DETAILED ACTION
Authorization for Internet Communications
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“Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with the undersigned and practitioners in accordance with 37 CFR 1.33 and 37 CFR 1.34 concerning any subject matter of this application by video conferencing, instant messaging, or electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.”
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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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 16 – 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on 10/27/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/01/2023, 09/19/2023 and 01/24/2024 are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(4) because reference character “714” has been used to designate both “Exceed Threshold” and “Render Model”. (See figure 7).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
The drawings are objected to because figures 1 and 6 includes multiple structural elements that lack reference numerals (See 37 CFR 1.184(q).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 – 15 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 1 and 8; there appear to be a missing “and” at (line 13, claim 1), (line 12, claim 8). Further, the limitation “the submodule” in (line 18, claim 1) and (line 19, claim 8) lacks proper antecedent basis because there are multiple different recitations of submodule earlier in the claims.
Claims 2 – 7 and 9 – 15 are dependent claims and thus also objected.
Regarding claim 12; the phrase “generate a plurality of switching commands a dc-dc converter” appears awkward.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1 - 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Guo et al., (US 2016/0105020 A1) (hereinafter “Guo”) in view of Wang et al., (US 10,263,456 B1) (hereinafter “Wang’).
Regarding claim 1, Guo discloses; an autonomous reconfigurable system [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010) and including a two-layer control architecture that independently regulates energy storage and submodule behavior (para 0035 – 0044)], comprising:
a plurality of arms comprising a plurality of submodules connected in series [i.e., three-phase MMC topology in which each phase includes two arms, each arm comprising serially connected submodules (para 0008), (para 0010) and (para 0028 – 0033)] terminating at a plurality of inductors that form a circuit at a common node and that sources a direct current voltage output and an alternating current voltage output [i.e., arms that terminates at buffer inductors interfacing a DC source (battery bus) with an AC utility output (para 0031), (para 0041) Note; the MMC provides both DC and AC outputs];
an energy storage system submodule connected in series to the submodule and sourcing a second portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output [i.e., an energy storage system including a battery and ultracapacitor-based submodule, both of which contribute to DC/AC converter output (para 0008 – 0010)];
a submodule connected in series to the energy storage system submodule and sourcing a third portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output [i.e., a modular architecture in which different submodules may be placed in series in MMC arms (para 0028 – 0033)];
a plurality of modular converters configured in a half-bridge topology [i.e., each module comprises a half-bridge with an energy storage capacitor (para 0028 – para 0029)]; where a first modular converter directly couples an output of the photovoltaic submodule [i.e., direct coupling of submodule outputs into MMC arm nodes (para 0028 – para 0033)], a second modular converter directly couples an output of the energy storage system submodule [i.e., submodules that include energy storage (ultracapacitor) directly coupled into MMC arms (para 0028 – para 0033) i.e., independent battery coupling into the DC bus (para 0008)]; and where a plurality of first modular converters, a plurality of second modular converters, and a plurality of third modular converters generate a medium grid utility voltage or a high grid utility voltage [i.e., medium/high-voltage operation of MMCs for AC utility system (para 0041)].
Guo does not disclose;
three-port circuit; a photovoltaic submodule sourcing a portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output; and a third modular converter directly couples the submodule in each arm of the plurality of arms.
However, Wang discloses;
three-port circuit [i.e., three-port architecture including a renewable port, a storage port, and a DC bus port (See Abstract and figure 2); a photovoltaic submodule sourcing a portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output [i.e., one port of the three-port converter is a renewable energy source, such as photovoltaic input (see Abstract and figure 2)]; and a third modular converter directly couples the submodule in each arm of the plurality of arms [i.e., additional ports in three-ports in three-port systems, allowing a third source to be integrated].
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Guo by adapting the teachings of Wang to control the power flow among the energy sources, batteries, load and utility grid in order to achieve the most economical and efficient electric supply (See Wang; col. 2, lines 33 – 35).
Regarding claim 2, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 1 further comprising a non-isolated converter directly connected to the second modular converter in series [i.e., three-phase MMC topology in which each phase includes two arms, each arm comprising serially connected submodules (para 0008), (para 0010) and (para 0028 – 0033)].
Regarding claim 3, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 2 where the non- isolated converter is transformerless and comprises a plurality of silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors connected in series connected in parallel to a capacitor [i.e., an energy storage system including a battery and ultracapacitor-based submodule, both of which contribute to DC/AC converter output (para 0008 – 0010)].
Regarding claim 4, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 3 where the non- isolated converter is directly connected to a resonant circuit that generates a voltage magnification [i.e., arms that terminates at buffer inductors interfacing a DC source (battery bus) with an AC utility output (para 0031), (para 0041)].
Regarding claim 5, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 1 further comprising a multi-state converter comprising a first H-bridge [i.e., each module comprises a half-bridge with an energy storage capacitor (para 0028 – para 0029)] sourcing an isolation transformer, the multi-state converter cascades the first modular converter [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010) and including a two-layer control architecture that independently regulates energy storage and submodule behavior (para 0035 – 0044)].
Regarding claim 6, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 5 where the isolation transformer includes a secondary that cascades a second H-bridge [i.e., each module comprises a half-bridge with an energy storage capacitor (para 0028 – para 0029)] in a dual active bridge that sources photovoltaic power [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010)].
Regarding claim 7, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of digital signal processors, where each digital signal processor determines a power level generated from the photovoltaic submodule and the energy storage system submodule [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010)].
Regarding claim 8, Guo discloses; an autonomous reconfigurable system [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010) and including a two-layer control architecture that independently regulates energy storage and submodule behavior (para 0035 – 0044)], comprising:
a plurality of arms [i.e., three-phase MMC topology in which each phase includes two arms, each arm comprising serially connected submodules (para 0008), (para 0010) and (para 0028 – 0033)] terminating at a plurality of inductors that form a plurality of circuits that source a direct current voltage output and an alternating current voltage output [i.e., arms that terminates at buffer inductors interfacing a DC source (battery bus) with an AC utility output (para 0031), (para 0041) Note; the MMC provides both DC and AC outputs];
an energy storage system submodule connected in series to the submodule and sourcing a second portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output [i.e., an energy storage system including a battery and ultracapacitor-based submodule, both of which contribute to DC/AC converter output (para 0008 – 0010)];
a submodule connected in series to the energy storage system submodule and sourcing a third portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output [i.e., a modular architecture in which different submodules may be placed in series in MMC arms (para 0028 – 0033)];
a central processor controller that determines a plurality of arm modulation indices and issues a plurality of reference power commands transmitted to a field programmable gate array controller [i.e., each module comprises a half-bridge with an energy storage capacitor (para 0028 – para 0029)]; the field programmable gate array controller in direct communication with the central processor disaggregates a plurality of variables monitored from each arm that form the plurality of circuits and issues commands to the photovoltaic submodule [i.e., direct coupling of submodule outputs into MMC arm nodes (para 0028 – para 0033)], the energy storage system, and the submodule through a plurality of digital signal processor controllers in continuity with the plurality of arms [i.e., submodules that include energy storage (ultracapacitor) directly coupled into MMC arms (para 0028 – para 0033) i.e., independent battery coupling into the DC bus (para 0008)]; and where each of the submodule and each of the energy storage system are separately controlled by a dedicated digital signal processor, respectively [i.e., medium/high-voltage operation of MMCs for AC utility system (para 0041)].
Guo does not disclose;
three-port circuit; a photovoltaic submodule sourcing a portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output; and a third modular converter directly couples the submodule in each arm of the plurality of arms.
However, Wang discloses;
three-port circuit [i.e., three-port architecture including a renewable port, a storage port, and a DC bus port (See Abstract and figure 2); a photovoltaic submodule sourcing a portion of the direct current voltage output and the alternating current voltage output [i.e., one port of the three-port converter is a renewable energy source, such as photovoltaic input (see Abstract and figure 2)]; and a third modular converter directly couples the submodule in each arm of the plurality of arms [i.e., additional ports in three-ports in three-port systems, allowing a third source to be integrated].
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Guo by adapting the teachings of Wang to control the power flow among the energy sources, batteries, load and utility grid in order to achieve the most economical and efficient electric supply (See Wang; col. 2, lines 33 – 35).
Regarding claim 9, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 8 where the central processor controller controls the arms output as an aggregate to maintain a grid-source stability without directly controlling or communicating with the photovoltaic submodule, the energy storage system submodule, and the submodule [i.e., three-phase MMC topology in which each phase includes two arms, each arm comprising serially connected submodules (para 0008), (para 0010) and (para 0028 – 0033)].
Regarding claim 10, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 9 where the field programmable gate array controller is programmed to balance a plurality of capacitor voltages sourced by each of the photovoltaic submodule, the energy storage system submodule, and the submodule [i.e., an energy storage system including a battery and ultracapacitor-based submodule, both of which contribute to DC/AC converter output (para 0008 – 0010)].
Regarding claim 11, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 8 where the plurality of digital signal processors control a current flow through each inductor that comprise the plurality of inductors [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010) and including a two-layer control architecture that independently regulates energy storage and submodule behavior (para 0035 – 0044)].
Regarding claim 12, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 11 where the plurality of digital signal processors generate a plurality of switching commands a dc-dc converter that interfaces the photovoltaic submodule [i.e., an autonomous modular multilevel converter (MMC) system capable of reconfiguring submodule operation as conditions change (para 0008 – 0010)].
Regarding claim 13, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 11 where a plurality of photovoltaic submodules, a plurality of energy storage system submodules, and a plurality of submodules form the plurality of arms by a series connection of photovoltaic submodules, energy storage system submodules, and submodules [i.e., an energy storage system including a battery and ultracapacitor-based submodule, both of which contribute to DC/AC converter output (para 0008 – 0010)].
Regarding claim 14, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 11 further comprising a neural network executed by the central processing unit controller that is trained to detect a cybersecurity command threat and a bad data [i.e., each module comprises a half-bridge with an energy storage capacitor (para 0028 – para 0029)].
Regarding claim 15, Guo discloses; the autonomous reconfigurable system of claim 14 where the neural network comprises a plurality of neural networks executing nonlinear autoregressive networks with exogenous inputs models that correlate a plurality of inputs to the arms to a plurality of outputs from a plurality of submodules that predict a plurality of operating states of each of the photovoltaic submodule [i.e., each module comprises a half-bridge with an energy storage capacitor (para 0028 – para 0029)], the energy storage system submodule, and the submodule that is processed to detect the cybersecurity command threat and the bad data [i.e., an energy storage system including a battery and ultracapacitor-based submodule, both of which contribute to DC/AC converter output (para 0008 – 0010)].
Conclusion
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/SYED A RONI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2432