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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
Receipt is acknowledged of a request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) and a submission, filed on 3 September 2026
Response to Arguments/Amendments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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.
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.
Claims 1-4, 8-15 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2012/0143810 by Berg-Sonne in view of US 10,365,620 by Raeber et al. (Raeber hereinafter).
Regarding claim 1, Berg-Sonne discloses a method of managing an energy system performed by an intelligent energy management system [see at least Abstract; paragraph 0009], the method comprising: detecting [see at least Figure 1, (32)], by a rules execution engine executing on the intelligent energy management system, [see at least paragraph 0081, “Each LEO 20-1, 20-2 includes a respective rules engine 22-1, 22-2 for processing the stored sensor data and signaling the controls 37 and BMS controllers 39-1, 39-2, if necessary”] at least one event signal [see at least paragraphs 0068 and 0081]; identifying, by the rules execution engine, based on the at least one event signal, at least one operational rule from a plurality of operational rules managed by the intelligent energy management system [see at least paragraph 0378], the at least one operational rule specifying one or more conditions associated with the at least one event signal and one or more operations associated with at least one managed object [see at least Figure 19; paragraphs 0419-00425], the at least one managed object comprising at least one of an electrical source and an electrical load [see at least paragraph 0078, “to control and monitor the building's mechanical and electrical equipment such as HVAC, lighting, power systems, fire systems, and security systems”] , wherein identifying the at least one operational rule comprises: comparing the one or more conditions specified by the at least one operational rule with the at least one event signal [see at least Figure 22, (4131)], determining, based on the comparison, that the one or more conditions are met by the at least one event signal, identifying the at least one operational rule based on the determination that the one or more conditions are met by the at least one event signal [see at least Figure 22, (4132)-(4133)]; executing, at least in part by the rules execution engine, the one or more operations specified in the at least one operational rule [see at least Figure 23, (4022)-(4023)], wherein executing the one or more operations comprises actuating an electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object [see at least paragraphs 0074-0078; Figure 1, “Relays”]; and updating a state database managed by the intelligent energy management system in response to executing the one or more operations [see at least paragraphs 0388 and 0427; Figure 2].
Berg-Sonne does not explicitly disclose actuating an electrical connection associated with the managed object. However, Raeber discloses a home automation system [see at least Abstract] which remotely controls devices [see at least Figure 1, (104)] using a rules database [see at least Figure 2, (208)].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant's invention to modify the system of Berg-Sonne to include the specific actuating an electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object, as disclosed by Raeber, in order to fully control the electrical connection to the various devices attached to the system. Thus, offering the benefit of reducing energy consumption when the devices aren’t needed to operate.
Regarding claim 2, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein executing the one or more operations comprises: issuing, by the rules execution engine to energy combiner and redirector hardware of the intelligent energy management system, a control signal [see at least paragraph 0081, “;a respective rules engine 22-1, 22-2 for processing the stored sensor data and signaling the controls 37”] wherein the energy combiner and redirector hardware is configured to actuate the electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object based on the control signal [see at least paragraphs 0074-0078; Figure 1, “Relays”].
Regarding claim 3, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein at least one condition of the one or more conditions is associated with intelligent energy management system state information included in the state database [see at least Figures 20, (4080)].
Regarding claim 4, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 3.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein identifying the at least one operational rule is further based on at least one entry in the state database managed by the intelligent energy management system [see at least Figure 22, (4010)].
Regarding claim 8, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Raeber discloses wherein the electrical load comprises one or more of an electric vehicle charger, a battery storage system, and an electric appliance [see at least column 2, lines 3-8].
Regarding claim 9, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the method further comprises receiving, by the intelligent energy management system, the at least one event signal [see at least Figure 22, (4120)].
Regarding claim 10, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 9.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the at least one event signal comprises an external event signal [see at least Figure 1, (32); the sensor signals are external].
Regarding claim 11, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 10.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the external event signal comprises weather information [see at least paragraph 0082, “Examples of logical sensors 74 include weather forecasts, such as provided by Google, Inc., climate models”].
Regarding claim 12, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 11.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the external event signal is received from a weather service [see at least paragraph 0082, “Examples of logical sensors 74 include weather forecasts, such as provided by Google, Inc., climate models”].
Regarding claim 13, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 10.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the external event signal comprises energy pricing information [see at least paragraph 0082, “Examples of logical sensors 74 include weather forecasts, such as provided by Google, Inc., climate models, electricity rates”].
Regarding claim 14, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 10.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the external event signal is received from a machine learning service provider [see at least paragraph 0082, “Examples of logical sensors 74 include weather forecasts, such as provided by Google, Inc., climate models”; Google is considered a machine learning service provider].
Regarding claim 15, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 9.
Raeber discloses wherein the at least one event signal comprises a signal provided by a user of the intelligent energy management system [see at least column 2, lines 25-28].
Regarding claim 18, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Raeber discloses wherein actuating the electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object comprises electrically connecting the electrical load to the intelligent energy management system [see at least column 4, lines 35-40].
Regarding claim 19, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Raeber discloses wherein actuating the electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object comprises electrically disconnecting the electrical load from the intelligent energy management system [see at least column 4, lines 35-40].
Regarding claim 20, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne discloses wherein the plurality of operational rules are included in a rule database managed by the intelligent energy management system [see at least Figure 3].
Claims 5-7 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2012/0143810 by Berg-Sonne in view of US 10,365,620 by Raeber et al. (Raeber hereinafter) in further view of US 2022/0060048 by Narla et al. (Narla hereinafter).
Regarding claim 5, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber fails to explicitly teach wherein the electrical source comprises a utility provider connection. However, Narla discloses an energy control system [see at least Abstract] which uses a connection to utility power [see at least Figure 1, (180)].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant's invention to modify the system of Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber to use utility power as a power source, as disclosed by Narla, in order to have access to a reliable and consistent energy source. Thus, offering the benefit of accessible power to supply the system.
Regarding claim 6, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber fails to teach wherein the electrical source comprises a local electrical source. However, Narla discloses an energy control system [see at least Abstract] which uses a connection to local power sources [see at least Figure 1, (150) and (160)].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant's invention to modify the system of Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber to use a local power source, as disclosed by Narla, in order to have access to a reliable and consistent energy source. Thus, offering the benefit of accessible power to supply the system.
Regarding claim 7, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber fails to teach wherein the local electrical source comprises one or more of a battery storage system, a generator system, and an electric vehicle battery system. However, Narla discloses an energy control system [see at least Abstract] which uses a connection to a battery storage system [see at least Figure 1, (150)].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant's invention to modify the system of Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber to use battery storage system, as disclosed by Narla, in order to have access to a reliable and consistent energy source. Thus, offering the benefit of accessible power to supply the system.
Regarding claim 16, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber fails to teach wherein actuating the electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object comprises electrically connecting the electrical source to the intelligent energy management system. However, Narla discloses an energy control system [see at least Abstract] which uses a connection to utility power [see at least Figure 1, (180)] that is switched between connected and disconnected [see at least paragraph 0125, “microgrid interconnection device 822 is configured to switch between: (1) an on-grid mode electrically connecting grid interconnection 880 and backup power interconnection 840 to backup load interconnection 870, and (2) a backup mode electrically disconnecting grid interconnection 880 from the backup power interconnection 840 and backup load interconnection 870”].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant's invention to modify the system of Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber to connect to utility power when it is available, as disclosed by Narla, in order to have access to a reliable and consistent energy source. Thus, offering the benefit of accessible power to supply the system.
Regarding claim 17, Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber teaches the method of claim 1.
Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber fails to teach wherein actuating the electrical connection associated with the at least one managed object comprises electrically disconnecting the electrical source from the intelligent energy management system. However, Narla discloses an energy control system [see at least Abstract] which uses a connection to utility power [see at least Figure 1, (180)] that is switched between connected and disconnected [see at least paragraph 0125, “microgrid interconnection device 822 is configured to switch between: (1) an on-grid mode electrically connecting grid interconnection 880 and backup power interconnection 840 to backup load interconnection 870, and (2) a backup mode electrically disconnecting grid interconnection 880 from the backup power interconnection 840 and backup load interconnection 870”].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the Applicant's invention to modify the system of Berg-Sonne in view of Raeber to disconnect from utility power when it is unavailable, as disclosed by Narla, in order to have access to a reliable backup power. Thus, offering the benefit of accessible power to supply the system.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Joel Barnett whose telephone number is (571)272-2879. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST.
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/JOEL BARNETT/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/REGIS J BETSCH/SPE, Art Unit 2836
