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
Status of Claims
The following is a final office action in response to the communication filed on 06/30/2026.
Claim 2 has been canceled.
Claims 1 and 3-9 are either amended directly or a via claim they depend from.
Claims 1 and 3-9 are rejected.
Response to Arguments
Regarding the Objections to the Specification: The amendments to Paragraph [0012] have rendered the objection to the specification moot. Accordingly, the objection has been withdrawn.
Regarding the Claims Rejections to the Claims under 35 § USC 102/103: Applicant’s respectful arguments and corresponding amendments, see pages 9-19 filed on 06/30/2026, have been fully considered and are respectfully deemed by the Examiner as not being persuasive towards the claims being in condition for allowance.
With regards to the combination of newly amended independent Claim 1, Examiner disagrees with the Applicant’s interpretation that, (Page 11, Lines 22-25) “a combination of Tanaka and Endo clearly fails to teach or suggest the … features of the prohibition on starting by the start prohibitor is released by an operation on the manual operation device.”
Tanaka is used to teach the starter key switch which controls whether a charging line is connected and charging begins upon startup, as well as the exact prohibition mechanism.
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
Tanaka additionally teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
Secondary references Endo is merely relied upon to exhibit that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have easily conceived adding an manual operation device to implement the already existing start prohibition of Tanaka.
Examiner Note: The Examiner is using a broadest reasonable interpretation of the manual operation device to include that of a wireless communication device capable of starting/stopping the charging process. This interpretation comes from at least Paragraph [0061] of Applicant’s specification which reads, “1) In the above example embodiments, the manual operation device of the key device 34 may include the operation key 36 configured to be inserted and mounted to the insertion portion 35a,
and the switch 35b. However, in place of this configuration, the manual operation device may perform the ON operation and the OFF operation via wireless communication. The key device 34 may be configured in any manner.”
Endo teaches, (Paragraph [0032], Lines 2-12) “When the user starts a timer charging reservation, the mobile terminal 70 sends a timer charging command to the information center 62. The timer charging command includes information related to the set time. Upon receipt of the timer charging command from the mobile terminal 70, the information center 62 sends a remote operation command to the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 in the charging control apparatus 20. The remote operation command notifies the charging control apparatus 20 that the remote operation is executed by the user with the mobile terminal 70,” and that, (Paragraph [0034], Lines 1-4) “When the set time arrives, the power management ECU 40 switches over from the charging forbidden state to the charging permitted state, thereby starting charging the battery 12 using the external electric power source 50,” as well as that, (Paragraph [0035]) “Alternatively, the user may start the charging instantaneously (without setting a timer) by performing remote operation. The specific process of instantaneous charging will be omitted and not described. Similarly to the start of the charging, the user may also stop the charging in an instantaneous manner or in a timer setting manner by performing remote operation,” and therefore allowing a manual operation device to allow charging from a previous forbidden state is using a known technique, that would be easily applied to the similar work machine device of Tanaka to improve said device in the same way, by allowing a user’s intent to override the prohibition.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka which comprises a start prohibition releaser, with the ability for a manual operation device to release the prohibition on starting as taught by Endo, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references would yield the well-known benefits of allowing a user to effectuate releasing the prohibition on starting the electric vehicle by using a manual operation device so the machine is available for use. As Endo describes, (Paragraph [0031] Lines 7-9) “a user performs a remote operation to the charging control apparatus 20 with the mobile terminal 70 to start charging,” and further describes that, (Paragraph [0046], Lines 10-12) “This configuration helps prevent permitting or forbidding of charging the battery 12 against the intention of the user.”
With regards to the combination of newly amended independent Claim 3, Examiner disagrees with the Applicant’s interpretation that, (Page 13, Lines18-22) “the combination of Tanaka, Endo, and Lee clearly fails to teach or suggest the unique combination and arrangement of features recited in Applicant’s claim 3, including the features of the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off in a case where charging of the battery is not started within a predetermined time after a charging start instruction has been provide during the charging mode,” as the references do provide teachings and suggestions to power off a controller in such as case.
Endo does teach powering off the controller (control circuit 34) when an abnormality is detected.
Endo teaches, (Paragraph [0039], Lines 13-20) “the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) is configured to perform a charging forbiddance control. As the charging forbiddance control, the wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) causes the power management ECU 40 to switch over to the charging forbidden state when detecting an abnormality occurring in the plug-in vehicle 10, thereby stopping charging the battery 12 using the external electric power source 50,” and further that, (Paragraph [0040], Lines 1-5) “the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) is configured to perform a discharging acceleration control to accelerate discharging the battery 12 in addition to the above-mentioned charging forbiddance control,” as well as, (Paragraph [0040], Lines 9-20) “The in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 may also turn off a fail-safe function, which is provided for avoiding running out of the battery in a state where the accessory switch (ACC switch) is turned off and the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is supplied with the normal power (+B). That is, when the accessory switch is turned off, the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is operated in an intermittent standby mode, and a consumption current in the intermittent standby mode is monitored. When the integrated value of the consumption current, which is being monitored, is larger than a predetermined value, the power supply to the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is stopped,” which in of itself comprises control circuit 34.
Therefore, upon detection that an abnormality has occurred, the controller is powered off as part of a simultaneous discharging acceleration control wherein a failsafe function is canceled.
However, Endo does not explicitly teach the preceding process of powering down the controller being conducted in a situation where charging of the battery is not started within a predetermined time after a charging start instruction has been provided.
Lee does teach detecting an abnormality within a vehicle charger when a battery fails to charge after a predetermined amount of time.
Lee teaches, (Abstract, Lines 12-15) “classifying, by a controller, the charger as an abnormal charger when the actual output of the charger is smaller than the expected output of the charger,” as well as that, (Paragraph [0013]) “The identifying of whether the abnormal charging is the abnormal charging due to the vehicle problem may include determining that the cause of abnormal charging of the charger is due to a problem of the charging vehicle when an amount of charging current and a charging time are abnormal due to a battery failure of the charging vehicle,” and further teaches that a, (Paragraph [0033], Lines 10-12) “broken charger may refer to a charger that fails and cannot perform any charging function at all (or almost).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka, with the ability to power off the controller in light of the discharge acceleration control/disabling of a failsafe function which corresponds with abnormality detection as taught by Endo, AND with the ability to determine an abnormality based upon a charging process not starting for a predetermined amount of time, in light of the ability to detect a charging abnormality after measuring a lack of charging occurring over a period of time as taught by Lee, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references, in particular Endo, would result in the benefits of implementing powering down a controller during a discharge acceleration control step which corresponds with abnormality detection, the benefits being capability to discharge the battery of the machine in a situation where it is undesirable to be stolen or otherwise used improperly. As Endo describes, (Paragraph [0045], Lines 2-6) “when an abnormality related to an unauthorized entry, an unlawful entry, or a vehicle theft is detected, the charging forbiddance control is performed so as to forbid the battery 12 from being charged using the external electric power source 50,” and further describes that, (Paragraph [0007]) “in consideration of preventing a theft of a vehicle, it is preferable to cause a lack of electricity stored in the electricity storage apparatus. That is, in some cases, the electricity stored in the electricity storage apparatus needs to be insufficient by consuming the electricity storage.” Additionally combining the references, in particular Lee, provides the well-known benefits of measuring the failure to charge over a period of time as an abnormality. As Lee describes, (Paragraph [0004], Lines 1-3) “since a broken charger does not perform any charging function, it is easily identified and a fault indication leads to the broken charger not being used.”
With regards to the combination of newly amended independent Claim 5, Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant’s interpretation that, (Bottom of Page 14, Top of Page 15) “neither Tanaka nor Chen teach a state of the first operation using the manual operation device is maintained after charging of the battery has ended,” as applying the charging shutdown methodology of Chen to the system of Tanaka would result in the controller (drive control circuit 22) shutting down.
Tanaka does not explicitly teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off after an elapse of a predetermined time in a case where a state of the first operation using the manual operation device is maintained after charging of the battery has ended.
However, Tanaka does teach detecting that the charging of the battery has ended wherein, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 8-9) “a charge end detection means for detecting when charging of the drive battery has finished,” and capability to power down its controller wherein, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 11-13) “when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.”
Chen does teach the preceding limitations.
Chen teaches, (Abstract, Lines 1-2) “Systems and methods are disclosed for monitoring the health of a vehicle battery,” wherein, (Paragraph [0037]) “The power control system 110 may … evaluate the combined initial amp-hour value and the net integrated amp-hour value added to the battery 102. This may be referred to as the total amp-hour value. If the total amp-hour value is greater than a first threshold percentage of the rated capacity of the battery during a first time period, that may indicate there are issues with the battery 102. For example, if the total amp-hour value is greater than 130% of the rated capacity of the battery 102 over a period of time less than five hours, that may indicate that there is a cell shorted, or an improperly high charging voltage,” and that, (Paragraph [0039]) “the time period may be measured from the point in time at which the initial amp-hour value was determined, or from the point in time at which vehicle ignition is on and the vehicle has been starting to charge the battery.” Therefore, an abnormality, in this case overcharging related to a high percentage of rated capacity in a short time period, is identified by the system.
Chen additionally teaches, (Paragraph [0042], Line 1-7) “Responsive to determining that the initial amp hour value plus the net integrated amp hour value is greater than the threshold percentage of the rated capacity of the battery 102, the power control system 110 may be configured to provide an alert to the driver. The alert may indicate that there is a battery issue, such as a short or an improperly high charging voltage, and that the battery should be checked.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system capable of both determining the end of a charge process and powering down a charge controller, with a system which is capable of measuring a potential short due to excessive charge acquired by the battery in a short time frame, the controller of which would reasonably be powered down, in light of the Chen reference, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references will yield the benefits of identifying to a user potential shorting batteries that could have negative effects on the system. As Chen describes, (Paragraph [0042], Lines 5-7) “The alert may indicate that there is a battery issue, such as a short or an improperly high charging voltage, and that the battery should be checked,” during a checking process of which, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand the corresponding controller would be powered down for safety. Chen additionally describes, (Paragraph [0043]) “The power control system 110 may also be configured to responsively disable one or more vehicle functions, such as smart regenerative charging (SRC) … Disabling or reducing the power draw of these functions enables the vehicle to avoid large battery charging/discharging currents, thereby reducing the load demands and temperature of battery,” and therefore it would be additionally obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that a charging controller corresponding to a recharge operation such as SRC would be powered down to avoid unnecessary power draw.
With regards to the combination of newly amended independent Claim 6, Examiner respectfully disagrees with the Applicant’s interpretation that, (Page 16, Lines 12-14) “Isayeva fails to teach or suggest a feature equivalent or similar to the feature of powering off the controller after an elapse of a predetermined waiting time in a case where the electric motor does not transition to a starting state after a motor start instruction has been provided,” as applying the charging shutdown methodology of Isayeva to the system of Tanaka would result in the controller (drive control circuit 22) shutting down.
Tanaka does not explicitly teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off after an elapse of a predetermined time in a case where a state of the first operation using the manual operation device is maintained after charging of the battery has ended.
However, Tanaka does teach detecting that the charging of the battery has ended wherein, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 8-9) “a charge end detection means for detecting when charging of the drive battery has finished,” and capability to power down its controller wherein, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 11-13) “when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.”
Tanaka additionally teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
It would have been obvious to arrive at the claimed invention in light of, for example, Isayeva.
Isayeva teaches, (Abstract, Lines 1-2) “A hybrid-electric vehicle method of controlling a hybrid electric vehicle,” and that, (Paragraph [0057], Lines 1-4) “Certain fault conditions can be detected by one or more of the controllers that may indicate a fault in one of the powertrain components, such as the motor 16, the generator 32, the VVC 60 or the inverter 15,” as well as, (Paragraph [0061], Lines 4-8) “the motor will continue to be temporarily disabled for a period of time if the LOS fault counter is still above zero. This allows the diagnostic to continue to run multiple times while reducing the LOS fault counter each time the diagnostic is run.”
Isayeva additionally teaches, (Paragraph [0004]) “if a failure of a component necessary for electric propulsion is detected, several actions may be necessary to ensure the safety of the vehicle occupants. Since shutdown of the entire vehicle may be undesirable, limited operation strategy (LOS) modes can be implemented to enable the operator of the vehicle to continue to drive while individual components are disabled.” Therefore shutdown of the entire vehicle or sub components are both known reasonable solutions to a person or ordinary skill in the art upon detection of a fault.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka, with the extremely well-known methodology of powering down a vehicle (including its controller) that is experiencing faults in its components for an amount of time, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references yields the benefits of allowing diagnostics to be conducted on a machine experiencing faults/errors. As Isayeva describes, (Paragraph [0058], Lines 2-4) “A diagnostic is performed on each of the motor 16, the generator 32, the VVC 60 and the inverter 15 associated with each of the electric machines.”
Therefore, the rejections have been maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 4, and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Tanaka, (JP 2010022164 A) an English Translation of the Description which has been used for the following section, in view of Endo. (US 2012/0274276 A1, hereinafter Endo)
Claim 1 Discloses: (Currently Amended)
“An electric work vehicle configured to be driven by power from an electric motor powered by a chargeable battery,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0001]) “This invention relates to battery-powered construction machinery, such as a fully electric or hybrid hydraulic excavator powered by a battery and an engine.”
“the electric work vehicle comprising: a controller configured or programmed to control the electric work vehicle;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 4-5) “a control battery that supplies power to a drive control circuit that controls the driving of each operating means.”
“a control state switch configured to switch the controller to an operating state in response to a first operation on a manual operation device, and switch the controller to a resting state in response to a second operation on the manual operation device;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
“a charging power connector configured to receive charging power to be supplied to the battery;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“and a charging controller configured or programmed to control charging of the battery with the charging power;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include: a motor controller configured or programmed to control driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
“a mode setter configured to set a charging mode to enable charging of the battery, and a work mode to enable driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 7-13) “as shown in Figure 3, the relay 34 is composed of a switch 34a and a coil 34b. The switch 34a is normally closed, and the coil 34b is normally held in a demagnetized state, resulting in a conductive state that connects the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22. On the other hand, when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Therefore, the relay 34 is an example under broadest reasonable interpretation as a mode setter.
“a start prohibitor configured to prohibit starting of the electric motor after charging has ended;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
“and a start prohibition releaser configured to release the prohibition on starting of the electric motor,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 10-11) “when the set time of the timer 38 has elapsed, the transistor 39 closes, and as a result, the switch 34a of the relay 34 turns on, that is, the drive prohibition is released.”
“ and the prohibition on starting by the start prohibitor is released by an operation on the manual operation device.”
Examiner Note: The Examiner is using a broadest reasonable interpretation of the manual operation device to include that of a wireless communication device capable of starting/stopping the charging process. This interpretation comes from at least Paragraph [0061] of Applicant’s specification which reads, “1) In the above example embodiments, the manual operation device of the key device 34 may include the operation key 36 configured to be inserted and mounted to the insertion portion 35a,
and the switch 35b. However, in place of this configuration, the manual operation device may perform the ON operation and the OFF operation via wireless communication. The key device 34 may be configured in any manner.”
Tanaka does not explicitly teach the preceding limitations; however, Endo does tech the preceding limitations.
Endo teaches, (Paragraph [0032], Lines 2-12) “When the user starts a timer charging reservation, the mobile terminal 70 sends a timer charging command to the information center 62. The timer charging command includes information related to the set time. Upon receipt of the timer charging command from the mobile terminal 70, the information center 62 sends a remote operation command to the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 in the charging control apparatus 20. The remote operation command notifies the charging control apparatus 20 that the remote operation is executed by the user with the mobile terminal 70,” and that, (Paragraph [0034], Lines 1-4) “When the set time arrives, the power management ECU 40 switches over from the charging forbidden state to the charging permitted state, thereby starting charging the battery 12 using the external electric power source 50,” as well as that, (Paragraph [0035]) “Alternatively, the user may start the charging instantaneously (without setting a timer) by performing remote operation. The specific process of instantaneous charging will be omitted and not described. Similarly to the start of the charging, the user may also stop the charging in an instantaneous manner or in a timer setting manner by performing remote operation.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka which comprises a start prohibition releaser, with the ability for a manual operation device to release the prohibition on starting as taught by Endo, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references would yield the well-known benefits of allowing a user to effectuate releasing the prohibition on starting the electric vehicle by using a manual operation device so the machine is available for use. As Endo describes, (Paragraph [0031] Lines 7-9) “a user performs a remote operation to the charging control apparatus 20 with the mobile terminal 70 to start charging,” and further describes that, (Paragraph [0046], Lines 10-12) “This configuration helps prevent permitting or forbidding of charging the battery 12 against the intention of the user.”
Claim 4 Discloses: (Original)
“The electric work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off in a case where a state of the second operation using the manual operation device is maintained after charging of the battery has ended.”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 8-9) “a charge end detection means for detecting when charging of the drive battery has finished,” wherein, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 11-13) “when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Under broadest reasonable interpretation, the Examiner is interpreting the disconnect of electrical connection to the control battery and drive control circuit as an example of the controller being powered off.
Claim 7 Discloses: (Currently Amended)
“An electric work vehicle configured to be driven by power from an electric motor powered by a chargeable battery,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0001]) “This invention relates to battery-powered construction machinery, such as a fully electric or hybrid hydraulic excavator powered by a battery and an engine.”
“ the electric work vehicle comprising: a controller configured or programmed to control the electric work vehicle;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 4-5) “a control battery that supplies power to a drive control circuit that controls the driving of each operating means.”
“ a control state switch configured to switch the controller to an operating state in response to a first operation on a manual operation device, and switch the controller to a resting state in response to a second operation on the manual operation device;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
“ a charging power connector configured to receive charging power to be supplied to the battery;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“ and a charging controller configured or programmed to control charging of the battery with the charging power;”
Tanaka teaches a, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “battery control circuit 24,” wherein, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “When the remaining charge in the drive battery 15 becomes low, power is supplied.”
“ wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include: a motor controller configured or programmed to control driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
“ a mode setter configured to set a charging mode to enable charging of the battery, and a work mode to enable driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 7-13) “as shown in Figure 3, the relay 34 is composed of a switch 34a and a coil 34b. The switch 34a is normally closed, and the coil 34b is normally held in a demagnetized state, resulting in a conductive state that connects the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22. On the other hand, when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Therefore, the relay 34 is an example under broadest reasonable interpretation as a mode setter.
“ a start prohibitor configured to prohibit starting of the electric motor after charging has ended;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
“ a start prohibition releaser configured to release the prohibition on starting of the electric motor,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 10-11) “when the set time of the timer 38 has elapsed, the transistor 39 closes, and as a result, the switch 34a of the relay 34 turns on, that is, the drive prohibition is released.”
“ and the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off in a case where the electric motor is stopped due to occurrence of an error.”
Tanaka does not explicitly teach the preceding limitations.
Endo does teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off in a case where the electric motor is stopped due to occurrence of an error. Note that the Examiner is interpreting an abnormality under broadest reasonable interpretation as an example of an error.
Endo teaches, (Paragraph [0039], Lines 13-20) “the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) is configured to perform a charging forbiddance control. As the charging forbiddance control, the wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) causes the power management ECU 40 to switch over to the charging forbidden state when detecting an abnormality occurring in the plug-in vehicle 10, thereby stopping charging the battery 12 using the external electric power source 50,” and further that, (Paragraph [0040], Lines 1-5) “the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) is configured to perform a discharging acceleration control to accelerate discharging the battery 12 in addition to the above-mentioned charging forbiddance control,” as well as, (Paragraph [0040], Lines 9-20) “The in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 may also turn off a fail-safe function, which is provided for avoiding running out of the battery in a state where the accessory switch (ACC switch) is turned off and the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is supplied with the normal power (+B). That is, when the accessory switch is turned off, the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is operated in an intermittent standby mode, and a consumption current in the intermittent standby mode is monitored. When the integrated value of the consumption current, which is being monitored, is larger than a predetermined value, the power supply to the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is stopped.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka, with the ability to power off the controller in light of the discharge acceleration control/disabling of a failsafe function which corresponds with error/abnormality detection as taught by Endo, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references would result in the benefits of implementing powering down a controller during a discharge acceleration control step which corresponds with abnormality detection, the benefits being capability to discharge of the battery in a situation where it is undesirable for the machine to be stolen or otherwise used improperly. As Endo describes, (Paragraph [0045], Lines 2-6) “when an abnormality related to an unauthorized entry, an unlawful entry, or a vehicle theft is detected, the charging forbiddance control is performed so as to forbid the battery 12 from being charged using the external electric power source 50,” and further describes that, (Paragraph [0007]) “in consideration of preventing a theft of a vehicle, it is preferable to cause a lack of electricity stored in the electricity storage apparatus. That is, in some cases, the electricity stored in the electricity storage apparatus needs to be insufficient by consuming the electricity storage.”
Claim 8 Discloses: (Original)
“The electric work vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured or programmed to cause the electric motor to enter a stopped state in response to a power feeding line from a power feeding device being connected to the charging power connector.”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021]) “When the starter key is connected, power is supplied from the control battery 23, and otherwise the power supply from the control battery 23 is cut off. Furthermore, a relay 34 is provided between this key switch 33 and the drive control circuit 22. The relay 34 constitutes a locking mechanism that prohibits the operation of each operating part of the machine, including during charging … when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.”
Claim 9 Discloses: (Currently Amended)
“An electric work vehicle configured to be driven by power from an electric motor powered by a chargeable battery,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0001]) “This invention relates to battery-powered construction machinery, such as a fully electric or hybrid hydraulic excavator powered by a battery and an engine.”
“the electric work vehicle comprising: a controller configured or programmed to control the electric work vehicle;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 4-5) “a control battery that supplies power to a drive control circuit that controls the driving of each operating means.”
“ a control state switch configured to switch the controller to an operating state in response to a first operation on a manual operation device, and switch the controller to a resting state in response to a second operation on the manual operation device;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
“a charging power connector configured to receive charging power to be supplied to the battery;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“ and a charging controller configured or programmed to control charging of the battery with the charging power;”
Tanaka teaches a, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “battery control circuit 24,” wherein, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “When the remaining charge in the drive battery 15 becomes low, power is supplied.”
“ wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include: a motor controller configured or programmed to control driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
“ a mode setter configured to set a charging mode to enable charging of the battery, and a work mode to enable driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 7-13) “as shown in Figure 3, the relay 34 is composed of a switch 34a and a coil 34b. The switch 34a is normally closed, and the coil 34b is normally held in a demagnetized state, resulting in a conductive state that connects the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22. On the other hand, when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Therefore, the relay 34 is an example under broadest reasonable interpretation as a mode setter.
“a start prohibitor configured to prohibit starting of the electric motor after charging has ended;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
“ a start prohibition releaser configured to release the prohibition on starting of the electric motor,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 10-11) “when the set time of the timer 38 has elapsed, the transistor 39 closes, and as a result, the switch 34a of the relay 34 turns on, that is, the drive prohibition is released.”
“ and the charging mode is set by the charging power connector being connected for charging, and the manual operation device being operated from a state of the second operation into the first operation.”
Examiner Note: The Examiner is using a broadest reasonable interpretation of the manual operation device to include that of a wireless communication device capable of starting/stopping the charging process. This interpretation comes from at least Paragraph [0061] of Applicant’s specification which reads, “1) In the above example embodiments, the manual operation device of the key device 34 may include the operation key 36 configured to be inserted and mounted to the insertion portion 35a,
and the switch 35b. However, in place of this configuration, the manual operation device may perform the ON operation and the OFF operation via wireless communication. The key device 34 may be configured in any manner.”
Tanaka does not explicitly teach the preceding limitations; however, Tanaka does teach, (Paragraph [00180, Lines 6-7) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31.”
Endo does tech the preceding limitations.
Endo teaches, (Paragraph [0031], Lines 1-9) “First, with reference to FIG. 2, a sequence of a charging process will be described. An initial state of the charging process shown in FIG. 2 is on the premise that (i) the external electric power source 50 is connected to or plugged into a connector 11 of the plug-in vehicle 10, and (ii) the power management ECU 40 is in the charging forbidden state. In this sequence, a user performs a remote operation to the charging control apparatus 20 with the mobile terminal 70 to start charging.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to combine the system of Tanaka with the combination of connecting a power connector and switching the manual operation device from the second operation to the first operation in the form of a remote operation as taught by Endo, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references would yield the well-known benefits of a user confirming the desire to implement charging beyond that of merely plugging in the connector. As Endo describes, (Paragraph [0046], Lines 10-12) “This configuration helps prevent permitting or forbidding of charging the battery 12 against the intention of the user.”
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of Endo, further in view of Lee et al. (US 2021/0122257 A1, hereinafter Lee).
Claim 3 Discloses: (Currently Amended)
“ An electric work vehicle configured to be driven by power from an electric motor powered by a chargeable battery,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0001]) “This invention relates to battery-powered construction machinery, such as a fully electric or hybrid hydraulic excavator powered by a battery and an engine.”
Wantanabe teaches, (Paragraph [0020]) “FIG. 1 is a front view showing a hybrid hydraulic excavator according to embodiments of the present invention,” wherein, (Paragraph [0032], Lines 4-5) “an assist power generation motor 10 is connected mechanically to the engine 7,” further wherein, (Paragraph [0035], Lines 1-5) “The assist power generation motor 10 plays two roles of power generation of performing power supply to a battery module 21 by acting as a power generator using the engine 7 as a power source, and power running of assisting in the engine.”
“the electric work vehicle comprising: a controller configured or programmed to control the electric work vehicle;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 4-5) “a control battery that supplies power to a drive control circuit that controls the driving of each operating means.”
“ a control state switch configured to switch the controller to an operating state in response to a first operation on a manual operation device, and switch the controller to a resting state in response to a second operation on the manual operation device;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
“a charging power connector configured to receive charging power to be supplied to the battery;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“and a charging controller configured or programmed to control charging of the battery with the charging power;”
Tanaka teaches a, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “battery control circuit 24,” wherein, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “When the remaining charge in the drive battery 15 becomes low, power is supplied.”
“wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include: a motor controller configured or programmed to control driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
“a mode setter configured to set a charging mode to enable charging of the battery, and a work mode to enable driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 7-13) “as shown in Figure 3, the relay 34 is composed of a switch 34a and a coil 34b. The switch 34a is normally closed, and the coil 34b is normally held in a demagnetized state, resulting in a conductive state that connects the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22. On the other hand, when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Therefore, the relay 34 is an example under broadest reasonable interpretation as a mode setter.
“a start prohibitor configured to prohibit starting of the electric motor after charging has ended;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
“ a start prohibition releaser configured to release the prohibition on starting of the electric motor,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 10-11) “when the set time of the timer 38 has elapsed, the transistor 39 closes, and as a result, the switch 34a of the relay 34 turns on, that is, the drive prohibition is released.”
“and the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off in a case where charging of the battery is not started within a predetermined time after a charging start instruction has been provided during the charging mode.”
Tanaka does not explicitly teach the preceding limitations; however,
Endo does teach powering off the controller when an abnormality is detected.
Endo teaches, (Paragraph [0039], Lines 13-20) “the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) is configured to perform a charging forbiddance control. As the charging forbiddance control, the wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) causes the power management ECU 40 to switch over to the charging forbidden state when detecting an abnormality occurring in the plug-in vehicle 10, thereby stopping charging the battery 12 using the external electric power source 50,” and further that, (Paragraph [0040], Lines 1-5) “the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 (i.e., the control circuit 34) is configured to perform a discharging acceleration control to accelerate discharging the battery 12 in addition to the above-mentioned charging forbiddance control,” as well as, (Paragraph [0040], Lines 9-20) “The in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 may also turn off a fail-safe function, which is provided for avoiding running out of the battery in a state where the accessory switch (ACC switch) is turned off and the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is supplied with the normal power (+B). That is, when the accessory switch is turned off, the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is operated in an intermittent standby mode, and a consumption current in the intermittent standby mode is monitored. When the integrated value of the consumption current, which is being monitored, is larger than a predetermined value, the power supply to the in-vehicle wireless instrument 30 is stopped.”
Therefore, upon detection that an abnormality has occurred, the controller is powered off as part of a simultaneous discharging acceleration control wherein a failsafe function is canceled.
However, Endo does not explicitly teach the preceding process of powering down the controller being conducted in a situation where charging of the battery is not started within a predetermined time after a charging start instruction has been provided.
Lee does teach detecting an abnormality within a vehicle charger when a battery fails to charge after a predetermined amount of time.
Lee teaches, (Abstract, Lines 12-15) “classifying, by a controller, the charger as an abnormal charger when the actual output of the charger is smaller than the expected output of the charger,” as well as that, (Paragraph [0013]) “The identifying of whether the abnormal charging is the abnormal charging due to the vehicle problem may include determining that the cause of abnormal charging of the charger is due to a problem of the charging vehicle when an amount of charging current and a charging time are abnormal due to a battery failure of the charging vehicle,” and further teaches that a, (Paragraph [0033], Lines 10-12) “broken charger may refer to a charger that fails and cannot perform any charging function at all (or almost).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka, with the ability to power off the controller in light of the discharge acceleration control/disabling of a failsafe function which corresponds with abnormality detection as taught by Endo, AND with the ability to determine an abnormality based upon a charging process not starting for a predetermined amount of time, in light of the ability to detect a charging abnormality after measuring a lack of charging occurring over a period of time as taught by Lee, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references, in particular Endo, would result in the benefits of implementing powering down a controller during a discharge acceleration control step which corresponds with abnormality detection, the benefits being capability to discharge the battery of the machine in a situation where it is undesirable to be stolen or otherwise used improperly. As Endo describes, (Paragraph [0045], Lines 2-6) “when an abnormality related to an unauthorized entry, an unlawful entry, or a vehicle theft is detected, the charging forbiddance control is performed so as to forbid the battery 12 from being charged using the external electric power source 50,” and further describes that, (Paragraph [0007]) “in consideration of preventing a theft of a vehicle, it is preferable to cause a lack of electricity stored in the electricity storage apparatus. That is, in some cases, the electricity stored in the electricity storage apparatus needs to be insufficient by consuming the electricity storage.” Additionally combining the references, in particular Lee, provides the well-known benefits of measuring the failure to charge over a period of time as an abnormality. As Lee describes, (Paragraph [0004], Lines 1-3) “since a broken charger does not perform any charging function, it is easily identified and a fault indication leads to the broken charger not being used.”
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of Chen et al. (US 2020/0376978 A1, hereinafter Chen)
Claim 5 Discloses: (Currently Amended)
“An electric work vehicle configured to be driven by power from an electric motor powered by a chargeable battery,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0001]) “This invention relates to battery-powered construction machinery, such as a fully electric or hybrid hydraulic excavator powered by a battery and an engine.”
“the electric work vehicle comprising: a controller configured or programmed to control the electric work vehicle;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 4-5) “a control battery that supplies power to a drive control circuit that controls the driving of each operating means.”
“a control state switch configured to switch the controller to an operating state in response to a first operation on a manual operation device, and switch the controller to a resting state in response to a second operation on the manual operation device;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
“a charging power connector configured to receive charging power to be supplied to the battery;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“ and a charging controller configured or programmed to control charging of the battery with the charging power;”
Tanaka teaches a, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “battery control circuit 24,” wherein, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “When the remaining charge in the drive battery 15 becomes low, power is supplied.”
“wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include: a motor controller configured or programmed to control driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
“ a mode setter configured to set a charging mode to enable charging of the battery, and a work mode to enable driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 7-13) “as shown in Figure 3, the relay 34 is composed of a switch 34a and a coil 34b. The switch 34a is normally closed, and the coil 34b is normally held in a demagnetized state, resulting in a conductive state that connects the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22. On the other hand, when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Therefore, the relay 34 is an example under broadest reasonable interpretation as a mode setter.
“ a start prohibitor configured to prohibit starting of the electric motor after charging has ended;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
“ a start prohibition releaser configured to release the prohibition on starting of the electric motor,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 10-11) “when the set time of the timer 38 has elapsed, the transistor 39 closes, and as a result, the switch 34a of the relay 34 turns on, that is, the drive prohibition is released.”
“ and the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off after an elapse of a predetermined time in a case where a state of the first operation using the manual operation device is maintained after charging of the battery has ended.”
Tanaka does not explicitly teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off after an elapse of a predetermined time in a case where a state of the first operation using the manual operation device is maintained after charging of the battery has ended.
However, Tanaka does teach detecting that the charging of the battery has ended wherein, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 8-9) “a charge end detection means for detecting when charging of the drive battery has finished,” and capability to power down its controller wherein, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 11-13) “when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.”
Chen does teach the preceding limitations.
Chen teaches, (Abstract, Lines 1-2) “Systems and methods are disclosed for monitoring the health of a vehicle battery,” wherein, (Paragraph [0037]) “The power control system 110 may … evaluate the combined initial amp-hour value and the net integrated amp-hour value added to the battery 102. This may be referred to as the total amp-hour value. If the total amp-hour value is greater than a first threshold percentage of the rated capacity of the battery during a first time period, that may indicate there are issues with the battery 102. For example, if the total amp-hour value is greater than 130% of the rated capacity of the battery 102 over a period of time less than five hours, that may indicate that there is a cell shorted, or an improperly high charging voltage,” and that, (Paragraph [0039]) “the time period may be measured from the point in time at which the initial amp-hour value was determined, or from the point in time at which vehicle ignition is on and the vehicle has been starting to charge the battery.” Therefore, an abnormality, in this case overcharging related to a high percentage of rated capacity in a short time period, is identified by the system.
Chen additionally teaches, (Paragraph [0042], Line 1-7) “Responsive to determining that the initial amp hour value plus the net integrated amp hour value is greater than the threshold percentage of the rated capacity of the battery 102, the power control system 110 may be configured to provide an alert to the driver. The alert may indicate that there is a battery issue, such as a short or an improperly high charging voltage, and that the battery should be checked.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system capable of both determining the end of a charge process and powering down a charge controller, with a system which is capable of measuring a potential short due to excessive charge acquired by the battery in a short time frame, the controller of which would reasonably be powered down, in light of the Chen reference, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references will yield the benefits of identifying to a user potential shorting batteries that could have negative effects on the system. As Chen describes, (Paragraph [0042], Lines 5-7) “The alert may indicate that there is a battery issue, such as a short or an improperly high charging voltage, and that the battery should be checked,” during a checking process of which, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand the corresponding controller would be powered down for safety. Chen additionally describes, (Paragraph [0043]) “The power control system 110 may also be configured to responsively disable one or more vehicle functions, such as smart regenerative charging (SRC) … Disabling or reducing the power draw of these functions enables the vehicle to avoid large battery charging/discharging currents, thereby reducing the load demands and temperature of battery,” and therefore it would be additionally obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that a charging controller corresponding to a recharge operation such as SRC would be powered down to avoid unnecessary power draw.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tanaka in view of Isayeva et al. (US 2014/0062348 A1, hereinafter Isayeva)
Claim 6 Discloses: (Currently Amended)
“An electric work vehicle configured to be driven by power from an electric motor powered by a chargeable battery,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0001]) “This invention relates to battery-powered construction machinery, such as a fully electric or hybrid hydraulic excavator powered by a battery and an engine.”
“ the electric work vehicle comprising: a controller configured or programmed to control the electric work vehicle;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0009], Lines 4-5) “a control battery that supplies power to a drive control circuit that controls the driving of each operating means.”
“ a control state switch configured to switch the controller to an operating state in response to a first operation on a manual operation device, and switch the controller to a resting state in response to a second operation on the manual operation device;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0011]) “The locking mechanism can be configured, for example, by providing a relay in the power supply line connecting the control battery and the drive control circuit via a starter key switch. The relay is configured to keep this power supply line connected under normal circumstances, and to disconnect this power supply line when the charging cord from the charger is connected and charging begins.”
“a charging power connector configured to receive charging power to be supplied to the battery;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0018], Lines 6-9) “A charging cable 29 is extended from the charger 26, and a plug 30 at the end of this charging cable 29 is detachably connected to a connector 31 provided on the hydraulic excavator. When the charging cable 29 is connected to this connector 31, the drive battery 15 will be charged.”
“ and a charging controller configured or programmed to control charging of the battery with the charging power;”
Tanaka teaches a, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “battery control circuit 24,” wherein, (Paragraph [0018], Line 1) “When the remaining charge in the drive battery 15 becomes low, power is supplied.”
“ wherein the controller is configured or programmed to include: a motor controller configured or programmed to control driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
“ a mode setter configured to set a charging mode to enable charging of the battery, and a work mode to enable driving of the electric motor;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0021], Lines 7-13) “as shown in Figure 3, the relay 34 is composed of a switch 34a and a coil 34b. The switch 34a is normally closed, and the coil 34b is normally held in a demagnetized state, resulting in a conductive state that connects the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22. On the other hand, when coil 34b is energized, switch 34a turns off, creating a conduction interruption state that disconnects the electrical connection between the control battery 23 and the drive control circuit 22.” Therefore, the relay 34 is an example under broadest reasonable interpretation as a mode setter.
“ a start prohibitor configured to prohibit starting of the electric motor after charging has ended;”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 4-9) “after charging is complete, a lock state retention means is provided that maintains the drive-disabled state for a set period of time. This lock state holding means consists of a timer 38 and a transistor 39. For this purpose, the timer 38 allows current to flow from the coil 34b of the relay 34 through the transistor 39 for the time set therefor, so that the switch 34a is in the off state, or in a drive-prohibited state, only during that time.”
“ a start prohibition releaser configured to release the prohibition on starting of the electric motor,”
Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0025], Lines 10-11) “when the set time of the timer 38 has elapsed, the transistor 39 closes, and as a result, the switch 34a of the relay 34 turns on, that is, the drive prohibition is released.”
“ and the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off after an elapse of a predetermined waiting time in a case where the electric motor does not transition to a starting state after a motor start instruction has been provided in the work mode.”
Tanaka does not teach wherein the controller is configured or programmed to be powered off after an elapse of a predetermined waiting time in a case where the electric motor does not transition to a starting state after a motor start instruction has been provided in the work mode.
However, Tanaka teaches, (Paragraph [0015], Lines 7-8) “Motors 10R, 10L, 11, and 16 are connected to the drive battery 15 via inverters 18 to 21, respectively,” wherein, (Paragraph [0016], Lines 1-2) “The operation of each of the aforementioned actuators is controlled by the output signal from the drive control circuit 22.”
However, it would have been obvious to arrive at the claimed invention in light of, for example, Isayeva.
Isayeva teaches, (Abstract, Lines 1-2) “A hybrid-electric vehicle method of controlling a hybrid electric vehicle,” and that, (Paragraph [0057], Lines 1-4) “Certain fault conditions can be detected by one or more of the controllers that may indicate a fault in one of the powertrain components, such as the motor 16, the generator 32, the VVC 60 or the inverter 15,” as well as, (Paragraph [0061], Lines 4-8) “the motor will continue to be temporarily disabled for a period of time if the LOS fault counter is still above zero. This allows the diagnostic to continue to run multiple times while reducing the LOS fault counter each time the diagnostic is run.”
Isayeva additionally teaches, (Paragraph [0004]) “if a failure of a component necessary for electric propulsion is detected, several actions may be necessary to ensure the safety of the vehicle occupants. Since shutdown of the entire vehicle may be undesirable, limited operation strategy (LOS) modes can be implemented to enable the operator of the vehicle to continue to drive while individual components are disabled.” Therefore shutdown of the entire vehicle is a known reasonable solution to a person or ordinary skill in the art upon detection of a fault.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to combine the system of Tanaka, with the extremely well-known methodology of powering down a vehicle (including its controller) that is experiencing faults in its components for an amount of time, in order to yield predictable results.
Combining the references yields the benefits of allowing diagnostics to be conducted on a machine experiencing faults/errors. As Isayeva describes, (Paragraph [0058], Lines 2-4) “A diagnostic is performed on each of the motor 16, the generator 32, the VVC 60 and the inverter 15 associated with each of the electric machines.”
RELEVANT, BUT NOT CITED PRIOR ART
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
Nakamura (US 2010/0204865 A1) discloses, (Abstract) “A plug-in vehicle management system enables charging of a plug-in vehicle from a power supply station through an electric power line and power line communication between the power supply station and the vehicle. When a vehicle-side connector and a station-side connector are connected to enable the power-line communication between a vehicle-side power line communication section and a station-side power line communication section, a vehicle-side security control section and a station-side security control section cooperate so that one of a vehicle-side input/output section and a station-side input/output section receives an input signal and transmit it to the other of the vehicle-side input/output section and the station-side input/output section.”
Nakamura et al. (US 2016/0039296 A1) discloses, (Paragraph [0059]) “FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the procedure for processing relating to charging and discharging control performed by the traveling/parked state detector 13. Each step of the flow chart shown in FIG. 5 is performed by the traveling/parked state detector 13. The flow chart shown in FIG. 5 is started when the power supply of the charging and discharging control apparatus 1 is turned on, and processing transitions to step d1.”
Wantanabe et al. (US 2022/0274487 A1) discloses, (Paragraph [0047], Lines 1-4) “The battery controller 22 is provided with three operation modes composed of a normal operation mode, a discharge mode and a charge/discharge prohibition mode.”
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/ALEXANDER V GENTILE/Examiner, Art Unit 3664
/KITO R ROBINSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3664
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