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
Applicant's election with traverse of Invention I, in the reply filed on December 8, 2025, is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that there is no serious search burden. This is not found persuasive because the processing limitations of Invention II and III each require a different search for specific additional processing circuitry
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL. Claims 15-20 are withdrawn as non-elected claims.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)(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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Pub. 2022/0170388 (“O’Donnell”).
Claim 1
O’Donnell discloses an electrical energy absorption and heat storage system to absorb electrical energy transferred during a calibration process of an electric vehicle charging station, comprising: a resistive load, which, in operation, receives the electrical energy and converts the electrical energy into heat (paragraph [0181], evaporator 508); and a boiling reservoir (boiler 506), which, in operation, contains a phase-change heat storage medium (paragraph [0181], water), wherein, in operation, heat generated by the resistive load is transferred to the phase-change heat storage medium (paragraph [0181], Fig. 6).
Claim 2
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 1, comprising: a storage reservoir coupled to the boiling reservoir (O’Donnell, heat storage 503).
Claim 3
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 2, wherein the phase-change heat storage medium, in a first state, comprises water (O’Donnell, paragraph [0181], water).
Claim 4
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 3, wherein the resistive load is positioned in the boiling reservoir (Fig. 6).
Claim 5
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 4, comprising: a vent, which, in operation, vents steam generated in the boiling reservoir when the water changes state (O’Donnell, paragraph [0181], evaporator line 507).
Claim 6
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 5, comprising: an inlet coupled to the storage reservoir, which, in operation, receives the water (O’Donnell, paragraph [0182], water inlet).
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.
Claims 7-9 and 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Pub. 2022/0170388 (“O’Donnell”).
Claim 7
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 1.
O’Donnell does not appear to explicitly disclose comprising: a solid heat storage medium, wherein the resistive load is embedded in the solid heat storage medium, and in operation, heat generated by the resistive load is transferred to the solid heat storage medium, and selectively transferred from the solid heat storage medium to the phase-change heat storage medium.
O’Donnell discloses using multiple types of materials for storage of energy including solid heat storage mediums and water (paragraph [0009]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a solid heat storage medium, such as to combine two storage mediums, wherein the resistive load is embedded in the solid heat storage medium, and in operation, heat generated by the resistive load is transferred to the solid heat storage medium, and selectively transferred from the solid heat storage medium to the phase-change heat storage medium, as the solid and liquid mediums have been identified in the art as equivalents for the same purpose. MPEP 2144.
Claim 8
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 7, comprising: a storage reservoir, which, in operation, stores the phase-change heat storage medium; and a valve coupled between the storage reservoir and the boiling reservoir (paragraph [0185], valve).
Claim 9
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 8, wherein the phase-change heat storage medium, in a first state, comprises water (paragraph [0181], water).
Claim 11
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 8, wherein the solid heat storage medium has one or more surfaces having an oblique angle with respect to a surface of the boiling reservoir (Fig. 6).
Claim 12
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 8, wherein the solid heat storage medium comprises a ceramic material (O’Donnell, paragraph [0008], refractory materials).
Claim 13
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 12, wherein the solid heat storage medium comprises alumina (O’Donnell, paragraph [0521], alumina solid storage medium).
Claim 14
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 1.
O’Donnell discloses a system volume (Fig. 6) but does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein, the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system has a volume between 750 milliliters and forty liters, the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system has a weight between 10 and twenty pounds, or the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system has a volume between 750 milliliters and forty liters and a weight between 10 and twenty pounds.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have optimized a range of the volume, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235. One would have been motivated to optimize a system volume in order to accommodate a desired heat absorption amount (O’Donnell, paragraph [0789]).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Pub. 2022/0170388 (“O’Donnell”) in view of U.S. Patent Pub. 2008/0060374 (“Gammons”).
Claim 10
O’Donnell discloses the electrical energy absorption and heat storage system of claim 8.
O’Donnell does not appear to explicitly disclose wherein: the storage reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the storage reservoir; the boiling reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the storage reservoir; or the storage reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the storage reservoir and the boiling reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the boiling reservoir.
Gammons discloses a cooling system including a translucent reservoir window (paragraph [0010]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary sill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have incorporated a translucent reservoir window, as disclosed by Gammons, into the device of O’Donnell, such that the storage reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the storage reservoir; the boiling reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the storage reservoir; or the storage reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the storage reservoir and the boiling reservoir has a translucent portion to provide a visible indication of a level of phase-change material in the boiling reservoir, for the purpose of indicating fluid level (Gammons, paragraph [0010]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERICA S Y LIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7911. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-4, TW M,W.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Douglas X Rodriguez can be reached at (571) 431-0716. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERICA S LIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2853