Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an application filed on 02/04/2025 in which claims 1-20 are pending and ready for examination.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bhandaru et al (hereinafter Bhandaru) (US 2019/0317585 A1).
As to claim 1, Bhandaru discloses a method for managing power distribution (see Fig 2) to a plurality of thermal components of a vehicle, the method comprising:
allocating, responsive to receiving a power budget and by a thermal management module (TMM), a first power allocation to each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components (see parags [0020-0023]);
allocating, by the TMM, a second power allocation to each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components based on a power consumption of each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components (see parags [0022-0023], [0026, [0045]); and
allocating, by the TMM, a third power allocation to each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components by equally distributing any excess power from the power budget following the first power allocations and the second power allocations (see parags [0022-0023], [0026, [0045]).
As to claim 3, Bhandaru discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
setting, by the TMM, a power setpoint for each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components (see parags [0022-0023]); and
commanding, by the TMM, a component power or a component speed for each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components (see parags [0022-0023], [0026], [0045]).
Claim(s) 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Raina et al (hereinafter Raina) (US 2023/0079292 A1).
As to claim 19, Raina discloses a method for controlling an active thermal component (see abstract) of a vehicle, the method comprising:
calculating, by a thermal management module (TMM), an active thermal component power setpoint based on a power budget and a component prioritization (see parags [0036], [0045], [0047]);
calculating, by the TMM, a first error value based on a difference between the active thermal component power setpoint and an active thermal component instantaneous power consumption (see parag [0046]);
calculating, by the TMM, an active thermal component actuation limit using the first error value (see parag [0046]);
calculating, by the TMM, a second error value based on a difference between a primary
setpoint and a primary feedback (see parag [0046]);
calculating, by the TMM, a system output variable using the second error value (see parag [0046]); and
limiting, by the TMM, the system output variable based on the active thermal component actuation limit or the active thermal component power setpoint (see parag [0046]).
As to claim 20, Raina discloses the method of claim 19, further comprising:
commanding, by the TMM, a component speed or a component power of the active thermal component based on the limited system output variable (see parags [0035], [0045-0046]).
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.
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhandaru et al (hereinafter Bhandaru) (US 2019/0317585 A1) in view of Yu et al (hereinafter Yu) (US 2011/0166732 A1).
As to claim 2, Bhandaru discloses the method of claim 1, wherein allocating, by the TMM, the second power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: allocating, by the TMM, additional power associated with each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components (see parags [0022-0023], [0026], [0045]).
Bhandaru does not disclose a power growth buffer. However, Yu discloses a power growth buffer (see parag [0053]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the power growth buffer as taught by Yu into the system of Bhandaru as it allows the system to store excess power for distribution, as specified by the tenant application (see parag [0053]).
Claim(s) 4-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhandaru et al (hereinafter Bhandaru) (US 2019/0317585 A1) in view of Cooper et al (hereinafter Cooper) (US 2023/0221786 A1).
As to claim 4, Bhandaru does not disclose the method of claim 1, wherein allocating, by the TMM, the first power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: for each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components based on a predetermined priority: determining, by the TMM, whether a power remaining is greater than or equal to a minimum operating power of the active thermal component; and responsive to determining that the power remaining is less than the minimum operating power of the active thermal component, allocating, by the TMM, the power remaining as the first power allocation to the active thermal component.
However, Cooper discloses wherein allocating, by the TMM, the first power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: for each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components based on a predetermined priority: determining, by the TMM, whether a power remaining is greater than or equal to a minimum operating power of the active thermal component; and responsive to determining that the power remaining is less than the minimum operating power of the active thermal component, allocating, by the TMM, the power remaining as the first power allocation to the active thermal component (see parags [0110], [0114]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to include the teachings of Cooper into the system of Bhandaru in order to utilize the new power expenditure according to the minimum and maximum operating power of the components, as specified by the tenant application (see parags [0110], [0114]).
As to claim 5, the combination of Bhandaru and Cooper discloses the method of claim 4, further comprising: responsive to determining that the power remaining is greater than or equal to the minimum operating power of the active thermal component, allocating, by the TMM, the minimum operating power as the first power allocation to the active thermal component (Cooper, see parags [0110], [0114]).
As to claim 6, the combination of Bhandaru and Cooper discloses the method of claim 5, further comprising: responsive to allocating the minimum operating power as the first power allocation to the active thermal component, updating, by the TMM, the power remaining to the power remaining minus the allocated minimum operating power (Cooper, see parag [0111]); and repeating the first power allocation for each active thermal component of the plurality of thermal components (Cooper, see parag [0110]).
Claim(s) 7-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhandaru et al (hereinafter Bhandaru) (US 2019/0317585 A1) in view of Cooper et al (hereinafter Cooper) (US 2023/0221786 A1) further in view of Yu et al (hereinafter Yu) (US 2011/0166732 A1).
As to claim 7, Bhandaru does not disclose the method of claim 1, wherein allocating, by the TMM, the second power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's first power allocation is less than a first predetermined power value; and responsive to determining that the active thermal component's first power allocation is less than the first predetermined power value, allocating, by the TMM, zero power as a second power allocation to the active thermal component.
However, Cooper discloses by the TMM, the second power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's first power allocation is less than a first predetermined
power value (parags [0022-0023]) and responsive to determining that the active
thermal component's first power allocation is less than the first predetermined power value, allocating, by the TMM (parags [0022-0023] and [0028]), as a second power allocation to the active thermal component (parag [0035]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to disclose determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's first power
allocation is less than a first predetermined power value, and responsive to determining that the active thermal component's first power allocation is less than the first predetermined power value, allocating by the TMM, as a second power allocation to the active thermal component, as taught by Cooper to the system of Bhandaru, as it would allow the system to determine how best to allocate the additional power across a variety of components, as specified by the tenant application (Cooper, see parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0035]).
The combination of Bhandaru and Cooper do not disclose zero power. However, Yu does disclose zero power (see parag [0057]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to disclose zero
power, as taught by Yu to the system of Bhandaru and Cooper, as it would allow the
system to allocate no power to a component to allow the system to evenly distribute the excess power, as specified by the tenant application (see parag [0057]).
As to claim 8, the combination of Bhandaru, Cooper and Yu discloses the method of claim 7, further comprising: responsive to determining that the active thermal component's first power allocation is greater than or equal to the first predetermined power value, determining, by the TMM, whether power consumption of the active thermal component plus (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]), is less than the active thermal component's first power allocation (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]); and responsive to determining that the power consumption of the active thermal component plus (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]), is less than the active thermal component's first power allocation, allocating, by the TMM, a minimum operating power as the second power allocation to the active thermal component (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]), Yu further discloses a power growth buffer (see parag [0053]), the power growth buffer (see parag [0053]).
As to claim 9, the combination of Bhandaru, Cooper and Yu discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising: responsive to determining that the power consumption of the active thermal component plus the power growth buffer is greater than or equal to the active thermal component's first power allocation, determining, by the TMM, whether the power consumption plus (parags [0022-0023] and [0110]), minus the first power allocation of the active thermal component is greater than or equal to a power remaining after prior second power allocations (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]); and responsive to determining that the power consumption plus (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]), minus the first power allocation of the active thermal component is less than the power remaining after the prior second power allocations, allocating, by the TMM, the power consumption plus (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]) as the second power allocation to the active thermal component. Yu further discloses the power growth buffer (see parag [0053]).
As to claim 10, the combination of Bhandaru, Cooper and Yu discloses the method of claim 9, further comprising: responsive to determining that the power consumption plus (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]), minus the first power allocation of the active thermal component is greater than or equal to the power remaining after the prior second power allocations, allocating, by the TMM, the power remaining after the second power allocations in addition to the first power allocation of the active thermal component as the second power allocation to the active thermal component (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]). Yu further discloses the power growth buffer (see parag [0053]).
As to claim 11, the combination of Bhandaru, Cooper and Yu discloses the method of claim 10, further comprising: determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than or equal to an active thermal component's maximum operating power (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]); responsive to determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than or equal to the active thermal component's maximum operating power, allocating, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum operating power as the active thermal component's second power allocation (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]); and responsive to determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is less than the active thermal component's maximum operating power or responsive to allocating, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum operating power as the active thermal component's second power allocation, updating, by the TMM, the power remaining after the second power allocations to be equal to the power remaining after second power allocations minus a difference of the active thermal component's second power allocation and the active thermal component's first power allocation (parags [0022-0023], [0028] and [0110]).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bhandaru et al (hereinafter Bhandaru) (US 2019/0317585 A1) in view of Tani (US 2010/0109157 A1).
As to claim 12, Bhandaru does not disclose the method of claim 1, wherein allocating, by the TMM, the third power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than zero; responsive to the determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is zero: setting, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum power equal to zero; and updating, by the TMM, a total maximum power of all active thermal components to a sum of the total maximum power of all active thermal components considered previously and the active thermal component's maximum power; and responsive to determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than zero: setting, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum power equal to the active thermal component's maximum power; and updating, by the TMM, the total maximum power of all active thermal components to a sum of the total maximum power of all active thermal components considered previously and the active thermal component's maximum power.
However, Tani does disclose wherein allocating, by the TMM, the third power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than zero (parag [0293]); responsive to the determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is zero: setting, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum power equal to zero (parag [0293]); and updating, by the TMM, a total maximum
power of all active thermal components to a sum of the total maximum power of all active thermal components considered previously and the active thermal component's maximum power (parag [0267]); and responsive to determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than zero: setting, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum power equal to the active thermal component's maximum power (para [0187]); and updating, by the TMM, the total maximum power of all active thermal components to a sum of the total maximum power of all active thermal components considered previously and the active thermal component's maximum power (para [0211]; see also para [0187]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to disclose wherein
allocating, by the TMM, the third power allocation to each active thermal component further comprises: determining, by the TMM, whether the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than zero; responsive to the determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is zero: setting, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum power equal to zero; and updating, by the
TMM, a total maximum power of all active thermal components to a sum of the total maximum power of all active thermal components considered previously and the active thermal component's maximum power; and responsive to determining that the active thermal component's second power allocation is greater than zero: setting, by the TMM, the active thermal component's maximum power equal to the active thermal component's maximum power; and updating, by the TMM, the total maximum power of all active thermal components to a sum of the total maximum power of all active thermal components considered previously and the active thermal component's maximum power, as taught by Tani to the system of Bhandaru, as it would allow the system to adjust the maximum power of each element, as specified by the tenant application (Tani, see parags [0187], [0211], [0267], [0314]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DUC M PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-5026. The examiner can normally be reached 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
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/DUC M PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 December 30, 2025
/DANIEL CAVALLARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836