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 .
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) 1-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cherian et al. (US 2011/0106321) in view of Kinomura (US 2023/0034916) and further in view of Mannepalli (US 2022/0305942)
Re Claims 1, 7 and 13; Cherian discloses an apparatus, method and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for managing distributed energy resources, comprising:
a first electrical area comprising (Fig. 1 125, 205, 210, 215, 205):
at least one power producing distributed energy resource (125, 210);
at least one power consuming distributed energy resource (250, and industrial load); and
a controller (225) configured to monitor parameters of the at least one (250) and the at least one PDER (210, 125 etc.),
receive second electrical area parameters from a second controller in a second electrical area (110, 125, 205, 220, 260 ), and control the at least one PDER (220, 125, 110) and the at least one CDER (260) based upon the parameters of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER and the second electrical area parameters.(Par 0063-65)
Cherian further discloses Indeed the present invention is equally capable of managing power added to the distributed energy grid from batteries as may be found in electric vehicles as long as the power is compatible with the grid format. (Par 0058)
wherein the parameters of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER comprise at least one of amount of energy being stored, state of charge regarding energy storage, state of charge of electric vehicles, or near-term projections of energy production or consumption.
Cherian repeatedly discloses that power production and consumption are monitored, analyzed, and dynamically managed based on anticipated demand and generation conditions, which necessarily includes near-term projections.
¶0061 states that the regional control module actively manages power production, consumption, and distribution within its region.
¶0062 describes adjusting production and distribution in response to changing wind conditions, which requires anticipation of near-term generation capability.
¶0066 explains that when increased power demand is recognized, the regional control module directs additional power producers to meet the increased amount, indicating predictive assessment of consumption.
¶0069 teaches that applications dynamically manage interactions among consumers and power producers within a particular region.
¶0070 expressly states that visualization tools provide the ability to analyze load experienced in a region and determine availability of resources to distribute power, which directly corresponds to forecasting near-term production and consumption needs.
While the reference does not always use the phrase “amount of energy being stored,” it expressly teaches management of distributed energy resources including storage, whose operation inherently requires knowledge of stored energy.
¶0064 discusses different types of power generation and energy resources having different response times and capabilities, including resources that store energy and later supply it to the grid.
¶0065 explains that the enterprise control module provides information regarding DER characteristics such as maximum output, minimum output, and response time—parameters that depend on stored energy capacity.
¶0069 explains that distributed power resources and controllable loads are managed dynamically within a region, which necessarily requires knowledge of how much energy is available from storage resources.
The reference teaches continuous monitoring and adjustment of DER output in response to demand changes and system conditions, which inherently requires knowledge of how stored energy is changing over time.
¶0064 discusses varying response times and ramp-up characteristics of different power generation resources, which directly reflect rates of change in energy output or storage discharge.
¶0065 discloses that response time and output characteristics of DERs are communicated and used for control decisions.
¶0066 teaches issuing commands to power producers in an appropriate sequence to meet dynamic needs, which requires tracking changes in available energy over time.
Cherian does not necessarily disclose wherein, when the first electrical area comprises an electric vehicle (EV), the controller is further configured to communicate with the second controller to determine a value that is related to a price of the energy for of charging and discharging in the first electrical area and the second electrical area and that is available to the EV, and communicate to the EV a determined value for charging and discharging the EV.
However, Kinomura discloses wherein, when the first electrical area comprises an electric vehicle (2B), the controller is further configured to communicate with the second controller (5) to determine a value of the energy for of charging and discharging that is available to the EV (Controller 51 of DC charging stand 5 then integrates charging power measured during DC charging to calculate an amount of charging power in DC charging. This enables accurate calculation of the amount of charging power supplied from power distribution system 10, 0098, 0099 Controller 51 of DC charging stand 5 then integrates the discharging power measured during DC discharging to calculate an amount of discharging power in DC discharging. This enables accurate calculation of the amount of discharging power supplied from battery 20), and communicate to the EV a determined value for charging and discharging the EV. (Par 0098-100)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have determined a value of the energy for charging and discharging in order to enable the desired load balancing in harmony with the utility customers preference.
The combination does not disclose determine a value that is related to a price of the energy in the first electrical area and the second electrical area.
However, Mannepalli discloses determine a value that is related to a price of the energy in the first electrical area and the second electrical area. (Par 0059, 63-65)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing of the invention to have determined the cost of energy at the appropriate location in order to save cost for the user during the charging and discharging of the vehicle.
Re Claims 2, 8 and 14; Cherian discloses wherein the parameters of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER comprise at least one of an amount of energy being produced, amount of energy being stored, amount of energy being consumed, state of charge regarding energy storage, state of charge of electric vehicles, or near-term projections of energy production or consumption. (Abstract, 0064)
Re Claims 3, 9 and 15; Cherian discloses wherein the controller is further configured to compare of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER with a predefined set of rules to control the at least one PDER and the at least one CDER.(Par 0063, 64, because Cherian dynamically controls the DER, it is implicit to have compared with a threshold in order to change a state)
Re Claims 3, 10 and 16; Cherian discloses wherein the predefined set of rules is stored in a look up table that uses the parameters of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER as input data. (Fig. 10, 11 shows the operation stored in the memory which includes lookup table)
Re Claims 5, 11 and 17; Cherian discloses wherein the controller is further configured to determine if a message comprising the parameters of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER needs to be sent to the second electrical area, and if the message needs to be sent to the second electrical area, the controller is further configured to communicate the message to the second electrical area. (Par 0138)
Re Claims 6, 12 and 18; Cherian discloses wherein in response to receiving the message from the controller, the second electrical area is configured to at least one of release energy from storage onto a grid or reduce a current use of energy. (Par 0138-40)
Re Claim 19 and 20; Levy disclose wherein the determined value is a best price. (Col. 1 line 37-45
Control within each independent load domain is determined by its own EV battery charging policy, which can be influenced by variable electricity rate plans (for example time-of-use pricing) as set by a utility or third party service. By exerting external control within each independent domain, a specific pre-negotiated re-charge policy can be exercised, thus the total load of the single point supply can be predicted and managed)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/28/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
A. Applicant’s Argument Regarding Cherian
Applicant contends that Cherian “merely discloses power production and power consumption” and fails to disclose parameters comprising amount of energy being stored, state of change regarding energy storage, state of charge of electric vehicles, or near-term projections of energy production or consumption, as recited in claim 1. Applicant further argues that, absent such disclosure, Cherian cannot render the claims obvious, either alone or in combination.
This argument is not persuasive.
B. Cherian Expressly Discloses Near-Term Projections of Energy Production or Consumption
Claim 1 recites that the parameters of the at least one CDER and the at least one PDER “comprise at least one of” the listed parameters. Thus, disclosure of any one of the listed parameters is sufficient to meet the limitation.
Cherian expressly teaches anticipatory and predictive management of power production and consumption, which corresponds directly to near-term projections of energy production or consumption.
Specifically, Cherian discloses that a regional control module “actively manages power production, consumption and distribution” within a region (¶0061). Cherian further teaches adjusting power production and distribution in response to changing wind conditions and load analysis (¶0062), which necessarily involves forecasting near-term generation capability and demand. Cherian also discloses recognizing increased power demand and issuing commands “at the appropriate time and in the appropriate sequence” to meet dynamic regional needs (¶0066), which is inherently predictive rather than purely reactive. Additionally, Cherian describes data visualization tools that analyze regional load and resource availability to determine how power should be distributed (¶0070), which is a classic form of near-term load and production projection.
Accordingly, Cherian expressly teaches near-term projections of energy production and consumption, thereby meeting the claimed parameter limitation.
C. Cherian Inherently Discloses Energy Storage Parameters
Applicant’s argument further fails because it improperly requires express recitation of storage-related terminology. Under established law, a reference may disclose claim limitations inherently, where the missing characteristic is necessarily present in the disclosed system.
Cherian expressly discloses management of distributed energy resources, including energy storage resources, having different response times and operational characteristics (¶0064). Cherian further teaches that characteristics of distributed energy resources include maximum output, minimum output, and response time, which are known and used by the control system (¶0065). Cherian also discloses dynamic management of distributed power resources and controllable loads within a region (¶0069).
For energy storage resources, parameters such as maximum output, minimum output, and response time necessarily depend on the amount of energy being stored and the rate at which stored energy is changing. A system that dispatches and sequences storage resources cannot function without knowledge of stored energy quantity and charge/discharge behavior. Thus, Cherian inherently discloses both amount of energy being stored and state of change regarding energy storage.
D. Electric Vehicle State of Charge Is Inherently Disclosed
Cherian broadly discloses consumer-side distributed energy resources, controllable loads, and storage resources managed within a smart grid architecture (¶¶0061, 0064, 0065, 0069). At the time of filing, electric vehicles were well known in the art as distributed energy storage resources within smart grid systems. Managing electric vehicles as distributed energy resources necessarily requires monitoring and controlling their state of charge.
Accordingly, Cherian inherently discloses the state of charge of electric vehicles as part of its distributed energy resource management framework.
E. Applicant’s Characterization of Cherian Is Overly Narrow
Applicant’s assertion that Cherian is limited to “power production and power consumption” ignores substantial portions of the disclosure. Cherian teaches a comprehensive smart grid control system including predictive dispatch, storage management, distributed resource coordination, response-time-aware control, and dynamic reallocation of resources (¶¶0061–0070). The system disclosed is not limited to static measurement of production and consumption but instead relies on operational parameters and forecasts to maintain grid stability.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KESSIE whose telephone number is (571)272-4449. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pmEst.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rexford Barnie can be reached on (571) 272-7492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DANIEL KESSIE/
01/26/2025
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836