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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 7, 10, 11, and 13-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected subcombination, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/30/2026.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In [0021], lines 3-4, “second third-party system 12” should be --second third-party system 124-- to correct a typo.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 420 (see FIG. 4). Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 6, 12, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arfin et al. (US 20100057582 A1; hereinafter “Arfin”) in view of GREGOR et al. (CH 717805 A1; machine translation provided; hereinafter “GREGOR”).
Regarding claim 1, Arfin teaches a renewable energy metering and monitoring device (i.e., “A SolarGuardTM monitor 110 tracks the performance of the solar system and reports the data to a central location over the Internet”; see [0038]), comprising:
a network interface configured to establish a communication channel (this is implied or obvious because of the connection between 110 and 104 in FIG. 1) with one or more inverters at a renewable energy production source site (i.e., “a SolarGuard monitor 110 (FIG. 1) that reports key operating information about their particular systems. For example, data reports can be collected periodically about current/voltage/power coming from the solar panels 102 (FIG. 1), outside temperatures at their respective locations, operating temperature of the inverter 104 (FIG. 1)”; see [0088]);
a data acquisition circuit configured to acquire raw renewable energy production data as electricity is generated from one or more renewable energy generation devices at the renewable energy production source site based on data signals directly obtained from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel (i.e., “a SolarGuard monitor 110 (FIG. 1) that reports key operating information about their particular systems. For example, data reports can be collected periodically about current/voltage/power coming from the solar panels 102 (FIG. 1), outside temperatures at their respective locations, operating temperature of the inverter 104 (FIG. 1)”; see [0088]; note that the data acquisition circuit is implied or obvious for the monitor to obtain the data signal from the inverter);
a meter configured to monitor and record an amount of renewable energy generated (i.e., “a SolarGuard monitor 110 (FIG. 1) that reports key operating information about their particular systems. For example, data reports can be collected periodically about current/voltage/power coming from the solar panels 102 (FIG. 1), outside temperatures at their respective locations, operating temperature of the inverter 104 (FIG. 1), user electrical loads supplied by electrical panel 106 (FIG. 1), utility meter 108 readings, condition of the utility grid at that feedpoint, occupancy sensors”; see [0088]; “These individually report their qualifying energy generation in real-time or near real time to a centralized server 810”; see [0133]; note that the monitor 110 has the “meter” function because it reads and reports the energy generation data) as well as a date (i.e., “the time of actual production”; see [0133])
a sensor circuit board connected to the data acquisition circuit and the meter, wherein the sensor circuit board is communicatively coupled to one or more sensors configured to generate sensor information indicative of on-the-ground ambient conditions that exist during renewable energy production at the renewable energy production source site influencing production of renewable energy (i.e., “a SolarGuard monitor 110 (FIG. 1) that reports key operating information about their particular systems. For example, data reports can be collected periodically about current/voltage/power coming from the solar panels 102 (FIG. 1), outside temperatures at their respective locations, operating temperature of the inverter 104 (FIG. 1), user electrical loads supplied by electrical panel 106 (FIG. 1), utility meter 108 readings, condition of the utility grid at that feedpoint, occupancy sensors, building temperature, etc.”; see [0088]; note that the sensor circuit board and sensors are implied or obvious for obtaining the ambient condition); and
a controller configured to communicate a plurality of renewable energy production datasets to a central (i.e., “The SolarGuard monitor 110 enables continuous monitoring of the key performance variables of the system, and transmit the data through the Internet to specialized servers”; see [0044]; “These individually report their qualifying energy generation in real-time or near real time to a centralized server 810”; see [0133]: note that the controller is implied or obvious for performing the data communication),
wherein the central (i.e., “The information collected is identified by station ID and forwards through the Internet 410 to a SolarGuard server 412”; see [0088]) that is processed to generate a renewable energy certificate (REC) claim request in a defined taxonomy (i.e., “These individually report their qualifying energy generation in real-time or near real time to a centralized server 810. Communication via the Internet is probably the most practical in the majority of situations. A REC's certifying standards process 812 applies the various standards required for particular jurisdictions, e.g., RPS for California, Texas, etc. The metered energy generated by many renewable energy generators is accumulated and tallied into one megawatt-hour units, for example, and given unique tags to avoid double-counting. The tags could be serial numbers that index into a database that identifies the particular constituents contributing to the whole unit, their location, and the time of actual production. Documents 813 can thereafter be issued as hardcopy REC certificates, or as electronic REC account credits”; see [0133])
Arfin does not explicitly disclose (see only the underlined):
a meter configured to monitor and record an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated.
But GREGOR teaches:
monitor and record an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated (i.e., “the data of each energy meter comprising the measured amount of energy of each time interval and the time and date of the time interval”; see translation p. 2, middle section).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Arfin in view of GREGOR by configuring the meter to monitor and record an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated, as claimed. The rationale would be to facilitate the tracking and documentation of the measured data.
Arfin does not explicitly disclose (see only the underlined):
a controller configured to communicate a plurality of renewable energy production datasets to a central cloud server.
However, a cloud-based server is well-known. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the central server as a central could server, as claimed. The rationale would be to take advantages of the flexibility and processing power of a cloud server.
Arfin does not explicitly disclose (see only the underlined):
wherein the central cloud server is configured to generate an electronically verifiable span data package from the plurality of renewable energy production datasets that is processed to generate a renewable energy certificate (REC) claim request in a defined taxonomy compatible to be read by an application programming interface (API) of a first third-party system associated with a renewable energy verifier entity.
But Arfin further teaches:
a third party to read application data and issue an REC (i.e., “A certifying agency 354 empowers the system integrator 306 to verify energy production, aggregate partial REC's, and certify the REC's it issues to the employer 352”; see [0087]).
Also, it is well-known to provide an API for communication between software applications.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the central cloud server to generate an electronically verifiable span data package from the plurality of renewable energy production datasets that is processed to generate a renewable energy certificate (REC) claim request in a defined taxonomy compatible to be read by an application programming interface (API) of a first third-party system associated with a renewable energy verifier entity, as claimed. The rationale would be to allow the third part agency to read the energy production report and issue an REC using their software application in communication with the cloud server’s software application.
Regarding claim 2, Arfin further teaches:
wherein the on-the-ground ambient conditions comprises one or more of: a weather condition, an air quality or pollution condition, a wind speed parameter, an air temperature parameter, an atmospheric pressure condition, a terrain condition, a relative humidity (RH) condition, a rainfall condition, a precipitable water condition, a Snow Days (SD) condition, a Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) condition, and a Heating Degree Days (HDDs) condition (i.e., “a SolarGuard monitor 110 (FIG. 1) that reports key operating information about their particular systems. For example, data reports can be collected periodically about current/voltage/power coming from the solar panels 102 (FIG. 1), outside temperatures at their respective locations, operating temperature of the inverter 104 (FIG. 1), user electrical loads supplied by electrical panel 106 (FIG. 1), utility meter 108 readings, condition of the utility grid at that feedpoint, occupancy sensors, building temperature, etc.”; see [0088]).
Regarding claim 6, the prior art applied to the preceding linking claim(s) teaches the features of the linking claim(s).
Arfin does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the network interface of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is connected to a corresponding data port of the one or more inverters to securely obtain data signals from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel.
However, it is well-known to use a data port for secure data communications. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adapt the inverter such that the network interface of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is connected to a corresponding data port of the one or more inverters to securely obtain data signals from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel, as claimed. The rationale would be to facilitate communicating the data of the inverter to the monitor.
Regarding claim 12, the claim recites the same substantive limitations as claim 1 and is rejected by applying the same teachings.
Regarding claim 20, the claim recites the same substantive limitations as claim 1 and is rejected by applying the same teachings.
Claims 5 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arfin in view of GREGOR and de HOOG et al. (US 20200132737 A1; hereinafter “de HOOG”).
Regarding claim 5, the prior art applied to the preceding linking claim(s) teaches the features of the linking claim(s).
Arfin does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the controller of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is further configured to ascertain whether the raw renewable energy production data is aligned with the sensor information indicative of the on-the-ground ambient conditions.
But de HOOG teaches:
ascertaining whether the raw renewable energy production data is aligned with the sensor information indicative of the on-the-ground ambient conditions (i.e., “The analytic module 306 may analyze the DC voltage signal in order to verify that the DC voltage signal is from a renewable energy source (e.g., energy generation source 305). For example, the analytic module 306 may also analyze the DC voltage/current signals and/or AC voltage/current signals to compare peak generation to rated peak generation, compare generation over a time period to expected generation over that time period for the of the energy generation source 305, and/or compare generation of a time period to anticipated generation based on weather, sensor measurements (such as skycaps), generation from neighbors, etc.”; see [0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Arfin in view of GREGOR, further in view of de HOOG to configure to ascertain whether the raw renewable energy production data is aligned with the sensor information indicative of the on-the-ground ambient conditions, as claimed. The rationale would be to ensure the measured energy production data is valid (see de HOOG, [0018], [0041]).
Regarding claim 9, the prior art applied to the preceding linking claim(s) teaches the features of the linking claim(s).
Arfin does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the controller of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is further configured to determine an on-the ground performance of a list of renewable energy generation devices based on the sensor information.
But de HOOG teaches:
determining an on-the ground performance of a list of renewable energy generation devices based on the sensor information (i.e., “compare generation of a time period to anticipated generation based on weather, sensor measurements (such as skycaps), generation from neighbors, etc.”; see [0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Arfin in view of GREGOR, further in view of de HOOG to configure the controller of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device to determine an on-the ground performance of a list of renewable energy generation devices based on the sensor information, as claimed. The rationale would be to ensure the measured energy production data is valid (see de HOOG, [0018], [0041]).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Arfin in view of GREGOR and Berbach et al. (US 20220414772 A1; hereinafter “Berbach”).
Regarding claim 8, the prior art applied to the preceding linking claim(s) teaches the features of the linking claim(s).
Arfin does not explicitly disclose:
wherein the controller is further configured to execute a local pre-validation of the plurality of renewable energy production datasets using one or more defined checkpoints prior to communication to the central cloud server.
But Berbach teaches:
executing a local pre-validation of the plurality of renewable energy production datasets using one or more defined checkpoints (i.e., “Verifying the produced energy amount of the renewable energy generating system comprises doublechecking whether the determined produced energy amount of the first energy meter is correct”; see [0009]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Arfin in view of GREGOR, further in view of Berbach, by configuring the controller to execute a local pre-validation of the plurality of renewable energy production datasets using one or more defined checkpoints prior to communication to the central cloud server, as claimed. The rationale would be to doublecheck the data to be submitted for REC.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 4 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 3 and 4, the closest prior art of record fails to teach the feature of claim 3: “wherein the on-the-ground ambient conditions further comprise a first detection value indicative of whether a device-to-device connection between the renewable energy metering and monitoring device and the one or more inverters is maintained or lost, and if lost then record a duration of loss of the device-to-device connection,” in combination with the rest of the claim limitations as claimed and defined by the Applicant. Arfin merely teaches the monitor collecting data from the inverter for preparing energy production report for REC application. It does not teach or suggest the above indicated feature as claim. None of the closest prior art of record, singly or in combination, teaches or suggest the indicated feature.
Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
LEVINE et al. (US 20160350778 A1) teaches a method for facilitating generation of carbon credits, involving an inverter for solar energy equipment. The inverter has a built-in energy meter or works with a separate energy meter to record energy production data and transmit the data to the marketplace.
Bullen et al. (US 20140176044 A1) teaches a system for generation of solar renewable energy certificates, involving electronics in a renewal energy source site to record total power production and upload transaction records to either an external device for transmission to a records server or uploads it directly to a records server. The records server compiles the transaction records and generates renewable energy certificates by aggregating the transaction records.
TANG et al. (CN 113923018 A) teaches a green power certificate authentication system based on block chain, involving a data monitoring component for monitoring the green electric quantity data; a server connected to the data monitoring component for transmission; and a green certificate authentication component for green power certificate authentication.
SU et al. (CN 117440010 A) teaches a photovoltaic management method, involving collecting and storing generated energy data in real time, and compiling an intelligent contract according to a photovoltaic energy authentication standard; verifying the green property and renewable property of the photovoltaic energy by the intelligent contract, and issuing the authentication to the energy meeting the standard. establishing a distributed blockchain network architecture.
TANG et al. (CN 113704747 A) teaches a green power certificate authentication automatic generating system based on intelligent contract, involving a server; a data transmission module for uploading the data to the server; a data processing module for analyzing and processing the uploaded data according to the contract; and an account authentication system and a certificate issuing system for checking the user account and issuing the green power certificate.
Kremen (US 20100223180 A1) teaches a financing renewable energy equipment, involving an inverter which includes communication capability for users to monitor the inverter and report on several power and other operating conditions, provide firmware updates, safety modes and control the inverter.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN C KUAN whose telephone number is (571)270-7066. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00AM-5:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrew Schechter can be reached at (571) 272-2302. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN C KUAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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