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 .
2nd Non-Final Office Action
A second non-final office action has been sent in order to introduce the new grounds of rejection presented below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the Hudson reference have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the Hudson reference. Applicant's arguments filed 1/20/2026 with respect to the McJimsey reference have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues McJimsey uses a configuration code to scale parameters and does not disclose an external micro-controller sending a “command signal [that] defines which of the MPPT profile and at least one further MPPT profile [is] selected for the controller module to operate the DC-DC converter module according to the selected profile”. In the new grounds of rejection, the secondary reference Nazarian is used to teach an external micro-controller sending a command signal that defines which profile, and at least one further profile, is selected for the controller module to operate the converter module according to the selected profile.
Applicant further argues McJimsey’s configuration code is not a stored set of different MPPT profiles, but rather is a code representing device characteristics used to scale parameters. While McJimsey’s configuration code does not store a set of different MPPT profiles, the configuration code does store a single MPPT profile. In the new grounds of rejection the secondary reference Nazarian is used to teach storing more than one profile. Furthermore, the configuration code is more than a code used to scale parameters, and is used to configure the converter for a particular source, such as information on the number of cells in the source. Applicant provides examples for the profile in paragraph 18 (“in applying a different switching frequency, conversion ratio, number of parallel operating power switches, resistor value of the sensor module, MPPT interval, overcurrent value or threshold and undercurrent value or threshold of the DC-DC converter module.”). Examiner notes the code provides MPPT profile information as described in paragraph 90 and additionally provides a resistor value of a sensor module as shown in Figure 8 R1, which satisfies the requirements of the claimed MPPT profile.
With respect to the indefiniteness type rejection of claim 9, Applicant contends “in which the MPPT is bypassed” is clear and definite. Examiner accepts the amendment dated 1/20/2026 has resolved the section 112 rejection, but asserts “the MPPT” in ‘the MPPT is bypassed’ has not been previously recited, lacks antecedent basis and should be only ‘MPPT is bypassed’.
Claim Objections
Claims 9 and 16 are objected to because of the following informalities: in the final two lines of claim 9, “the MPPT is bypassed” lacks antecedent basis and should be ‘MPPT is bypassed’. Appropriate correction is required.
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 4, 11 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.
Applicant has amended claim 4 to recite “to operate a plurality of the DC-DC converter modules”, which requires operation of more than one DC-DC converter module simultaneously. However, only one DC-DC converter is operated at a time. The claim is indefinite when interpreted in light of the specification because the specification makes clear only one DC-DC converter is operated at a time. For the purpose of examination, the claim shall be interpreted as “to operate one of a plurality of DC-DC converter modules”.
Similarly for claims 11 and 17.
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, 3-7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McJimsey (US 2014/0103892) in view of Nazarian (US 6,757,481).
With respect to claim 1, McJimsey discloses an electrical power energy converter unit for converting Direct Current to Direct Current (DC-DC), the converter comprising:
a DC-DC converter module (Fig. 11 1136,1126,1134), arranged to convert a low-power (Fig. 5 303) direct current input signal (Fig. 11 Vin) received from an energy harvesting module (Fig. 11 1104), into a direct current output signal (Fig. 11 Vout) for powering a load (Fig. 11 1106); a controller module (Fig. 11 1105,1113-1121), operably coupled to and arranged to control the DC-DC converter module, and arranged to convert the direct current input signal to the direct current output signal according to a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) profile (Fig. 11 1105 stores configuration code representing the profile for 1113), wherein the controller module comprises a memory (paragraph 109) for storing the MPPT profile; a sensor module (Fig. 11 1111) operably coupled to the controller module and the direct current output of the DC-DC converter module, and arranged to measure the direct current output (Fig. 11 Vout) to the load; and to operate (Fig. 7 704) the DC-DC converter module according to (Fig. 7 702) the selected MPPT profile. McJimsey discloses storing the configuration code for an MPPT profile, but remains silent as to a communication interface to receive a command signal to select the MPPT profile.
Nazarian discloses the controller module (Fig. 2 98) comprises a memory (Fig. 2 97) for storing the profile (Fig. 1 22) and at least one further profile (Fig. 1 20); and a communication interface (Fig. 2 76,38,86), operably coupled to the controller module, arranged to interface with a micro-controller (Fig. 2 36) external from the electrical power energy converter unit (Fig. 2 26) to receive a command signal (column 7, lines 59-60) thereof, wherein the command signal defines which profile and at least one further profile is selected (Fig. 1 25) for the controller module to operate the converter module (Fig. 2 103) according to the selected profile. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the controller module comprises a memory for storing the MPPT profile and at least one further MPPT profile; and a communication interface, operably coupled to the controller module, arranged to interface with a micro-controller external from the electrical power energy converter unit to receive a command signal thereof, wherein the command signal defines which of the MPPT profile and at least one further MPPT profile is selected for the controller module to operate the DC-DC converter module according to the selected MPPT profile, in order to permit a host to select the MPPT profile in order to configure the controller for the energy harvesting module.
With respect to claim 3, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller module comprises an MPPT state machine (Fig. 11 1113) to operate the selected MPPT profile.
With respect to claim 4, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1, wherein the memory of the controller module comprises a plurality of MPPT profiles (in combination, as in Nazarian Fig. 1 20-,22) to operate one (Fig. 11 1126) of a plurality of DC-DC converter modules, and wherein each of the MPPT profiles provides an application specific operation of the electrical power energy converter unit.
With respect to claim 5, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1, wherein the MPPT profiles are arranged to change the operating of the DC-DC converter module by changing one or more of: a switching frequency of the DC-DC converter module; a conversion ratio of the DC-DC converter module (Fig. 8 adjust for Vin, which sets Vout/Vin); a number of parallel operating power switches comprised in the DC-DC converter module; a resistor value of a resistor (Fig. 8 R1) comprised in the sensor module; an MPPT interval; an overcurrent value; and an undercurrent value.
With respect to claim 6, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller module is arranged to dynamically adapt (in combination, dynamically adapted when the command is received from the host) the MPPT profile according to which the DC-DC converter module (Fig. 111126) is operated, and wherein the controller module is arranged to receive one or more of: a switching frequency of the DC-DC converter module; a conversion ratio of the DC-DC converter module; a number of parallel operating power switches comprised in the DC-DC converter module; a resistor value of a resistor comprised in the sensor module; an MPPT interval; an overcurrent value; and an undercurrent value.
With respect to claim 7, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller module is arranged to output to the micro-controller connected to the controller module one or more of: a switching frequency of the DC-DC converter module; a conversion ratio (Fig. 8 adjust for Vin, which sets Vout/Vin)of the DC-DC converter module; a number of parallel operating power switches comprised in the DC-DC converter module; a resistor value of a resistor (Fig. 8 R1) comprised in the sensor module; an MPPT interval; an overcurrent value; and an undercurrent value.
With respect to claim 9, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1, wherein the controller module is arranged to operate the DC-DC converter according to the MPPT profile in which the MPPT is bypassed (paragraph 56; no MPPT during bypass).
Claim(s) 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McJimsey (US 2014/0103892) in view of Nazarian (US 6,757,481) and further in view of Kohno (2013/0041511).
With respect to claim 8, McJimsey in view of Nazarian make obvious the electrical power energy converter unit according to claim 1 as set forth above, and remain silent as to converting the sensed analog signals to digital and which values to send to the communication interface. It was well known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to sense values with an analog to digital converter.
Kohno discloses converting the analog signals to digital with analog to digital converters (Fig. 1a ADC1,ADC2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement an Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC) operably coupled to the controller module and the sensor module for readout of the sensor module by the controller module and outputting the readout to a micro-controller connected to the controller module, in order to convert the sensed signal to digital values for digital processing and to relay the values for end use by the user.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim.
With respect to claim 2, the prior art does not disclose or suggest, in combination with the limitations of the base claim, primarily, wherein the controller module is arranged to receive the command signal through the communication interface, which command signal comprises the at least one further MPPT profile, to store the at least one further MPPT profile in the memory of the controller module.
The aforementioned limitations in combination with all remaining limitations of the respective claims are believed to render the aforementioned indicated claim and any dependent claims thereof patentable over the art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY RAYMOND BEHM whose telephone number is (571)272-8929. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-5 EST.
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/HARRY R BEHM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838