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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Remarks, filed 2/12/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1 under Fisher (US2023/0081083) and Cowman (US2015/0162865) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Leone (US 2021/0088033) in view of Fisher (US 2023/0081083) and Karamanos (US 2016/0362231).
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.
Claims 1-4, 8, 10-16 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leone (US 2021/0088033) in view of Fisher (US 2023/0081083) and Karamanos (US 2016/0362231).
Claims 1 and 14: Leone teaches an electrical generator system (Fig.2), comprising:
an outer housing (15) including multiple housing sidewalls and a housing roof (16) defining therethrough a roof opening (Fig.5) (Par.100);
a rigid support frame supporting thereon the outer housing (Fig.2; Bottom of the housing 15 supporting four housing sidewalls);
an electrical generator (50) mounted to the rigid support frame inside the outer housing and operable to generate electric power (Par.71); and
a roof assembly mounted on top of the outer housing and including a roof panel (Fig.2; Two roof panels 16) movable between an undeployed position, whereat the roof panel extends across and covers the roof opening and the electrical generator (50) (Par.69 and 100), a first deployed position, whereat the roof panel pivots away from and is obliquely angled to the housing roof to partially uncover the roof opening (Fig.2) (Par.69).
Leone does not explicitly teach a charging cable electrically connected to the electrical generator and configured to transfer the electric power to a load; a control circuit communicatively connected to the electrical generator and configured to govern the generation and transfer of the electric power.
Fisher teaches an electrical generator system (300) (Fig.7), comprising:
an electrical generator (230) mounted to a rigid support frame (Fig.2) inside an outer housing (302, 304, 306, 308) (Fig.7) and operable to generate electric power (Par.109 and 114);
a charging cable (plug) electrically connected to the electrical generator (230) and configured to transfer the electric power generated by the electrical generator to a load (EV) (Par.101-102, 109-110 and 119; The station 300 includes similar elements operating in the same way as elements in station 100.);
a control circuit (200) communicatively connected to the electrical generator (230) (Fig.2) and configured to govern the generation and transfer of the electric power (Par.80 and 98-99).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Fisher in the system of Leone to have had the expected result of controlling supply of generated power to a load (Par.6).
Furthermore, Leone does not explicitly teach the roof assembly including a roof panel movable between a second deployed position, whereat the roof panel is slid linearly outward from lateral sides of the housing roof and projects away from the outer housing to uncover the roof opening.
Karamanos teaches a roof assembly mounted on top of an outer housing (12) (Fig.1) and including a roof panel (14) movable between an undeployed position (Fig.2), whereat the roof panel extends across and covers a roof opening (Par.18), a first deployed position (Fig.1), whereat the roof panel (14) pivots away from and is obliquely angled to the housing roof to partially uncover the roof opening (Par.18), and a second deployed position (Fig.4A), whereat the roof panel (14) is slid linearly outward from lateral sides of the housing roof and projects away from the outer housing to uncover the roof opening (Par.19).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Karamanos in the system of Leone to have had flexibility of a cover system that can pivot and/or slide open for access to a space within a housing enclosure thereby a single system can meet the needs of various applications (Par.4).
Claims 2 and 15: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claims 1 and 14 as disclosed above. Leone teaches the roof panel includes first and second roof panels (Fig.2) movable between respective undeployed positions, at least partially covering respective surface areas of the electrical generator (50), respective first deployed positions, obliquely angled to the housing roof (Par.69).
Leone does not explicitly teach respective second deployed positions, projecting transversely outward from respective lateral sides of the outer housing.
Karamanos teaches a roof assembly mounted on top of an outer housing (12) (Fig.1) and including a roof panel (14) movable between an undeployed position (Fig.2), whereat the roof panel extends across and covers a roof opening (Par.18), a first deployed position (Fig.1), whereat the roof panel (14) pivots away from and is obliquely angled to the housing roof to partially uncover the roof opening (Par.18), and a second deployed position (Fig.4A), whereat the roof panel (14) is slid linearly outward from lateral sides of the housing roof and projects away from the outer housing to uncover the roof opening (Par.19).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had slid the roof panels outward and projecting away from the outer housing in the system of Leone to have had flexibility of a cover system that can pivot and/or slide open for access to a space within a housing enclosure thereby a single system can meet the needs of various applications (Par.4) as taught in Karamanos.
Claim 3: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 2 as disclosed above. Leone does not explicitly teach the roof assembly includes first and second slide rail assemblies slidably mounting the first and second roof panels, respectively, to the support frame to thereby slide between the respective undeployed positions and the respective second deployed positions.
Karamanos discloses a roof assembly including slide rail assembly slidably mounting a first roof panels (Fig.4), respectively, to a support frame to thereby slide between a respective first and second undeployed (Fig.2) and deployed (Fig.4A) positions (Par.19).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had slid rails for each of the roof panels in the system of Leone to have had slidably moved each of the roof panels beyond the edge of the enclosure or completely detached if so required (Par.19) as taught in Karamanos.
Claim 4: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 3 as disclosed above. Leone teaches the roof assembly includes first and second pivot hinge assemblies pivotably mounting the first and second roof panels (Fig.5), respectively, to the support frame to thereby rotate between the respective undeployed positions and the respective first deployed positions (Par.69 and 100).
Claims 8 and 20: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claims 1 and 14 as disclosed above. Leone teaches further comprising a photovoltaic cell (20) (Fig.2) mounted onto an exterior surface of the roof panel (16) and operable to produce additional electric power (Par.69).
Leone does not explicitly teach wherein the deployed position includes multiple tilt angles at which the roof panel and the PV cell are obliquely angled to the rigid support frame.
Fischer teaches a photovoltaic cell (Fig.18) mounted on an exterior of a roof panel (322) (Par.119), wherein a deployed position includes multiple tilt angles at which the roof panel (322) and the PV cell are obliquely angled to the rigid support frame (Par.114).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Fisher in the system of Leone to have had moved the photovoltaic cells to the most efficient position for energy harvesting based on the time or day and/or weather conditions (Par.114) thereby maximizing energy production.
Claim 10: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Leone does not explicitly teach wherein the rigid support frame includes a wheeled trailer with the multiple housing sidewalls of the outer housing projecting upwardly from the wheeled trailer.
Fisher teaches wherein the rigid support frame (312) includes a wheeled trailer (Fig.14) with the multiple housing sidewalls (302, 304, 306, 308) of the outer housing projecting upwardly from the wheeled trailer (Fig.7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Fisher in the system of Leone to have had allowed the system to be moved from one location to another (Par.103) thereby permitting use of the system in remote locations where power is needed.
Claim 11: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Leone teaches the electrical generator (50) includes a fuel cell system with a fuel cell stack (Par.108) operable to convert a hydrogen fuel into electricity (Par.51 and 71).
Claim 12: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Leone does not explicitly teach a charging cable including an electrical cable with a plug-in connector connectable to a compatible connector port of an electric-drive vehicle.
Fisher teaches wherein the charging cable (plug) includes an electrical cable with a plug-in connector connectable to a compatible connector port of an electric-drive vehicle (Par.110).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Fisher in the system of Leone to have had supplied generated power to an electric vehicle via a compatible connector (Par.110).
Claim 13: Leone teaches a mobile charging station (Fig.2), comprising:
a rigid support frame (Fig.2; Bottom of the housing 15 supporting four housing sidewalls);
an outer housing (15) including multiple housing sidewalls projecting upwardly, and a housing roof (16) located at the top of the housing sidewalls and defining therethrough a roof opening (Fig.5) (Par.100);
a fuel storage container (29) mounted onto the rigid support frame and configured to store hydrogen fuel (Par.108);
an electrical generator (50) mounted to the rigid support frame inside the outer housing and operable to generate electric power (Par.71), the electrical generator (50) including a fuel cell system with a fuel cell stack fluidly connected to the fuel storage container (29) (Par.108) and operable to convert the hydrogen fuel into electricity (Par.51 and 71); and
a roof assembly mounted on top of the outer housing and including a pair of roof panels (Fig.2; Two roof panels 16) each movable between:
a respective undeployed position, whereat the roof panel extends across and covers the roof opening and the electrical generator (50) (Par.69 and 100);
a respective rotationally deployed position, whereat the roof panel pivots upwardly from and is obliquely angled to the housing roof to partially uncover the roof opening (Fig.2) (Par.69).
Leone does not explicitly teach the rigid support frame includes a wheeled trailer; a charging cable electrically connected to the electrical generator and including an electrical cable with a plug-in connector connectable to a compatible connector port of an electric-drive vehicle; a control circuit communicatively connected to the electrical generator and configured to govern the generation and transfer of the electric power.
Fisher teaches a mobile electric vehicle charging station (300) for recharging a traction battery pack of an electric-drive vehicle (315) (Fig.9), comprising:
a rigid support frame (312) includes a wheeled trailer (Fig.14);
an outer housing including multiple sidewalls (302, 304, 306, 308) projecting upwardly from the wheeled trailer (Par.110 and 120) (Fig.12);
an electrical generator (230) mounted to a rigid support frame (Fig.2) inside an outer housing (302, 304, 306, 308) (Fig.7) and operable to generate electric power (Par.109 and 114);
a charging cable (plug) (Fig.9) electrically connected to the electrical generator (230) and including an electrical cable with plug-in connector connectable to a compatible connector port of the electric drive vehicle (315) (Par.110);
a control circuit (200) communicatively connected to the electrical generator (230) (Fig.2) and configured to govern the generation and transfer of the electric power (Par.80 and 98-99).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Fisher in the system of Leone to have had allowed the system to be moved from one location to another (Par.103) thereby permitting use of the system in remote locations where power is needed; and have had supplied generated power to an electric vehicle via a compatible connector (Par.110).
Furthermore, Leone does not explicitly teach the roof panels each movable between a respectively linearly deployed position, whereat the roof panel is slid rectilinearly outward from lateral sides of the housing roof and projects away from the outer housing to uncover the roof opening.
Karamanos teaches a roof assembly mounted on top of an outer housing (12) (Fig.1) and including a roof panel (14) movable between an undeployed position (Fig.2), whereat the roof panel extends across and covers a roof opening (Par.18), a rotationally deployed position (Fig.1), whereat the roof panel (14) pivots away from and is obliquely angled to the housing roof to partially uncover the roof opening (Par.18), and a linearly deployed position (Fig.4A), whereat the roof panel (14) is slid rectilinearly outward from lateral sides of the housing roof and projects away from the outer housing to uncover the roof opening (Par.19).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Karamanos in the system of Leone to have had flexibility of a cover system that can pivot and/or slide open for access to a space within a housing enclosure thereby a single system can meet the needs of various applications (Par.4).
Claim 16: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 15 as disclosed above. Leone teaches the roof assembly includes first and second pivot hinge assemblies pivotably mounting the first and second roof panels (Fig.5), respectively, to the support frame to thereby rotate between the respective undeployed positions and the respective first deployed positions (Par.69 and 100).
Leone does not explicitly teach the roof assembly includes first and second slide rail assemblies slidably mounting the first and second roof panels, respectively, to the support frame to thereby slide between the respective undeployed positions and the respective second deployed positions.
Karamanos discloses a roof assembly including slide rail assembly slidably mounting a first roof panels (Fig.4), respectively, to a support frame to thereby slide between a respective first and second undeployed (Fig.2) and deployed (Fig.4A) positions (Par.19).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had slid rails for each of the roof panels in the system of Leone to have had slidably moved each of the roof panels beyond the edge of the enclosure or completely detached if so required (Par.19) as taught in Karamanos.
Claims 5-7 and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leone (US 2021/0088033) in view of Fisher (US 2023/0081083) and Karamanos (US 2016/0362231) as applied to claims 1 and 14 above, and further in view of Tittle et al. (US 2016/0134140), Mcnamee (US 2023/0223772) and Nam et al. (US 2022/0153157).
Claims 5-6 and 17-18: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claims 1 and 14 as disclosed above. The combination of Leone in view of Fisher does not explicitly teach further comprising a cable coupling assembly mounting the charging cable to the roof panel; wherein the cable coupling assembly includes a cable suspension bracket suspending the charging cable from an underside surface of the roof panel.
Tittle teaches an electrical generation system (100) (Par.28) comprising: a cable coupling assembly mounting a charging cable (206) to a roof panel (223) (Par.34) (Fig.2); wherein the cable coupling assembly includes a cable suspension bracket suspending the charging cable (206) from an underside surface of the roof panel (223) (Fig.2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Tittle in the combination of Leone in view of Fisher to have had provided protection from the elements when not in use by including the power cables that supply power to an equipment in a ceiling inside the rigid support frame (Par.34) while not occupying generating system space on the floor or sides of the interior of the frame. Furthermore, shifting the location of the charging cable to a roof panel in Fisher would not have modified the operation of the system.
The combination of Leone in view of Fisher and Tittle does not explicitly teach the charging cable moves in unison with the roof panel from the undeployed position to the deployed position.
Mcnamee discloses a charging cable (136) moves in unison with a panel (110) of a rigid support frame (100) from an undeployed position (Fig.20) to a deployed position (Fig.21).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Mcnamee in the combination of Leone in view of Fisher and Tittle to have had allowed access to the components inside the rigid support frame by allowing deployment of panels (Par.56) while supporting a charging cable and ensuring viewing and access to the charging cable after the deployment (Par.71).
In addition, the combination of the combination of Leone in view of Fisher and Tittle does not explicitly teach the cable suspension bracket comprises a cable cuff.
Nam teaches a cable suspension bracket (Fig.2) comprising a cable cuff (Fig.2; end of 430 encircling charging cable 420) (Par.71).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Nam in the combination to have had spaced a charging cable from a predetermined height from ground and distribute the weight, thereby improving safety and durability (Par.71).
Claims 7 and 19: Leone in view of Fischer, Karamanos, Tittle, Mcnamee and Nam teach the limitations of claims 6 and 18 as disclosed above. The combination of Leano in view of Fisher does not explicitly teach wherein the cable coupling assembly further includes a spring-driven cable retractor biasing the charging cable from an extended state, to a retracted state.
Tittle teaches wherein the cable coupling assembly further includes a spring-driven cable retractor biasing the charging cable from an extended state to a retracted state (Par.34).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Tittle in the combination of Leone in view of Fisher to have had a charging cable that contains sufficient amount of wiring to reach equipment being charged (Par.34) while being retracted when not being used thereby easing storage of the charging cable.
The combination of Leone in view of Fisher and Tittle does not explicitly teach further comprising a cable cabinet mounted onto the rigid support frame, whereat the charging cable extends out from the cable cabinet, to a retracted state, whereat the charging cable retracts into the cable cabinet.
Mcnamee teaches a cable cabinet (housing of the cable retracting mechanism) mounted onto a rigid support frame (100) (Fig.20), a cable retractor biasing a charging cable (136) from an extended state, whereat the charging cable (136) extends out from the cable cabinet, to a retracted state, whereat the charging cable (136) retracts into the cable cabinet (Par.65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Mcnamee in the combination of Leone in view of Fisher and Tittle to have had withdrawn the charging cable into a housing when disconnection (Par.65) thereby storing the charging cable and reducing damage to the charging cable.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Leone (US 2021/0088033) in view of Fisher (US 2023/0081083) and Karamanos (US 2016/0362231) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Morris et al. (US 2021/0025324).
Claim 9: Leone in view of Fischer and Karamanos teach the limitations of claim 1 as disclosed above. Leone does not explicitly teach wherein the first deployed position includes a predefined venting position displaced away from and obliquely angled to the rigid support frame such that the roof panel directs ambient airflow across the electrical generator to thereby convectively remove thermal energy therefrom.
Morris teaches a roof assembly mounted to a rigid support frame and including a roof panel (275) movable between an undeployed position (closed position) (Fig.5) a deployed position (open position) (Par.61); wherein the deployed position includes a predefined venting position displaced away from and obliquely angled to the rigid support frame such that the roof panel (275) directs ambient airflow across an electrical generator (225) to thereby convectively remove thermal energy therefrom (Par.64).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have had the teachings of Morris in the system of Leone to have had undeployed a roof panel to cover an air outlet to protect elements inside the rigid support frame from environmental elements (Par.64) and have had deployed the roof panel to allow for flow of ventilating air to cool elements that may heat up during power generation operation (Par.61 and 64)
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHALI ALEJANDRA TORRES RUIZ whose telephone number is (571)270-1262. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am-6:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Taelor Kim can be reached at 571-270-7166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHALI A TORRES RUIZ/ Examiner, Art Unit 2859
/TAELOR KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2859