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 .
Summary
This is the response to the RCE filed on 01/13/2026.
Claims 1-6 and 9-22 remain pending in the application.
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 final rejection. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/13/2026 has been entered.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation), Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) and Lee (KR20220099049 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 1, Surany discloses a system (figs. 10-19) for shading and environmental conditions management, the system comprising:
a base (main tube 210), wherein the base is operable to be provided at least partially within a substrate ([0111], positioned below the ground, as the claimed substrate),
a central support member 250 comprising a height, wherein at least a portion of the height telescopically retracts into the base (figs. 16a-16b),
a photovoltaic array 150 comprising a plurality of retractable and expandable photovoltaic elements 160 (figs. 11a-15b) provided at or proximal to an upper portion of the central support member (fig. 10), wherein the photovoltaic elements are operable to provide protection for agriculture (provide shading for crops [0069]) and to produce electrical energy (as is the intended function of the photovoltaic panels 160, [0108]);
a controller operable to at least one of retract and expand a photovoltaic element of the photovoltaic array (paragraph [0030] discloses that the photovoltaic panels 160 are electrically retracted and expanded and paragraph [0117] discloses the panels 160 are controlled to be expanded or contracted to provide optimum shade for a given crop; therefore, Surany implicitly discloses an electronic module, as the structural equivalence to the claimed controller, operable to at least one of retract and expand a photovoltaic element 160 of the photovoltaic array 150).
Surany discloses in paragraph [0036] mechanism to diffuse light and water onto crops and in paragraphs [0065 and 0078] the benefits of water irrigation system. However, Surany is silent regarding a fluid storage vessel disposed within the central support member configured to receive and house collected precipitation, sensor operable to determine at least one of ambient air temperature, humidity, moisture content of the substrate, light intensity, precipitation type, precipitation rate, barometric pressure, and wind speed and a rechargeable power module operable to convey power to at least one of the photovoltaic array, the sensor and the controller, wherein the rechargeable power module is further operable to receive current from the photovoltaic array.
Faris discloses an agricultural module and system comprising photovoltaic panel similarly to that of Surany; wherein, the system includes a water collecting mechanism with a fluid storage vessel (tank 20 for storing collected water, [0037] disposed within the central support member ([0037] integrated within the pedestal 16) to receive and house collected precipitation [0037]. Faris further discloses a rechargeable power module (paragraph [0049] and fig. 5A show the battery for storing energy generated by the photovoltaic panel). The system further includes a controller 50 is configured to perform sun tracking, integrated with water level sensors, integrated with weather reports, plant health date, energy collection date, energy storage data, battery health and light modulation [0052]. The controller receives power from the rechargeable power module [0049-0050, 0061]. The system further includes light sensor [0040], moisture sensor [0041] and water level sensors [0052].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany with the fluid storage vessel, the sensors, the controller and the rechargeable power module disclosed by Faris in order to store the power generated by the photovoltaic panels with the rechargeable power module, collecting water for irrigating plants with the fluid storage vessel, detecting moisture content and light intensity with the sensors and controller operable to direct the stored power to various electronic devices such as light for providing photonic energy to plants [0009].
Surany is silent regarding the pest mitigation system in the claimed manner.
Sun discloses a photovoltaic system comprising a base and central support member with the photovoltaic panel positioned at the upper portion of the central support member (fig. 1) similarly to that of Surany and Faris. Sun further discloses the system includes a pest mitigation system (insecticidal lamp 4) comprising an attractor element (low-temperature plasma generated by discharge and the phototactic excitatory effect of ultraviolet radiation to lure pets to the light lamp source) and a trap element (high-voltage killing net as the trap element). The insecticidal lamp 4 is in electrical communication with the photovoltaic array (powered by the photovoltaic array).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris with the pest mitigation system disclosed by Sun in order to attract and eliminate insects, which reduces the need of pesticides (Faris, [0004]).
Surany further discloses in figs. 16a-16b that the central support member 250 is retractable into the base 210 that is installed underground to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field in which the telescoping base is installed [0111]. Surany further discloses that the photovoltaic elements are removed when the central support member 250 is retracted into the base [0111]; therefore, Surany is silent regarding the photovoltaic elements are operable to at least partially retract into at least one of the central support member and the base.
Wang discloses a system comprising a photovoltaic array attached to a telescopic central support member 2 and a base 1b operable to be provided at least partially within a substrate 8 (fig. 1). Wang further discloses the photovoltaic elements are retractable and expandable (figs. 1-2) and are operable to at least partially retract into the base 1b (fig. 1).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify system of Surany with the base and configuring the photovoltaic elements to be retracted into the base as disclosed by Wang in order to store and protect the photovoltaic elements underground along with the central support when power generation is not needed (Wang, [0006]) or when there is a need to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field in which the telescoping base is installed as desired by Surany as disclosed in paragraph [0111]. In the modified system of Surany in view of Wang, the photovoltaic elements do not need to be removed when the central support is retracted into the base, the photovoltaic elements are retracted into the base and stored underground along with the central support when there is a need to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field.
Surany further discloses in figs. 6-9 graphical representations of estimate crop survival and optimize yield as well as the percentage of shading for soybeans during developmental stages. Surany is silent regarding at least one of machine learning and artificial intelligence features operable anticipatory actions, estimate crop survival, optimize yield, or control pests.
Lee discloses a system for shading and environmental conditions management for crop utilizing photovoltaic elements to provide shade for agriculture (figs. 1-6); wherein, artificial intelligence is utilized to estimate crop survival, optimize yield, or control pest while optimizing power generation [0005-0012].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany with the artificial intelligence disclosed by Lee in order to optimize crop grown, power generation and pest control (Lee, [0005-0012]).
Addressing claim 2, figs. 10-15b of Surany shows a plurality of overlapping photovoltaic panels that are individually outwardly extendable, retractable, and configurable with respect to at least one of one another and the central support member, wherein at least one of the panels comprise a V-shape.
Addressing claim 4, Surany discloses in paragraph [0117] that the photovoltaic assembly is deployed and extended in order to maximize beneficial shading, wind protection and hail protection of the crops positioned below the assemblies. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun by configuring the controller to deploy the photovoltaic panel member to optimize beneficial shading, wind protection and hail protection for the underlying crops based on the information from light and environmental sensors of Faris in order to optimize crop yield (Surany, [0117]).
Addressing claim 6, Faris discloses irrigating the plants with collected water in paragraph [0034], which implies the existence of an outlet operationally engaged with the fluid storage vessel to selectively distribute collected fluids as claimed.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation), Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) and Lee (KR20220099049 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 1-2, 4 and 6 above, and further in view of Paulus (US 2022/0149770).
Addressing claims 3 and 19, Surany discloses the individual panels 160 are slidably attached at an inner end to support pole 110 allowing the inner portion of each individual panel to be moved up and down [0108] with the path along which the inner portion of the individual panel as the structural equivalence to the claimed track member operable to retract and extend the photovoltaic array as a whole or individual panels.
Surany is silent regarding the track as motorized track.
Paulus discloses a photovoltaic array comprising a plurality of photovoltaic panels 114 that are motorized to be retracted and expanded relative to the tree trunk 104 [0167].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun with the known motor for actuating the movement of the photovoltaic panel along the central support member as disclosed by Paulus in order to obtain the predictable result of expanding and contracting the photovoltaic panels by moving the photovoltaic panels along their desired paths relative to the central support member (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation), Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) and Lee (KR20220099049 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 1-2, 4 and 6 above, and further in view of Feng (CN209472584 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 5, Wang discloses a lid 1a operable to seal the base 1b after the remaining elements of the system are retracted into the base (fig. 1). The photovoltaic array and other elements of the system are retracted into the base with the lid is closed in order to protect the system from bad weather [0016].
Wang is silent regarding the lid comprises a temperature sensor in operational communication with the controller to automatically selectively open the lid and extend components of the system.
Feng discloses sensors, including temperature sensor 5, wind speed sensor and humidity sensor 6, attached to the top end of the photovoltaic array and are connected to a controller for controlling deployment and retraction of the photovoltaic array [0040-0044].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Wang with the sensors of Feng attached to the lid, which is exposed to external environment, in order to determine whether it is safe to deploy the photovoltaic array (Feng, [0040-0044]). In the modified system of Surany in view of Wang and Feng, the lid is operable to seal the central support member, the photovoltaic array, pest mitigation system, sensor, controller and rechargeable battery module because the central support member, which includes the pest mitigation system, sensor, controller and rechargeable module, and the photovoltaic array are contained within the base as disclosed by Wang.
Claim(s) 9, 11, 13 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 9, Surany discloses a system (figs. 10-19) for shading and environmental conditions management, the system comprising:
a base (main tube 210), wherein the base is operable to be provided at least partially within a substrate ([0111], positioned below the ground, as the claimed substrate),
a central support member 250 comprising a height, wherein at least a portion of the height telescopically retracts into the base (figs. 16a-16b),
a photovoltaic array 150 comprising a plurality of retractable and expandable photovoltaic elements 160 (figs. 11a-15b) provided at or proximal to an upper portion of the central support member (fig. 10), wherein the photovoltaic elements are operable to provide protection for agriculture (provide shading for crops [0069]) and to produce electrical energy (as is the intended function of the photovoltaic panels 160, [0108]);
a controller operable to at least one of retract and expand a photovoltaic element of the photovoltaic array (paragraph [0030] discloses that the photovoltaic panels 160 are electrically retracted and expanded and paragraph [0117] discloses the panels 160 are controlled to be expanded or contracted to provide optimum shade for a given crop; therefore, Surany implicitly discloses an electronic module, as the structural equivalence to the claimed controller, operable to at least one of retract and expand a photovoltaic element 160 of the photovoltaic array 150).
Surany discloses in paragraph [0036] mechanism to diffuse light and water onto crops and in paragraphs [0065 and 0078] the benefits of water irrigation system. However, Surany is silent regarding a fluid storage vessel disposed within the central support member configured to receive and house collected precipitation, sensor operable to determine at least one of ambient air temperature, humidity, moisture content of the substrate, light intensity, precipitation type, precipitation rate, barometric pressure, and wind speed and a rechargeable power module operable to convey power to at least one of the photovoltaic array, the sensor and the controller, wherein the rechargeable power module is further operable to receive current from the photovoltaic array.
Faris discloses an agricultural module and system comprising photovoltaic panel similarly to that of Surany; wherein, the system includes a water collecting mechanism with a fluid storage vessel (tank 20 for storing collected water, [0037] disposed within the central support member ([0037] integrated within the pedestal 16) to receive and house collected precipitation [0037]. Faris further discloses a rechargeable power module (paragraph [0049] and fig. 5A show the battery for storing energy generated by the photovoltaic panel). The system further includes a controller 50 is configured to perform sun tracking, integrated with water level sensors, integrated with weather reports, plant health date, energy collection date, energy storage data, battery health and light modulation [0052]. The controller receives power from the rechargeable power module [0049-0050, 0061]. The system further includes light sensor [0040], moisture sensor [0041] and water level sensors [0052].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany with the fluid storage vessel, the sensors, the controller and the rechargeable power module disclosed by Faris in order to store the power generated by the photovoltaic panels with the rechargeable power module, collecting water for irrigating plants with the fluid storage vessel, detecting moisture content and light intensity with the sensors and controller operable to direct the stored power to various electronic devices such as light for providing photonic energy to plants [0009].
Surany further discloses in figs. 16a-16b that the central support member 250 is retractable into the base 210 that is installed underground to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field in which the telescoping base is installed [0111]. Surany further discloses that the photovoltaic elements are removed when the central support member 250 is retracted into the base [0111]; therefore, Surany is silent regarding the photovoltaic elements are operable to at least partially retract into at least one of the central support member and the base.
Wang discloses a system comprising a photovoltaic array attached to a telescopic central support member 2 and a base 1b operable to be provided at least partially within a substrate 8 (fig. 1). Wang further discloses the photovoltaic elements are retractable and expandable (figs. 1-2) and are operable to at least partially retract into the base 1b (fig. 1).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify system of Surany with the base and configuring the photovoltaic elements to be retracted into the base as disclosed by Wang in order to store and protect the photovoltaic elements underground along with the central support when power generation is not needed (Wang, [0006]) or when there is a need to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field in which the telescoping base is installed as desired by Surany as disclosed in paragraph [0111]. In the modified system of Surany in view of Wang, the photovoltaic elements do not need to be removed when the central support is retracted into the base, the photovoltaic elements are retracted into the base and stored underground along with the central support when there is a need to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field.
Addressing claim 11, figs. 10-15b of Surany shows a plurality of overlapping photovoltaic panels that are individually outwardly extendable, retractable, and configurable with respect to at least one of one another and the central support member, wherein at least one of the panels comprise a V-shape.
Addressing claim 13, Surany discloses in paragraph [0117] that the photovoltaic assembly is deployed and extended in order to maximize beneficial shading, wind protection and hail protection of the crops positioned below the assemblies. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun by configuring the controller to deploy the photovoltaic panel member to optimize beneficial shading, wind protection and hail protection.
Addressing claim 15, Faris discloses irrigating the plants with collected water in paragraph [0034], which implies the existence of an outlet operationally engaged with the fluid storage vessel to selectively distribute collected fluids as claimed.
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 9, 11, 13 and 15 above, and further in view of Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 10, Surany is silent regarding the pest mitigation system in the claimed manner.
Sun discloses a photovoltaic system comprising a base and central support member with the photovoltaic panel positioned at the upper portion of the central support member (fig. 1) similarly to that of Surany and Faris. Sun further discloses the system includes a pest mitigation system (insecticidal lamp 4) comprising an attractor element (low-temperature plasma generated by discharge and the phototactic excitatory effect of ultraviolet radiation to lure pets to the light lamp source) and a trap element (high-voltage killing net as the trap element). The insecticidal lamp 4 is in electrical communication with the photovoltaic array (powered by the photovoltaic array).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris with the pest mitigation system disclosed by Sun in order to attract and eliminate insects, which reduces the need of pesticides (Faris, [0004]).
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 9, 11, 13 and 15 above, and further in view of Paulus (US 2022/0149770).
Addressing claim 12, Surany discloses the individual panels 160 are slidably attached at an inner end to support pole 110 allowing the inner portion of each individual panel to be moved up and down [0108] with the path along which the inner portion of the individual panel as the structural equivalence to the claimed track member operable to retract and extend the photovoltaic array as a whole or individual panels.
Surany is silent regarding the track as motorized track.
Paulus discloses a photovoltaic array comprising a plurality of photovoltaic panels 114 that are motorized to be retracted and expanded relative to the tree trunk 104 [0167].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun with the known motor for actuating the movement of the photovoltaic panel along the central support member as disclosed by Paulus in order to obtain the predictable result of expanding and contracting the photovoltaic panels by moving the photovoltaic panels along their desired paths relative to the central support member (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 9, 11, 13 and 15 above, and further in view of Feng (CN209472584 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 14, Wang discloses a lid 1a operable to seal the base 1b after the remaining elements of the system are retracted into the base (fig. 1). The photovoltaic array and other elements of the system are retracted into the base with the lid is closed in order to protect the system from bad weather [0016].
Wang is silent regarding the lid comprises a temperature sensor in operational communication with the controller to automatically selectively open the lid and extend components of the system.
Feng discloses sensors, including temperature sensor 5, wind speed sensor and humidity sensor 6, attached to the top end of the photovoltaic array and are connected to a controller for controlling deployment and retraction of the photovoltaic array [0040-0044].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Wang with the sensors of Feng attached to the lid, which is exposed to external environment, in order to determine whether it is safe to deploy the photovoltaic array (Feng, [0040-0044]).
Claim(s) 16-18 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claims 16-17, Surany discloses a system (figs. 10-19) for shading and environmental conditions management, the system comprising:
a base (main tube 210), wherein the base is operable to be provided at least partially within a substrate ([0111], positioned below the ground, as the claimed substrate),
a central support member 250 comprising a height, wherein at least a portion of the height telescopically retracts into the base (figs. 16a-16b),
a photovoltaic array 150 comprising a plurality of retractable and expandable photovoltaic elements 160 (figs. 11a-15b) provided at or proximal to an upper portion of the central support member (fig. 10), wherein the photovoltaic elements are operable to provide protection for agriculture (provide shading for crops [0069]) and to produce electrical energy (as is the intended function of the photovoltaic panels 160, [0108]);
a controller operable to at least one of retract and expand a photovoltaic element of the photovoltaic array (paragraph [0030] discloses that the photovoltaic panels 160 are electrically retracted and expanded and paragraph [0117] discloses the panels 160 are controlled to be expanded or contracted to provide optimum shade for a given crop; therefore, Surany implicitly discloses an electronic module, as the structural equivalence to the claimed controller, operable to at least one of retract and expand a photovoltaic element 160 of the photovoltaic array 150).
Surany discloses in paragraph [0036] mechanism to diffuse light and water onto crops and in paragraphs [0065 and 0078] the benefits of water irrigation system. However, Surany is silent regarding a fluid storage vessel disposed within the central support member configured to receive and house collected precipitation, sensor operable to determine at least one of ambient air temperature, humidity, moisture content of the substrate, light intensity, precipitation type, precipitation rate, barometric pressure, and wind speed and a rechargeable power module operable to convey power to at least one of the photovoltaic array, the sensor and the controller, wherein the rechargeable power module is further operable to receive current from the photovoltaic array.
Faris discloses an agricultural module and system comprising photovoltaic panel similarly to that of Surany; wherein, the system includes a water collecting mechanism with a fluid storage vessel (tank 20 for storing collected water, [0037] disposed within the central support member ([0037] integrated within the pedestal 16) to receive and house collected precipitation [0037]. Faris further discloses a rechargeable power module (paragraph [0049] and fig. 5A show the battery for storing energy generated by the photovoltaic panel). The system further includes a controller 50 is configured to perform sun tracking, integrated with water level sensors, integrated with weather reports, plant health date, energy collection date, energy storage data, battery health and light modulation [0052]. The controller receives power from the rechargeable power module [0049-0050, 0061]. The system further includes light sensor [0040], moisture sensor [0041] and water level sensors [0052].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany with the fluid storage vessel, the sensors, the controller and the rechargeable power module disclosed by Faris in order to store the power generated by the photovoltaic panels with the rechargeable power module, collecting water for irrigating plants with the fluid storage vessel, detecting moisture content and light intensity with the sensors and controller operable to direct the stored power to various electronic devices such as light for providing photonic energy to plants [0009].
Surany is silent regarding the pest mitigation system in the claimed manner.
Sun discloses a photovoltaic system comprising a base and central support member with the photovoltaic panel positioned at the upper portion of the central support member (fig. 1) similarly to that of Surany and Faris. Sun further discloses the system includes a pest mitigation system (insecticidal lamp 4) comprising an attractor element (low-temperature plasma generated by discharge and the phototactic excitatory effect of ultraviolet radiation to lure pets to the light lamp source) and a trap element (high-voltage killing net as the trap element). The insecticidal lamp 4 is in electrical communication with the photovoltaic array (powered by the photovoltaic array).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris with the pest mitigation system disclosed by Sun in order to attract and eliminate insects, which reduces the need of pesticides (Faris, [0004]).
Surany further discloses in figs. 16a-16b that the central support member 250 is retractable into the base 210 that is installed underground to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field in which the telescoping base is installed [0111]. Surany further discloses that the photovoltaic elements are removed when the central support member 250 is retracted into the base [0111]; therefore, Surany is silent regarding the photovoltaic elements are operable to at least partially retract into at least one of the central support member and the base.
Wang discloses a system comprising a photovoltaic array attached to a telescopic central support member 2 and a base 1b operable to be provided at least partially within a substrate 8 (fig. 1). Wang further discloses the photovoltaic elements are retractable and expandable (figs. 1-2) and are operable to at least partially retract into the base 1b (fig. 1).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify system of Surany with the base and configuring the photovoltaic elements to be retracted into the base as disclosed by Wang in order to store and protect the photovoltaic elements underground along with the central support when power generation is not needed (Wang, [0006]) or when there is a need to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field in which the telescoping base is installed as desired by Surany as disclosed in paragraph [0111]. In the modified system of Surany in view of Wang, the photovoltaic elements do not need to be removed when the central support is retracted into the base, the photovoltaic elements are retracted into the base and stored underground along with the central support when there is a need to not interfere with a plow or other equipment operating in the crop field.
Addressing claim 18, figs. 10-15b of Surany shows a plurality of overlapping photovoltaic panels that are individually outwardly extendable, retractable, and configurable with respect to at least one of one another and the central support member, wherein at least one of the panels comprise a V-shape.
Addressing claim 22, Faris discloses irrigating the plants with collected water in paragraph [0034], which implies the existence of an outlet operationally engaged with the fluid storage vessel to selectively distribute collected fluids as claimed.
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 16-18 and 22 above, and further in view of Paulus (US 2022/0149770).
Addressing claim 19, Surany discloses the individual panels 160 are slidably attached at an inner end to support pole 110 allowing the inner portion of each individual panel to be moved up and down [0108] with the path along which the inner portion of the individual panel as the structural equivalence to the claimed track member operable to retract and extend the photovoltaic array as a whole or individual panels.
Surany is silent regarding the track as motorized track.
Paulus discloses a photovoltaic array comprising a plurality of photovoltaic panels 114 that are motorized to be retracted and expanded relative to the tree trunk 104 [0167].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun with the known motor for actuating the movement of the photovoltaic panel along the central support member as disclosed by Paulus in order to obtain the predictable result of expanding and contracting the photovoltaic panels by moving the photovoltaic panels along their desired paths relative to the central support member (Rationale B, KSR decision, MPEP 2143)
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 16-18 and 22 above, and further in view of Novak et al. (US 2023/015424).
Addressing claim 20, Surany discloses in paragraph [0117] that the photovoltaic assembly is deployed and extended in order to maximize beneficial shading, wind protection and hail protection of the crops positioned below the assemblies. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date of the invention to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun by configuring the controller to deploy the photovoltaic panel member to optimize beneficial shading, wind protection and hail protection for the underlying crops based on the information from light and environmental sensors of Faris in order to optimize crop yield (Surany, [0117]).
Surany and Faris are silent regarding the system is operable to collect and gather data related to its own operations then learn to initiate and control at least one of further functions and actions based on past responses to external stimuli and information received from the sensor.
Novak discloses a system comprising retractable and expandable photovoltaic arrays similarly to that of Surany; wherein, the system further comprises artificial intelligence software that is configured to collect and gather data related to its own operations (collected statistics for optimal operating modes) then learn to initiate and control at least one of further functions and actions based on past responses to external stimuli and information (forecasts, trained on a series of model situations, learns on real data, input data consists of geographical locations, geolocation data, relief, periodic data on weather as disclosed in paragraph [0092]).
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Faris and Sun with the software including the artificial intelligence disclosed by Novak in order to predict future operations of the system based on collected data, including input from the aforementioned sensors, in order to optimize operating conditions (Novak, [0092]).
Claim(s) 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Surany (US 2019/0159407) in view of Faris (US 2005/0091916), Sun (CN108667409 with provided machine English translation) and Wang (CN112332769 with provided machine English translation) as applied to claims 16-18 and 22 above, and further in view of Feng (CN209472584 with provided machine English translation).
Addressing claim 21, Wang discloses a lid 1a operable to seal the base 1b after the remaining elements of the system are retracted into the base (fig. 1). The photovoltaic array and other elements of the system are retracted into the base with the lid is closed in order to protect the system from bad weather [0016].
Wang is silent regarding the lid comprises a temperature sensor in operational communication with the controller to automatically selectively open the lid and extend components of the system.
Feng discloses sensors, including temperature sensor 5, wind speed sensor and humidity sensor 6, attached to the top end of the photovoltaic array and are connected to a controller for controlling deployment and retraction of the photovoltaic array [0040-0044].
At the time of the effective filing date of the invention, one with ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to modify the system of Surany in view of Wang with the sensors of Feng attached to the lid, which is exposed to external environment, in order to determine whether it is safe to deploy the photovoltaic array (Feng, [0040-0044]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-6 and 9-22 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/BACH T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1726 02/10/2026