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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-20 are currently pending in this application.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claims 1-5, 10-15, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Gauchel (US-11,754,039-B1).
With respect to claim 1, Gauchel teaches a method for protecting one or more components of a yaw system of a wind turbine (figs.1-7), the method comprising:
monitoring one or more loading signals indicative of a yawing moment of a rotor of the wind turbine (controller 26 to perform various different functions…analyzing sensor signals…to provide an indication of changes to the wind conditions and/or load conditions or to relative position changes/yaw directions of the wind turbine, col.6 lines 43-53; the sensor(s) 37 is configured to provide data and/or signals associated with load condition changes…the load condition data/signals may be periodically captured and transmitted to the turbine control system 100 to allow for continuous or active monitoring of the load conditions alongside other sensor data inputs such as wind conditions, figs.3-4 and col.11 lines 57-63);
evaluating the one or more loading signals indicative of the yawing moment of the rotor (load condition measurements captured by the sensor(s) 37 may be stored within and analyzed by the turbine control system 100 to evaluate if the yawing moment, for example, exceeds a load threshold, col.11 lines 64-67);
predicting an optimal start time for the yaw system based on the evaluated one or more loading signals; and starting the yaw system at the optimal start time to minimize loading of the yaw system of the wind turbine (activating, via the controller, one or more yaw drive mechanisms for yawing the rotor of the wind turbine when the wind condition exceeds the wind condition threshold and the one or more bending moments remain below the load threshold, col.12 lines 47-51; implement a control action…so as to prevent or minimize damage to the yaw drives, other yaw system components, or the broader wind turbine, col.4 lines 48-51; executing wind turbine control action signals…to control the various operating modes (e.g., start-up or shut-down sequences) and/or components of the wind turbine 10, col.6 lines 54-58).
With respect to claim 11, Gauchel teaches a wind turbine (wind turbine 10, fig.1), comprising:
a tower (tower 12, fig.1);
a nacelle rotatably mounted on top of the tower (nacelle 16 rotatably mounted on top of the tower 12, fig.1);
a rotor (rotor 18, fig.1) comprising a plurality of rotor blades (rotor blades 22, fig.1);
a yaw system (yaw drive mechanism 40, yaw bearing 42, yaw drive motor 44, yaw drive gearbox 45, yaw drive pinion 46, fig.2 and col.7 lines 20-44; and
a controller (wind turbine controller 26, figs.1 and 3) comprising a processor (processor 58 of controller 26, fig.3) configured to perform a plurality of operations (the controller 26 to perform various different functions, such as receiving, transmitting and/or executing wind turbine control action signals, receiving and analyzing sensor signals, and generating message signals to provide an indication of changes to the wind conditions and/or load conditions or to relative position changes/yaw directions of the wind turbine. In one possible configuration, the controller 26 may be configured to control pitch and speed regulation of the blades, high-speed shaft and yaw brake application, yaw and pitch motor application, and fault monitoring, col.6 lines 43-53), the plurality of operations comprising:
monitoring one or more loading signals indicative of a yawing moment of the rotor (controller 26 to perform various different functions…analyzing sensor signals…to provide an indication of changes to the wind conditions and/or load conditions or to relative position changes/yaw directions of the wind turbine, col.6 lines 43-53; the sensor(s) 37 is configured to provide data and/or signals associated with load condition changes…the load condition data/signals may be periodically captured and transmitted to the turbine control system 100 to allow for continuous or active monitoring of the load conditions alongside other sensor data inputs such as wind conditions, figs.3-4 and col.11 lines 57-63);
evaluating the one or more loading signals indicative of the yawing moment (load condition measurements captured by the sensor(s) 37 may be stored within and analyzed by the turbine control system 100 to evaluate if the yawing moment, for example, exceeds a load threshold, col.11 lines 64-67);
predicting an optimal start time for the yaw system based on the evaluated one or more loading signals; and starting the yaw system at the optimal start time to minimize loading of the yaw system of the wind turbine (activating, via the controller, one or more yaw drive mechanisms for yawing the rotor of the wind turbine when the wind condition exceeds the wind condition threshold and the one or more bending moments remain below the load threshold, col.12 lines 47-51; implement a control action…so as to prevent or minimize damage to the yaw drives, other yaw system components, or the broader wind turbine, col.4 lines 48-51; executing wind turbine control action signals…to control the various operating modes (e.g., start-up or shut-down sequences) and/or components of the wind turbine 10, col.6 lines 54-58).
With respect to claims 2 and 12, Gauchel teaches further comprising monitoring wind direction at the wind turbine and starting the yaw system at the optimal start time and into the wind direction (to control the yaw direction of the nacelle 16 about a yaw axis 43 to position the rotor blades 22 with respect to the direction 66 of the wind, thereby controlling the power output generated by the wind turbine 10. For example, as is described in greater detail herein, the turbine controller 26 may be configured to transmit control action signals/commands to one or more yaw drive mechanisms 40 (FIG. 2) of the wind turbine 10 such that the nacelle 16 may be rotated about the yaw axis 43, col.6 lines 59-67).
With respect to claims 3 and 13, Gauchel teaches further comprising monitoring the one or more loading signals indicative of the yawing moment of the rotor of the wind turbine via one or more sensors (the sensor(s) 37 is configured to provide data and/or signals associated with load condition changes…the load condition data/signals may be periodically captured and transmitted to the turbine control system 100 to allow for continuous or active monitoring of the load conditions alongside other sensor data inputs such as wind conditions, col.11 lines 57-63).
With respect to claims 4 and 14, Gauchel teaches further wherein the one or more loading signals indicative of the yawing moment of the rotor of the wind turbine comprise at least one of one or more historical loading signals or one or more instantaneous loading signals (the sensor(s) 37 is configured to provide data and/or signals associated with load condition changes…for continuous or active monitoring of the load conditions alongside other sensor data inputs such as wind conditions, col.11 lines 57-63).
With respect to claims 5/4 and 15/14, Gauchel teaches wherein the historical loading signals comprises the yawing moment from at least three most recent rotations of the yaw system (monitor one or more changes associated with the bending moments in a nodding direction and/or a yawing direction…caused by aerodynamic thrust and rotation of the rotor blades, col.10 lines 27-30; the sensor(s) 37 is configured to provide data and/or signals associated with load condition changes…for continuous or active monitoring of the load conditions alongside other sensor data inputs such as wind conditions, col.11 lines 57-63; continuous or active monitoring is interpreted to have at least three most recent rotations).
With respect to claims 10 and 20, Gauchel teaches wherein starting the yaw system at the optimal start time to minimize loading of the yaw system of the wind turbine further comprises implementing a time delay until the one or more loading signals are below a predetermined threshold (A “control action” as used herein includes, but is not limited to: (1) if the wind speed exceeds a predetermined threshold, initializing and regulating the yaw system (e.g., the yaw drive mechanism(s) and/or yaw drive brake assemblies and/or the power thereto); (2) if the load conditions exceed a predetermined load threshold for a predetermined duration at a predetermined level of certainty for the sensor signal received, delaying initialization and/or down regulating use of the yaw system (e.g., the yaw drive mechanism(s) and/or yaw drive brake assemblies and/or the power thereto); and (3) initializing and regulating electromagnet current in the yaw brake assembly(ies) to better manage stress and loads acting on the yaw drive mechanism(s) during a yawing event, col.4 lines 52-65).
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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 6-9 and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gauchel (US-11,754,039-B1) in view of Miranda (US-2011/0178771-A1).
With respect to claims 6-9 and 16-19, Gauchel teaches wherein evaluating the one or more loading signals indicative of the yawing moment of the rotor (Gauchel: load condition measurements captured by the sensor(s) 37 may be stored within and analyzed by the turbine control system 100 to evaluate if the yawing moment, for example, exceeds a load threshold, col.11 lines 64-67). But Gauchel does not appear to teach fitting a sinusoidal waveform to the one or more loading signals; fitting phase and frequency of the sinusoidal waveform to the one or more loading signals; applying a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to the one or more loading signals; and converting the one or more loading signals to a signal representation in a frequency domain having both phase and frequency.
However, it is known by Miranda to teach a method for protecting one or more components of a yaw system of a wind turbine (fig.1), the method comprising: monitoring one or more loading signals indicative of a yawing moment of a rotor of the wind turbine (measured load signals 3 in the form of flapwise moments of the rotor blades, [0051]); and evaluating the one or more loading signals indicative of the yawing moment of the rotor (Based on the measured load signals 3 and the information 5 regarding the angular position of the rotor 2 the estimation unit 4 estimates the tilt moment, Mtilt, and the yaw moment, Myaw, on the hub under the wind conditions which are presently experienced by the wind turbine, [0051]). Particularly, Miranda teaches fitting a sinusoidal waveform to the one or more loading signals; fitting phase and frequency of the sinusoidal waveform to the one or more loading signals; applying a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to the one or more loading signals; and converting the one or more loading signals to a signal representation in a frequency domain having both phase and frequency (Miranda: the measured flapwise moments are filtered…the flapwise moments are first transformed using a fast Fourier transform (FFT), thereby allowing the filtering to take place in the frequency domain. The transformed signal is then filtered using one or more band pass filters, e.g. two band pass filters passing frequencies corresponding to 1P and 2P contents of the flapwise moment, respectively. The flapwise moment may be filtered once to obtain the 1P contents and/or once to obtain the 2P contents. The filtering may be done in the frequency domain, following FFT, or it may be done in the time domain, using traditional band pass methods [0036]; FFT transforming is well-known to perform a curve-fit by deconstructing a signal into a sum of sine and cosine waves where it identifies the frequencies, amplitudes, and phases that make up the data, effectively finding the best-fitting sinusoids that describe the waveform, See Mathematics reference attached (also via: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/36725/how-to-fit-a-curve-to-a-sinusoidal-wave).
Because Miranda’s teaching is also directed to a yaw system of a wind turbine (Miranda: fig.1; Gauchel: figs.1-7), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to incorporate the teaching of a sinusoidal waveform to the one or more loading signals and fitting phase and frequency of the sinusoidal waveform to the one or more loading signals as taught by Miranda with the yaw system of a wind turbine as taught by Gauchel for the purpose is computational speed by efficiently converts data from the time or spatial domain into the frequency domain.
Conclusion
The additional prior arts made of record and have not been relied upon are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure as follows: US-20110291422-A1, US-20140003939-A1, US-20200400119-A1, US-20230296077-A1, CN-114941609-A,
Liu et al. (CN-114893349-B), CN_107228046_A, CN_111794909_A, WO_2022248164_A1, CN_115288929_A, CN_115398095_A, CN_116335878_A, CN_117627860_A, J. Zhu et al. ("Yaw System Control Strategy for Wind Turbines Based on Turbulence Intensity and Operating Modes," 2024 6th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Control Technologies (CEECT), 2024, pp. 76-81), and Definition of FFT, "How to fit a curve to a sinusoidal wave", Mathematics, May 3, 2011.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HIEN (CINDY) D KHUU whose telephone number is (571)272-8585. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm.
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/HIEN D KHUU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2116 June 3, 2026
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