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 . As per the preliminary amendments of 4/14/2025, claim 5 is cancelled; claims 1-4 and 6-14 are pending.
Information Disclosure Statment
The Information Disclosure Statement Dated 03/21/2023 is acknowledged and the cited references have been considered in this examination.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a1) as being anticipated by Bean (US 2017/0063104).
With respect to claims 1 and 6, Bean discloses a portable power generating assembly configured for generating electrical power using a vehicle (Fig. 1, 100 and electrical power generating elements 132 and 134), said portable power generating assembly comprising: a plurality of solar panels being configured for mounting to the vehicle and generating electricity when each of said solar panels is positioned within sunlight (Fig. 1, 134; para. # 0036: the solar panels 134 produce various voltages depending on, for example, the availability and intensity of incident sunlight); and a power supply being electrically coupled to said plurality of solar panels and receiving electricity from said plurality of solar panels (Para. # 0010, 0030, 0034; said power supply comprising a plurality of batteries in electric communication with each other to define a battery bank (Para. # 0054: battery 120 may be a battery bank used to power a forklift, a palletjack, etc.).
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With respect to claim 2, Bean discloses the portable power generating assembly as describe above, wherein said plurality of solar panels is configured for mounting to a top surface of the vehicle (see Fig. 1, top of vehicle 100, 134).
With respect to claims 3 and 11, Bean discloses the portable power generating assembly as describe above, further including a voltage converter being electrically coupled to said plurality of solar panels and converting electricity generated by said plurality of solar panels from a first voltage level to a second voltage level, said voltage converter being configured for being positioned within the vehicle (Para. # 0042: converter 204 to allow the converter 204 to regulate the output voltage V.sub.AUX of the diode network and to charge the auxiliary battery 120 off of the auxiliary power sources 206. When the second input voltage V.sub.AUX is less than the second threshold, which may occur, for example, when the reefer voltage is below an operational minimum or when the solar panels do not receive any solar energy, the controller 210 is configured to deactivate the converter 204).
With respect to claims 4 and 8, Bean discloses the portable power generating assembly as describe above, wherein said battery bank is configured for storing within the vehicle (Para. # 0054: the auxiliary battery 120 may be a battery bank used to power a forklift, a palletjack, and/or the like).
With respect to claims 7 and 8, Bean discloses the portable power generating assembly as describe above, wherein said vehicle includes a tractor (see reproduced Fig. 1, 102-tractor above).
With respect to claims 9 and 10, Bean discloses the portable power generating assembly as describe above, further including a trailer being pulled by said tractor, said trailer including a bottom wall, a top wall, and a perimeter wall extending between said top wall and said bottom wall (Para. # 0040 and 0045; see reproduced drawing of Fig. 1, below).
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With respect to claims 12 and 13, Bean discloses the portable power generating assembly as describe above, wherein said battery bank being stored within said trailer of said vehicle (Para. # 0054); wherein said battery bank being electrically couplable to the vehicle battery of the tractor (Para. # 0003, 0005 and 0030).
With respect to claim 14, Bean discloses a portable power generating system comprising: a vehicle (Fig. 1, 100), said vehicle including: a tractor (Fig. 1, 104); a vehicle battery providing electricity to said tractor (Fig. 1, battery in 102 and 120,132), said vehicle battery being positioned within said tractor (Fig. 1, The first connector 106, which may be the primary source of power to the electrical system of the trailer 104, is directly coupled to the battery or alternator of the tractor 102 through, for example, a single/dual pole socket at the tractor 102 (e.g., at the junction box of the tractor 102). As a result, the direct connection between the tractor battery or alternator and the first connector 106); and a trailer being pulled by said tractor (Fig. 1, 104), said trailer including a bottom wall, a top wall, and a perimeter wall extending between said top wall and said bottom wall (Para. # 0040 and 0045; see reproduced drawing of Fig. 1); a plurality of solar panels being mounted to said vehicle and generating electricity when each of said solar panels is positioned within sunlight (Para. # 0036: he solar panels 134 may produce various voltages depending on, for example, the availability and intensity of incident sunlight), said plurality of solar panels being
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mounted to said top wall of said trailer (Fig. 1, top of trail 104); a voltage converter being electrically coupled to said plurality of solar panels and converting electricity generated by said plurality of solar panels from a first voltage level to a second voltage level (vehicle (Para. # 0042: converter 204 to allow the converter 204 to regulate the output voltage V.sub.AUX of the diode network; when the second input voltage V.sub.AUX is less than the second threshold; the controller 210 is configured to deactivate the converter 204), said voltage converter being positioned within said trailer of said vehicle; and a power supply being electrically coupled to said plurality of solar panels and receiving electricity from said plurality of solar panels (Para. # 0036: he plurality of auxiliary power sources 206 includes the second connector 108, the reefer 130, the APU 132 (e.g., a generator), solar panels 134; the solar panels 134 may produce various voltages depending on, for example, the availability and intensity of incident sunlight, and the output voltage from the APU 132 may be different from about 13.5 VDC depending on the type of APU), said power supply comprising a plurality of batteries in electric communication with each other to define a battery bank , said battery bank being stored within said trailer of said vehicle, said battery bank being electrically couplable to the vehicle battery of the tractor (Para. # 0054: battery 120 may be a liftgate battery, embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. For example, the auxiliary battery 120 may be a battery bank used to power a forklift, etc.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YALKEW FANTU whose telephone number is (571)272-8928. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00AM-4:00PM.
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/YALKEW FANTU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859