing the system first determining if AC or DC power is requested and then connecting the generator instead of the battery to provide the requested power and adjusting the voltage in 412, See also Figure 1 showing electrical couplers for selectively providing power to the external device) (Paragraph [0036-0037], “Schematic 200 includes first external device 180 (e.g., an AC electrical load), second external electric load 203 (e.g., an optional DC electrical load), first electric coupler 151, first electric port 150 (e.g., a receptacle), charge control module 152, second electric coupler 171, electric port 7, onboard generator module 280, third electric coupler 170, electric port 2, and electric power take off module 287.”).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, however Salter does not explicitly teach wherein the external battery is a component of an electric vehicle.
Bennett further teaches wherein the external battery is a component of an electric vehicle (See Figure 1A showing a first donor vehicle and a second recipient vehicle).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the external battery is a component of an electric vehicle of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to allow a service vehicle to provide power to a recipient vehicle such as when the vehicle is depleted (Paragraph [0057], “As shown in FIG. 2, as part of initializing the V2X charging session, in various embodiments session setup activities may be performed if desired. For example, in various embodiments session setup may include verification of payment, verification of the user or recipient load’s membership in a service network, the availability of such a service network to the recipient load 22 at the recipient load’s location, and the like.”).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Salter further teaches wherein the program code executable by the processor is further for: upon receiving a signal indicating that the external battery charging is complete, cease production power by the generator (Paragraph [0055], “At time t4, the electric power transfer is completed when a user begins to remove the electric coupler from the vehicle's electric port. The user depresses a button, which causes the proximity pin voltage to change. The charger commands the electric power transfer to cease and the electric power transfer is ended before the electric coupler is fully decoupled from the vehicle's electric port,” here the system receive a signal indicating the depression of the button, this indicates to the system the charging is complete and the system instructs the power transfer/generator to cease).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, however Salter does not explicitly teach wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further configured to mimic an operation of a grid tiered DC fast charger.
Bennett further teaches wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further configured to mimic an operation of a grid tiered DC fast charger (Paragraph [0022], “a donor vehicle (such as without limitation the donor vehicle 20) to function (as a composite unit) as an equivalent to a DC fast charging (DCFC) station.”).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include wherein the program code executable by the processor for charging the external battery is further configured to mimic an operation of a grid tiered DC fast charger of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to provide power from the donor to the recipient in the most time economical way (Paragraph [0004], “An electric vehicle can transfer energy as a source of DC electrical power to a load device (known as vehicle-to-load (V2X) charging) through a V2X device that includes a DC/DC power converter. A V2X charging session should appear to the recipient (that is, the load) as if charging is from a DC fast charging station.”).
Regarding claim 11, Salter teaches a method for charging an external battery the method comprising (Abstract, "Methods and systems are provided for combining output of two or more power sources of an electric vehicle to supply electric power to an electric power consumer that is external of a vehicle.")
connecting an external battery to a charge port (Paragraph [0011], "An electric vehicle may include a plurality of electric power ports to import and export electric power to and from the electric vehicle.")
the charge port being associated with an internal battery and a generator (Paragraph [0021], "Control system 14 may communicate with one or more of electric machine 135, electric machine 153, electric machine 127, energy storage device 132, charge control module 152, electric power take off module 1, onboard generator module 4")
using a processor and a non-transitory machine readable storage medium encoded with program code executable by the processor, (Paragraph [0023], "Charge control module 152 may be controlled via its own dedicated controller 158 that includes non-transitory memory, a processor, inputs/outputs, and random access memory.")
based on a determination that the charge port is connected to the external battery (Paragraph [0050], "The second plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of electric coupler connection or engagement state with an electric port of a vehicle versus time. The vertical axis represents the connection state of the electric coupler and the electric coupler is fully engaged to the electric port of the vehicle when trace 304 is near the vertical axis arrow," here the system is determining whether the charge port is connected/engagement state)
matching a first voltage produced by the generator to a second voltage of the external battery (Paragraph [0023], "Further, charge control module 152 may step down or up DC voltage supplied from external device 180 to charge electric energy storage device 132. Additionally, charge control module 152 may step up or step down DC voltage from energy storage device 132 supplied to external device 180," here the system can step up or step down a voltage to match a voltage)
and charging the external battery using the generator (Paragraph [0073], "At 416, method 400 activates and commands a first AC power source (e.g., the onboard generator (OBG)) to a voltage (e.g., 120 or 240 volts AC) and power output level that has been requested by the user. The onboard generator module delivers the requested AC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the AC power to a AC power consumer.")
wherein the external battery is charged without charging the internal battery (Paragraph [0010], “FIG. 1 shows an example vehicle configuration that may exchange electrical power with an external device. A electric energy transmission cable and circuitry for transferring electric power from a vehicle to an external load is shown in FIG. 2,” here the system is using the internal battery in order to provide power to an external load) (Paragraph [0069], “At 452, method 400 activates and commands a first DC power source (e.g., the electric power take off module (ePTO)) to a voltage and power output level that has been requested by the user. The electric power take off delivers the requested DC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the DC power to a DC power consumer,” here the system is determining that the power request can be satisfied by a single source, the ePTO unit, the system is then discharging the internal battery in order to provide power to the external location with charging the internal battery).
However Salter does not explicitly teach determining the state of charge of the external battery and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery.
Bennett teaches systems and methods for v2x charging sessions from a donor vehicle to an external system including
determining the state of charge of the external battery (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” here the system is receiving information from the power recipient including charge limits and charge status/SOC)
based on the determined state of charge of the external battery (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” the system can then further monitor this determined state of the recipient batter to enable is disable energy transfer).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include determining the state of charge of the external battery and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety of the V2X power system my receiving and monitoring information from the recipient to look for faults and disengage when the desired charge state is reached (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like. When an applicable limit is reached, the V2X charging session is stopped per DIN 70121.”).
However the combination does not explicitly teach a high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection, prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery.
Hao teaches a power control system for a vehicle includes a charge port and a contactor connected to the charge port and including a first plurality of switches including
high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection (Paragraph [0116], “The ESS 1134 includes first and second battery packs 1114 and 1116 and switches SPC, S5 and S6. The switch SPC is a pre-charge contactor. As can be appreciated, the switches can include mechanical relays and/or solid state switches,” here the system includes pre charge contactors/SPC and main contactors) (Paragraph [0087], “In a pre-charging mode, the switches S3 to S5, S10 to S12 are off, switches S1, S2 S6, and SPC are on, and the buck-boost converter 636 is off.”)
prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery (Paragraph [0060], “In a pre-charging mode in FIGS. 2A and 2D, the switches S1, S2, S6 and the SPC are on, the switches S3, S4, S5, S9, and S10 are off, and the buck-boost converter 36 is off,” here the system includes a pre-charging mode which occurs prior to the main charging operation and the precharge contactors are closed while the main contactors are open).
Salter, Bennett, and Hao are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include a high voltage distribution module comprising precharge contactors and main contactors the precharge contactors and the main contactors configured to connect the generator with the charge port via a switchable connection, prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery of Hao in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter and Bennet with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the charging capability of the vehicle by including a plurality of charging modes and reduce wait times (Paragraph [0007], “higher voltage battery systems for charging the battery pack(s) more quickly in an effort to reduce charging times. For example, some fast charging systems can charge the battery pack to 80% capacity in less than one hour. Prior to initiating recharging, some of these charging systems may perform battery pre-conditioning such as heating the battery pack(s) to a predetermined temperature to improve charging efficiency.”).
However the combination does not explicitly teach verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port.
Hatano teaches a charging system for a hybrid electric vehicle which uses a pre-charging process including
verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized (Paragraph [0060], “When the ignition switch G is switched on, the pre-charging unit 106 starts the pre-charge process. As shown in FIG. 4, when the pre-charge process starts, the pre-charging unit 106 proceeds to step S200. In step S200, the pre-charging unit 106 prohibits switching of the positive electrode relay 35 and the negative electrode relay 36 to a closed state,” here the system is initiating a precharging process which includes preventing the main contactors from closing during the process) (Paragraph [0067], “In step S250, the pre-charging unit 106 determines whether the value of the converter output voltage VD detected by the converter voltage sensor 52 is included in the target voltage range VZ,” here after determining the target voltage range the system verifies that the output voltage matches the target value)
upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port (Paragraph [0069], “In step S270, the pre-charging unit 106 shifts the positive electrode relay 35 and the negative electrode relay 36 to a closed state. Subsequently, the pre-charging unit 106 ends the pre-charge process,” here the system after performing the verification and matching step will close the main contactors to allow the current to flow and ending the pre-charging process).
Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port of Hatano in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter, Bennett, and Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety and reliability of the system by performing the precharging process to verify the voltage between two locations (Paragraph [0003], “Before starting to supply the electric load with the power from the first battery, a control device of the electric power system executes a pre-charge process that drives the converter to increase the output voltage, which is supplied from the converter to the electric load, until the output voltage becomes substantially equal to a target voltage in a state in which the relay is breaking the electric connection of the first battery and the electric load. When performing the pre-charge process, the control device sets the target voltage to the output voltage of the first battery detected by the voltage sensor.”).
Regarding claim 12, claim 12 is similar in scope to claim 3 and therefore is rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the method as discussed above in claim 11, Salter further teaches determining, using the processor and the non-transitory machine readable storage medium encoded with program code executable by the processor, that the charge cable comprises the first resistance value, wherein the determining that the charge port is connected to the external battery is based on the determining that the charge cable comprises the first resistance value (Paragraph [0038], “pin 245 that may be indicative of a predetermined cable/electric coupler identity as function of the resistance values of resistors 250, 212, and 220 when electric coupler 151 is fully engaged with electric port 150,” here the system is reading a pin in the charging cable with the predetermined identity determined according to resistors/resistance values).
Regarding claim 14, claim 14 is similar in scope to claim 4 and therefore is rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 15, claim 15 is similar in scope to claim 5 and therefore is rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 16, claim 16 is similar in scope to claim 6 and therefore is rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 18, claim 18 is similar in scope to claim 8 and therefore is rejected under similar rationale.
Regarding claim 19, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, Salter further teaches ceasing the charging of the external battery using the generator (Paragraph [0055], “At time t4, the electric power transfer is completed when a user begins to remove the electric coupler from the vehicle's electric port. The user depresses a button, which causes the proximity pin voltage to change. The charger commands the electric power transfer to cease and the electric power transfer is ended before the electric coupler is fully decoupled from the vehicle's electric port.”).
However Salter does not explicitly teach receiving an indication that the external battery has reached its maximum charge capacity and in response to the received indication,.
Bennett further teaches receiving an indication that the external battery has reached its maximum charge capacity and in response to the received indication, ceasing charging (Paragraph [0031], “It will be appreciated that, in various embodiments and as will be described below, the recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and/or charge status so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as, for example, asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contractors (such as, for example, switches S3a and S3b) for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” here the system is monitoring recipient parameter such as a charge status) (Paragraph [0054], “A user may also set a desired end state of charge (SOC) for the recipient load 22 if the V2X equipment is transferring power to an energy storage system. In such embodiments the instructions are further configured to cause the processor 13 to initialize the V2X charging session from the donor vehicle 20 responsive to an end SOC for the recipient load 22,” here the user may set a desired state of charge for the recipient such as maximum charge).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include receiving an indication that the external battery has reached its maximum charge capacity and in response to the received indication, ceasing charging of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety of the V2X power system my receiving and monitoring information from the recipient to look for faults and disengage when the desired charge state is reached (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like. When an applicable limit is reached, the V2X charging session is stopped per DIN 70121.”).
Regarding claim 20, Salter teaches a non-transitory machine readable storage medium encoded with program code executable by a processor of an apparatus, the program code executable by the processor for (Paragraph [0023], "Charge control module 152 may be controlled via its own dedicated controller 158 that includes non-transitory memory, a processor, inputs/outputs, and random access memory.")
determining whether a charge port of the apparatus is connected to an external battery (Paragraph [0050], "The second plot from the top of FIG. 3 is a plot of electric coupler connection or engagement state with an electric port of a vehicle versus time. The vertical axis represents the connection state of the electric coupler and the electric coupler is fully engaged to the electric port of the vehicle when trace 304 is near the vertical axis arrow," here the system is determining whether the charge port is connected/engagement state)and if so determining a state of charge of the external battery
matching a first voltage produced by a generator to a second voltage of the external battery (Paragraph [0023], "Further, charge control module 152 may step down or up DC voltage supplied from external device 180 to charge electric energy storage device 132. Additionally, charge control module 152 may step up or step down DC voltage from energy storage device 132 supplied to external device 180," here the system can step up or step down a voltage to match a voltage)
charging the external battery via the charge port and using the generator (Paragraph [0073], "At 416, method 400 activates and commands a first AC power source (e.g., the onboard generator (OBG)) to a voltage (e.g., 120 or 240 volts AC) and power output level that has been requested by the user. The onboard generator module delivers the requested AC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the AC power to a AC power consumer.")
wherein the external battery is charged without charging the internal battery (Paragraph [0010], “FIG. 1 shows an example vehicle configuration that may exchange electrical power with an external device. A electric energy transmission cable and circuitry for transferring electric power from a vehicle to an external load is shown in FIG. 2,” here the system is using the internal battery in order to provide power to an external load) (Paragraph [0069], “At 452, method 400 activates and commands a first DC power source (e.g., the electric power take off module (ePTO)) to a voltage and power output level that has been requested by the user. The electric power take off delivers the requested DC power to the electric energy transmission cable 182 and the electric energy transmission cable delivers the DC power to a DC power consumer,” here the system is determining that the power request can be satisfied by a single source, the ePTO unit, the system is then discharging the internal battery in order to provide power to the external location with charging the internal battery).
However Salter does not explicitly teach determining a state of charge of the external battery, and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery.
Bennett teaches systems and methods for v2x charging sessions from a donor vehicle to an external system including
determining a state of charge of the external battery (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” here the system is receiving information from the power recipient including charge limits and charge status/SOC)
based on the determined state of charge of the external battery (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like,” the system can then further monitor this determined state of the recipient batter to enable is disable energy transfer).
Salter and Bennett are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include determining a state of charge of the external battery, and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery of Bennett in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety of the V2X power system my receiving and monitoring information from the recipient to look for faults and disengage when the desired charge state is reached (Paragraph [0066], “During energy transfer (that is, during the V2X charging session), range and SOC limits are monitored by the donor vehicle 20 and communicated to the controller 11 via PCL or wireless communication. The recipient load 22 can communicate charge limits, voltage limits, and charge status via PCL or wireless communication so that the V2X charging device 10 can take desired actions to help contribute to effecting safe energy transfer, such as asking the donor vehicle 20 to close contactors for energy transfer, looking for faults on the donor vehicle 20 or the recipient load 22, or the like. When an applicable limit is reached, the V2X charging session is stopped per DIN 70121.”).
However the combination does not explicitly teach prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery.
Hao teaches a power control system for a vehicle includes a charge port and a contactor connected to the charge port and including a first plurality of switches including
prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery (Paragraph [0060], “In a pre-charging mode in FIGS. 2A and 2D, the switches S1, S2, S6 and the SPC are on, the switches S3, S4, S5, S9, and S10 are off, and the buck-boost converter 36 is off,” here the system includes a pre-charging mode which occurs prior to the main charging operation and the precharge contactors are closed while the main contactors are open).
Salter, Bennett, and Hao are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include prior to charging the external battery, closing the precharge contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow in a controlled manner between the generator and the external battery of Hao in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter and Bennet with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the charging capability of the vehicle by including a plurality of charging modes and reduce wait times (Paragraph [0007], “higher voltage battery systems for charging the battery pack(s) more quickly in an effort to reduce charging times. For example, some fast charging systems can charge the battery pack to 80% capacity in less than one hour. Prior to initiating recharging, some of these charging systems may perform battery pre-conditioning such as heating the battery pack(s) to a predetermined temperature to improve charging efficiency.”).
However the combination does not explicitly teach verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port.
Hatano teaches a charging system for a hybrid electric vehicle which uses a pre-charging process including
verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized (Paragraph [0060], “When the ignition switch G is switched on, the pre-charging unit 106 starts the pre-charge process. As shown in FIG. 4, when the pre-charge process starts, the pre-charging unit 106 proceeds to step S200. In step S200, the pre-charging unit 106 prohibits switching of the positive electrode relay 35 and the negative electrode relay 36 to a closed state,” here the system is initiating a precharging process which includes preventing the main contactors from closing during the process) (Paragraph [0067], “In step S250, the pre-charging unit 106 determines whether the value of the converter output voltage VD detected by the converter voltage sensor 52 is included in the target voltage range VZ,” here after determining the target voltage range the system verifies that the output voltage matches the target value)
upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port (Paragraph [0069], “In step S270, the pre-charging unit 106 shifts the positive electrode relay 35 and the negative electrode relay 36 to a closed state. Subsequently, the pre-charging unit 106 ends the pre-charge process,” here the system after performing the verification and matching step will close the main contactors to allow the current to flow and ending the pre-charging process).
Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include verifying that voltages on both sides of the precharge contactors are substantially equalized, upon verifying that the voltages on both sides of the prehcarge contactors are substantially equalized, closing the main contactors of the high voltage distribution module to allow current to flow freely between the generator and the external battery via the charge port of Hatano in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter, Bennett, and Hao with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the safety and reliability of the system by performing the precharging process to verify the voltage between two locations (Paragraph [0003], “Before starting to supply the electric load with the power from the first battery, a control device of the electric power system executes a pre-charge process that drives the converter to increase the output voltage, which is supplied from the converter to the electric load, until the output voltage becomes substantially equal to a target voltage in a state in which the relay is breaking the electric connection of the first battery and the electric load. When performing the pre-charge process, the control device sets the target voltage to the output voltage of the first battery detected by the voltage sensor.”).
Claims 7 and 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Salter (US-20250196672) in view of Bennett (US 20230356621) further in view of Hao (US 20230150378), further in view of Hatano (US 20210336467), and further in view of Hornstein (US 20230339342).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Salter, Bennett, Hao, and Hatano teaches the system as discussed above in claim 1, however the combination does not explicitly teach wherein the apparatus is a series hybrid vehicle.
Hornstein teaches systems and methods for vehicle to vehicle charging services including
wherein the apparatus is a series hybrid vehicle (Paragraph [0024], “In general, each PEV 16A-16D generally includes a powertrain having a respective power-source configured to generate respective power-source torque for propulsion of the corresponding PEV. Each power-source of PEV 16A-16D may include a respective electric motor-generator or traction motor, as well as additional or auxiliary power-source, such as an internal combustion engine, to act in concert with the respective power-sources to power the corresponding PEV,” here the vehicles can including an electric propulsion powertrain as well as an additional internal combustion power source which is a hybrid vehicle).
Salter, Bennett, and Hornstein are analogous art as they are both generally related to charging and discharging systems for electric or hybrid vehicles.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to include determining a state of charge of the external battery, and performing a function based on the determined state of charge of the external battery of Hornstein in the system for providing power to an external device of Salter and Bennett with a reasonable expectation of success in order to improve the reliability of the system by including an auxiliary power such to provide additional power to the plug in electric vehicle (Paragraph [0024], “In general, each PEV 16A-16D generally includes a powertrain having a respective power-source configured to generate respective power-source torque for propulsion of the corresponding PEV. Each power-source of PEV 16A-16D may include a respective electric motor-generator or traction motor, as well as additional or auxiliary power-source, such as an internal combustion engine, to act in concert with the respective power-sources to power the corresponding PEV,” here the vehicles can including an electric propulsion powertrain as well as an additional internal combustion power source which is a hybrid vehicle).
Regarding claim 17, claim 17 is similar in scope to claim 7 and therefore is rejected under similar rationale.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Albanna (US-20230402845) teaches an energy management system including a universal energy flow manager including a precharging process. Chiu (US-20250296472) teaches a modular battery system can allow for a varying number of battery modules to be connected or disconnected to the system to meet the power needs of particular application including the structure of precharging contactors. Harris (US-11264825) teaches a method for a vehicle-to-vehicle charger includes receiving, via a wireless transceiver, a charging instruction including identity information for at least one of a beneficiary vehicle or a donor vehicle.
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.
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/CHRISTOPHER GEORGE FEES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3662
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