DETAILED ACTION
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on June 10, 2024 has been reviewed and considered by the Examiner.
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 .
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) 1-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iden (US 8,413,589) in view of Bean (US 2017/0063104).
Iden discloses a container based locomotive power source and method of operating. The system is comprised of a plurality of intermodal containers 40 to be double stacked on a rail car, as shown in figure 1. The container is further comprised of a power source that may include an electric generator 42, as shown in figures 2A and 2B and further comprised of the power source being “selected from the group consisting of a fuel cell, a flow battery and a battery.” The power source 44 on the container connects with the input connections on a locomotive 12 and allows for a power transfer from the container to the locomotive. The locomotive is comprised of a switch to prevent power to flow back to the container and also includes a bus and rectifier to transfer the power to an operating current fort the motors 22 on the locomotive. The containers are mounted to the rail car 36 which is in turn coupled mechanically and electrically to the locomotive. Iden further state that the containers are intermodal containers. By definition, the term intermodal makes it inherent that the containers shown in the railcars in figure 1, can be removed from the train and transferred to a truck chassis and in turn to a ship or aircraft.
Iden discloses the container-based power source as described above. However, Iden does not show the power source to be solar panels installed on the exterior of the containers. Beam discloses a truck having a trailer 104 equipped with a solar panel 134 to collect solar energy in order to charge an auxiliary batter 120 mounted on the truck. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have utilized a solar energy system, like that of Bean, and apply it to a container, like that of Iden, with the expected result of providing an efficient and renewable energy source for the locomotive and its components.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Go (2020/0231036), Zhou (US 2020/0058812) and Ebert et al (US 2019/0084428) all disclose vehicle mounted solar charging systems.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Robert J McCarry Jr. whose telephone number is (571)272-6683. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:00-3:00.
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, S. Joseph Morano can be reached at 571-272-6684. 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.
/Robert J McCarry Jr/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3615
RJM
July 28, 2026
Prosecution Insights