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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed January 21, 2025, fails to comply with 37 CFR 1.98(a)(2), which requires a legible copy of each cited foreign patent document; each non-patent literature publication or that portion which caused it to be listed; and all other information or that portion which caused it to be listed. It has been placed in the application file, but the information referred to therein has not been considered.
Foreign Patent Documents, Cite No. 1 is not provided; therefore, it has not been considered as to the merits.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6 and 9-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hiratsuka U.S. PGPub 2020/0185670 A1 (hereinafter Hiratsuka).
Regarding Claim 1, Hiratsuka teaches a power storage system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 10; Para. [0021], “power supply device”) comprising: a movable cart (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 20; Para. [0021], “carriage”); a rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Figs. 1 and 8, Element 50; Para. [0021]); and an electronic system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8; Para. [0044]) including at least one output electrical receptacle (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, Element 97; Para. [0045], “AC outlet”) and at least one input electrical receptacle (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, “100V AC Inlet”; Para. [0028], “AC input terminal”, Not numbered in Fig. 8, and not separately identified in Fig. 5.) in electrical communication with the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Electrical communication indicated by arrows.), wherein the rechargeable battery and the electronic system are mounted with respect to the movable cart (Hiratsuka, Figs. 1 and 5).
Regarding Claim 2, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the electronic system comprises: a power supply (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 81, “AC-DC Converter”; Para. [0046]) electrically connected to a power inlet (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, “100V AC Inlet”; Para. [0028], “AC input terminal”, Not numbered in Fig. 8, and not separately identified in Fig. 5.) and to the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Figs. 1 and 8, Element 50; Para. [0021]), the power supply configured to recharge the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Para. [0046], Lines 5-6); a DC module electrically connected to the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 85, “DC-DC Converter”; Para. [0050]) and a DC power outlet (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, “USB 5V outlet”); an AC inverter electrically connected to the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 30, “DC-AC Converter”; Para. [0045]) and an AC power outlet (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 97; “100V AC outlet”), the AC inverter configured to convert DC voltage to AC voltage (Hiratsuka, Para. [0045]); and, a controller connected to at least the power supply, the DC module, the AC module, and the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 89, “Charge and Discharge Controller”; Paras. [0044] – [0051] and [0061]).
Regarding Claim 3, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the movable cart (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 20; Para. [0021], “carriage”) further comprises: a support frame (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 21; Paras. [0022] – [0023]) comprising a base (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 23; Para. [0022], “bottom plate”), a plurality of sidewalls mounted vertically with respect to the base (Hiratsuka, Fig. 4, Element 24; Para. [0025], “side plates”), a lid mounted with respect to the plurality of sidewalls (Hiratsuka, Fig. 3, Element 29; Para. [0029], “upper plate”), a set of wheels mounted with respect to the base (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Elements 22; Para. [0024]), and at least one handle mounted with respect to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 21; Para. [0023], “frame”. Hiratsuka does not explicitly use the word “handle” for the frame, but as understood by the figures, the frame provides “handles” vertically and horizontally at the front, top and back of the device.); and a display screen in electrical communication with at least the electronic system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 83, “LCD Display”; Para. [0048]), wherein the rechargeable battery, the electronic system, and the display screen are mounted with respect to the support frame (Hiratsuka, Figs. 1, 5 and 8).
Regarding Claim 4, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 3/1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the support frame is configurable to receive at least two rechargeable battery systems (Hiratsuka, Figs. 1 and 8, Element 50; Paras. [0021] and [0032], “Battery pack No.1”, “Battery pack No.2” and “Battery pack No.3”).
Regarding Claim 5, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 3/1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the support frame further comprises two louvers and at least one fan, wherein the louvers are oppositely positioned and the at least one fan is positioned between the two louvers (Hiratsuka, Fig. 2, Element 27, “slit”, Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Element 25, “slit”, Para. [0025]; and Fig. 5, Elements 70/71, “suction panel/port”; Para. [0027], Lines 6-9, “fan”).
Regarding Claim 6, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the rechargeable battery is selected from the group consisting of a sodium-based battery, lithium-ion battery, lead-acid battery, nickel-cadmium battery, nickel-metal hydride battery, and combinations thereof (Hiratsuka, Figs. 1 and 8, Element 50; Para. [0034], “lithium-ion”).
Regarding Claim 9, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 3/1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the support frame further comprises at least one of a heat sink and/or a fan that is selectively positioned to capture and/or direct heat relative to the rechargeable battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 2, Element 27, “slit”, Para. [0026]; Fig. 4, Element 25, “slit”, Para. [0025]; and Fig. 5, Elements 70/71, “suction panel/port”; Para. [0027], Lines 6-9, “fan”).
Regarding Claim 10, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the at least one output electrical receptacle is selected from the group consisting of a DC receptacle, an AC receptacle, a USB-A, a USB-C, an HDMI, a stage pin connector, an XLR connector, and combinations thereof (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, Element 97; Paras. [0028], [0045] and [0050]).
Regarding Claim 11, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the at least one input electrical receptacle is selected from the group consisting of a DC receptacle, an AC receptacle, an electric vehicle charging connector, and combinations thereof (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, “100V AC Inlet”; Para. [0028], “AC input terminal”, Not numbered in Fig. 8, and not separately identified in Fig. 5, but illustrated.).
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 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiratsuka U.S. PGPub 2020/0185670 A1 (hereinafter Hiratsuka) as applied to claims 6/1 above, and further in view of Zink et al. U.S. PGPub 2019/0390560 A1 (hereinafter Zink).
Regarding Claim 7, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 6/1, but does not teach the sodium-based battery is selected from the group consisting of a molten sodium battery and a sodium- ion battery.
Zink, however, teaches wherein the sodium-based battery is selected from the group consisting of a molten sodium battery and a sodium- ion battery (Zink, Para. [0031]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to understand that although Hiratsuka provides as an example a lithium ion battery as the battery of the power supply device and does not suggest what types of batteries fall within the statement “other types of batteries may be used …” in paragraph [0034], Hiratsuka would inherently incorporate some type of conventional battery type commonly understood in the art. The sodium battery type taught by Zink, for use in a modular battery power station, teaches one of the many conventional battery type utilized in the art for consideration of replacing the lithium ion type battery due to the possible difficulty in obtaining lithium. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Zink, to provide an alternative battery type within the charging system of Hiratsuka.
Claims 8 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or 102(a)(2) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Hiratsuka U.S. PGPub 2020/0185670 A1 (hereinafter Hiratsuka).
Regarding Claim 8, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the movable cart has a footprint that is configured to be received by an existing transportation vehicle, wherein the movable cart defines a width of about 75 centimeters (about 29.53 inches).
Hiratsuka discloses the claimed invention except for discussing the mobile charging device being transported via another vehicle. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to understand Hiratsuka’s movable cart would have a footprint that is configured to be received by an existing transportation vehicle, wherein the movable cart defines a width of about 30 inches since it was known in the art that the cart due to difficulty man-handling a cart already heavy from the weight of the battery would be as light and sized appropriately to meet the design/desired requirements, See Hiratsuka, Paras. [0004] – [0006] and [0064] – [0065].
Regarding Claim 13, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore Hiratsuka teaches a production equipment, wherein the production equipment is electrically powered by the power storage system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 9, Element 98, “LOAD”, Where “load” reads on any equipment being powered by the power storage system of Hiratsuka.), wherein the power storage system is positioned within about 200 feet relative to the production equipment.
Hiratsuka discloses the claimed invention except for discussing the possible placement of a mobile charging device and the amount/length of cable required to power the desired equipment. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art the location/placement of the charging device would vary based on the specific application since it was known in the art that the purpose of a mobile charging system is to be able to use it in remote locations or wherever it may be needed, and the length of cable would depend on the specific requirement as well.
Regarding Claim 14, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claims 13/1. Furthermore Hiratsuka teaches wherein the power storage system is positioned within about 10 feet relative to the production equipment.
Hiratsuka discloses the claimed invention except for discussing the possible placement of a mobile charging device and the amount/length of cable required to power the desired equipment. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art the location/placement of the charging device would vary based on the specific application since it was known in the art that the purpose of a mobile charging system is to be able to use it in remote locations or wherever it may be needed, and the length of cable would depend on the specific requirement as well.
Regarding Claim 15, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1. Furthermore Hiratsuka teaches a method of setting up and operating a production equipment (Hiratsuka, Fig. 9, Element 98, “LOAD”, Where “load” reads on any equipment being powered by the power storage system of Hiratsuka.), the method comprising: electrically connecting the production equipment to a power storage system according to claim 1; and providing power to the production equipment such that the production equipment is capable of being operated (Hiratsuka, Abstract).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiratsuka U.S. PGPub 2020/0185670 A1 (hereinafter Hiratsuka) in view of Tittle et al. U.S. PGPub 2016/0134140 A1 (hereinafter Tittle).
Regarding Claim 12, The teaching of the Hiratsuka reference discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 1, but does not teach a shipping container.
Tittle, however, teaches a shipping container (Tittle, Fig. 1, Element 100), comprising: a base (Tittle, Fig. 1, Element 108; Para. [0028], “bottom portion”), a plurality of sidewalls mounted vertically with respect to the base (Tittle, Fig. 1, Element 104; Para. [0028], “side portion”), and a lid mounted with respect to the plurality of sidewalls (Tittle, Fig. 1, Element 106; Para. [0028], “top portion”), thereby defining an enclosure having an open volume (Tittle, Fig. 2, Element 201; Para. [0033], “interior”), wherein at least one of the plurality of sidewalls is removable (Tittle, Fig. 2, Element 104a; Not totally removeable from the container, but moveable to allow access to the interior.); and a ramp positionable between: a) an area relative to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls, and b) to an area relative to the removable sidewall (Tittle, Fig. 2, Element 208; Para. [0035], “ramp”), wherein the power storage system of claim 1 (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 10; Para. [0021], “power supply device”) further comprising a set of wheels (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Elements 22; Para. [0024]) is loaded and/or unloaded into/from the open volume of the enclosure using the ramp, wherein the loaded power storage system of claim 1 is closed within the enclosure by the removable sidewall and the ramp is mounted with respect to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls (Hiratsuka, Para. [0035]).
Hiratsuka discloses the claimed invention except for discussing the possible transport of a mobile charging device. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art the ability to transport the charging device via shipping container would vary based on the specific application since it was known in the art that the purpose of a mobile charging system is to be able to use it in remote locations or wherever it may be needed, and transferring the unit in a shipping container would most likely be necessary when the charging device is needed in a distant location.
Absent of showing criticality of a shipping container, it would have been an obvious matter of design choice to use a shipping container which is well known in the art, since applicant has not disclosed that this configuration solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears that the invention would perform equally well with many methods well understood in the art.
Claims 16-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hiratsuka U.S. PGPub 2020/0185670 A1 (hereinafter Hiratsuka) in view of Zink et al. U.S. PGPub 2019/0390560 A1 (hereinafter Zink).
Regarding Claim 16, Hiratsuka teaches a power storage system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 10; Para. [0021], “power supply device”) comprising: a movable cart (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 20; Para. [0021], “carriage”), the movable cart comprising a support frame (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 21; Paras. [0022] – [0023]), the support frame further comprising:
a) a base (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 23; Para. [0022], “bottom plate”),
b) a plurality of sidewalls mounted vertically with respect to the base (Hiratsuka, Fig. 4, Element 24; Para. [0025], “side plates”),
c) a lid mounted with respect to the plurality of sidewalls (Hiratsuka, Fig. 3, Element 29; Para. [0029], “upper plate”),
d) a first pair of wheels positioned along a first axis and mounted with respect to the base (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Elements 22; Para. [0024], “two rear wheels”),
e) a second pair of rotatable wheels positioned along a second axis and mounted with respect to the base and opposite from the first pair of wheels (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Elements 22; Para. [0024], “two front wheels … rotate horizontally”),
f) a horizonal handle mounted with respect to one of the plurality of sidewalls (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 21; Para. [0023], “frame”. Hiratsuka does not explicitly use the word “handle” for the frame, but as understood by the figures, the frame provides “handles” vertically and horizontally at the front, top and back of the device.), and
g) two vertical handles mounted with respect to at least one of the plurality of sidewalls and opposite from the horizontal handle (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 21; Para. [0023], “frame”. Hiratsuka does not explicitly use the word “handle” for the frame, but as understood by the figures, the frame provides “handles” vertically and horizontally at the front, top and back of the device.);
a battery mounted with respect to the base of the movable cart (Hiratsuka, Fig. 1, Element 50; Paras. [0021] and [0034]); and
an electronic system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8; Para. [0044]) including at least one input electrical receptacle (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, “100V AC Inlet”; Para. [0028], “AC input terminal”, Not numbered in Fig. 8, and not separately identified in Fig. 5.) and at least one output receptacle mounted with respect to the movable cart (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, Element 97; Para. [0045], “AC outlet”) and in electrical communication with the battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Electrical communication indicated by arrows.), the electronic system further comprising:
a) a power supply electrically connected to a power inlet and to the battery, the power supply configured to recharge the battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 81, “AC-DC Converter”; Para. [0046]),
b) a DC module electrically connected to the battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 85, “DC-DC Converter”; Para. [0050]);
c) an AC inverter electrically connected to the battery, the AC inverter configured to convert DC voltage to AC voltage (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 30, “DC-AC Converter”; Para. [0045]),
d) a controller connected to at least the power supply, the DC module, the AC module, and the battery (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 89, “Charge and Discharge Controller”; Paras. [0044] – [0051] and [0061]), and
e) a display screen electrically connected to the controller and configured to display at least one electrical characteristic of the system (Hiratsuka, Fig. 8, Element 83, “LCD Display”; Para. [0048]), but does not teach the battery is a sodium-based battery.
Zink, however, teaches a sodium-based battery mounted with respect to the base (Zink, Para. [0031]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to understand that although Hiratsuka provides as an example a lithium ion battery as the battery of the power supply device and does not suggest what types of batteries fall within the statement “other types of batteries may be used …” in paragraph [0034], Hiratsuka would inherently incorporate some type of conventional battery type commonly understood in the art. The sodium battery type taught by Zink, for use in a modular battery power station, teaches one of the many conventional battery type utilized in the art for consideration of replacing the lithium ion type battery due to the possible difficulty in obtaining lithium. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose based on desirability, one of the many known conventional methods, such as the one taught by Zink, to provide an alternative battery type within the charging system of Hiratsuka.
Regarding Claim 17, The combined teaching of the Hiratsuka and Zink references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 16. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the at least one output electrical receptacle is selected from the group consisting of a DC receptacle, an AC receptacle, a USB-A, a USB-C, an HDMI, a stage pin connector, an XLR connector, and combinations thereof (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, Element 97; Paras. [0028], [0045] and [0050]).
Regarding Claim 18, The combined teaching of the Hiratsuka and Zink references discloses the claimed invention as stated above in claim 16. Furthermore, Hiratsuka teaches wherein the at least one input electrical receptacle is selected from the group consisting of a DC receptacle, an AC receptacle, an electric vehicle charging connector, and combinations thereof (Hiratsuka, Figs. 5 and 8, “100V AC Inlet”; Para. [0028], “AC input terminal”, Not numbered in Fig. 8, and not separately identified in Fig. 5, but illustrated.).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Tischer U.S. PGPub 2015/0380964 teaches a mobile charging system on a cart.
Chen et al. U.S. PGPub 2017/0358938 teaches a mobile charging system on a cart.
Overfield U.S. PGPub 2023/0057526 teaches a charging cart for aircraft.
Smith et al. U.S. PGPub 2021/0376634 teaches a trailer based mobile charging system.
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/JERRY D ROBBINS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2859