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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on January 23, 2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on January 23, 2026 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Status
In the January 23, 2026 RCE submission, claims 1-6 and 9-20 were presented for consideration and are pending.
Response to Arguments
In the Office Action submitted on January 16, 2026, claims 1-6 and 9-20 were allowed. An IDS was presented on January 23, 2026 for consideration. No additional arguments were presented. The following Office Action has been updated to further address the claims in light of the IDS submission and subsequent search.
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.
Claims 1-6 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Neander et al., US Patent No. 10,988,025 (patented April 2021, hereinafter NEANDER), in view of Rafi et al., “Investigation of Fast Charging and Battery Swapping Options for Electric Haul Trucks in Underground Mines” (available to the public in 2020, hereinafter RAFI)
As per claim 1, NEANDER teaches of a control system for managing electrical power at a worksite (see col. 2, lines 18-21: system employs the use of a control unit for managing worksite power applications), comprising:
one or more processors (see col. 2, lines 63-67: one or more processors is used to facilitate control in the system control unit); and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable
instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more
processors to perform acts (see fig. 4 and 8; col. 8, line 1-5; and col. 9, line 14 through col. 10, line 15: system provides computer implemented monitoring, navigation and control instructions for operating and coordinating operations of the onsite work device(s), charging facilities and robotic battery replacement devices) comprising:
receiving, by the control system, a communication that a first portable power supply disposed at the worksite is required for use by a work machine, the work machine being disposed at the worksite and receiving power from at least one of a grid power supply of the worksite or a second portable power supply (see fig. 8, elements S01-S03; and col. 9, lines 20-31: control system establishes the battery levels of the work unit at the site, and in determining that a threshold level has been met, requesting a secondary battery backup source);
determining that a battery of the work machine has an excess charge and based on determining that the battery has the excess charge, providing a command, by the control system, to the work machine to move to and electrically connect with a power capture system (see col. 9, lines 33-38: system monitors charge conditions of the support battery, and when a predetermined charge threshold is met, dispatching the unit to the worksite for power support to the onsite working device);
determining, by the control system, that the first portable power supply is available for use by the work machine, communicating by the control system, an instruction to move the first portable power supply to a location for use by the work machine (see fig. 8, element S03-S04; col. 9, lines 33-46 and col. 10, lines 1-15: upon receiving instructions from the system controller to dispatch the support battery system to the device at the worksite, the secondary and/or subsequent batteries are routed to the worksite where it replaces or connects to the work device to support working operations); and
providing a command, by the control system, to a second work machine to receive the excess charge received from the work machine (see col. 9, lines 49-67: the working device receives instructions to shut-down for replacement of the battery or provide connection accommodations for the secondary resource).
While NEANDER focuses on a control system for managing power applications at worksites (see above references), the art fails to explicitly address employing a regenerative capture system for capturing extra energy.
Like NEANDER, RAFI is directed to a system for optimizing power resources for electrical vehicles operating underground. However, RAFI further teaches of capturing excess energy when work vehicles travel downhill by incorporating regenerative braking (see col. 2, page 1081).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention, to employ the use of RAFI's system for employing regenerative braking, with NEANDER's system of optimizing power resources in underground mining to capture and use the extra beneficial power capture from regenerative braking to increase the available power available for underground operations.
As per claim 2 the combination of NEANDER and RAFI teaches all of the limitations noted in the base claim(s) as outlined above, wherein NEANDER further teaches of the control system of claim 1, the acts further comprising determining that a battery used by the work machine has a charge sufficient to provide power to operate systems of the work machine while the work machine is removed from the grid power supply or the second portable power supply (see col. 4, lines 8-22: replacement of the supporting power supply can be performed while the unit remain using internal power capable of supporting operations during a swap or added connection).
As per claim 3 the combination of NEANDER and RAFI teaches all of the limitations noted in the base claim(s) as outlined above, wherein NEANDER further teaches of the control system of claim 1, wherein the first portable power supply comprises:
a power source comprising a battery, a fuel cell, or an internal combustion engine generator (see col. 2, lines 13-15: system uses power in the form of a battery or fuel cell);
tracks which move the first portable power supply from a first location to a second location (see col. 5, line 64-67: system uses ground engaging means by way of caterpillar tracks. RAFI further teaches of the use of worksite environments which employ the use of tracks as a cost saving mechanism (see col. 1, page 1081)); and
a first electrical connector configured to provide electrical current to the work machine through a first tether (see col. 3, lines 42-45: connecting the worksite device to a supporting battery supply via an connection interface).
As per claim 4 the combination of NEANDER and RAFI teaches all of the limitations noted in the base claim(s) as outlined above, wherein NEANDER further teaches of the control system of claim 3, wherein the first portable power supply further comprises a second electrical connector configured to provide electrical current to the work machine, or to an additional work machine, through a second tether (see col. 10, lines 1-15: system supports the connection of one or more support batteries which can be connected to the worksite device).
As per claim 5 the combination of NEANDER and RAFI teaches all of the limitations noted in the base claim(s) as outlined above, wherein NEANDER further teaches of the control system of claim 1, the grid power supply comprises alternating current power and direct current power (see col. 1, lines 10-29: underground systems rely on multiple power sources, wherein the use of electrical utilities employed underground via a cabling network is one resource).
As per claim 6 the combination of NEANDER and RAFI teaches all of the limitations noted in the base claim(s) as outlined above, wherein NEANDER further teaches of the control system of claim 1, the acts further comprising:
receiving usage data indicating a current electrical load of the work machine is greater than what is available at the worksite (see col. 4, lines 64 through col. 5, line 11: system monitors the worksite electrical loads and battery replacement needs, and based on determinants sets energy storage thresholds for distribution purposes); and
providing a command, by the control system, a second instruction to move the second
portable power supply the location for use by the work machine (see col. 4, lines 1-22: upon meeting predetermined thresholds, working devices are supported with distributed power resources).
7. – 8. (Canceled)
As per claim 9 the combination of NEANDER and RAFI teaches all of the limitations noted in the base claim(s) as outlined above, wherein RAFI further teaches of the control system of claim 1, wherein the regenerative capture system comprises a battery configured to store the excess charge received from the work machine (see col. 2, page 1081: electrical haul trucks capture excessive energy when traveling downhill using regenerative braking).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-20 are allowed. Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
While the cited art addresses several techniques and systems for managing power supplies and providing power resources to remote underground worksites in line with many of the limitations presented in the instant application, the references either singularly or in combination, fail to explicitly teach or suggest of a method and device consistent with the proposed independent claims 11 and 17, wherein grid and underground battery/cell resources are managed respective of the workload power requirements and regenerative attributes, and regarding claims 1 and 10, wherein the regenerative capture system further comprises a hydrogen production unit that generates hydrogen gas using electrolysis of water using the excess charge received from the work machine.
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The combination of Bystedt, [US 2017/0306588] and Marsolek, [11,207,995] focus on systems and methods which rely on tethered power resources with battery backup resources to support work machines/operations in remote locations. Jeon et al., “Optimal Energy Management Framework for Truck-Mounted Mobile Charging Stations Considering Power Distribution System Operating Conditions” and Saboori et al., “Capturing Curtailed Renewable Energy in Electric Power Distribution Networks via Mobile Battery Storage Fleet”, teach of systems which provide remote truck-mounted mobile battery resources which travel between worksites to offer remote power.
Conclusion
The applicant is strongly encouraged to contact the examiner if further clarifications are needed with respect to interpretation of currently presented claims and/or cited prior art.
A reference to specific paragraphs, columns, pages, or figures in a cited prior art reference is not limited to preferred embodiments or any specific examples. It is well settled that a prior art reference, in its entirety, must be considered for all that it expressly teaches and fairly suggests to one having ordinary skill in the art. Stated differently, a prior art disclosure reading on a limitation of Applicant's claim cannot be ignored on the ground that other embodiments disclosed were instead cited. Therefore, the Examiner's citation to a specific portion of a single prior art reference is not intended to exclusively dictate, but rather, to demonstrate an exemplary disclosure commensurate with the specific limitations being addressed. In re Heck, 699 F.2d 1331, 1332-33,216 USPQ 1038, 1039 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting In re Lemelson, 397 F.2d 1006,1009, 158 USPQ 275, 277 (CCPA 1968)). In re: Upsher-Smith Labs. v. Pamlab, LLC, 412 F.3d 1319, 1323, 75 USPQ2d 1213, 1215 (Fed. Cir. 2005); In re Fritch, 972 F.2d 1260, 1264, 23 USPQ2d 1780, 1782 (Fed. Cir. 1992); Merck& Co. v. BiocraftLabs., Inc., 874 F.2d 804, 807, 10 USPQ2d 1843, 1846 (Fed. Cir. 1989); In re Fracalossi, 681 F.2d 792,794 n.1,215 USPQ 569, 570 n.1 (CCPA 1982); In re Lamberti, 545 F.2d 747, 750, 192 USPQ 278, 280 (CCPA 1976); In re Bozek, 416 F.2d 1385, 1390, 163 USPQ 545, 549 (CCPA 1969).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KELVIN BOOKER whose telephone number is (571)272-7827. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9am-5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mohammad Ali can be reached on (571) 272-4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/Kelvin Booker/
Examiner, Art Unit 2119
/ZIAUL KARIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
Prosecution Insights