DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2,4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by JP2022109029 A to Morishita et al. (herein after “Morishita”).
Regarding claim 1, Morishita teaches A work machine comprising: a power supply unit connected to an external power supply (See Morishita para [0022] The power supply device 71 is connected to an external power supply and outputs first power. In this embodiment, the external electrode is a commercial power source 100 (see FIG. 1); a battery charged by the power supply unit (See Morishita a power supply device 71, a battery 72); an electric motor (See Morishita electric motor 5 ) configured to be driven based on at least one of electric power supplied from the external power supply and electric power supplied from the battery (see Morishita para[0019] As a result, the electric motor 5 can be driven by the power supplied from the commercial power source 100 . It is also possible to charge the battery 72 by supplying the power supplied from the commercial power source 100 to the battery 72 detachably attached to the upper swing body 4); and a controller configured to vary the electric power supplied from the external power supply to the electric motor to follow electric power usage of the electric motor (See Morishita para [0059] The control device 8 controls the current supplied from the power supply device 71 according to the set target amount of increase rate of the charge amount of the battery 72 and the power consumed by the electric motor 5 ).
Regarding claim 2, Morishita teaches comprising an inverter (see Morishita para[0021]The construction machine 1 further includes an inverter 73 ) to which electric power is supplied from each of the power supply unit and the battery (see para[0022] Power supply device 71 is provided so as to be able to supply electric power (first electric power) after voltage conversion to battery 72 and inverter 73 ), wherein the controller is configured to output a control command to the power supply unit (see para[0036] The control device 8 controls the entire power supply system 7 in cooperation with a power supply device ECU 711 built in the power supply device 71 ) so that the electric power supplied from the external power supply to the electric motor (see the electric motor 5 can be driven by the power supplied from the commercial power source 100 ) varies based on the electric power output from the power supply unit and the electric power output from the battery (see Morishita para[0024] Electric motor 5 is driven by at least one of electric power (first electric power) output from power supply device 71 and electric power (second electric power) discharged by battery 72).
Regarding claim 4, Morishita teaches wherein the controller is configured to output a control command to the power supply unit so that a charging rate of the battery does not exceed a specified value smaller than 100%. (see Morishita para [0002] Conventionally, batteries composed of lithium ion batteries and the like are preferably stored in a state where the charging rate is not too high and not too low from the viewpoint of preventing deterioration of the battery (for example, Patent Document 1), para[0044] Assuming that the charge amount is represented by SOC, the upper limit of the charge amount may be set to 100% in the third mode and set to 80% in the second mode, for example. However, these numerical values may be changed as appropriate.)
Regarding claim 5, Morishita teaches A control method for a work machine comprising a power supply unit connected to an external power supply (See Morishita para [0022] The power supply device 71 is connected to an external power supply and outputs first power. In this embodiment, the external electrode is a commercial power source 100 (see FIG. 1), a battery charged by the power supply unit (See Morishita a power supply device 71, a battery 72); and an electric motor See Morishita electric motor 5 ), the control method comprising: driving the electric motor by using both electric power supplied from the external power supply and electric power supplied from the battery(see Morishita para[0019] As a result, the electric motor 5 can be driven by the power supplied from the commercial power source 100 . It is also possible to charge the battery 72 by supplying the power supplied from the commercial power source 100 to the battery 72 detachably attached to the upper swing body 4); and varying the electric power supplied from the external power supply to the electric motor to follow electric power usage of the electric motor(See Morishita para [0059] The control device 8 controls the current supplied from the power supply device 71 according to the set target amount of increase rate of the charge amount of the battery 72 and the power consumed by the electric motor 5 ).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatented over Morishita in view of WO2015019144A2 to Sugiyama ( herein after “Sugiyama”).
Regarding claim 3, Morishita remains applied as claim 1. However, Morishita does not expressly mentioned or otherwise teach an auxiliary device configured to be driven based on at least one of the electric power supplied from the external power supply and the electric power supplied from the battery, wherein the controller is configured to vary the electric power output from the power supply unit to follow a total electric power usage of a plurality of loads including the electric motor and the auxiliary device. Nevertheless, Sugiyama same field of endeavor teaches an auxiliary device configured to be driven based on at least one of the electric power supplied from the external power supply and the electric power supplied from the battery, wherein the controller is configured to vary the electric power output from the power supply unit to follow a total electric power usage of a plurality of loads including the electric motor and the auxiliary device See claim 1 an auxiliary load; an auxiliary battery configured to supply electric power to the auxiliary load; at least one electric power output unit configured to supply electric power to the auxiliary load; and a controller configured to:(a) predict a maximum electric power consumption of the auxiliary load based on a usage state of the auxiliary load;(b) supply the electric power from the electric power output unit, in addition to the electric power from the auxiliary battery, to the auxiliary load, when the predicted maximum electric power consumption exceeds a threshold value, para[0009] The threshold value is determined as a sum of a maximum value of electric power that can be generated from the auxiliary battery, and a maximum value of electric power that can be generated from the first power conversion device , “only difference is the auxiliary load driven by auxiliary battery rather than main battery).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success to combine Morishita ‘s construction machine with Sugiyama’s auxiliary device in order to allow to appropriate operation of the auxiliary load which may not be appropriately operated due to reduction of the voltage of the auxiliary system, or the auxiliary battery may run out. When the size of the auxiliary battery is reduced, this situation is more likely to occur (see Sugiyama para[0004]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NAZIA AFRIN whose telephone number is (703)756-1175. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30-6.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Scott A Browne can be reached at 5712700151. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/NAZIA AFRIN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/SCOTT A BROWNE/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
Prosecution Insights