DETAILED ACTION
This action is filed in response to the application filed on 3/29/2024.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statements (IDS) form PTO-1149 filed on 11/11/2025. This IDS has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ji (KR20220156169 A).
Regarding Claim 1, Ji teaches an energy usage measurement method comprising: collecting gas meter reading data; calculating energy usage based on the gas meter reading data; collecting temperatre data (e.g. see [pg. 3 paragraph 3] “The present invention relates to a method of calculating the actual monthly usage of an energy meter based on an actual meter reading date and daily average outdoor temperature”); and correcting the calculated energy usage, based on the collected temperature data (e.g. see [pg. 7 paragraph 3] “The energy consumption correction unit 500 may correct the energy consumption for the day reflecting the climate condition through the mode unit reflecting the climate condition according to Equation 5-7 using the daily average temperature information”).
Regarding Claim 2, Ji teaches the limitations of Claim 1. Ji further discloses wherein correcting comprises: calculating an average temperature of the collected temperature data; and correcting the energy usage based on the calculated average temperature (e.g. see [pg. 7 paragraph 3] “The energy consumption correction unit 500 may correct the energy consumption for the day reflecting the climate condition through the mode unit reflecting the climate condition according to Equation 5-7 using the daily average temperature information”).
Regarding Claim 10, Ji teaches an energy usage measurement system (e.g. see [pg. 2 paragraph 2] “the present invention relates to an energy consumption correction system and correction method”) comprising:
a gas data platform configured to collect gas meter reading data; and to calculate energy usage based on the gas meter reading data; and a data correction server configured to collect temperature data (e.g. see [pg. 3 paragraph 9] “An energy consumption correction system reflecting meter reading date and daily average temperature information according to the present invention includes an information collection unit 100, a daily average energy consumption calculation unit 200, a base energy consumption calculation unit 300, and a cooling and heating energy consumption calculation unit 400 ) and an energy consumption correction unit 500.”), and to correct energy usage of the gas data platform, based on the collected temperature data (e.g. see [pg. 7 paragraph 3] “The energy consumption correction unit 500 may correct the energy consumption for the day reflecting the climate condition through the mode unit reflecting the climate condition according to Equation 5-7 using the daily average temperature information”).
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.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (KR20220156169A) in view of Lee (KR20150114701 A).
Regarding Claim 3, Ji teaches the limitations of Claim 1. Ji further discloses wherein correcting comprises correcting each energy usage indicated by each gas meter reading data collected, based on an average temperature of a corresponding time period of each gas meter reading data (e.g. see [pg. 9 paragraph 4] “As shown in FIG. 6, the energy consumption correction unit 500 calculates the relative deviation based on the difference between the daily average temperature and the reference temperature, and corrects the daily average heating and cooling energy consumption to the climate-corrected heating and cooling energy consumption for the corresponding day”).
Ji does not explicitly disclose wherein the gas meter reading data is collected from an AMI meter, wherein the temperature data is temperature data of a region where the AMI meter is installed.
In the same field of endeavor, Lee teaches wherein the gas meter reading data is collected from an AMI meter (e.g. see [pg. 4 paragraph 3] “Remote meter reading device 10 is shown provided for each gas meter (5) of the consumer, a unique identification number is assigned. This identification number when communicating with the control device (50) that is always sent to the control device 50, control device 50 can know that the communication and with which remote reading terminal (10).”), wherein the temperature data is temperature data of a region where the AMI meter is installed (e.g. see [pg. 6 paragraph 2] “remote reading terminal (10) is also shown in Figure 4, is an optional component, the ambient temperature measuring unit 18 may further include. The environment temperature measurement unit 18 measures the temperature of a space in which the meter is installed.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to combine the gas meter of Ji with the AMI reader of Lee for the purpose of correcting an energy usage with the advantage of an automated meter reading in order to enhance the efficiency of the evaluation.
Regarding Claim 4, Ji and Lee teach the limitations of Claim 3. Ji further discloses wherein a temperature data collection period is shorter than a gas meter reading data collection period (e.g. see [pg. 13 paragraph 2] “wherein the information collection unit 100 provides meter reading information including meter reading start date, meter reading end date and monthly energy consumption, and daily average temperature information”).
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (KR20220156169A) in view of Lim (KR20180113794 A).
Regarding Claim 5, Ji teaches the limitations of Claim 1. Ji does not explicitly disclose wherein the gas meter reading data is collected by self-meter reading by a consumer, and wherein the temperature data is temperature data of a region of a consumer residence.
In the same field of endeavor, Lim teaches wherein the gas meter reading data is collected by self-meter reading by a consumer (e.g. see [pg. 1 paragraph 2] “The present invention relates to a gas consumption self-checking method which enables a user to self-meter a gas consumption amount and provide the gas consumption amount through a portable terminal., and wherein the temperature data is temperature data of a region of a consumer residence (e.g. see [pg. 2 paragraph 1] “Electricity, gas or the like is supplied to a home or a factory, and a meter is installed to measure usage to charge the supplier”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to combine the gas meter of Ji with the self-meter of Lim for the purpose of correcting energy usage data with the advantage of a consumer led correction method to ensure the accuracy of the received data.
Regarding Claim 6, Ji and Lim teach the limitations of Claim 5. Ji further discloses wherein correcting comprises correcting gas energy usage, based on an average temperature which is calculated from temperature data collected from a previous gas meter reading data collection time to a present gas meter reading data collection time (e.g. see [pg 4 last paragraph-pg. 5 paragraph 1] “Here, aDEC .sub.i is the daily average energy consumption during the meter reading period of the billing reference month (i), MEC .sub.i is the monthly energy consumption during the meter reading period corresponding to the billing reference month (i), and ND .sub.i is the billing standard (i) month It means the number of days in the meter reading period diagram corresponding to The daily average energy consumption calculation unit 200 divides the monthly energy consumption by the meter reading period according to Equation 1 based on the meter reading date information stored in the information collection unit 100, thereby dividing it into the daily average energy consumption during the actual meter reading period”).
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (KR20220156169A) in view of Lim (KR20180113794 A), and in further view of Kim (KR20220090202 A).
Regarding Claim 7, Ji and Lim teach the limitations of Claim 6. Ji does not explicitly discloses wherein correcting comprises, when a consumer uses a gas boiler, calculating the average temperature by giving a variable weight to daytime temperature data and nighttime temperature data.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches wherein correcting comprises, when a consumer uses a gas boiler (e.g. see [pg. 5 paragraph 11 ] “there is a heat pump that uses electricity and an absorption type cold/hot water heater that uses gas, the equipment with high efficiency is selected after comparing the seasonal efficiencies of each facility”), calculating the average temperature by giving a variable weight to daytime temperature data and nighttime temperature data (e.g. see [3 paragraphs 6-7] “Next, in estimating the daily heat consumption, it is obtained by multiplying Equation 1 above by the temperature change weight and the day characteristic weight. The temperature change weight is the value obtained by dividing the sum of the cooling rate (CDD) and heating index (HDD) for a specific day by the total sum of the cooling rate and heating index for the month. ) can be obtained and can be expressed as in [Equation 2]”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to combine the average temperature of Ji with the variable weight of Kim for the purpose of correcting energy usage data with the advantage of ensuring the accuracy of the data used in the correction method.
Regarding Claim 8, Ji, Lim, and Kim teach the limitations of Claim 7. Ji does not explicitly disclose wherein correcting comprises, when a consumer does not use a gas boiler, calculating the average temperature by invariably giving a higher weight to daytime temperature data than nighttime temperature data.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches wherein correcting comprises, when a consumer does not use a gas boiler, calculating the average temperature by invariably giving a higher weight to daytime temperature data than nighttime temperature data (e.g. see [pg. 8 paragraph 4] “After that, the heat consumption by time period is predicted by applying the energy consumption weight for each time period and the area in which energy is used in a fixed manner”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to combine the average temperature of Ji with the variable weight of Kim for the purpose of correcting energy usage data with the advantage of ensuring the accuracy of the data used in the correction method.
Regarding Claim 9, Ji, Lim, and Kim teach the limitations of Claim 7. While Ji teaches changing the average based on the season of the year (e.g. see [pg. 9 paragraph 4-6]“As shown in FIG. 6, the energy consumption correction unit 500 calculates the relative deviation based on the difference between the daily average temperature and the reference temperature, and corrects the daily average heating and cooling energy consumption to the climate-corrected heating and cooling energy consumption for the corresponding day.Tables 1 to 3 below show examples for each season according to the heater mode unit 520, the air conditioner mode unit 530, and the intermediate mode unit 540, respectively.First, Table 1 shows the daily average heating and cooling energy consumption and daily average temperature for January (heating season) based on the bill,” and [pg. 10 paragraph 2-3] “Next, Table 2 shows the daily average heating and cooling energy consumption and daily average temperature for August (cooling season) based on the bill. Table 2 shows an example of an air conditioner (summer)”), Ji does not explicitly disclose wherein correcting comprises: giving a higher weight to daytime temperature data than nighttime temperature data in the summer; and giving a higher weight to nighttime temperature data than daytime temperature data in the winter.
In the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches wherein correcting comprises: giving a higher weight to daytime temperature data than nighttime temperature data in the summer; and giving a higher weight to nighttime temperature data than daytime temperature data in the winter (e.g. see [pg. 8 paragraph 4] “The heat demand prediction unit 410 predicts the monthly heat consumption based on the monthly heat consumption data stored in the database 200, and predicts the daily heat consumption by applying the temperature change weight and the day characteristic weight to the monthly heat consumption. After that, the heat consumption by time period is predicted by applying the energy consumption weight for each time period and the area in which energy is used in a fixed manner”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to combine the average temperature and seasonal embodiments of Ji with the variable weight of Kim for the purpose of correcting energy usage data with the advantage of ensuring the accuracy of the data used in the correction method.
Claims 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ji (KR20220156169 A) in view of Kim (KR20220090202 A).
Regarding Claim 11, Ji teaches an energy usage correction method (e.g. see [pg. 13 paragraph 2] “The present invention is an energy consumption correction method”) comprising:
correcting energy usage based on the collected temperature data (e.g. see [pg. 2 paragraph 2] “an energy consumption correction system and correction method reflecting information on a meter reading date and daily average temperature”).
While Ji teaches collecting temperature data, Ji does not explicitly disclose collecting temperature data from a weather server. In the same field of endeavor, Kim teaches collecting temperature data from a weather server (e.g. see [pg. 7 paragraph 13] “The database 200 stores operation information for each facility and various data collected from the external server 700 . Such data may include electricity usage data, production unit price data by time period, weather information, and the like”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date to combine the temperature data of Ji with the weather server of Kim for the purpose of correcting energy usage data with the advantage of additional data to ensure the accuracy of the correction.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
NPL Reference 1 (H. Wang, C. Gu, X. Zhang, F. Li and L. Gu, "Identifying the correlation between ambient temperature and gas consumption in a local energy system," in CSEE Journal of Power and Energy Systems, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 479-486, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.17775/CSEEJPES.2017.00260) teaches assigning variable weights to different times in the day when computing average temperature.
JP 2015090639 A teaches calculating average temperature when predicting energy usage and weighting the time of day.
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/NYLA GAVIA/Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/Catherine T. Rastovski/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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