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 .
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.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 USC 119 (a)-(d) to application DE10 2024 205 042.3 filed 05/30/2024. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. As such, the effective filing date of the application is 05/30/2024.
Joint Inventors
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Status of Claims
Claims 1-10 are now pending.
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Proefke et al. (US 20100274570 A1), hereinafter Proefke.
Regarding claim 1, Proefke discloses:
A method for charging an electric motor vehicle at a charging station (see at least figure 1), the method comprising:
establishing a communication link between the motor vehicle and the charging station (see at least [0017]: “Vehicle communication system 16 is any communication system capable of communicating with electronic key fob 20. Vehicle communication system 16 may communicate with charging station 40 using a wired or a wireless connection. In an exemplary embodiment, vehicle communication system includes a radio frequency device for transmitting and receiving short range radio frequency signals from electronic key fob 20. In alternative embodiments, other electronic devices may be used to perform the functions discussed for electronic key fob 20, including cell-phones, BLUETOOTH.TM. or other IEEE 802.x enabled devices, proprietary wireless communication devices, or other suitable communication devices.”); and
enabling a charging operation, via the established communication link, by linking with authorization data, wherein the authorization data are not stored in the electric motor vehicle, and wherein the authorization data are linked with the electric motor vehicle by an interaction with a person (see at least [0040]: “When the exemplary verification process determines that the vehicle operator is present, the charging authorization information is transmitted to charging station 40 (function 230). In an exemplary embodiment the charging authorization information is stored in non-volatile memory connected to (or part of) vehicle controller 12. Alternatively, some or all of the charging authorization information may be stored in key fob 20 and transmitted to temporary memory storage in vehicle controller 12 before transmission to charging station 40 (function 230). The transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) in the exemplary embodiment is through the same method used to receive the charging authorization request (function 210). In other embodiments, however, the transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) is through a different method. The transmission of charging authorization information may be through a wired or a wireless connection between plug-in vehicle 10 and charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 2, Proefke discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the linkage of the authorization data with the motor vehicle takes place only for the one charging operation or a defined, limited or unlimited plurality of charging operations with the motor vehicle, or for a defined, limited or unlimited period of time (see at least [0024]: “Database 48 is any non-volatile data storage system coupled to station controller 42. Database 48 is accessible to charging station in any suitable manner. In an exemplary embodiment database 48 is stored in a data storage device that is part of charging station 40. In other embodiments database 48 is a database accessible to station controller 42 though data communication networks. Database 48 may be implemented in any suitable manner such as a database coupled to a server with lookup tables. Database 48 may include user profiles that are updated each time a plug-in vehicle associated with the user profile is recharged using a charging station linked to database 48. In one embodiment database 48 stores indicators for allowing varying levels of authorization. Database 48, for example, may have indicators that allow some vehicles to charge without billing an account for the cost of power used or other costs, while other vehicles may have associated accounts that are debited at various rates depending on the indicators in database 48. Other indicators may limit charging to certain amounts, times, dates, and/or limit a plug-in vehicle to recharge at specific charging stations to prevent unauthorized use of charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 3, Proefke discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the authorization data are stored on a mobile communication device that is associated with the person and communicatively linked with the motor vehicle, and/or retrieved by the mobile communication device from an external data memory (see at least [0024]: “Database 48 is any non-volatile data storage system coupled to station controller 42. Database 48 is accessible to charging station in any suitable manner. In an exemplary embodiment database 48 is stored in a data storage device that is part of charging station 40. In other embodiments database 48 is a database accessible to station controller 42 though data communication networks. Database 48 may be implemented in any suitable manner such as a database coupled to a server with lookup tables. Database 48 may include user profiles that are updated each time a plug-in vehicle associated with the user profile is recharged using a charging station linked to database 48. In one embodiment database 48 stores indicators for allowing varying levels of authorization. Database 48, for example, may have indicators that allow some vehicles to charge without billing an account for the cost of power used or other costs, while other vehicles may have associated accounts that are debited at various rates depending on the indicators in database 48. Other indicators may limit charging to certain amounts, times, dates, and/or limit a plug-in vehicle to recharge at specific charging stations to prevent unauthorized use of charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 4, Proefke discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the motor vehicle has an operating system that retrieves the authorization data from an external data memory, based on an interaction with the person (see at least [0040]: “When the exemplary verification process determines that the vehicle operator is present, the charging authorization information is transmitted to charging station 40 (function 230). In an exemplary embodiment the charging authorization information is stored in non-volatile memory connected to (or part of) vehicle controller 12. Alternatively, some or all of the charging authorization information may be stored in key fob 20 and transmitted to temporary memory storage in vehicle controller 12 before transmission to charging station 40 (function 230). The transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) in the exemplary embodiment is through the same method used to receive the charging authorization request (function 210). In other embodiments, however, the transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) is through a different method. The transmission of charging authorization information may be through a wired or a wireless connection between plug-in vehicle 10 and charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 5, Proefke discloses:
The method according to claim 4, wherein the interaction includes input of data by the person to an input device of the operating system (see at least [0041]: “In exemplary method 200, when vehicle controller 12 (FIG. 1) determines that key fob 20 is not present (function 225), a secondary verification method is used to verify that charging is authorized by a vehicle operator. A secondary verification method, for example, may be prompting the vehicle operator for a password (function 240), and comparing the input password to a stored password to determine if the password is correct (function 245). The prompt for a password (function 240) may be through driver interface 18, display 22 on key fob 20, and/or through other systems. In other embodiments other secondary verification methods may be used, such as requiring an active response from vehicle operator using key fob 20.”)
Regarding claim 6, Proefke discloses:
A charging control device for an electric motor vehicle, the charging control device comprising:
a first communication interface that is configured to provide a communication link with a charging station (see at least [0017]: “Vehicle communication system 16 is any communication system capable of communicating with electronic key fob 20. Vehicle communication system 16 may communicate with charging station 40 using a wired or a wireless connection. In an exemplary embodiment, vehicle communication system includes a radio frequency device for transmitting and receiving short range radio frequency signals from electronic key fob 20. In alternative embodiments, other electronic devices may be used to perform the functions discussed for electronic key fob 20, including cell-phones, BLUETOOTH.TM. or other IEEE 802.x enabled devices, proprietary wireless communication devices, or other suitable communication devices.”)
and a second communication interface that is configured to interact with a person, wherein the charging control device is configured to receive authorization data for enabling a motor vehicle via the interaction with the person, and to transfer the authorization data to the charging station (see at least [0040]: “When the exemplary verification process determines that the vehicle operator is present, the charging authorization information is transmitted to charging station 40 (function 230). In an exemplary embodiment the charging authorization information is stored in non-volatile memory connected to (or part of) vehicle controller 12. Alternatively, some or all of the charging authorization information may be stored in key fob 20 and transmitted to temporary memory storage in vehicle controller 12 before transmission to charging station 40 (function 230). The transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) in the exemplary embodiment is through the same method used to receive the charging authorization request (function 210). In other embodiments, however, the transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) is through a different method. The transmission of charging authorization information may be through a wired or a wireless connection between plug-in vehicle 10 and charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 7, Proefke discloses:
The charging control device according to claim 6, wherein the second communication interface is configured to provide a communication link with a mobile communication device associated with the person (see at least [0040]: “When the exemplary verification process determines that the vehicle operator is present, the charging authorization information is transmitted to charging station 40 (function 230). In an exemplary embodiment the charging authorization information is stored in non-volatile memory connected to (or part of) vehicle controller 12. Alternatively, some or all of the charging authorization information may be stored in key fob 20 and transmitted to temporary memory storage in vehicle controller 12 before transmission to charging station 40 (function 230). The transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) in the exemplary embodiment is through the same method used to receive the charging authorization request (function 210). In other embodiments, however, the transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) is through a different method. The transmission of charging authorization information may be through a wired or a wireless connection between plug-in vehicle 10 and charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 8, Proefke discloses:
The charging control device according to claim 6, wherein the second communication interface has an operating system that is configured to retrieve the authorization data from an external data memory, based on an interaction with the person (see at least [0040]: “When the exemplary verification process determines that the vehicle operator is present, the charging authorization information is transmitted to charging station 40 (function 230). In an exemplary embodiment the charging authorization information is stored in non-volatile memory connected to (or part of) vehicle controller 12. Alternatively, some or all of the charging authorization information may be stored in key fob 20 and transmitted to temporary memory storage in vehicle controller 12 before transmission to charging station 40 (function 230). The transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) in the exemplary embodiment is through the same method used to receive the charging authorization request (function 210). In other embodiments, however, the transmission of the charging authorization information (function 230) is through a different method. The transmission of charging authorization information may be through a wired or a wireless connection between plug-in vehicle 10 and charging station 40.”)
Regarding claim 9, Proefke discloses:
The charging control device according to claim 8, wherein the operating system includes an input device for inputting data by the person (see at least [0041]: “In exemplary method 200, when vehicle controller 12 (FIG. 1) determines that key fob 20 is not present (function 225), a secondary verification method is used to verify that charging is authorized by a vehicle operator. A secondary verification method, for example, may be prompting the vehicle operator for a password (function 240), and comparing the input password to a stored password to determine if the password is correct (function 245). The prompt for a password (function 240) may be through driver interface 18, display 22 on key fob 20, and/or through other systems. In other embodiments other secondary verification methods may be used, such as requiring an active response from vehicle operator using key fob 20.”)
Regarding claim 10, Proefke discloses:
The method according to claim 1, wherein the authorization data are or include data concerning a charging contract and/or payment data (see at least [0027]: “In the exemplary embodiment charging station 40 is a public charging station that requests payment information as authorization information to pay for power used to recharge onboard energy storage system 14. Authorization information may include such information as vehicle identification, driver identification, financial account information such as a checking or credit account number, an access code to access financial account information, and/or other information as appropriate. In other embodiments other types of information are used as authorization information to allow charging station 40 to approve charging of onboard energy storage system 14, and/or to debit an account to pay for power used. A charge authorization from plug-in vehicle may include limitations on the cost for charging such as a dollar amount, and/or limitations on the power consumption such as a kWh limit or a percentage of charge of onboard energy storage system 14.”)
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH NELESKI whose telephone number is (571)272-6064. The examiner can normally be reached 10 - 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, THOMAS WORDEN can be reached at (571) 272-4876. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON HOLLOWAY/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3658
/E.R.N./Examiner, Art Unit 3658
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