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 . Claims 1-20 filed on 11/6/2024 have been reviewed and considered by this office action.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements filed on 8/21/2024 and 4/1/2025 have been reviewed and considered by this office action.
Drawings
The drawings filed on 8/21/2024 have been reviewed and are considered acceptable.
Specification
The specification filed on 8/21/2024 has been reviewed and is considered acceptable.
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.
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 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Makhota et al. (US PGPUB 20110172842) in view of Hartwig et al. (US PGPUB 20110143661).
Regarding Claims 1, 8, 15, and 17; Makhota teaches; An apparatus comprising:
an electrical power device comprising: (Makhota; at least Figs. 1 and 4; paragraphs [0033]-[0034]; disclose a plurality of local management units (LMU) for connecting to and controlling power flow in a plurality of solar panels)
at least one processor; (Makhota; at least Fig. 4; disclose controller (402))
an electrical power input configured to receive power from a plurality of power generators; (Makhota; at least Fig. 4; paragraphs [0060]-[0061]; disclose wires (420a/b) which act as an electrical power input for receiving power from solar panels (110/120))
a data communication interface; and (Makhota; at least Fig. 4; paragraph [0118]; disclose antenna (408))
a storage medium having stored thereon processor instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electrical power device to: (Makhota; at least paragraph [0127]; disclose a storage medium for storing execution instructions for the system)
establish, via the data communication interface, a data connection to a mobile device when an internet connection is unavailable to the electrical power device, (Makhota; at least paragraph [0118]; disclose wherein the system includes establishing a data connection with a hand-held device over a LAN connection (i.e. without connection through the internet))
receive, via the data communication interface, an update previously received by the mobile device for the electrical power device or at least one of the plurality of power generators, and (Makhota; at least paragraph [0091]; disclose wherein the system includes receiving a shutdown signal (i.e. update) from the mobile device which is sent to and received by the LMU’s of the system)
initiate actions, based on the update, on the electrical power device or the at least one of the plurality of power generators. (Makhota; at least paragraph [0091]; disclose wherein the system and method includes shutting down the solar system in response to the initiated actions from the mobile device).
Makhota appears to be silent on; receive, via the data communication interface, an update previously received by the mobile device for the electrical power device or at least one of the plurality of power generators, and
However, Hartwig teaches; receive, via the data communication interface, an update previously received by the mobile device for the electrical power device or at least one of the plurality of power generators, and (Hartwig; at least paragraphs [0013]-[0016] and [0149]; disclose a system and method for updating a device locally using a mobile device, wherein the device, prior to initiating the update, downloads the patch/firmware update from the internet and then utilizes NFC transmission technology to deliver the update to the device locally without the use of internet).
Makhota and Hartwig are analogous art because they are from the same field of endeavor or similar problem solving area of, monitoring, updating, and control systems.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the disclosed invention to have incorporated the known method of downloading firmware updates and providing them locally to a device as taught by Makhota with the known system of a monitoring and control PV generation plant as taught by Makhota in order to reduce service costs for a manufacturer by providing the updates to plant personnel, reducing the need to send technical personnel to job sites as taught by Hartwig (paragraph [0016]).
Regarding Claims 2, 10, 16, and 18; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the update comprises at least one new firmware version of at least one device of: the electrical power device, or the at least one of the plurality of power generators, and wherein the initiated actions comprise an installation of the at least one new firmware version on the at least one device. (Hartwig; at least paragraphs [0039]-[0049]).
Regarding Claims 3 and 9; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the update comprises a configuration dataset of at least one device of: the electrical power device, or the at least one of the plurality of power generators, wherein the initiated actions comprise an installation of the configuration dataset on the at least one device. (Makhota; at least paragraphs [0034], [0049], and [0081]).
Regarding Claims 4 and 11; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the update comprises a command to change an operational status of at least one device of: the electrical power device, or the at least one of the plurality of power generators, wherein the initiated actions comprise changing operational status of the at least one device. (Makhota; at least paragraph [0091]).
Regarding Claims 5, 14, and 20; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data connection between the mobile device and the electrical power device is active at a first time, wherein the internet connection between the mobile device and a remote internet-connected server is active at a second time, wherein the first time is different from the second time, wherein the mobile device establishes the data connection to the electrical power device from a first location, wherein the mobile device establishes the data connection to the remote internet-connected server from a second location, and wherein the first location and second location are different. (Hartwig; at least paragraphs [0039]-[0049]).
Regarding Claims 6 and 13; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrical power device comprises at least one photovoltaic power inverter, and wherein the plurality of power generators comprise at least one of: at least one photovoltaic power optimizer, or at least one photovoltaic power converter. (Makhota; at least paragraphs [0033] and [0045]).
Regarding Claim 7; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the update is stored on the mobile device prior to the establishing of the data connection, and wherein the update was received using the internet connection between the mobile device and a remote internet-connected server. (Hartwig; at least paragraphs [0039]-[0042]).
Regarding Claims 12 and 19; the combination of Makhota and Hartwig teach; The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the electrical power device and the plurality of power generators are components of a photovoltaic power generation system. (Makhota; at least Fig. 1; paragraphs [0032]-[0034]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Ferguson et al. (US PGPUB 20120040698): disclose a system and method including a handheld device capable of downloading a patch for a field device and downloading the patch to the field device based upon detected location.
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/CHRISTOPHER W CARTER/Examiner, Art Unit 2117
