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
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 following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8, 10-13, 15-17, and 21-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by
Francino et al., US 2011/0066298 Al, (“Francino” cited by Applicant on IDS dated 11/22/2019).
Regarding Claim 1, Francino teaches A method for controlling a cooling system of a power
equipment, including:
generating a first data set representing operational cost related parameters specific to the
power equipment and the cooling system ([0040] – [0041] “a set of operating constraints 96 which
specify different constraints or limits within which the numerical solver 92 must operate (e.g., limits
or constraints which the numerical solver 92 cannot violate when determining an optimal plant
operating point based on the objective function 94). These constraints may include any limits,
ranges, or preferred operating points associated with any equipment or process variables within the
plant and can be specified by a user, an operator, a plant designer or an expert engine … operating
constraints 96 may be indicative of or effected by current conditions 98 in the plant and the current
conditions 98 ….”; i.e. Operating constraints are generated based on at least the conditions at the
plant; See also Fig. 4, element 98 as it relates to element 96) forecasted for a series of time intervals of a present load cycle based on a second data set representing operational condition related parameters ([0042] “numerical solver 92 may perform the optimization calculations for the current time and for any number of times in the future, to thereby provide a trajectory of operating points to be reached in view of known future changes in the load demand, expected environmental condition changes ….”) for the power equipment forecasted for the series of time intervals of the present load cycle; ([0041] “current plant conditions 98, which may be measured or sensed in the plant or may be input by a user or operator, may include, for example, the current load demand on the plant or a portion
of the plant ( e.g., the power or other load to be produced by the plant 50 or a particular turbine 54
within the plant 50), the ambient temperature, the relevant ambient humidity, forecasts of load
demand and environmental conditions for the future, etc.” Emphasis added; See also fig. 4, element 98)
based on the parameters represented by the first data set, through knowledge-based predetermined numerical and/or logical linkages, generating a third data set representing cooling capacity parameters for the cooling system at the series of time intervals of the present load cycle according to criteria for operational cost optimizations of the power equipment and the cooling system for the present load cycle; ([0042] “the numerical solver 92 may perform the optimization calculations for the current time and for any number of times in the future, to thereby provide a trajectory of operating points to be reached in view of known future changes in the load demand, expected environmental condition changes, maintenance activities ….” Emphasis added. See also fig. 4, elements 94, 96, and 98 as they relate to element 92 and the element “optimum results”.), the series of time intervals of the present load cycle comprising a current time interval and the series of time intervals scheduled afterwards, wherein correlations between different time intervals of the series of time intervals are considered [0042--“the numerical solver 92 may perform the optimization calculations for the current time and for any number of times in the future, to thereby provide a trajectory of operating points to be reached in view of known future changes in the load demand, expected environmental condition changes, maintenance activities ….” In other words, by providing a trajectory of operating points in view of known future changes for the current time and any number of times in the future, the correlation between different time intervals are considered in order to form the trajectory of operating points. If the time intervals were considered without any correlation, then the operating points would not form a trajectory and could be scattered.] and
in the present load cycle, controlling the cooling system to operate at the cooling capacity
parameters at the series of time intervals represented by the generated third data set.
([0036] “an optimizer unit 86 may direct the supervisory controller 82 to specify the plant
operating point at which the controller 82 should keep the plant 50 or to which the controller 82
should drive the plant 50. This operating point can include any number of plant variable set points
and operating parameters, including for example, the fuel bum rate to use in the boiler, the number
of fans to use in the condenser units 70, the identity of the particular fans 72 to use, the speed at which
to run the fans 72, and/or various other operational settings of the fans 72 ….” Emphasis added.).
Regarding claim 2, Francino teaches wherein the third data set further represents cooling system of a power equipment, including: capacity parameters for the cooling system at the current time interval [0052], and the first data set is obtained further based on a fourth data set representing operational condition related parameters for the power equipment for the current time interval of the present load cycle [0042]; the method further comprising controlling the cooling system during a period in the current time interval of the present load cycle [036].
Regarding claims 3-5, Francino teaches these claims according to the reasoning set forth in the office action mailed 4/29/22
Regarding Claim 6, Francino teaches wherein: the operational cost related parameters specific to the power equipment and the cooling system are associated with power loss of the power equipment and the cooling system, a power equipment lifecycle cost ([0036] "different optimal operating points or targets (which result in lower or the lowest cost of operation per kilowatt hour produced by the plant) will be calculated for different power load demands and ambient environmental conditions, as well as based on various different factors within the plant 50, such as various ones of the fans 72 being out of commission, degradation of equipment in the plant 50, etc." Emphasis added.) and the operational condition related parameter for the power equipment is concerned with ambient temperature and loading level. ([0041] "current plant conditions 98, which may be measured or sensed in the plant or may be input by a user or operator, may include, for example, the current load demand on the plant or a portion of the plant (e.g., the power or other load to be produced by the plant 50 or a particular turbine 54 within the plant 50), the ambient temperature, the relevant ambient humidity, forecasts of load demand and environmental conditions for the future, etc. Emphasis added.).
Claims 8, 10-13, 15-17 recite features that are substantially the same, save for the category of invention. Therefore, they are rejected under the same reasoning provided in claims 1, 3-4, and 5-6.
Regarding claim 21, Francino teaches this claim according to the reasoning set forth in the office action mailed 10/27/23.
Regarding claim 22, Francino teaches wherein generating the third data set further comprises: correlating different time intervals of the series of time intervals; and generating the third data set based on the correlations [0042--“the numerical solver 92 may perform the optimization calculations for the current time and for any number of times in the future, to thereby provide a trajectory of operating points to be reached in view of known future changes in the load demand, expected environmental condition changes, maintenance activities ….” In other words, by providing a trajectory of operating points in view of known future changes for the current time and any number of times in the future, the correlation between different time intervals are considered in order to form the trajectory of operating points. If the time intervals were considered without any correlation, then the operating points would not form a trajectory and could be scattered.].
Regarding claim 23, Francino teaches the present load cycle comprises a current time interval and the series of time intervals scheduled afterwards ([0042] “the numerical solver 92 may perform the optimization calculations for the current time and for any number of times in the future), the third data set further represents cooling capacity parameters for the cooling system at the current time interval ([0036] “an optimizer unit 86 may direct the supervisory controller 82 to specify the plant
operating point at which the controller 82 should keep the plant 50 or to which the controller 82
should drive the plant 50. This operating point can include any number of plant variable set points
and operating parameters, including for example, the fuel bum rate to use in the boiler, the number
of fans to use in the condenser units 70, the identity of the particular fans 72 to use, the speed at which
to run the fans 72, and/or various other operational settings of the fans 72 ….” Emphasis added.).
, the first data set is obtained in further consideration of a fourth data set representing operational condition related parameters for the power equipment for the current time interval of the present load cycle, ([0040] – [0041] “a set of operating constraints 96 which specify different constraints or limits within which the numerical solver 92 must operate (e.g., limits or constraints which the numerical solver 92 cannot violate when determining an optimal plant operating point based on the objective function 94). These constraints may include any limits, ranges, or preferred operating points associated with any equipment or process variables within the plant and can be specified by a user, an operator, a plant designer or an expert engine … operating constraints 96 may be indicative of or effected by current conditions 98 in the plant and the current conditions 98 ….”; i.e. Operating constraints are generated based on at least the conditions at the plant; See also Fig. 4, element 98 as it relates to element 96) and controlling the cooling system is performed during a period in the current time interval of the present load cycle ([0036] “an optimizer unit 86 may direct the supervisory controller 82 to specify the plant
operating point at which the controller 82 should keep the plant 50 or to which the controller 82
should drive the plant 50. This operating point can include any number of plant variable set points
and operating parameters, including for example, the fuel bum rate to use in the boiler, the number
of fans to use in the condenser units 70, the identity of the particular fans 72 to use, the speed at which
to run the fans 72, and/or various other operational settings of the fans 72 ….” Emphasis added.).
Regarding claim 24, Francine teaches correlate the different time intervals of the series of time intervals [0042--“the numerical solver 92 may perform the optimization calculations for the current time and for any number of times in the future, to thereby provide a trajectory of operating points to be reached in view of known future changes in the load demand, expected environmental condition changes, maintenance activities ….” In other words, by providing a trajectory of operating points in view of known future changes for the current time and any number of times in the future, different time intervals are correlated in order to form the trajectory of operating points.]
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 following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 7 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Francino et al., US 2011/0066298 AI, ("Francino" cited by Applicant on IDS dated 11/22/2019) in view of Bretzner et al., US 2008/0294297 Al, ("Bretzner").
Regarding claim 7, Francino does not teach wherein: the power equipment is a power transformer. Bretzner teaches wherein: the power equipment is a power transformer. ([0010] "The method according to the invention ensures that the control of the cooling elements is optimized for each individual transformer and is especially matched to the respective life of the transformer "). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to have combined Francino with the teachings of Bretzner because as both references are directed to controlling cooling equipment in power generation systems. Furthermore, transformers are common equipment in a power plant setting.
Regarding claim 14, Francino and Bretzner teach this claim according to the reasoning set forth in claim 7 above.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/21/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. See new mapping above for amended claim limitations.
Conclusion
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/JAWEED A ABBASZADEH/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2176