Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for a patent.
Claims 12 and 14-17 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Beeson (US 2010/0314181).
Regarding claim 12, Beeson teaches a method, comprising receiving direct current (DC) power at a welding-type system (Abstract, Fig. 4) directly from a distributed DC bus (28); conditioning the DC power to generate a current from the welding-type system (abstract, para. 0022); and isolating power conditioning circuitry of the welding-type system from the distributed DC bus (abstract; Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 14, Beeson teaches the method as set forth above, comprising receiving DC solar or wind power from a solar or wind power generation system (26; para. 0020); converting the DC solar or wind power into the DC power (para. 0022); and delivering the DC power to the DC distributed bus (para. 0022).
Regarding claim 15, Beeson teaches the method as set forth above, comprising:
storing the DC power in a DC power storage element (26); and bi-directionally transferring the DC power to and from the DC power storage element and the distributed DC bus based on power demands of the distributed DC bus or the welding-type system (para. 0020; para. 0022-0023’ para. 0028-0032).
Regarding claim 16, Beeson teaches the method as set forth above, comprising generating the DC power supplied to the distributed DC bus using an engine generator (36) (para. 0020-0022; para. 0031-0032).
Regarding claim 17, Beeson teaches the method as set forth above, comprising controlling a shape of a weld output waveform of the current (para. 0025).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 13 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Beeson in view of Geissler (US 2009/0101637).
Regarding claim 13, Beeson teaches the method as set forth above, comprising receiving alternating current (AC) power (by engine generator 36); converting the AC power to lower voltage AC power (para. 0023); converting the lower voltage AC power into the DC power (para. 0023); and delivering the DC power to the distributed DC bus (para. 0023).
Beeson teaches fail to disclose receiving alternating current (AC) power from an electrical grid.
Geissler teaches a method comprising receiving alternating current (AC) power from an electrical grid (24, 26); converting the AC power to lower voltage AC power (para. 0006; para. 0008; para. 0019-0020; para. 0027); converting the lower voltage AC power into a DC power (para. 0006; para. 0008; para. 0019-0020; para. 0027); and delivering the DC power to a distributed DC bus (28) (as shown in Fig. 1 and 2; para. 0006; para. 0008; para. 0019-0020; para. 0027).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the welding apparatus of Beeson, with Geissler, by receiving AC power from an electrical grid, as an alternative power source. POSITA would have known that receiving AC power from an electrical grid would have a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results such as providing an alternative power source to the engine generator of Beeson.
Claim 18 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Beeson.
Regarding claim 18, Beeson teaches the method as set forth above, comprising receiving direct current (DC) power at the welding-type system within a range between approximately 48 volts DC and approximately 400 volts DC (para. 0019).
Beeson fails to disclose the claimed DC power range of between approximately 380 volts DC and approximately 550 volts DC.
Although Beeson fails to disclose the claimed DC power range 380 volts DC and approximately 550 volts DC, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to provide a DC power within a range between approximately 380 volts and approximately 450 volts, 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. MPEP 2144.05.
Claim 19 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Beeson in view of Geissler (US 6,329,636).
Regarding claim 19, Beeson teaches all the elements of the claimed invention as set forth above, except for, comprising generating at least approximately 2.0 kilowatts of auxiliary power.
Geissler teaches a method comprising generating auxiliary power having a desired voltage and desired frequency (Col. 6, lines 17-20; Col. 9, lines 43-54).
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the welding apparatus of Beeson, with Geissler, by generating auxiliary power (by auxiliary power supply 106), to provide power to other components of the system different from welding power output. POSITA would have known that generating auxiliary power would have a reasonable expectation of success and predictable results such as dedicating the main power supply for welding and the auxiliary power for other components of the system.
Beeson and Geissler combined fail to disclose wherein the auxiliary power generated is at least approximately 2.0 kilowatts.
It would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide an auxiliary power of at least 2.0 kilowatts, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 09/26/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding claim 12, Applicant argues that “Beeson does not disclose or suggest the method of claim 12. In rejecting claim 12, the office action merely restates the claim and makes references to the abstract and FIG. 4 of Beeson. However, neither portions of Beeson recite any structure or function of an isolating circuitry. As stated in the Abstract of Beeson, “A hybrid vehicle including a welder that is adapted to be powered off a direct current (DC) bus generated by the electronics of the hybrid vehicle is provided. A variety of exemplary placements of the welder on or in the hybrid vehicle are provided. Additionally, a parallel hybrid configuration, a series hybrid configuration, and a series-parallel configuration including welding converter circuitry that is adapted to utilize the DC bus from the hybrid vehicle to generate welding power are provided.” The portions of Beeson cited in the Office Action do not represent isolating a welding system from a DC power bus. Rather, FIG. 4 illustrates a direct and unbroken link between the power converter 46 and the welding converter circuitry 42.” on remarks page 6, lines 10-18, and page 7, lines 1-3. In response to Applicant’s arguments, Beeson’s abstract clearly discloses powering off (isolating) a welder from a DC bus (“A hybrid vehicle including a welder that is adapted to be powered off a direct current (DC) bus generated by the electronics of the hybrid vehicle is provided.”).
For these reasons, the arguments are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 13-19, Applicant relies on the same arguments, therefore the same response applies.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE whose telephone number is (571)272-9325. The examiner can normally be reached M to F; 8am-5pm.
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/ALBA T ROSARIO-APONTE/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
10/18/2025
/STEVEN W CRABB/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761