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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 5-11 and 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected claims, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/11/2025.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following details must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Said various “ports”.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4 and 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1
The claim limitation of “configured to supply power to the energy storage converter” and “based on an operation state of the energy converter” are unintelligible as the overall apparatus itself is said “energy storage converter”. The limitation “configured to supply power to the energy storage converter” appears to read supplying power to itself which is unclear. The claim limitation of “based on an operation state of the energy converter” is unclear as again it is based on itself nor is any “basis” provided for the operation state.
The claim term “switching power supply circuit” is unclear. A “switching power supply circuit” is not a known component in the art however said term may intend to refer to a known “switch-mode power supply” (SMPS) also known as a “switching-mode power supply”, “switch-mode power supply” or “switched power supply”. However it is NOT known or referred to as a “switching power supply circuit” as claimed. Furthermore it is unclear what the term “circuit” is intended to add to the claim limitation and will be examined as best understood as a means to remove the claim term from any such known meaning and read on by any such power supply circuitry that supplies power.
The claim will be examined as best understood.
Regarding Claims 2-4 and 13-15
The claims purport to further limit the “operation state” by that of various undefined “states” ie. “a shutdown state” or a “standby state” however it is unclear what is intended to be meant by “a shutdown state” or a “standby state”. It would appear that said control of the AC switching power supply would define the state and not said state define said control. It would be expected that the claim would read something like, “in the shutdown state the AC switching power supply circuit is configured to… Because the claim fails to set forth what is meant by said “State”, the resulting functional language directed to the control circuit is unintelligible making it unclear what structure is intended to be added to the apparatus claim.
Said various “States” must be defined in terms of what said “state” entails, ie the operational parameters sensed/determined in order to understand the physical limitations intended to be added to further limit the control circuit. Without said function defined the claim is improperly narrative and overly broad.
Because of the great deal of confusion and uncertainty as to the proper interpretation of the limitations of the claim(s) 2-4 and 13-15, it is not proper to reject the present claim(s) on the basis of prior art. (See MPEP 2173.06 and In re Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 134 USPQ 292 (CCPA 1962).
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1 and 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kokubo et al. US 2025/0125622.
Kokubo teaches:
1. An energy storage converter (see FIGURE 1), comprising:
a direct current switching power supply circuit (130) coupled to a DC side port (132) of the energy storage converter and configured to provide a first power supply using DC power from the DC side port;
an alternating current switching power supply circuit (22) coupled to an AC side port (connection of 20) of the energy storage converter and configured to provide a second power supply using AC power from the AC side port;
a power supply circuit (circuit connection between 22 and load 30) coupled to the DC switching power supply circuit and the AC switching power supply circuit, the power supply circuit being configured to supply power
a control circuit (120) coupled to the DC switching power supply circuit and the AC switching power supply circuit, the control circuit being configured to, based on an operation state of the energy storage converter, control the DC switching power supply circuit or the AC switching power supply circuit to provide the power supply circuit with power supply (see FIG2 noting “state” read on by Wp vs Wr).
12. An energy storage system, comprising:
at least one energy storage unit 50, FIG1); and
the energy storage converter according to claim 1, wherein a DC side of the energy storage converter is coupled to the energy storage unit (see FIG1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL CAVALLARI whose telephone number is (571)272-8541. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 0900-18:30.
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, Rexford Barnie can be reached at (571)272-7492. 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.
/DANIEL CAVALLARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836