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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 3-4, 8 and 10-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species/Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 8/27/2025.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 5-7 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Renken (US 11,614,091) in view of Eguchi (US20040178773).
Claim 1: Renken discloses a mobile compressor startup drive (Figs. 1-2) comprising a generator (166B); an inverter (168); and a power bank (164). Renken is not explicit about the details of a charger, that the generator is rated to supply a steady-state current required by a compressor, that said power bank provides an additional current through said inverter to said compressor to meet an inrush current demand of said compressor during startup of said compressor and that said charger is configured to recharge said power bank. However, Eguchi teaches a portable generator arrangement (paragraph 4) in which a generator (1) is rated to supply a steady-state current (paragraph 27) required by an electric motor (see paragraph 4, note “electric motor”), and a power bank (5) provides an additional current through an inverter (3) to said motor to meet an inrush current demand of said motor (paragraphs 13, 17, 29, 47) during startup of said electric motor (paragraph 4, “when a load by which a large electric current temporarily flows…of an electric motor and the like are started”) and that a charger (2) is configured to recharge said power bank (23; see paragraphs 13, 23). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to a skilled artisan to upgrade the arrangement of Renken with the teachings of Eguchi in order to replenish (via a battery assist) the deficiency of electric power from a generator when its power is insufficient for a particular task (see paragraph 2).
Claim 2: Renken and Eguchi teach the previous limitations. Modified Renken further discloses a variable frequency drive (120, see col. 9, line 67) to electrically power an electric motor (120) of said compressor, which drive could accept said steady-state current and said additional current taught by Eguchi.
Claim 5: Renken and Eguchi teach the previous limitations. While not explicit about said inverter and said charger formed integrally into single unit, such omission is immaterial as it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to form both elements into a joint unit, since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. Howard v. Detroit Stove Works, 150 U.S. 164 (1893). Thusly formed, this unit would be configured to accept said steady-state current and said additional current and electrically power an electric motor of said compressor.
Claim 6: Renken and Eguchi teach the previous limitations. Eguchi further teaches that the steady-state current (note arrows from 1 to 3) is provided to said inverter (3) and said charger (2; see also Fig. 1).
Claim 7: Renken and Eguchi teach the previous limitations. Eguchi further teaches that said charger (2) supplies a charge current to said power bank (5) when said compressor is in a steady-state operation (see paragraphs 13, 23, 28).
Claim 9: The mobile compressor startup drive of claim 1, wherein said power bank (164) comprises one or more batteries (Fig. 2).
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eguchi (US20040178773) in view of Renken (US 11,614,091).
Claim 1: Eguchi discloses a mobile electric motor (see paragraph 4, note “electric motor”) startup drive (paragraph 4; Fig. 1) comprising a generator (1); an inverter (3); a charger (2); and a power bank (5); wherein the generator (1) is rated to supply a steady-state current (paragraph 27) required by the electric motor; wherein said power bank (5) provides an additional current through said inverter (3) to said motor to meet an inrush current demand of said motor (paragraphs 13, 17, 29, 47) during startup of said motor (paragraph 4, “when a load by which a large electric current temporarily flows…of an electric motor and the like are started”); and wherein said charger (2) is configured to recharge said power bank (23; see paragraphs 13, 23).
Eguchi is not explicit about using a compressor. However, Renken teaches a generator/battery arrangement for a motor which ultimately drives a compressor (110). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the invention to a skilled artisan to utilize the motor of Eguchi to drive a compressor as taught by Renken in order to input work towards efficiently starting/operating a climate/refrigeration unit.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NATHAN C ZOLLINGER whose telephone number is (571)270-7815. The examiner can normally be reached Generally M-F 9-4 EST.
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/NATHAN C ZOLLINGER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746