Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/478,955

TECHNIQUES FOR ADJUSTING IMBALANCE PENALTIES OF NON-DISPATCHABLE GENERATION UNITS IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS

Non-Final OA §112
Filed
Sep 29, 2023
Examiner
KARIM, ZIAUL
Art Unit
2119
Tech Center
2100 — Computer Architecture & Software
Assignee
Utopus Insights, Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 7m
To Grant
99%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
601 granted / 736 resolved
+26.7% vs TC avg
Strong +22% interview lift
Without
With
+21.9%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 7m
Avg Prosecution
30 currently pending
Career history
766
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
17.4%
-22.6% vs TC avg
§103
39.0%
-1.0% vs TC avg
§102
19.7%
-20.3% vs TC avg
§112
18.4%
-21.6% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 736 resolved cases

Office Action

§112
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 . Claims 1-21 are pending. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claims 1, 12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claims 1, 12 and 17 recites the limitations “likely deviation” and “likely reduction” is not clear to the examiner. Specification did not disclose the boundary of the terms. Dependent claims did not clarify so dependent claims 2-11, 13-16 and 18-21 are rejected. Allowable Subject Matter Claims 1-21 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. It is noted that any citations to specific, pages, columns, lines, or figures in the prior art references and any interpretation of the reference should not be considered to be limiting in any way. A reference is relevant for all it contains and may be relied upon for all that it would have reasonably suggested to one having ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP 2123. Conclusion The prior art made of record and listed on the attached PTO Form 892 but not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. SLUTZKY et al. USPGPUB 20200282855 A1 a method using temperature data to protect battery health during bidirectional charging in conjunction with monetization activities. The method includes receiving temperature data and determining anticipated energy needs of a building. The temperature data includes at least the temperature of one or more electric vehicle batteries or information required to determine the temperature of the one or more electric vehicle batteries while the anticipated energy needs are relative to ambient air temperature. The method includes determining an amount of discharge of the one or more electric vehicle batteries required to offset the anticipated needs of the building by a predetermined amount and determining based on the temperature data whether discharging the one or more electric vehicle batteries would be harmful to the health of the one or more electric vehicle batteries. The method includes discharging the one or more electric vehicle batteries to offset the anticipated needs of the building. Holzman et al. USPGPUB 20170060162 A1 teaches a method includes providing historical frequency regulation data and energy storage device specifications of an energy storage device connected to a frequency regulation system. The method also includes simulating frequency regulation operations by the energy storage device, with each simulated frequency regulation operation including simulating operation of the frequency regulation system using an upper state of charge threshold for the energy storage device and a lower state of charge threshold for the energy storage device to obtain a cost of using the frequency regulation system with the upper and lower state of charge thresholds. A frequency regulation system controller may be used to implement the upper and lower state of charge thresholds of the simulated frequency regulation operation that has the lowest costs of program participation. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ZIAUL KARIM whose telephone number is (571)270-3279. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 8:00-4:00 PM EST. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mohammad Ali can be reached on 571 272 4105. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ZIAUL KARIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2119
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Sep 29, 2023
Application Filed
Jan 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §112 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
99%
With Interview (+21.9%)
2y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 736 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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