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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 6-9, 13-16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by McNeill (US 20120161446 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, McNeill teaches a deterioration detection system comprising:
an optical fiber that is laid along a wind turbine for power generation (Para 30: “an optical fiber coupled to the at least the portion of the wind turbine generator”);
at least one memory storing instructions (Para 23: “A computer or other processor located at each control station 104”), and
at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to (Para 23: “A computer or other processor located at each control station 104”);
transmit pulsed light to the optical fiber (402 Fig. 4; Para 30: “emitting light into an optical fiber”)
and receive an optical signal including information indicating vibration of the wind turbine from the optical fiber (404 Fig. 4; Para 32: “the parameter may be measured at the corresponding locations of the at least the portion of the wind turbine generator based on the received backscattered light” and Para 29: “The parameter may be temperature, pressure, strain, or vibration”); and
detect deterioration of the wind turbine on the basis of the information indicating the vibration of the wind turbine, the information being included in the optical signal (412 Fig. 4; Para 38: “the health or status of one or more components of the wind turbine generator may be monitored”).
Regarding Claim 2, McNeill teaches wherein the optical fiber is laid along a tower housing of the wind turbine (Para 29: “measuring a parameter of at least a portion of a wind turbine generator 102 using distributed sensing. The portion of the wind turbine generator may be the foundation 205, the tower 202, the nacelle 204, the rotor 206, the blade 208 or any combination thereof”).
Regarding Claim 6, McNeill teaches wherein the optical fiber is laid along a plurality of wind turbines (Fig. 1; Para 22: “Each wind farm in system 100 may comprise a plurality of wind turbine generators 102”), and
the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to detect deterioration of each of the plurality of wind turbines of the basis of information indicating vibration of each of the plurality of wind turbines, the information being included in the optical signal (Para 23: “Each of the (local) control stations 104 may communicate with a remote station 106 for monitoring multiple wind farms at a single location”).
Regarding Claim 7, McNeill teaches wherein the at least on processor is further configured to execute instructions to notify a predetermined notification destination that the wind turbine has deteriorated in a case where it is determined that the wind turbine has deteriorated (Para 23: “when a parameter (e.g., temperature, pressure, strain, vibration, and the like) on a portion of one of the wind turbine generators 102 is determined to be outside a valid operating range, the control station may transmit a flag or other indication to the remote station 106”).
Regarding Claims 8 and 15, the limitations of claims 8 and 15 are analogous to claim 1.
Regarding Claims 9 and 16, the limitations of claims 9 and 16 are analogous to claim 2.
Regarding Claims 13 and 20, the limitations of claims 13 and 20 are analogous to claim 6.
Regarding Claim 14, the limitations of claim 14 are analogous to claim 7.
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 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over McNeill in view of Gao (CN 206431233 U).
Regarding Claims 4 and 5, McNeill teaches the limitations of claim 1, but does not explicitly teach wherein, in a portion other than the wind turbine, the optical fiber is laid along a power transmission cable connected to the wind turbine; and
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to further detect deterioration of the power transmission cable on the basis of information indicating vibration of the power transmission cable, the information being included in the optical signal.
Gao teaches wherein, in a portion other than the wind turbine, the optical fiber is laid along a power transmission cable connected to the wind turbine (Fig. 1; Para 16: “an online monitoring system for a 220kY submarine cable of an offshore wind farm is composed of a distributed optical fiber temperature measurement device” and “The optical fibers one (6-1), two (6-2), three (6-3) and four (6-4) are all located inside the submarine cable (7)”); and
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to further detect deterioration of the power transmission cable on the basis of information indicating vibration of the power transmission cable, the information being included in the optical signal (Para 18: “use optical fiber one (6-1) and optical fiber two (6-2) as sensors and signal transmission media to obtain the temperature and vibration information of each point of the 220kY submarine cable in real time and transmit it to the platform software” and “the platform software (3) can provide early warning of anchor damage events that endanger the safety of the submarine cable and their locations by comprehensively analyzing the vibration”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the invention of McNeill with the invention of Gao by extending the optical fiber of McNeill along a power transmission cable as taught by Gao. Doing so would allow for detection of deterioration in both the wind turbine and power cable.
Regarding Claims 11 and 18, the limitations of claims 11 and 18 are analogous to claim 4.
Regarding Claims 12 and 19, the limitations of claims 12 and 19 are analogous to claim 5.
Examiner’s Note
Claims 3, 10, and 17 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.
Claims 3, 10, and 17 distinguish over the prior art made of record.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of distinguishing over the prior art made of record:
Regarding Claim 3, McNeill and Gao do not explicitly teach a relationship between power generation amount and vibration frequency of the wind turbine or deriving the vibration frequency from the vibration of the wind turbine.
Kramer (US 20150345467 A1) teaches learning a relationship between power generation and vibration frequency of a wind turbine (Para 54-55). Kramer additionally teaches deriving vibration frequency from measured vibrations (Para 60). Kramer also teaches determining a fault if the vibration frequency lies outside a confidence interval (Para 58).
Kramer does not teach determining deterioration if the power generation lies outside a predetermined range.
Miyazaki (US 20210293665 A1) teaches deriving frequency spectrum from vibration data from a wind turbine (S14 Fig. 5; Para 52). Miyazaki additionally teaches determining an abnormality based on the vibration data (Fig. 4; Para 48).
Miyazaki does not explicitly teach determining deterioration if the power generation lies outside a predetermined range.
Sun (CN 112459972 A) teaches using vibration data to determine the state of wind power generator (Para 52).
Sun does not explicitly teach a relationship between power generation amount and vibration frequency. Sun does not explicitly teach determining deterioration if the power generation lies outside a predetermined range.
None of the prior art teaches or fairly suggests “determine that the wind turbine has deteriorated in a case where the power generation amount corresponding to the vibration frequency of the vibration generated in the wind turbine is out of a predetermined range”.
Regarding Claims 10 and 17, the limitations of claims 10 and 17 are analogous to claim 3 and distinguish over the prior art for analogous reasons.
Conclusion
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/RODGER STEWART MENSING/Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/ANDREW SCHECHTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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