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 .
The amendment filed on February 9, 2026 has been considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because box S602 and box enclosing S602, S602-1, S602-2, S603-3, S602-4, S601, and S603 in Fig. 6 should be provided with descriptive text labels (see MPEP 608.02(b)(II) FP 6.22).
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: ”610” (page 19, paragraph 7).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the enablement requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and/or use the invention.
Claim 1, the specification is not described in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to “calculate weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other”. “[C]alculate weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other” is disclosed in the specification (see page 6, paragraph 1; page 19, paragraph 7). However, the specification does not disclose, e.g., the relationships/equations/formulas between weights and grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections connected to each other to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to “calculate weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other”.
Prior Art Note
Claims 1-20 do not have prior art rejections.
The combination as claimed wherein a method for determining a power grid topology comprising calculate weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other (claim 1) is not disclosed, suggested, or made obvious by the prior art of record.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed February 9, 2026 have been fully considered.
Applicant’s arguments and amendments with respect to the objections to the specification have been fully considered and are persuasive. The objections to the specification have been withdrawn.
Applicant’s arguments and amendments with respect to objections to the drawings have been fully considered and are persuasive.
However, the remaining objections to drawings are maintained because box S602 and box enclosing S602, S602-1, S602-2, S603-3, S602-4, S601, and S603 in Fig. 6 should be provided with descriptive text labels (see MPEP 608.02(b)(II) FP 6.22).
Further, the drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description: ”610” (page 20, paragraph 2).
With respect to the rejections under 35 USC 112(a), Applicants argue “[t]he specification provides a detailed description of each of four different statistical evaluations that may be used to calculate the weights:
(1) Pearson Correlation, in at least 13:22-14:9 of the as-filed specification;
(2) LASSO(LARS), in at least 14:11-15:19 of the as-filed specification;
(3) Mutual Information, in at least 15:21-16:12 of the as-filed specification; and
(4) Conditional Independence, in at least 16:14-17:15 of the as-filed specification.
Each of these four statistical evaluations is independently capable of calculating the claimed weights. Accordingly, a person of ordinary skill in the art would be enabled by any one of these descriptions to "calculate weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other."”
Examiner’s position is that
(1) Pearson Correlation, in at least 13:22-14:9 of the as-filed specification;
(2) LASSO(LARS), in at least 14:11-15:19 of the as-filed specification;
(3) Mutual Information, in at least 15:21-16:12 of the as-filed specification; and
(4) Conditional Independence, in at least 16:14-17:15 of the as-filed specification
is silent about “calculate[ing] weights”. Particularly, there is no mention of “calculate[ing] weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other” in the above portions of the specification.
Accordingly, the portions of the specification above are not described in such a way as to enable one skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to “calculate weights indicating that grid busses of a section or of a segment comprising at least two adjacent sections are connected to each other”.
Applicant’s arguments and amendments with respect to the rejections under 35 USC 101 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections under 35 USC 101 have been withdrawn.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael Nghiem whose telephone number is (571) 272-2277. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Schechter can be reached at (571) 272-2302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
/MICHAEL P NGHIEM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857 May 16, 2026
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