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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been received.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2022 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the references given in the IDS are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the first target value and second value with regards to voltage set on the external bus via bidirectional converter during power reception mode and power transmission mode must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Interpretation
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, and control unit in claim 1.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
In paragraph 0063 of Specification, the first acquisition unit is described as a functional unit that acquires the amount of electric power stored in the power feeding system 21.
In paragraph 0064 of the Specification, the second acquisition unit is described as a functional unit that acquires a measured value of the external bus voltage Vbus 1 supplied to the external DC bus 3 via a voltage sensor.
In paragraph 0065 of the Specification, the control unit is described as a functional unit that switches the operation mode of the power feeding system 21 by controlling the bidirectional DC/DC converter 9.
The examiner interprets the first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, and control unit as components within the power management device that perform similar functions such as a controller, processor, microprocessor, etc. Fig. 3 and paragraphs 0059-0062 support the notion of these components being a processor, CPU, or memory that execute code or programs for the operation of the power feeding system.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 5-6 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites on lines 14-18, “control unit sets the power feeding system to a power reception mode by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first value”
and likewise in claim 5, lines 17-19, “power management device sets the power feeding system to a power reception mode by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the fourth converter to a first target value,”
and likewise in claim 6, lines 7-9, “setting the power feeding system to a power reception mode by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in a converter provided between the external DC bus and an internal DC bus”
It is unclear for a person having ordinary skill in the art to understand what it means to set an external bus voltage “in the converter” or “in the fourth converter” when in power reception mode. The examiner considers two interpretations. (a) the setting of the target voltage in the converter for the input voltage to the converter is a minimum voltage at which the voltage will be run for conversion to its output (b) the setting of the voltage in the converter for the input voltage to the converter somehow changes the input voltage without disclosing the algorithm to do so or any communication lines between the converter or the external bus input.
For the purposes of compact prosecution, the examiner interprets the phrases as interpretation (a) above.
Appropriate clarification or correction is required.
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(s) 1, 3-4, and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuo et al. (JP 2015177565 A) in view of Kwon et al. (US 20160133959 A1), hereinafter referred to as Matsuo and Kwon respectively.
Regarding independent claim 1, Matsuo teaches a power management device (Fig. 1: power interchange system 1) comprising:
a first acquisition unit (¶0025, 0089: control unit 110 collects information about the remaining capacity SOC of the power storage device 145) configured to acquire an amount of stored electric power of a power feeding system (¶0019: parent cluster unit 100) connected to another power feeding system (¶0019: child cluster units 200 and 300) via an external direct current (DC) bus (¶0019: AC bus 31 and DC bus 32);
a second acquisition unit configured to acquire a measured value of an external bus voltage supplied to the external DC bus (¶0125: control unit 110 detects the voltage of the primary DC bus 32 using a detector); and
a control unit configured to switch an operation mode of the power feeding system by controlling a converter (¶0050: conversion device D130 includes a bidirectional DC conversion unit 131) provided between the external DC bus (DC bus 32) and an internal DC bus (distribution board 162) for supplying DC electric power in the power feeding system, the converter being capable of bidirectionally converting between the external bus voltage and an internal bus voltage supplied to the internal DC bus (¶0050: bidirectional DC conversion unit 131 converts DC power bidirectionally between the primary DC bus 32 and the distribution board 162 inside the parent cluster unit 100),
), and
wherein the control unit sets the power feeding system to a power transmission mode by setting the target value to a second target value (Vth1) that is larger than the first (vth2) target value (Fig. 17(c) and ¶0144: Vth1larger than Vth2).
Matsuo does not explicitly teach the control unit setting the power feeding system to a power reception mode by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first target value when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value, and
the control unit setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value.
Kwon teaches a control unit (¶0041-0042: control unit) setting a power feeding system to a power reception mode (¶0058: examiner interprets power reception mode as when the high voltage battery 220 needs to be charged) by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first target value (Fig. 2 and ¶0063. minimum voltage is required to operate the power converter connected to the high voltage battery 220 and bus main bus 211) when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value (¶0058: when battery 220 is to be charged before being used).
Kwon teaches a control unit setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode (Figs. 2-3, 5-6, and 8 and ¶0063: Power is being transferred from the high voltage battery 220 to maintain the bus voltage at third reference voltage V3) by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value (Fig. 8 and ¶0063, 0054: third reference voltage V3 is larger than the minimum threshold value required to operate the power converter) when the amount of stored electric power exceeds a second storage threshold value that is larger than the first storage threshold value (Fig. 8 and ¶0054: in order to maintain a voltage of the high voltage battery 220 needs to have charge to provide power greater than minimum amount of charge the battery 220 needs before being used. and the measured value exceeds a transmission threshold value (Fig. 8: V3 exceeds both V4 and V2, and V1 exceeds V2-V4).
Matsuo and Kwon teach systems for power transfer. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the setting of voltages on the shared bus line for power reception and transmission in the system of Kwon into the power and reception modes of Matsuo to maintain operation of the converter and to ensure power is maintained on the bus for use by the system and to reduce time required to set a voltage level when other power sources are depleted or shut down such as the fuel cell in Kwon (¶0054). Furthermore, by only operating the converter when the input voltage from the external bus is above a certain value, it serves to provide improved efficiency, since boosting a voltage becomes less efficient the larger the boost required, as one of ordinary skill in the art understands (¶’s [24, 63, 92], official notice also taken)
Regarding claim 3, Matsuo teaches the power management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit resets the power transmission mode in response to the amount of stored electric power becoming less than a fourth storage threshold value that is smaller than the second storage threshold value (Fig. 6 and ¶0090: SOC2B, less than SOC2A) and larger than the first storage threshold value (¶0125: The examiner interprets SOC2A and SOC2B threshold as greater than the minimum threshold of charge for the battery to be used for the system) when the power feeding system is set to the power transmission mode (¶0090: When battery capacity SOC drops below SOC2B, the DC interchange mode is stopped, which the examiner interprets as equivalent to power reception mode being reset).
Regarding claim 4, Matsuo teaches the power management device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit resets the power transmission mode in response to detecting that no electric power is supplied to the external DC bus via the converter when the power feeding system is set to the power transmission mode (¶0048 and Fig. 17(c-d): at time t22, DC bus 32 becomes 0V, which stops power supply to the DC bus 32, which the examiner interprets as a reset).
Regarding independent claim 6, Matsuo teaches a power management method comprising:
acquiring an amount of stored electric power of a power feeding system connected to another power feeding system via an external direct current (DC) bus (¶0025, 0089: control unit 110 collects information about the remaining battery capacity SOC of the power storage device);
acquiring a measured value of an external bus voltage supplied to the external DC bus (¶0125: control unit 110 detects the voltage of the primary DC bus 32 using a detector);
setting the power feeding system to a power reception mode (The examiner interprets power reception mode as when the batteries need to be charged), the converter being capable of bidirectionally converting between the external bus voltage and an internal bus voltage supplied to the internal DC bus (¶0050: bidirectional DC conversion unit 131 converts DC power bidirectionally between the primary DC bus 32 and the distribution board 162 inside the parent cluster unit 100); and
setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode by setting the target value to a second target value (Fig. 17(c) and ¶0144: Vth1 larger than Vth2).
Matsuo does not explicitly teach the control unit setting the power feeding system to a power reception mode by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first target value when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value, and
the control unit setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value.
Kwon teaches a control unit (¶0041-0042: control unit) setting a power feeding system to a power reception mode (¶0058: examiner interprets power reception mode as when the high voltage battery 220 needs to be charged) by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first target value (Fig. 2 and ¶0063. minimum voltage is required to operate the power converter connected to the high voltage battery 220 and bus main bus 211) when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value (¶0058: when battery 220 is to be charged before being used).
Kwon teaches a control unit setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode (Figs. 2-3, 5-6, and 8 and ¶0063: Power is being transferred from the high voltage battery 220 to maintain the bus voltage at third reference voltage V3) by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value (Fig. 8 and ¶0063, 0054: third reference voltage V3 is larger than a minimum threshold value required to operate the power converter) when the amount of stored electric power exceeds a second storage threshold value that is larger than the first storage threshold value (Fig. 8 and ¶0054: in order to maintain a voltage of the high voltage battery needs to have charge to provide power greater than minimum amount of charge the battery 220 needs before being used) and the measured value exceeds a transmission threshold value (Fig. 8: V3 exceeds both V4 and V2, and V1 exceeds V2-V4).
Matsuo and Kwon teach systems for power transfer. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the setting of voltages on the shared bus line for power reception and transmission in the system of Kwon into the power and reception modes of Matsuo to maintain operation of the converter and to ensure power is maintained on the bus for use by the system and to reduce time required to set a voltage level when other power sources are depleted or shut down such as the fuel cell in Kwon (¶0054). (Furthermore, by only operating the converter when the input voltage from the external bus is above a certain value, it serves to provide improved efficiency, since boosting a voltage becomes less efficient the larger the boost required, as one of ordinary skill in the art understands (¶’s [24, 63, 92], official notice also taken.)
Claim(s) 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuo in view of Sato (JP 2014079076 A, published in 2014-05-01).
Regarding claim 2, Matsuo teaches the power management device according to claim 1.
Matsuo does not explicitly teach wherein the control unit resets the power reception mode in response to the amount of stored electric power exceeding a third storage threshold value that is smaller than the second storage threshold value and larger than the first storage threshold value when the power feeding system is set to the power reception mode.
Sato teaches a control unit (¶0083: power conditioner 100) resets the power reception mode (State (E)) in response to the amount of stored electric power exceeding a third storage threshold value (Th4) that is smaller than the second storage threshold value (Th1) and larger than the first storage threshold value (Th2) when the power feeding system is set to the power reception mode (¶0070, 0074, 0079, 0081, 0083 and Figs. 2 and 6: States (A) to (E) are a cycle in which the battery is charged or discharged. Step (1) is where charging is stopped because battery SOC is greater than the threshold Th1, which the examiner equates to power transmission mode. Steps (6) is when discharging is stopped because battery SOC is less than threshold Th2, which the examiner equates as power reception mode. In step (8), the SOC is greater than threshold Th4 and starts the cycle again).
Both Matsuo and Sato teach systems for bidirectional control of power. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the reset feature in the system of Sato into the system of Matsuo to have fine control of the charge and discharge of the battery system and optimizes the use of the battery (¶0004, 0007, and 0181).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsuo in view of Kwon and Inoue et al. (US 20200153255 A1, published 2020-05-14).
Regarding independent claim 5, Matsuo teaches a power feeding system (Fig. 1 and ¶0019: parent cluster unit 100) for supplying electric power bidirectionally with respect to another power feeding system (child cluster units 200 and 300) via an external direct current (DC) bus (AC bus 31 and DC bus 32), the power feeding system comprising:
an internal DC bus for supplying DC electric power (Fig. 1 and ¶0050: power supply paths 171-175);
a first converter (¶0027 and Fig. 1: power conditioner 150A) provided between a power supply device (¶0023: power generation device 142) and the internal DC bus (connected to power supply paths 171-175 via distribution board 162), the first converter being configured to convert a voltage generated by the power supply device into an internal bus voltage supplied to the internal DC bus (¶0027: power conditioner A150 converts power generated by power generation device 142);
a storage battery (Fig. 1 and ¶0023: storage device 145);
a fourth converter (Fig. 1 and ¶0050: conversion device D130 includes a bidirectional DC conversion unit 131) provided between the internal DC bus (power supply paths 172 and 173) and the external DC bus (DC bus 32), the fourth converter being capable of bidirectionally converting between the internal bus voltage and an external bus voltage supplied to the external DC bus (¶0050: bidirectional DC conversion unit 131 converts DC power bidirectionally between the primary DC bus 32 and the distribution board 162 inside the parent cluster unit 100); and
a power management device (Fig. 1: control unit 110) configured to charge and discharge the storage battery by controlling the third converter, and the power management device being configured to switch an operation mode of the power feeding system by controlling the fourth converter (¶0050: bidirectional DC conversion unit 131), and
wherein the power management device sets the power feeding system to a power transmission mode by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value (Fig. 17(c) and ¶0144: Vth1 larger than Vth2).
Matsuo does not explicitly teach the control unit setting the power feeding system to a power reception mode by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first target value when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value, and
the control unit setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value.
Kwon teaches a control unit (¶0041-0042: control unit) setting a power feeding system to a power reception mode (¶0058: examiner interprets power reception mode as when the high voltage battery 220 needs to be charged) by setting a target value of the external bus voltage in the converter to a first target value (Fig. 2 and ¶0063. minimum voltage is required to operate the power converter connected to the high voltage battery 220 and bus main bus 211) when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value (¶0058: when battery 220 is to be charged before being used).
Kwon teaches a control unit setting the power feeding system to a power transmission mode (Figs. 2-3, 5-6, and 8 and ¶0063: Power is being transferred from the high voltage battery 220 to maintain the bus voltage at third reference voltage V3) by setting the target value to a second target value that is larger than the first target value (Fig. 8 and ¶0063, 0054: third reference voltage V3 is larger than minimum value required to operate the power converter) when the amount of stored electric power exceeds a second storage threshold value that is larger than the first storage threshold value (Fig. 8 and ¶0054: in order to maintain a voltage of the high voltage battery needs to have charge to provide power greater than minimum amount of charge the battery 220 needs before being used) and the measured value exceeds a transmission threshold value (Fig. 8: V3 exceeds both V4 and V2, and V1 exceeds V2-V4).
Matsuo and Kwon teach systems for power transfer. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the setting of voltages on the shared bus line for power reception and transmission in the system of Kwon into the power and reception modes of Matsuo to maintain operation of the converter and to ensure power is maintained on the bus for use by the system and to reduce time required to set a voltage level when other power sources are depleted or shut down such as the fuel cell in Kwon (¶0054). (Furthermore, by only operating the converter when the input voltage from the external bus is above a certain value, it serves to provide improved efficiency, since boosting a voltage becomes less efficient the larger the boost required, as one of ordinary skill in the art understands (¶’s [24, 63, 92], official notice also taken.)
Matsuo does not teach a second converter connected to the internal DC bus, the second converter being configured to convert the internal bus voltage into a load voltage supplied to a load device; and
a third converter provided between the storage battery and the internal DC bus, the third converter being capable of bidirectionally converting between the internal bus voltage and a battery voltage of the storage battery.
Inoue teaches second converter (Fig. 21: inverter 12) connected to the internal DC bus (power supply line 15), the second converter being configured to convert the internal bus voltage into a load voltage supplied to a load device (¶0055: inverter 12 converts electric power from DC to AC and supplies it to the load 70); and
a third converter (Fig. 21: DC-DC converter 310) provided between the storage battery (energy storage apparatus 20) and the internal DC bus (power supply line 15), the third converter being capable of bidirectionally converting between the internal bus voltage and a battery voltage of the storage battery (¶0167: converter 319 allows the energy storage apparatus 20 to be charged by converter the power supply voltage of the power supply line 15 and restores output voltage to the power supply line 15 when AC power source 80 stops power output).
Matsuo and Inoue teach battery systems for delivering power and charging batteries. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application to incorporate the converter for the battery and inverter for the load in the system of Inoue into the system of Matsuo to deliver the appropriate level and type of power to battery and load.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Search report and refusal of Japanese application 2022036162.
Fang (US 20120248875 A1) teaches the control unit (Fig. 1: 24) setting the power feeding system (battery 20, DC-DC converter 18, and DC-AC inverter 16) to a power reception mode by setting a target value (¶0025: voltage to the shared line is maintained for the purpose of the load) of the external bus voltage (See the shared line in Fig. 1 Annotation 1 below) in the converter to a first target value when the amount of stored electric power is less than a first storage threshold value (Fig. 1 and ¶0025: when the battery is low, it is charged from the AC mains 12 while power is maintained on the shared line).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryu-Sung Peter Weinmann whose telephone number is (703)756-5964. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-5pm ET.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julian Huffman, can be reached at (571) 272-2147. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Ryu-Sung P. Weinmann/Examiner, Art Unit 2859 September 24, 2025
/JULIAN D HUFFMAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859