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 .
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.
Claims 1. 12-13, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lim et al. Publication No. US 2012/0327538.
Regarding claims 1, 13, and 20, Lim discloses a substation comprising:
a transformer [Fig. 6, transformer with a primary winding 114 and a secondary winding 112] coupled to a plurality of generators [Fig. 6, plurality of loads A, B] and comprising:
a core [par. 0004, 0024]; and
a first monitoring winding [Fig. 6, winding 116] disposed on the core; and
a monitoring circuit [Fig. 6, voltage and current sensors 146 and 156] coupled to the first monitoring winding and configured to:
measure a first single-phase voltage of the transformer via the first monitoring winding [Fig. 6, voltage sensor 146 measures a voltage of the transformer via tertiary winding 116; par. 0030];
monitor for one or more faults that affect the substation based at least in part on the first single-phase voltage [par. 0032].
Regarding claim 12, Lim discloses that the first monitoring winding [Fig. 6, winding 116] provides a power supply for the monitoring circuit [par. 0028].
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 18 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lim et al. Publication No. US 2012/0327538, in view of Chowdhury et al. Publication No. US 2020/0067445.
Regarding claim 18, Lim discloses a transformer and a monitoring circuit connected to the transformer to separate a faulty section when a fault current is generated.
However, Lim does not further comprise a respective circuit breaker coupled between the substation and a respective generator of the plurality of generators, wherein the monitoring circuit is further configured to: determine that one of the plurality of generators is a source of the one or more faults, based on the monitoring; and trigger an automatic disconnection of the generator that is the source of the one or more faults from the system via the respective circuit breaker coupled to the generator that is the source of the one or more faults.
Chowdhury discloses a method to determine a fault of an electrical generator. Chowdhury discloses a substation [Fig. 1, 119; par. 0027]; a plurality of generators [Fig. 1, 110, 112, 114, 116; Fig. 2, G1, G2] and a respective circuit breaker [Fig. 1, circuit breakers 152, 160; Fig. 2, circuit breakers 226, 276] coupled between the substation and a respective generator of the plurality of generators, wherein the monitoring circuit [Fig. 1, IED 106, 104, 115; par. 0027], is further configured to: determine that one of the plurality of generators is a source of the one or more faults, based on the monitoring [par. 0029; par. 0036]; and trigger an automatic disconnection of the generator that is the source of the one or more faults from the system via the respective circuit breaker coupled to the generator that is the source of the one or more faults [par. 0038; IED 362 may send command signals 348 to the circuit breaker 252 such as a trip or open command upon determination of an internal fault condition in generator 312].
Lim and Chowdhury are analogous power distribution networks comprising transformers with monitoring circuits. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to incorporate circuit breakers between a substation and a generator, for the benefit of providing critical protection by isolation a faulty generator from the grid, preventing equipment damage from high fault currents and avoiding fires.
Regarding claim 19, Chowdhury does not explicitly disclose the locations of the substation and the plurality of generators. However, the location of a substation and a plurality of generators is not limited to either onshore or offshore, it is a design and site-specific choice determined by wind resources and land availability. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the substation and the plurality of generators located on-shore, for the benefit of connecting directly to the local grid with lower installation and maintenance costs.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-11, 14-17 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claims 2, 14: The prior art does not disclose that the core comprises a plurality of yoke segments and a plurality of core legs; the transformer comprises a first set of windings disposed around a first core leg of the plurality of core legs, the first set of windings being coupled to a first single-phase power supply; and the first monitoring winding is disposed around a first yoke segment of the plurality of yoke segments. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claims 7, 16: The prior art does not disclose that the monitoring circuit further comprises a plurality of current transformers; the monitoring circuit is further configured to measure a respective single-phase current within the transformer via a respective current transformer of the plurality of current transformers; and the monitoring circuit is configured to monitor for one or more faults further based at least in part on the measured single-phase currents. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 9: The prior art does not disclose that the core comprises a plurality of yoke segments; and the first monitoring winding is disposed around a single yoke segment of the plurality of yoke segments. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 10: The prior art does not disclose that the core comprises a plurality of yoke segments; and the first monitoring winding is disposed around each of at least two yoke segments of the plurality of yoke segments. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reason for allowance of claim 11: The prior art does not disclose that the core comprises a plurality of core legs; and the first monitoring winding is disposed around a single core leg of the plurality of core legs. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DHARTI PATEL whose telephone number is (571)272-8659. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 9 AM - 5 PM.
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, Thienvu Tran can be reached at 571-270-1276. 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.
DHARTI PATEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2836
/DHARTI H PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838