DETAILED ACTION
The present application is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . 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.
This Office Action is in response Applicant communication filed on 5/18/2026.
Claims
Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 12, and 13 have been amended.
Claims 5, 7, and 11 has been cancelled.
Claims 1-4, 6, 8-10, 12, and 13 are currently pending in the application.
Response to Arguments
101
The examiner has considered all of the applicant's 101 arguments and withdraws the previous 101 rejection due to the amended claims being directed to an improvement in the production of renewable electric power. The additional elements in claims 1 and 13 include "in exchange for the power reservation token, causing the specific power to be supplied by a supply device of an energy type specified by the power reservation token and that supplies the specific power to a grid form which a demand device consumes an amount of power based on the specific power specified by the power reservation token". By using the power reservation token to cause specific power to be supplied by a supply device, it allows a power generation company to sell electric power in advance without taking a risk about instability of power generation that is inevitable when using renewable energy. Therefore the supply and demand can be matched in advance which allows efficient operations to be performed as recited in the specification.
103
The applicant argues that Mitch does not disclose “determining a result token satisfaction rate as a ratio of the actual amount of the specific power supplied in relation to an amount of power specified in the power reservation token, the satisfaction rate indicative of an accuracy in predicting an ability to supply the specific power” as recited in amended claims 1 and 13 (see applicant’s arguments/remarks pages 18-23).
However the examiner respectfully disagrees. Mitch in section [0056] discloses that a "reserve preferred energy token" is used to reserve an amount of preferred energy by a local distributor. Further, Mitch in section [0058] discloses that a preferred generation entity delivers all or a discrete part of the energy subject to the reserve preferred energy token. Furthermore, Mitch in section [0061] discloses that the local distributer claims an amount of the preferred energy that was reserved earlier and a GUI tool is provided that expresses the percentage of claimed preferred energy of the reserved preferred energy for each local distributor entity. This tool of Mitch that provides the percentage of claimed preferred energy of the reserved preferred energy reads on the limitation "determining a result token satisfaction rate as a ratio (e.g. percentage) of the actual amount of the specific power supplied (e.g. claimed preferred energy) in relation to an amount of power (e.g. reserved preferred energy) specified in the power reservation token (e.g. reserve preferred energy token), the satisfaction rate indicative of an accuracy in prediction an ability to supply the specific power". Note: the limitation "the satisfaction rate indicative of an accuracy in prediction an ability to supply the specific power" does not distinguish over the prior art because it is describing the intended use of the satisfaction rate. The description of the satisfaction rate does not affect how the satisfaction rate is determined in a manipulative sense.
112
The previous 112 rejection are withdrawn due to the claim amendments and the cancelled claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 8-10, 12, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as disclosed by US 20230134095 A1 to Mitch.
Per claims 1 and 13, Mitch discloses a system and method comprising:
one or more processors configured by executable instructions to perform operations including: (e.g. Control system 200 includes an input/output device 201, a memory device 203, long-term data storage device 205, and processor(s) 207. The processor(s) 207 is (are) capable of receiving, interpreting, processing and manipulating signals and executing instructions for further processing and for output, pre-output and/or storage in and outside of the system) (Section [0045] and [0046]);
receiving a power reservation token that provides a right to use power corresponding to specific power that is provided by generating power using a specific type of energy (e.g. in some embodiments, promissory tokens are issued by the control system and/or user(s), and recorded on a blockchain, to govern the provision of preferred energy at a future time. In some embodiments, such a control system, which may be a control system as that set forth with reference to FIG. 2, below, may be included within energy sourcing and distribution environment 100) and (e.g. Beginning with example step 401, in some embodiments, the control system may begin by receiving a promise by a local distributor entity, such as any of local distributor entities 107 or example local distributor entity 451, to purchase preferred energy. In some embodiments, this promise is received in the form of a promissory token, as discussed above, issued, transmitted and recorded on the blockchain 450 (e.g., by the local distributor entity). Such a promissory token may be referred to as a “reserve preferred energy token” (or, in some instances in this application, as an “RPE token”). In some embodiments, a reserve preferred energy token may include data indicating an amount of preferred energy to be purchased, in a unit of measure (e.g., Kilowatts or Watts Peak)) (Sections [0017], [0041], [0042], [0044], [0055]-[0057], and [0061]);
in exchange for the power reservation token, causing the specific power to be supplied by a supply device of an energy type specified by the power reservation token and that supplies the specific power to a grid from which a demand device consumes an amount of power based on the specific power specified by the power reservation token (e.g. Next, in step 403, after the preferred energy generation entity 452 delivers all or a discrete part of the energy subject to the confirm reserve preferred energy token, the preferred energy generation entity 452 may use the control system to create, transmit and sign (a.k.a., “issue”) another token to blockchain 450, evidencing the amount of energy, and a recipient of that energy, referred to as a “delivered preferred energy token.” Preferably, if more than one entity (e.g., wholesale distributor) received that part of the energy, a separate delivered preferred energy token is so created and transmitted onto the blockchain for each amount of energy, and the recipient thereof. Also preferably, each of such tokens specifies the amount of energy (and units thereof) delivered to the entity, the identity of the entity, and a timestamp) and (e.g. In some embodiments, this step is carried out, at least in part, by the local distributor entity 451 issuing and/or transmitting a token evidencing its claim of that amount of preferred power and readiness to receive that preferred power—a.k.a., a “claim preferred energy token.” Once the control system records the claim preferred energy token on the blockchain 450, a receiving wholesale distributor entity, such as example receiving wholesale distributor entity 453, which may be any of the wholesale regional distributor entities 105, discussed above, may then deliver the claimed amount of preferred energy to the local distributor entity 451. In some embodiments, the amount of energy stated in the claim preferred energy token must be less than or equal to the reserve preferred energy tokens initially transmitted by the local distributor entity. In other words, the local distributor entity 451 would not be permitted to claim more preferred energy in a single supply chain cycle, than it had reserved earlier, in step 401, in such embodiments) (Sections [0056]-[0059], [0061], and [0094]-[0097]);
issuing a result token indicating an actual amount of the specific power supplied in exchange for the power reservation token, the actual amount of the specific power determined based at least on energy usage information received from a smart meter that is associated with the supply device (e.g. Next, in step 403, after the preferred energy generation entity 452 delivers all or a discrete part of the energy subject to the confirm reserve preferred energy token, the preferred energy generation entity 452 may use the control system to create, transmit and sign (a.k.a., “issue”) another token to blockchain 450, evidencing the amount of energy, and a recipient of that energy, referred to as a “delivered preferred energy token.” Preferably, if more than one entity (e.g., wholesale distributor) received that part of the energy, a separate delivered preferred energy token is so created and transmitted onto the blockchain for each amount of energy, and the recipient thereof. Also preferably, each of such tokens specifies the amount of energy (and units thereof) delivered to the entity, the identity of the entity, and a timestamp) and (e.g. For example, user interface 809 may include a secure metering device (“SMD”), such as example first SMD 811, in some embodiments. In some embodiments, first SMD 811 is an energy metering device including computer hardware and software, with cryptographic capability(ies)) (Sections [0058], [0061]-[0063], [0113], and [0114]);
determining a result token satisfaction rate as a ratio of the actual amount of the specific power supplied in relation to an amount of power specified in the power reservation token, the satisfaction rate indicative of an accuracy in predicting an ability to supply the specific power (e.g. Beginning with example step 401, in some embodiments, the control system may begin by receiving a promise by a local distributor entity, such as any of local distributor entities 107 or example local distributor entity 451, to purchase preferred energy. In some embodiments, this promise is received in the form of a promissory token, as discussed above, issued, transmitted and recorded on the blockchain 450 (e.g., by the local distributor entity). Such a promissory token may be referred to as a “reserve preferred energy token” (or, in some instances in this application, as an “RPE token”). In some embodiments, a reserve preferred energy token may include data indicating an amount of preferred energy to be purchased, in a unit of measure (e.g., Kilowatts or Watts Peak)) and (e.g. In some embodiments, the amount of energy stated in the claim preferred energy token must be less than or equal to the reserve preferred energy tokens initially transmitted by the local distributor entity. In other words, the local distributor entity 451 would not be permitted to claim more preferred energy in a single supply chain cycle, than it had reserved earlier, in step 401, in such embodiments. In some embodiments, the local distributor entity 451 may, however, be permitted to claim less preferred energy than it had so reserved. In some such embodiments, a governance smart contract may determine a permitted amount of variance between reserved and claimed amounts of such preferred energy, as discussed further below. In some embodiments, users may be provided with a GUI tool expressing the percentage of claimed preferred energy of the reserved preferred energy, for each local distributor entity) (Section [0056], [0059], and [0061]-[0064]).
Note: the limitation “the satisfaction rate indicative of an accuracy in predicting an ability to supply the specific power” does not distinguish over the prior art because it is describing the satisfaction rate and its intended use which does not affect the steps/functions of the claims in a manipulative sense. In other words, the result token satisfaction rate is determined the same way (e.g. as a ratio of the actual amount of the specific power supplied in relation to an amount of power specified in the power reservation token) regardless of its use.
Per claim 2, Mitch discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Mitch further discloses:
wherein the result token includes an identifier for specifying the specific type of energy, a time when power corresponding to the specific power is used, and an amount of power that is used corresponding to the specific power used (e.g. In some embodiments, the confirm buy preferred energy token may include any or all of the following information, in any possible combination or partial combination thereof and/or of other information: (i) a cryptographic hash of the corresponding buy preferred energy token; (ii) an address of a local distributor entity that delivered the preferred energy; (iii) data concerning the amount of preferred energy delivered to the power consumer (in some embodiments, only if the amount is less than that indicated in the buy preferred energy token); (iv) a timestamp; and (v) a digital signature, using a public/private cryptographic key pair of the power consumer 651) (Section [0097]).
Per claim 8, Mitch discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Mitch further discloses:
wherein the power reservation token includes an amount of available power, the operations further comprising dividing the power reservation token and transferring the divided power reservation token to two or more entities (e.g. In subsequent step 405, once a particular number of confirm delivered preferred energy tokens have been issued and/or transmitted to the blockchain 450, by the wholesale entity, the corresponding local distribution entity(ies), such as local distributor entity 451, can then claim the amount of preferred power (“green energy”) subject to the tokens, using the control system. In some embodiments, this step is carried out, at least in part, by the local distributor entity 451 issuing and/or transmitting a token evidencing its claim of that amount of preferred power and readiness to receive that preferred power—a.k.a., a “claim preferred energy token.” Once the control system records the claim preferred energy token on the blockchain 450, a receiving wholesale distributor entity, such as example receiving wholesale distributor entity 453, which may be any of the wholesale regional distributor entities 105, discussed above, may then deliver the claimed amount of preferred energy to the local distributor entity 451. In some embodiments, the amount of energy stated in the claim preferred energy token must be less than or equal to the reserve preferred energy tokens initially transmitted by the local distributor entity. In other words, the local distributor entity 451 would not be permitted to claim more preferred energy in a single supply chain cycle, than it had reserved earlier, in step 401, in such embodiments) (Section [0061]);
wherein a sum of available power amounts in the divided power reservation token is equal to or less than an available power amount in the power reservation token before the division (e.g. In subsequent step 405, once a particular number of confirm delivered preferred energy tokens have been issued and/or transmitted to the blockchain 450, by the wholesale entity, the corresponding local distribution entity(ies), such as local distributor entity 451, can then claim the amount of preferred power (“green energy”) subject to the tokens, using the control system. In some embodiments, this step is carried out, at least in part, by the local distributor entity 451 issuing and/or transmitting a token evidencing its claim of that amount of preferred power and readiness to receive that preferred power—a.k.a., a “claim preferred energy token.” Once the control system records the claim preferred energy token on the blockchain 450, a receiving wholesale distributor entity, such as example receiving wholesale distributor entity 453, which may be any of the wholesale regional distributor entities 105, discussed above, may then deliver the claimed amount of preferred energy to the local distributor entity 451. In some embodiments, the amount of energy stated in the claim preferred energy token must be less than or equal to the reserve preferred energy tokens initially transmitted by the local distributor entity. In other words, the local distributor entity 451 would not be permitted to claim more preferred energy in a single supply chain cycle, than it had reserved earlier, in step 401, in such embodiments) (Sections [0058], [0061], and [0062]).
Per claim 9, Mitch discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Mitch further discloses:
wherein the power transaction system is available at any power reception point (e.g. In various embodiments, preferred energy generation entities 103, wholesale regional distributor entities 105, local distributor entities 107; and local consumers 109 may be any type of such users, including but not limited to energy producing and consuming entities and/or individuals, as will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, in some embodiments, local consumers 109 may include individual or household residential consumers of energy, from other users of the control system (such as an electrical power utility company). In some embodiments, such local consumers 109 may be organized in local communities, such as example local user community 111, and any number of such communities, up to and including an Nth local user community 113) (Section [0043]).
Per claim 10, Mitch discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Mitch further discloses:
wherein the specific type of energy includes at least one of solar power, wind power, wave power, geothermal power, natural gas, fossil fuel, hydraulic power, and nuclear power (e.g. Also similarly, preferred energy generators 103 may include any number of sub-types and entities within each sub-type, such as example nuclear power generating entities 119, example wind power generating entities 121 and example solar power generating entities 123) (Section [0043]).
Per claim 12, Mitch discloses all the limitations of claim 1 above. Mitch further discloses:
further comprising a demand system, including the demand device, wherein the demand system acquires the power reservation token and receives a supply of power for the demand device in exchange for the power reservation token (e.g. n some embodiments, this step is carried out, at least in part, by the local distributor entity 451 issuing and/or transmitting a token evidencing its claim of that amount of preferred power and readiness to receive that preferred power—a.k.a., a “claim preferred energy token.” Once the control system records the claim preferred energy token on the blockchain 450, a receiving wholesale distributor entity, such as example receiving wholesale distributor entity 453, which may be any of the wholesale regional distributor entities 105, discussed above, may then deliver the claimed amount of preferred energy to the local distributor entity 451) (Section [0061] and [0066]).
Rejections under 35 § U.S.C. 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 of this title, 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 4, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitch, as applied to claim 1 above, in further view of US 20150356529 A1 (“Drake”).
Per claim 3, Although Mitch discloses a power reservation token used to exchange for power, Mitch does not specifically disclose:
wherein the power reservation token includes a limit token in which a date and time when the specific power can be used is designated in advance, and a general-purpose token in which a date and time when the specific power can be used is not designated in advance.
However Drake, in analogous art of token redemption, discloses:
wherein the power reservation token includes a limit token in which a date and time when the specific power can be used is designated in advance, and a general-purpose token in which a date and time when the specific power can be used is not designated in advance (e.g. in one implementation, redemption server 330 will expire token 331 after a predetermined time has passed after redemption server 330 transmitted token 331 to user device 310 if user device 310 does not use token 331 to redeem the media content. For another example, in a second implementation, redemption server 330 will expire token 331 when user device 310 uses token 331 to redeem the media content from retailer 370. In each implementation, redemption server 330 may store a database of the expired tokens so that redemption server 330 does not transmit an expired token to another user device) (Section [0045]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the power reservation token of Mitch to include an expiration date of when the token can be redeemed, as taught by Drake, in order to achieve the predictable result of encouraging user engagement, managing token circulation, and enhancing security.
Per claim 4, Mitch/Drake discloses all the limitations of claim 3 above. Drake further discloses:
wherein the limit token includes a limit token with cancellation condition in which power is not supplied under a predetermined condition and a limit token without cancellation in which power is supplied regardless of the predetermined condition (e.g. in one implementation, redemption server 330 will expire token 331 after a predetermined time has passed after redemption server 330 transmitted token 331 to user device 310 if user device 310 does not use token 331 to redeem the media content. For another example, in a second implementation, redemption server 330 will expire token 331 when user device 310 uses token 331 to redeem the media content from retailer 370. In each implementation, redemption server 330 may store a database of the expired tokens so that redemption server 330 does not transmit an expired token to another user device) (Section [0045]).
The motivation to combine Drake with Mitch is disclosed above with reference to claim 3.
Per claim 6, Mitch discloses all the limitations of claim 5 above. Mitch further discloses:
…and an available power amount are designated in advance (e.g. For example, in some embodiments, any of preferred energy generator entities 103 may view a GUI element presented on computer hardware of the control system, presenting information related to the demand for preferred energy. As discussed, such information related to demand, and/or contracted delivery times for preferred energy, may be based on promissory tokens recorded on a blockchain, with which the control system is in communication. Based on that information, in some embodiments, such preferred energy generator entities 103 may then plan for and provide an amount of preferred energy to be produced at times in the future) (Section [0044]);
the operations further comprise performing an evaluation based on a sum of power generation capacity of the supply device and a power amount issued at a same use date and time (e.g. Based on that information, in some embodiments, such preferred energy generator entities 103 may then plan for and provide an amount of preferred energy to be produced at times in the future. For example, in some embodiments, the preferred energy generator entities 103 may view the number of promissory tokens evidencing an amount of a particular type of preferred energy required to be delivered at a particular point in time (e.g., solar energy, required for delivery in a pre-set amount of time, such as three hours), and set aside capacity to meet that obligation. In some embodiments, government(s) and/or industry consortium(s) may also be user(s) of the control system, and may adjust parameters of smart contracts to which they are a party, on such a blockchain, in reaction to such information, which they may similarly view through the control system. In this sense, promissory tokens may serve as evidence of levels of demand for preferred energy and/or particular types thereof, downstream in the energy production and distribution supply chain) (Section [0044], [0056], [0058], and [0116]).
Although Mitch discloses a power reservation token used to exchange for power in which the power reservation token includes the amount of preferred energy to be produced at times in the future so that the power suppliers can reserve the capacity in advance, Mitch does not specifically disclose:
the power reservation token includes a limit token in which a use date and time at which the specific power can be used….
However Drake, in analogous art of token redemption, discloses:
the power reservation token includes a limit token in which a use date and time at which the specific power can be used… (e.g. in one implementation, redemption server 330 will expire token 331 after a predetermined time has passed after redemption server 330 transmitted token 331 to user device 310 if user device 310 does not use token 331 to redeem the media content. For another example, in a second implementation, redemption server 330 will expire token 331 when user device 310 uses token 331 to redeem the media content from retailer 370. In each implementation, redemption server 330 may store a database of the expired tokens so that redemption server 330 does not transmit an expired token to another user device) (Section [0045]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the power reservation token of Mitch to include an expiration date of when the token can be redeemed, as taught by Drake, in order to achieve the predictable result of encouraging user engagement, managing token circulation, and enhancing security.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY SAX whose telephone number is 571-272-2935. The Examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8-4:30. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Patrick McAtee can be reached at (571) 272-7575.
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/TPS/
Examiner, Art Unit 3698
/PATRICK MCATEE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3698
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