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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/30/2026 has been entered.
Status of Claims
This action is in reply to the amendment filed on 06/30/2026.
Claims 1, 3-7 are currently amended.
Claims 2, 8-10 are canceled.
Claims 1, 3-7 are currently pending and have been examined.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/30/2026regarding the 35 U.S.C. § 101 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues cites sections of newly amended claim 1 and argues that “the office failed to specifically identify which limitations recite the abstract idea and which don't (the limitations in bold for example), applicant respectfully submits that, at least the limitations in bold above, cannot performed merely in mind and thus are not abstract ideas.” (response at 14)
Examiner respectfully disagrees, first, the 101 rejection is modified in view of the amendments to the claims.
Therefore applicant’s step 2A prong 1 argument is not persuasive.
Applicant argues Step 2A prong 2 starting on page 14 of the response.
Applicant argues “Applicant's claimed additional elements (such as electronic device, one or more processors, a memory, one or more programs, microgrid blockchain, bulk grid blockchain and endorsement nodes) as above function as the additional elements which integrate the asserted abstract idea (e.g. the asserted matching, generating and verifying and recording) into practical application (trading electricity between the grid and the distributed power sources, energy storage devices and power-to-gas devices).”
Examiner respectfully disagrees, the additional elements of the claims do not provide a specific improvement over prior art systems as the additional elements represent mere instruction to apply the exception as a tool to perform an existing process “Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice or mathematical equation) does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more.” (MPEP 2106.05(f)(2))
Applicant further argues step 2b starting on page 15 of the response and specifically that “The incorporation of the microgrid blockchain and the large power grid blockchain significantly alleviates the pressure on the information storage capacity, threshold-crossing of power flow, and calculation demand resulted from the excessive blockchain nodes. The total operating cost and the efficiency has been significantly improved, which are all sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception.
Examiner respectfully disagrees, the calculation of demand amounts to improvement to abstract ideas which do not provide significantly more than the abstract idea, and the improvement to computational load and data storage requirements are not improvement to technology, as the claims have not improved commuter technology, only using less resources.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Claims 1, 3-7are either directed to a system, method, or product, which are statutory categories of invention. (Step 1: YES).
For the purposes of this analysis, representative claim 1 is addressed. (Step 2A, prong 1) Abstract ideas are in bold below, and represents a “electricity trading” which is a grouped under “Certain methods of organizing human activity — fundamental economic practices” in prong one of step 2A (MPEP 2106.04(a)).
An electronic device, comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory; and
one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, and the programs may be configured to execute methods for peer-to-peer electricity trading based on a double-layer blockchain comprising,
uploading, by the one or more processors, an energy consumption plan and an energy purchase price of each of a plurality of subjects and an energy supply plan and an energy selling price of each of the plurality of subjects to endorsement nodes on a microgrid blockchain to which the plurality of subjects belong;
wherein the plurality of subjects comprises energy supply subjects and energy consumption subjects;
the energy supply subjects and energy consumption subjects comprises distributed power sources, energy storage devices and power-to- gas devices;
matching, by the endorsement nodes on the microgrid blockchain, the plurality of subjects to perform a first power dispatching-matching and a second power dispatching-matching according to the energy consumption plan and the energy purchase price of each of the plurality of subjects, and the energy supply plan and the energy selling price of each of the plurality of subjects; and
generating and uploading an unsatisfied total energy consumption plan and an energy purchase price of each of a plurality of microgrids and a remaining total energy supply plan and an energy selling price of each of the plurality of microgrids to an endorsement node on a bulk grid blockchain;
matching, by the endorsement node on the bulk grid blockchain, the plurality of microgrids to perform a third power dispatching-matching according to the unsatisfied total energy consumption plan and the energy purchase price of each of the plurality of microgrids and the remaining total energy supply plan and the energy selling price of each of the plurality of microgrids;
generating and verifying a trading contract based on an information of the first power dispatching-matching, the second power dispatching-matching and the third power dispatching-matching;
after passing the verification, sending the information of the first power dispatching-matching, the second power dispatching-matching and the third power dispatching-matching to a sorting node of a microgrid blockchain corresponding to each of two trading subject parties, and updating the microgrid blockchain corresponding to each of two trading subject parties; and
recording, by the microgrid blockchain corresponding to each of two trading subject parties, the actual trading based on the trading contract, so as to complete the peer- to-peer electricity trading;
wherein the step of matching the plurality of subjects to perform a first power dispatching-matching and a second power dispatching-matching further comprises performing the first power dispatching-matching by a first endorsement node, according to the energy consumption plan and the energy purchase price of each of the plurality of subjects, and the energy supply plan and the energy selling price of each of the plurality of subjects;
wherein the endorsement nodes on the microgrid blockchain comprises the first endorsement node, a second endorsement node and a third endorsement node;
When
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performing the first power dispatching- matching between an energy supply subject a and an energy consumption subject 3 followed by proceeding to step of generating; uploading a first unsatisfied energy consumption plan to the second endorsement node; otherwise, according to an objective function of preset quoted price information of the energy supply and consumption subject, obtaining a corresponding optimized trading price; based on the corresponding optimized trading price, performing the first power dispatching-matching between the energy supply subject a and the energy consumption subject 3 followed by proceeding to step of generating; and uploading the first unsatisfied energy consumption plan to the second endorsement node;
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dispatching - matching between the energy supply subject a and the energy consumption subject 3 followed by proceeding to step of generating; uploading a first remaining energy supply plan to the second endorsement node; otherwise, according to the objective function of the preset quoted price information of the energy supply and consumption subj ect, obtaining the corresponding optimized trading price; based on the corresponding optimized trading price, performing the first power dispatching-matching between the energy supply subject a and the energy consumption subj ect 3 followed by proceeding to step of generating; and uploading the first remaining energy supply plan to the second endorsement node;
wherein e~ , is an energy supply plan of the energy supply subject a; b~ , is an energy selling price of the energy supply subject a;
e0 is an energy consumption plan of the energy consumption subject 3; and b0 is an energy purchase price of the energy purchase subject 3;performing the second power dispatching-matching between the plurality of subjects by the second endorsement node according to the first unsatisfied energy consumption plan and the first remaining energy supply plan;
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dispatching matching between an energy supply subject y and an energy consumption 6 followed by proceeding to the step of generating and verifying a trading contract; uploading a second unsatisfied energy consumption plan to the third endorsement node; otherwise, according to an objective function of preset quoted price information of the energy supply and consumption subject, obtaining a corresponding optimized trading price; based on the corresponding optimized trading price, performing the second power dispatching-matching between the energy supply subject y and the energy consumption subject 6 followed by proceeding to the step of generating and verifying a trading contract; and uploading the second unsatisfied energy consumption plan to the third endorsement node;
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matching between the energy supply subject y and the energy consumption subject 6 followed by proceeding to the step of generating and verifying a trading contract; uploading a second remaining energy supply plan to the third endorsement node; otherwise, according to the objective function of the preset quoted price information of the energy supply and consumption subject, obtaining the corresponding optimized trading price; based on the corresponding optimized trading price, performing the second power dispatching-matching between the energy supply subject y and the energy consumption subject 6 followed by proceeding to the step of generating and verifying a trading contract; and uploading the second remaining energy supply plan to the third endorsement node;
wherein e~ , is an energy supply plan of the energy supply subject x; b , is an energy selling price of the energy supply subject x; ee is an energy consumption plan of the energy consumption subject x; and be is an energy purchase price of the energy purchase subject x; is an energy consumption plan of the energy consumption subject 6 and b is an energy purchase price of the energy purchase subject 6; and
obtaining the unsatisfied total energy consumption plan and the energy purchase price of each of the plurality of microgrids and the remaining total energy consumption plan and the energy selling price of each of the plurality of microgrids by the third endorsement node according to the second unsatisfied energy consumption plan and the energy purchase price and the second remaining energy supply plan and the energy supply price; and uploading the unsatisfied total energy consumption plan and the energy purchase price of each of the plurality of microgrids and the remaining total energy consumption plan and the energy selling price of each of the plurality of microgrids to the endorsement node on the bulk grid blockchain.
The additional elements of claim 1 such as “An electronic device, comprising: one or more processors; a memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, and the programs may be configured to execute methods for peer-to-peer electricity trading based on a double-layer blockchain comprising”, “endorsement nodes”, “microgrid blockchain”, “the energy supply subjects and energy consumption subjects comprises distributed power sources, energy storage devices and power-to- gas devices”, “sending the information of the first power dispatching-matching, the second power dispatching-matching and the third power dispatching-matching to a sorting node of a microgrid blockchain”, and “recording, by the microgrid blockchain corresponding to each of two trading subject parties, the actual trading based on the trading contract, so as to complete the peer- to-peer electricity trading” represent the use of a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and/or does no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular field of use.
The claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration into a practical application, the additional elements amount to no more than mere instructions to apply the abstract idea of using generic computer components. The claim elements when considered separately and in an ordered combination, do not add significantly more than implementing the abstract idea of “electricity trading”.
Hence, claim 1 is not patent eligible.
Dependent claims 3-7 recited additional details which only further narrow the abstract idea and do not add any additional features, alone or in combination, that would provide a practical application or provide significantly more.
Claim 3 additionally recites:
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and
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These above limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance of the limitation as Mathematical concepts. The claim recites elements, which covers performance of the limitation as a mathematical formula or equation. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation as a mathematical formula or equation, then it falls within the “Mathematical concepts” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea. The recited a microgrid blockchain, a first endorsement node, a second endorsement node and a third endorsement node; appear to be software.
Claim 4 additionally recites:
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These above limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance of the limitation as Mathematical concepts. The claim recites elements, which covers performance of the limitation as a mathematical formula or equation. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation as a mathematical formula or equation, then it falls within the “Mathematical concepts” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea. The recited a microgrid blockchain, a first endorsement node, a second endorsement node and a third endorsement node; appear to be software.
Claim 5 additionally recites:
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These above limitations, under their broadest reasonable interpretation, cover performance of the limitation as Mathematical concepts. The claim recites elements, which covers performance of the limitation as a mathematical formula or equation. If a claim limitation, under its broadest reasonable interpretation, covers performance of the limitation as a mathematical formula or equation, then it falls within the “Mathematical concepts” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claim recites an abstract idea. The recited a microgrid blockchain, a first endorsement node, a second endorsement node and a third endorsement node; appear to be software.
Claim 6 recites additional elements of “smart electricity meter” does no more than use a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea and do no more than generally link the abstract idea to a particular field of use. Therefore, as it is no more than apply it does not improve the functioning of a computer, or improve other technology or technical field.
Prior Art of Record Not Currently Relied Upon
Wang et al. (US 2020/0161858 A1) teaches: System for energy crowdsourcing and peer-to-peer energy trading.
Beckmann et al. (US 2020/0076198 A1) Teaches: Microgrid energy reservoir transactions verification via distributed ledger.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY MARK JAMES whose telephone number is (571)272-5155. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm EST.
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/GREGORY M JAMES/Examiner, Art Unit 3692
/BENNETT M SIGMOND/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3694
