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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bazhinov et al (US PUB. 20200286191, herein Bazhinov) in view of Kato (US PUB. 20120065828).
Regarding claim 1, Bazhinov teaches A method for customizing which of a plurality of circuits are connected to one of a first energy source and a second energy source using a digital break-out box (0030 “Included within the scope of the invention are systems for managing energy consumption comprising: one or more electrical current and/or voltage sensor and one or more relay in operable communication with one or more circuit electrically connecting one or more electrical load with one or more source of electrical power; one or more controller, in operable communication with the one or more electrical current and/or voltage sensor and the one or more relay, which is configured to control, sense, and/or manage the amount of and/or distribution of electrical power from one or more of the sources of electrical power to one or more of the electrical loads based on one or more or all of user preference, residential energy storage (RES) system charge, and/or available power”, 0038 0039, 00176), the method comprising:
determining a state of the second energy source, wherein the state includes one of: a powered state and an unpowered state (0008 0009);
when the state is in the unpowered state, further comprising: determining the energy source to be the first energy source (0010 “the system of the current invention functions such that when power goes out, a transfer switch prevents stored energy from being fed back onto the grid, and the ESS energizes the circuits that were wired into the sub-panel during installation. [See FIG. 1.] Every circuit that is not wired into the sub-panel will have no power, meaning that only a minority of load-side appliances will be operable until grid power is restored, despite the capability to produce and store energy with PV and RES.”);
determining a current state of charge of the first energy source (0017 “The SPLP comprises a controller configured to control the amount of and/or distribution of electrical power from a source of electrical power to an electrical load based on user preference, energy storage system state of charge, and/or available power. In embodiments, the controller is in operable communication with electrical current and/or voltage sensors and relays to enable control of the amount and/or how the electrical power is distributed to the loads/appliance”);
setting at least a first discharge limit and a second discharge limit of the first energy source (claim 1 “wherein the energy management system is configured to monitor power demand and inverter or stacked inverter capacity output limit; and Wherein the energy management system is configured to maintain the power demand at or below the inverter or stacked inverter capacity output limit by turning off one or more of the one or more electrical circuits and/or one or more of the electrical loads based on at least one of a user preference, an electrical load prioritization, or anticipated power demand”, 0180);
classifying the circuits of the plurality of circuits into at least a first category and a second category (0004 “According to the present invention, during a grid outage, for example, a homeowner or other electricity consumer can identify which circuits, loads, appliances, and/or other energy consumption system or apparatus, to prioritize and energize, for example, according to the amount of available energy, anticipated solar photovoltaic (PV) or other energy generation output, and/or expected consumption”);
determining a maximum energy demand based on the energy used by the plurality of circuits over a time period; determining a minimum energy demand based on the energy used by the plurality of circuits in the first category over the time period (0014 “size of the ESS corresponds directly to the number of circuits a user/consumer wishes to energize, and is dictated by the estimated maximum potential power draw of each of those circuits. If a user wishes to energize additional circuits, then a larger and more expensive ESS is needed to accommodate those preferences. Large up-front premium payments for future functionality is unattractive, and is a hindrance to ESS sales and distributed-generation PV (DGPV) growth.”)
and comparing [the available discharge energy] to the first discharge limit and the second discharge limit to determine which of the plurality of circuits will be powered by the first energy source when the available discharge energy is less than the minimum energy demand and the available discharge energy is greater than the maximum energy demand (0028 “the SPLP and API together can be configured to provide for identifying which circuits, loads, appliances, and/or other energy consumption system or apparatus to prioritize and/or energize, such as according to an amount of available energy, anticipated PV output, and/or expected consumption”).
The cited prior art do not teach determining an available discharge energy based on the summation of each limit subtracted from the current state of charge multiplied by an energy battery capacity.
Kato teaches determining an available discharge energy based on the summation of each limit subtracted from the current state of charge multiplied by an energy battery capacity (0044 “input limit Win1 as an allowable charging electric power to be charged in the master battery 50 and an output limit Wout1 as an allowable discharging electric power to be discharged from the master battery 50 are set corresponding to the calculated accumulated charge amount SOC1 and the battery temperature Tb1. The battery ECU 52 performs various arithmetic operations for management and control of the slave batteries 60 and 62. Accumulated charge amounts SOC2 and SOC3 of the slave batteries 60 and 62 are calculated from integrated values of the charge-discharge currents Ib2 and Ib3 measured by the current sensors 61b and 63b. Input limits Win2 and Win3 as allowable charging electric powers to be charged in the slave batteries 60 and 62 and output limits Wout2 and Wout3 as allowable discharging electric powers to be discharged from the slave batteries 60 and 62 are set corresponding to the calculated accumulated charge amount SOC2 and SOC3 and the battery temperature Tb2 and Tb3. The battery ECU 52 also performs arithmetic operations for calculating an accumulated charge ratio SOC that is a ratio of the sum of the calculated accumulated charge amount SOC1, SOC2, and SOC3 to the total capacity of the master battery 50 and the slave batteries 60 and 62. A concrete procedure of setting the input and output limits Win1 and Wout1 of the master battery 50 sets base values of the input limit Win1 and the output limit Wout1 corresponding to the battery temperature Tb1, specifies an input limit correction factor and an output limit correction factor corresponding to the accumulated charge amount SOC1 of the master battery 50, and multiplies the base values of the input limit Win1 and the output limit Wout1 by the specified input limit correction factor and output limit correction factor to determine the input limit Win1 and the output limit Wout1 of the master battery 50”);
Regarding claim 2, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 1.
Kato teaches wherein setting the first discharge limit and the second discharge limit further comprises: setting the first discharge limit to a first calibrated value based on discharge energy; setting the second discharge limit to a second calibrated value based on discharge energy; and wherein the first calibrated value is greater than the second calibrated value (0044 “input limit Win1 as an allowable charging electric power to be charged in the master battery 50 and an output limit Wout1 as an allowable discharging electric power to be discharged from the master battery 50 are set corresponding to the calculated accumulated charge amount SOC1 and the battery temperature Tb1. The battery ECU 52 performs various arithmetic operations for management and control of the slave batteries 60 and 62. Accumulated charge amounts SOC2 and SOC3 of the slave batteries 60 and 62 are calculated from integrated values of the charge-discharge currents Ib2 and Ib3 measured by the current sensors 61b and 63b. Input limits Win2 and Win3 as allowable charging electric powers to be charged in the slave batteries 60 and 62 and output limits Wout2 and Wout3 as allowable discharging electric powers to be discharged from the slave batteries 60 and 62 are set corresponding to the calculated accumulated charge amount SOC2 and SOC3 and the battery temperature Tb2 and Tb3. The battery ECU 52 also performs arithmetic operations for calculating an accumulated charge ratio SOC that is a ratio of the sum of the calculated accumulated charge amount SOC1, SOC2, and SOC3 to the total capacity of the master battery 50 and the slave batteries 60 and 62. A concrete procedure of setting the input and output limits Win1 and Wout1 of the master battery 50 sets base values of the input limit Win1 and the output limit Wout1 corresponding to the battery temperature Tb1, specifies an input limit correction factor and an output limit correction factor corresponding to the accumulated charge amount SOC1 of the master battery 50, and multiplies the base values of the input limit Win1 and the output limit Wout1 by the specified input limit correction factor and output limit correction factor to determine the input limit Win1 and the output limit Wout1 of the master battery 50”).
Regarding claim 3, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein classifying the circuits of the plurality of circuits into at least a first category and a second category further comprises: classifying the circuits of the plurality of circuits into the first category based on a user’s arbitrary preferences; and classifying the circuits of the plurality of circuits into the second category based on the user’s arbitrary preferences (0012).
Regarding claim 4, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining the maximum energy demand further comprises: taking the total value of the power used by the plurality of circuits in the first category and multiplying the total value by a calibrated value of time (0025 “SPLP technology is capable of allowing users to determine dynamically and flexibly which circuits to energize during a grid outage based on the cause and expected duration of the outage, expected PV output, and expected household consumption, with the ability to determine which appliances and modes of operation are available to a user under the given constraints”, 0144 “Based on sensor measurements, predicted/expected electricity usage, predicted/expected availability of electrical power, and/or user/consumer preferences, the software can be configured to allow for an operating schedule such that certain circuit(s), load(s), appliance(s), outlet(s), etc. to turn on/off at specific and/or automated scheduled times. For example, during a power outage the user can switch over to and/or the system can automatically access the connected ESS to supply power to various electrical circuits of choice, such as a hot water heater, computers and/or a refrigerator, and the circuit/power available to such selected appliances/loads can further be scheduled to operate at certain times. For example, certain lighting may be selected to receive power from the ESS during an outage, but only at night. The appliances/loads can be prioritized such that if the ESS is only capable of supplying adequate power to some of the selected appliances/loads and not to others, appliances/loads with a higher priority can be automatically powered first. The selected times/priorities may be specifically assigned by a user, or they may be suggested or implemented by the software based on typical usage by the user and/or other electricity consumers. Further, for example, if an HVAC appliance is prioritized over lighting and the ESS only has enough power to provide electricity to the HVAC system, then the HVAC system will run but not the lights, or while the HVAC system is not running (e.g., blower is off), then the lower priority lights can operate when the HVAC blower is not running”)
Regarding claim 5, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining the maximum energy demand further comprises: taking the greater value between the power used by the plurality of circuits in the first category multiplied by a storm time and the power used by the plurality of circuits in the first category multiplied by a power outage time ((0025 “SPLP technology is capable of allowing users to determine dynamically and flexibly which circuits to energize during a grid outage based on the cause and expected duration of the outage, expected PV output, and expected household consumption, with the ability to determine which appliances and modes of operation are available to a user under the given constraints”, 0144 “Based on sensor measurements, predicted/expected electricity usage, predicted/expected availability of electrical power, and/or user/consumer preferences, the software can be configured to allow for an operating schedule such that certain circuit(s), load(s), appliance(s), outlet(s), etc. to turn on/off at specific and/or automated scheduled times. For example, during a power outage the user can switch over to and/or the system can automatically access the connected ESS to supply power to various electrical circuits of choice, such as a hot water heater, computers and/or a refrigerator, and the circuit/power available to such selected appliances/loads can further be scheduled to operate at certain times. For example, certain lighting may be selected to receive power from the ESS during an outage, but only at night. The appliances/loads can be prioritized such that if the ESS is only capable of supplying adequate power to some of the selected appliances/loads and not to others, appliances/loads with a higher priority can be automatically powered first. The selected times/priorities may be specifically assigned by a user, or they may be suggested or implemented by the software based on typical usage by the user and/or other electricity consumers. Further, for example, if an HVAC appliance is prioritized over lighting and the ESS only has enough power to provide electricity to the HVAC system, then the HVAC system will run but not the lights, or while the HVAC system is not running (e.g., blower is off), then the lower priority lights can operate when the HVAC blower is not running”).
Regarding claim 6, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining the minimum energy demand further comprises: taking the total amount of the power used by the plurality of circuits in the second category and multiplying the total value by a calibrated value of time (0025 0144).
Regarding claim 7, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining the minimum energy demand further comprises: taking the greater value between the power used by the plurality of circuits in the second category multiplied by a storm time and the power used by the plurality of circuits in the second category multiplied by a power outage time (0025 “SPLP technology is capable of allowing users to determine dynamically and flexibly which circuits to energize during a grid outage based on the cause and expected duration of the outage, expected PV output, and expected household consumption, with the ability to determine which appliances and modes of operation are available to a user under the given constraints”, 0144 “Based on sensor measurements, predicted/expected electricity usage, predicted/expected availability of electrical power, and/or user/consumer preferences, the software can be configured to allow for an operating schedule such that certain circuit(s), load(s), appliance(s), outlet(s), etc. to turn on/off at specific and/or automated scheduled times. For example, during a power outage the user can switch over to and/or the system can automatically access the connected ESS to supply power to various electrical circuits of choice, such as a hot water heater, computers and/or a refrigerator, and the circuit/power available to such selected appliances/loads can further be scheduled to operate at certain times. For example, certain lighting may be selected to receive power from the ESS during an outage, but only at night. The appliances/loads can be prioritized such that if the ESS is only capable of supplying adequate power to some of the selected appliances/loads and not to others, appliances/loads with a higher priority can be automatically powered first. The selected times/priorities may be specifically assigned by a user, or they may be suggested or implemented by the software based on typical usage by the user and/or other electricity consumers. Further, for example, if an HVAC appliance is prioritized over lighting and the ESS only has enough power to provide electricity to the HVAC system, then the HVAC system will run but not the lights, or while the HVAC system is not running (e.g., blower is off), then the lower priority lights can operate when the HVAC blower is not running”).
Regarding claim 8, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining which of the plurality of circuits will be powered by the first energy source further comprises: powering the plurality of circuits in the first category and the second category when the available discharge energy is greater than the first discharge limit (0028 “the SPLP and API together can be configured to provide for identifying which circuits, loads, appliances, and/or other energy consumption system or apparatus to prioritize and/or energize, such as according to an amount of available energy, anticipated PV output, and/or expected consumption”).
Regarding claim 9, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining which of the plurality of circuits will be powered by the first energy source further comprises: powering the plurality of circuits in the second category when the available discharge energy is less than the first discharge limit and the available discharge energy is greater than the second discharge limit (0028 “the SPLP and API together can be configured to provide for identifying which circuits, loads, appliances, and/or other energy consumption system or apparatus to prioritize and/or energize, such as according to an amount of available energy, anticipated PV output, and/or expected consumption”).
Regarding claim 10, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining which of the plurality of circuits will be powered by the first energy source further comprises: powering the plurality of circuits in the first category and the second category when the available discharge energy is greater than the maximum energy demand (0028 “the SPLP and API together can be configured to provide for identifying which circuits, loads, appliances, and/or other energy consumption system or apparatus to prioritize and/or energize, such as according to an amount of available energy, anticipated PV output, and/or expected consumption”).
Regarding claim 11, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 2.
Bazhinov teaches wherein determining which of the plurality of circuits will be powered by the first energy source further comprises: powering the plurality of circuits in the second category when the available discharge energy is less than the minimum energy demand and the available discharge energy is greater than the second discharge limit (0028 “the SPLP and API together can be configured to provide for identifying which circuits, loads, appliances, and/or other energy consumption system or apparatus to prioritize and/or energize, such as according to an amount of available energy, anticipated PV output, and/or expected consumption”).
Regarding claim 12, the cited prior art teach The method from claim 1.
Kano teaches wherein the first energy source is a vehicle (0018).
Claims 13-20 are rejected using similar reasoning as the rejection of claims 1-12 due to reciting similar limitations but directed towards a method.
Conclusion
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/TAMEEM D SIDDIQUEE/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2116
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