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 .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because
22a & 22b in Fig. 3 and 30 in Fig. 4 are not clearly labeled with text, symbols, or a legend to clearly understand from the only drawing what they are meant to be
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contains exemplary language (“one embodiment… in another embodiment…”). An abstract is the concise summary of the invention, while exemplary language takes away the concise and narrative form of the abstract. Emend to remove the language. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 8-13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Noted that the applicant has used “each of BESS system” in the final stanza of Claim 8. This language is improper as the applicant has only claimed a single BESS “system” instead of the plural ones in Claims 1 and 14. Emend to remove “each of”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 2, 5-8, 11-14, 17, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Waldberg et al (USPGPN 20220216716; hereinafter Wald).
Independent Claim 1, Wald discloses an energy storage and distribution system (Figs. [1-5, esp. 1, 2]), comprising:
first and second battery energy storage systems (BESS, 100 and/or 300), each (focusing on 100) comprising:
a plurality of batteries operable to store energy (110, Fig. 2);
charging circuitry operable to charge the plurality of batteries from incoming AC power (123DC, 122DC);
inverter circuitry operable to convert DC power from the plurality of batteries to AC power (130, 131, ¶’s [33, 41-46, 55, 68, esp. 33, 44, 45]);
breaker circuitry operable to connect and disconnect the incoming AC power (122AC in Fig. 2 ¶[42] as a relay breaks the circuit when off, CB in Fig. 1 is described as an explicit circuit breaker ¶’s [34, 38]); and
logic and control circuitry operable to monitor system parameters, communicate with logic and control circuitry of other system components, and to actuate the breaker circuitry to connect and disconnect the incoming AC power (120, 121, & 124 see ¶’s [33, 41-46, 56-58, 62-71],
communicates with other logic and control system via 240 see esp. ¶’s [41-44, 67, 68, 71, esp. 41-44, 71],
¶[44] at least describes monitoring of system parameters;
¶’s [41-44] describes stopping power in fault state, managing charging/discharging, and the use of the relay and converter to cut off current);
a power distribution module (PCM) in electrical communication with the first and second BESS systems (200), the PCM comprising:
switchgear and distribution hardware operable to connect, disconnect, route, and distribute alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power from the first and second BESS systems to power output connections (210 & CB); and
logic and control circuitry operable to control the switchgear to provide a desired distribution of power (220);
wherein the logic and control circuitry of each of the first and second BESS systems communicate such that each of the first and second BESS systems may be independently isolated from incoming AC power by actuating the corresponding breaker circuitry (communication via 220, where the CB of each AC bus 210 along with breaker/relay 122AC allows for independent isolation of the circuitry, in addition to control of converters 130;
noted further that the applicant’s claim is a structural claim, & as the circuitry disclosed by Wald is operable/capable of performing the claimed features, so the claim limitations are met)
Independent Claim 8, Wald discloses an energy storage and distribution system (Figs. [1-5, esp. 1, 2]), comprising:
a battery energy storage system (BESS, 100 and/or 300, focusing on 100) comprising:
a plurality of batteries operable to store energy (110, Fig. 2);
charging circuitry operable to charge the plurality of batteries from incoming AC power (123DC, 122DC);
inverter circuitry operable to convert DC power from the plurality of batteries to AC power (130, 131, ¶’s [33, 41-46, 55, 68, esp. 33, 44, 45]);
breaker circuitry operable to connect and disconnect the incoming AC power (122AC in Fig. 2 ¶[42] as a relay breaks the circuit when off, CB in Fig. 1 is described as an explicit circuit breaker ¶’s [34, 38]); and
logic and control circuitry operable to monitor system parameters, communicate with logic and control circuitry of other system components, and to actuate the breaker circuitry to connect and disconnect the incoming AC power (120, 121, & 124 see ¶’s [33, 41-46, 56-58, 62-71],
communicates with other logic and control system via 240 see esp. ¶’s [41-44, 67, 68, 71, esp. 41-44, 71],
¶[44] at least describes monitoring of system parameters;
¶’s [41-44] describes stopping power in fault state, managing charging/discharging, and the use of the relay and converter to cut off current);
a power distribution module (PCM) in electrical communication with the BESS system (200), the PCM comprising:
switchgear and distribution hardware operable to connect, disconnect, route, and distribute alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power from the BESS system to power output connections (210 & CB); and
logic and control circuitry operable to control the switchgear to provide a desired distribution of power (220);
wherein the logic and control circuitry of each of BESS system is operable to connect or disconnect the incoming AC power by actuating the breaker circuitry (220 communication via 220, where the CB of each AC bus 210 along with breaker/relay 122AC allows for independent isolation of the circuitry, in addition to control of converters 130;
noted further that the applicant’s claim is a structural claim, & as the circuitry disclosed by Wald is operable/capable of performing the claimed features, so the claim limitations are met)
Independent Claim 14, Wald discloses energy storage and distribution system (Figs. [1-5, esp. 1, 2]), comprising:
a battery energy storage system (BESS, 100 and/or 300, focusing on 100) comprising:
a plurality of batteries operable to store energy (110, Fig. 2);
charging circuitry operable to charge the plurality of batteries from incoming AC power (123DC, 122DC);
inverter circuitry operable to convert DC power from the plurality of batteries to AC power (130, 131, ¶’s [33, 41-46, 55, 68, esp. 33, 44, 45]);
breaker circuitry operable to connect and disconnect the incoming AC power (122AC in Fig. 2 ¶[42] as a relay breaks the circuit when off, CB in Fig. 1 is described as an explicit circuit breaker ¶’s [34, 38]); and
logic and control circuitry operable to monitor system parameters, communicate with logic and control circuitry of other system components, and to actuate the breaker circuitry to connect and disconnect the incoming AC power (120, 121, & 124 see ¶’s [33, 41-46, 56-58, 62-71],
communicates with other logic and control system via 240 see esp. ¶’s [41-44, 67, 68, 71, esp. 41-44, 71],
¶[44] at least describes monitoring of system parameters;
¶’s [41-44] describes stopping power in fault state, managing charging/discharging, and the use of the relay and converter to cut off current)
such that each of the first and second BESS systems may be independently isolated from incoming AC power (220 communication via 220, where the CB of each AC bus 210 along with breaker/relay 122AC allows for independent isolation of the circuitry, in addition to control of converters 130;
noted further that the applicant’s claim is a structural claim, & as the circuitry disclosed by Wald is operable/capable of performing the claimed features, so the claim limitations are met)
Dependent Claim 2, Wald discloses the logic and control circuitry of each of the first and second BESS systems is operable to connect incoming AC power to a single one of the first and second BESS systems to allow charging of the batteries in that one BESS system and to simultaneously disconnect incoming AC power to the other one of the first and second BESS systems such that only one of the first and second BESS systems is charging at a time (122AC and converter 131 along with CB shown in Figs. [1, 2] are capable of providing this function).
Dependent Claims 5 and 11, Wald discloses the charging circuitry and inverter circuitry comprise a bidirectional inverter (¶’s [34, 43, 44, 46], as charging discharging is via the converter 130).
Dependent Claims 6, 12, and 17, Wald discloses the system parameters monitored by the logic and control circuitry comprise system voltages, system currents, system temperatures, times, dates, or combinations thereof (¶’s [37, 44, esp. 44]).
Dependent Claims 7 and 13, Wald discloses the switchgear and distribution hardware comprises switches, fuses, isolators, relays, circuit breakers, contactors, bus bars, cables, wiring, or combinations thereof (CB is a circuit breaker, has busbar/wiring, also fuses are disclosed along with relays/switches as cited above).
Dependent Claim 18, Wald discloses switchgear and distribution hardware for routing power from each BESS (210 & CB, in addition to 122AC & 131), wherein the switchgear and distribution hardware comprises switches, fuses, isolators, relays, circuit breakers, contactors, bus bars, cables, wiring, or combinations thereof (CB is a circuit breaker, has busbar/wiring, also fuses are disclosed along with relays/switches ¶’s [34, 38, 42],
bus/wiring Figs. [1, 2] & ¶’s [36, 38, 42, 47, 48, 51, 52, 59, 60, 68]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3, 9, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Waldberg et al (USPGPN 20220216716; hereinafter Wald) in view of Seroff et al (USPGPN 20230033955), as evidenced by Kydd (USPGPN 20200031238)
Dependent Claims 3, 9, and 15, Wald teaches the logic and control circuitry of each of the first and second BESS systems (as explained above)
Wald is silent to schedule connection of incoming AC power such that charging of the batteries occurs only in off-peak times.
Seroff teaches schedule connection of incoming AC power such that charging of the batteries occurs only in off-peak times (¶[35], avoid drawing power understood by broadest reasonable interpretation to mean capable of providing power only in off-peak times;
See analogous structure in Figs. [1, 2]). Kydd provides evidence that by optimizing the time to provide power to/from the grid [i.e. peak/off-peak], it serves to minimize costs (¶[34])
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wald with Seroff to provide minimized costs.
Claims 4,10,& 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Waldberg et al (USPGPN 20220216716; hereinafter Wald) in view of Narla (USPGPN 20180037121)
Dependent Claims 4, 10, and 16, Wald teaches the power output connections to a grid/power-plant (G, ¶’s [34, 37, 47, 48])
Narla teaches the power output connections comprise: outputs to AC electric vehicle chargers, outputs to DC electric vehicle chargers, outputs to building AC power, or combinations thereof (Figs. [1-12, esp. 2, 5-8, particularly 6-8] shows an analogous system with a plurality of BESS systems [e.g. 102-1 paired with 118-1 & 102-x paired with 118-x in Fig. 6], where e.g. Fig. 6 has connection with vehicle 140 via 123/123x, with AC-grid 114 & home {i.e. building} AC connection 116 via 643/643x]). One of ordinary skill in the art understands that connection with the grid of Wald would typically involve a mains grid, e.g. that which is shown in Narla, and that by allowing power to be provided bidirectionally between the storage system [140, 102], power generation system [104], loads/building/vehicle [116], and grid, it serves to improve the versatility/flexibility [more than just power to grid] and reliability of the system [balance loads], see further ¶’s [03, 07, 08, 73], which further elaborates on the cost effectiveness of the vehicle and storage system being sued for storing power to be used later).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Wald with Narla to provide improved costs, flexibility, and reliability.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The closest of the cited prior art include (each having at least a BESS):
US-20040130292-A1 OR US-20100231164-A1 OR US-20130035802-A1 OR US-20130113413-A1 OR US-20130229057-A1 OR US-20140015469-A1 OR US-20150202973-A1 OR US-20160197478-A1 OR US-20170008413-A1 OR US-20170104337-A1 OR US-20170106764-A1 OR US-20170168516-A1 OR US-20180037121-A1 OR US-20180076624-A1 OR US-20180358839-A1 OR US-20190135116-A1 OR US-20190157865-A1 OR US-20190217739-A1 OR US-20190260206-A1 OR US-20190372465-A1 OR US-20200031238-A1 OR US-20200039378-A1 OR US-20200062138-A1 OR US-20200164755-A1 OR US-20200204056-A1 OR US-20200290474-A1 OR US-20200321797-A1 OR US-20210083506-A1 OR US-20220144117-A1 OR US-20220161677-A1 OR US-20220216716-A1 OR US-20220281346-A1 OR US-20230011000-A1 OR US-20230033955-A1 OR US-20230120740-A1 OR US-20230131483-A1 OR US-20230133822-A1 OR US-20230179015-A1 OR US-20230182615-A1 OR US-20230211686-A1 OR US-20230256844-A1 OR US-20230275437-A1 OR US-20230322118-A1 OR US-20230356607-A1 OR US-20240079964-A1 OR US-20240204522-A1 OR US-20240208354-A1 OR US-20240222971-A1 OR US-20240258798-A1 OR US-20240383347-A1 OR US-20250192692-A1 OR US-20250266687-A1 OR US-20250332954-A1 OR US-20250381874-A1 OR US-20260116238-A1
US-7256516-B2 OR US-9153847-B2 OR US-9207735-B2 OR US-9457672-B2 OR US-9559521-B1 OR US-9817423-B2 OR US-10005371-B2 OR US-10040363-B2 OR US-10183583-B2 OR US-10211636-B2 OR US-10389136-B2 OR US-10516268-B2 OR US-10790671-B2 OR US-10826371-B2 OR US-10857897-B2 OR US-10873099-B1 OR US-11014466-B2 OR US-11196283-B2 OR US-11267358-B2 OR US-11305661-B2 OR US-11552500-B2 OR US-11554683-B2 OR US-11667208-B1 OR US-11682982-B1 OR US-11749991-B1 OR US-11824380-B2 OR US-12071031-B2 OR US-12149079-B2 OR US-12202371-B2 OR US-12255482-B2 OR US-12255542-B2 OR US-12316120-B2 OR US-RE50632-E OR US-12451700-B2 OR US-12539779-B2 OR US-12580414-B2
Of these references, the following references are even closer (one of multiple BESS controllable by switches, multiple inverters per BESS, etc.):
US-20130229057-A1 OR US-20180037121-A1 OR US-20190135116-A1 OR US-20200204056-A1 OR US-20220216716-A1 OR US-20230275437-A1 OR US-20230356607-A1 OR US-20250266687-A1
US-10183583-B2 OR US-10826371-B2 OR US-10857897-B2 OR US-10873099-B1 OR US-12255482-B2 OR US-12316120-B2
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN T TRISCHLER whose telephone number is (571)270-0651. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30A-3:30P (often working later), M-F, ET, Flexible. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Drew Dunn can be reached at 5712722312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JOHN T TRISCHLER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859
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