DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to the amendment filed on 11/21/25.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-5, 13-15, 18, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamimi et al. (US 20240136823) in view of Awal et al. (US 20220416684).
Regarding claim 1: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) a system for stabilizing a power distribution network supplied at least partially by a renewable energy source, comprising:
a bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system (i.e. 110) between a supply side distribution network (i.e. 102) and a load side grid (i.e. load grid side connected to 110), for converting a supply side AC voltage (i.e. from 102), at a supply side frequency (i.e. frequency of 102), to a load side DC voltage (i.e. output of 110);
a voltage regulator (i.e. 136) for regulating the load side DC voltage (i.e. output of 110);
a supply side control loop (i.e. control loop of 112) comprising at least one of a frequency control loop (i.e. 146) and a voltage control loop (i.e. 144) for making a measurement of a respective one of the supply side frequency (i.e. frequency of 102) and supply side AC voltage (i.e. from 102), and controlling bidirectional power transmission between the bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system (i.e. 110) and one or more DC loads (i.e. loads of 112, 108, 104) connected to the load side grid (i.e. load grid side connected to 110), based on the measurement from the respective frequency control loop (i.e. 146) and/or voltage control loop (i.e. 144) (i.e. ¶ 48-63); and
one or more controllers (i.e. controllers of figures 3-4) for controlling power conversion in the bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system (i.e. 110),
wherein the bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system is a bidirectional AC-DC modular multilevel converter (MMC) (i.e. ¶ 73),
but does not specifically disclose the MMC comprises: a first stage, being a bidirectional AC-DC power conversion stage in communication with the supply side network, with controllable bidirectional power flow, in communication with the supply side control loop, for regulating one or both of supply side AC voltage and supply side frequency; a second stage, being a bidirectional DC-AC power conversion stage in communication with the first stage, for performing voltage step-down for power flowing from the supply side network to the load side grid, and voltage step-up for power flowing from the load side grid to the supply side network; a third stage, being a bidirectional AC-DC power conversion stage in communication with the second stage and load side grid, in communication with the voltage regulator for regulating the load side DC voltage feeding the one or more DC loads or drawing power from the one or more DC loads.
Awal et al. disclose a power supply (i.e. figure 1A) of the MMC comprises:
a first stage (i.e. AFE), being a bidirectional AC-DC power conversion stage in communication with the supply side network (i.e. AC), with controllable bidirectional power flow, in communication with the supply side control loop (i.e. controller of figure 1A), for regulating one or both of supply side AC voltage and supply side frequency (i.e. from AC);
a second stage (i.e. bridge I, II), being a bidirectional DC-AC power conversion stage in communication with the first stage (i.e. AFE), for performing voltage step-down for power flowing from the supply side network to the load side grid (i.e. at DC output), and voltage step-up for power flowing from the load side grid to the supply side network (i.e. AC to DC output); a third stage (i.e. Vlg on LVD Bus side of DC output), being a bidirectional AC-DC power conversion stage in communication with the second stage (i.e. bridge I, II) and load side grid (i.e. at Dc output), in communication with the voltage regulator for regulating the load side DC voltage feeding the one or more DC loads or drawing power from the one or more DC loads (i.e. load connect to DC output).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Awal et al. to have the modular converter can be used in an extreme fast charging station for electric vehicles or energy storage application for grid-support. The disclosed converter can likewise be connected to a MVAC/HVAC grid to deliver power to a DC distribution bus. A start-up sequence is also disclosed that can ensure safe start of operation of the disclosed converter.
Regarding claim 2: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) wherein the supply side control loop comprises both the frequency control loop (i.e. 146) and the voltage control loop (i.e. 144).
Regarding claim 3: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) wherein the supply side control loop (i.e. 144) (i.e. 146) is configured to draw power from the one or more DC loads (i.e. loads of 112, 108, 104) into the grid to stabilise at least one of the supply side AC voltage (i.e. from 102) and supply side frequency (i.e. frequency of 102) (i.e. ¶ 48-63).
Regarding claim 4: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) wherein the supply side control loop (i.e. 144) (i.e. 146) comprises the voltage control loop (i.e. 146) and controls the supply side AC voltage (i.e. from 102) by controlling reactive power generation of the bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system (i.e. ¶ 54-57).
Regarding claim 5: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) wherein the supply side control loop comprises the frequency control loop (i.e. 146) and controls the supply side frequency (i.e. frequency of 102) by controlling power consumption through the bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system (i.e. 110).
Regarding claim 13: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose a transformer system between the second stage and third stage for feeding an AC-voltage between the second stage and third stage depending on a power transmission direction through the MMC.
Awal et al. disclose a power supply (i.e. figure 1A) of the MMC comprises:
a transformer system (i.e. transformer) between the second stage (i.e. bridge I, II) and third stage (i.e. Vlg on LVD Bus side of DC output) for feeding an AC-voltage between the second stage (i.e. bridge I, II) and third stage (i.e. Vlg on LVD Bus side of DC output) depending on a power transmission direction through the MMC (i.e. MMC of figure 1).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Awal et al. to have the modular converter can be used in an extreme fast charging station for electric vehicles or energy storage application for grid-support. The disclosed converter can likewise be connected to a MVAC/HVAC grid to deliver power to a DC distribution bus. A start-up sequence is also disclosed that can ensure safe start of operation of the disclosed converter.
Regarding claim 14: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose the first stage comprises a plurality of multilevel power converters or modular multilevel converters.
Awal et al. disclose a power supply (i.e. figure 4) of the MMC comprises:
the first stage comprises a plurality of multilevel power converters or modular multilevel converters (i.e. see figure 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Awal et al. to have the modular converter can be used in an extreme fast charging station for electric vehicles or energy storage application for grid-support. The disclosed converter can likewise be connected to a MVAC/HVAC grid to deliver power to a DC distribution bus. A start-up sequence is also disclosed that can ensure safe start of operation of the disclosed converter.
Regarding claim 15: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose the second stage comprises a voltage-step-down power inverter.
Awal et al. disclose a power supply (i.e. figure 1A) of the MMC comprises:
the second stage comprises a voltage-step-down power inverter (i.e. inverter of stage 2, having bridge I, II).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Awal et al. to have the modular converter can be used in an extreme fast charging station for electric vehicles or energy storage application for grid-support. The disclosed converter can likewise be connected to a MVAC/HVAC grid to deliver power to a DC distribution bus. A start-up sequence is also disclosed that can ensure safe start of operation of the disclosed converter.
Regarding claim 18: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose a controller for reducing power imbalance over the first stage, second stage and third stage.
Awal et al. disclose a power supply (i.e. figure 1A) of the MMC comprises:
a controller (i.e. function of figure 1A) for reducing power imbalance over the first stage (i.e. AFE), second stage (i.e. bridge I, II) and third stage (i.e. Vlg on LVD Bus side of DC output).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Awal et al. to have the modular converter can be used in an extreme fast charging station for electric vehicles or energy storage application for grid-support. The disclosed converter can likewise be connected to a MVAC/HVAC grid
to deliver power to a DC distribution bus. A start-up sequence is also disclosed that can ensure safe start of operation of the disclosed converter.
Regarding claim 22: the method steps will be met during the normal operation of the apparatus described above. (Examiner notes: For method claims, note that under MPEP 2112.02, the principles of inherency, if a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device. When the prior art device is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device will inherently perform the claimed process. In re King, 801 F.2d 1324, 231 USPQ 136 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Therefore the previous rejections based on the apparatus will not be repeated).
5. Claims 6-9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamimi et al. (US 20240136823) in view of Awal et al. (US 20220416684) and further in view of Yenduri et al. (US 20220109381).
Regarding claim 6: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose the one or more loads comprise
electric vehicle batteries of respective one or more electric vehicles connected to the load side grid.
Yenduri et al. discloses a power supply comprising the one or more loads comprise electric vehicle batteries of respective one or more electric vehicles connected to the load side grid (i.e. ¶ 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Yenduri et al., because AC-DC converters play a crucial role when the supplied grid or AC transmitted electric power is consumed or employed in the DC form, or where the available AC waveform is inappropriate and is therefore converted to another waveform with a DC intermediate power form.
Regarding claim 7: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose the one or more loads comprise electric vehicle batteries of respective one or more electric vehicles connected to the load side grid.
Yenduri et al. discloses a power supply comprising the load side grid comprises one or more microgrids each corresponding to a respective parking infrastructure building, each load of the one or more loads being a load in a respective parking infrastructure building (i.e. parking for electric vehicle) (i.e. ¶ 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Yenduri et al., because AC-DC converters play a crucial role when the supplied grid or AC transmitted electric power is consumed or employed
in the DC form, or where the available AC waveform is inappropriate and is therefore converted to another waveform with a DC intermediate power form.
Regarding claim 8: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) for each microgrid, a controller for controlling bidirectional power transmission (i.e. function of 110) to the microgrid.
Regarding claim 9: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) comprising a load side control (i.e. controller of figure 9) distributor for separately controlling the controllers to manage bidirectional power transmission at each of the microgrids (i.e. grid of 112, 104) in accordance with one or more control conditions (i.e. condition to the controller) (i.e. ¶ 73).
Regarding claim 19: Tamimi et al. disclose (i.e. figures 2A, 2B and 3-7) wherein the frequency control loop (i.e. 112) and voltage control loop (i.e. 144) measure the supply side frequency and supply side AC voltage (i.e. from 102), and provide active and reactive power compensation and control variation of load power consumption through the load side control loop to (i.e. ¶ 13-16): reduce instability in the supply side frequency and supply side AC voltage (i.e. function of the controller that control according to active and reactive power) (i.e. ¶ 48-63); or mitigate power fluctuations based on a power profile of the renewable source.
6. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamimi et al. (US 20240136823) in view of Awal et al. (US 20220416684) and further in view of Park et al. (US 20200186043).
Regarding claim 17: Tamimi et al. disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose the transformer system comprises a plurality of secondary windings arranged in a polyphase to form one or more AC voltage sources for the third stage.
Park et al. disclose the transformer system (i.e. figure 1) comprises a plurality of secondary windings (i.e. winding of 120) arranged in a polyphase to form one or more AC voltage sources for the third stage (i.e. see 120, 130).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Tamimi et al.’s invention with the power supply as disclose by Park et al. to have a converter that is balance and properly operate.
Allowable Subject Matter
7. Claims 20-21 are 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 and any intervening claims.
Response to Arguments
8. Applicant's arguments filed 11/21/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant stated that “The Examiner has alleged in the Non-Final Office Action that claims 1-5 and 10-11 are anticipated by Tamimi. The Examiner had found claim 12 novels. Since the subject matter of claim 12 has been incorporated into claim 1, claim 1 and all its dependent claims are now novel.”
This is incorrect, because the Non-Final Rejection mailed on 8/27/25 shows the rejection of claim 12 under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamimi et al. (US 20240136823) in view of Awal et al. (US 20220416684) (see page 7 of the Non-Final Rejection).
Claim 1, in response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “an integration with an electric spring (ES) within the bidirectional AC-DC power conversion system” and “the technical problem of meeting the power balance requirement, in particular demand-side management (DSM), with an aim to overcome issues associated with traditional DSM technologies — i.e., long response timeframes and inability to deal with instantaneous power balance of supply and demand, the integration with an electric spring (ES) is an important advantage.”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 103
In response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “the use of electric springs (ES) for voltage and frequency control” and “the electric spring operates at the load level and uses fast voltage modulation across DC loads or storage systems, providing dynamic real-time compensation of frequency and voltage.”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Moreover, Applicant argues that “The Examiner will also note that Tamimi discloses a microgrid controller (MGC) as the key for transferring power between a power grid and a microgrid via an AC link (see Abstract). The MGC comprises a pair of bidirectional AC/DC converters coupled to a common DC link and each having an AC line. This teaches away from the claimed invention, which discloses a proposed modular approach, for ease of scaling up or down (page 11). Hence, Tamimi cannot be combined with any other art to arrive at the claimed invention.”
It is unclear to which limitations and/or claims are being argued by the Applicant.
With respect to combining Tamimi with Awal (similarly with Yenduri), in response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “a system comprising the electric springs for voltage and frequency control”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
With respect to combining Tamimi with Park, in response to applicant's argument that the references fail to show certain features of the invention, it is noted that the features upon which applicant relies (i.e., “a modular infrastructure which “enables a power supply capability to be flexibly expanded for DC-grid-power EV charging infrastructure”, “without using mains-frequency transformers” — I.e., one of the objectives of the claimed invention may be to overcome a need for additional transformers (see for e.g., background).”) are not recited in the rejected claim(s). Although the claims are interpreted in light of the specification, limitations from the specification are not read into the claims. See In re Van Geuns, 988 F.2d 1181, 26 USPQ2d 1057 (Fed. Cir. 1993).
Conclusion
9. 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.
10. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NGUYEN TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1269. The examiner can normally be reached Flex: M-F 8-7.
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/Nguyen Tran/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838