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 Objections
Claims 1-9 are objected to because of the following informalities: The claims use “capable with” when it should be “provided with”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-10 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.
As to Claim 1, the claim recites “the jacket foundation” when it should be “the offshore wind turbine jacket foundation”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites “transmit acquired data to the data processing system”. It is unclear this relationship between this data and the “acceleration data acquisition devices”. The limitation should be “transmit acceleration data acquired via the acceleration data acquisition devices to the data processing system”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites “comprising the flowmeter, the pump, a data acquisition instrument and a liquid level gauge arranged in each distributed liquid tank” but the claim recites “each of the pipelines is provided with a flowmeter and controls liquid transportation by a pump” before. Therefore, it would be “flowmeters” and “pumps” since there is one of each per pipeline and there are “pipelines” claimed in plural. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 1 recites “wherein the data acquisition instrument configured to transmit the acquired data to the data processing system”. It is unclear if this “acquired data” is the same one claimed before or a different data. Also, it is unclear what kind of data and from where it is acquired. Adding claim 8 into claim 1 and using a clearer term than “acquired data” such as “acquired flowline and liquid level gauge data” would solve the issue. Appropriate correction is required.
As to Claim 3, the claim recites “through the central water transmission pipeline” but there is no “central water transmission pipeline” claimed before. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 3 recites “the lower layers” and “the upper layers” but there are no “upper layers” nor “lower layers” are claimed before. Appropriate correction is required.
As to Claim 8, the claim recites “the central control system” but there is no “central control system” in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
As to Claim 9, the claim recites “the jacket foundation” when it should be “the offshore wind turbine jacket foundation”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 recites “the filter grid” but there is no “filter grid” claimed in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 recites “the liquid storage chamber” but there is no “liquid storage chamber” claimed in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 recites “the sediment deposition chamber” but there is no “sediment deposition chamber” claimed in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 recites “the water transmission pipeline” but there is no “the water transmission pipeline” claimed in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 recites “the top and key nodes of the jacket” but there are no “top nodes” claimed in claim 1. Appropriate correction is required.
The dependent claims are also rejected for depending on a rejected independent claim.
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 1 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barrett (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0347448) in view of Zhang (China Patent Publication No. CN106193357B).
As to Claim 1, Barrett discloses an offshore wind turbine jacket foundation capable with adjustable natural frequency and motion damping, comprising:
A jacket (10);
A tuned liquid damper system comprising a central liquid tank (22’’) mounted at a bottom surface of a working platform (18) at a top of the jacket (10), and multiple distributed liquid tanks (22, 22’) arranged at nodes of the jacket (10), wherein the central liquid tank (22’’) and the distributed liquid tanks (22, 22’) are connected through pipelines and communicated with seawater (Paragraph 0018: “In some variations, the configuration of the at least some of the baffles may comprise one or more valves arranged at a given baffle. The valves may control the passage of fluid (e.g. water) between the adjacent sub-cavities, allowing the buoyancy of the structure to be adjusted, for example during loading and unloading of the structure, so as to control the trim of the structure and the draft of the structure. This may allow the waterline level to be controlled during weight transfer operations”) , and each of the pipelines is provided with a flowmeter and controls liquid transportation by a pump (Paragraph 0048: “The compartments may also be provided with valves in their common wall to allow for a controlled fluid communication between adjacent compartments 22′, 22″, etc. For example, the valves can be mounted to enable fluid flow between the compartments, allowing water (or other fluids) to be moved between compartments 22, such as by pumps. Sensors (including floats, etc.) can be fitted within the compartments 22 to sense the water level in given compartments. Such information can be passed to a buoyancy control system, for monitoring and control of the buoyancy of the building”); and
A flow monitoring and control system comprising the flowmeter, the pump, a data acquisition instrument and a liquid level gauge arranged in each distributed liquid tank (Paragraph 0048: “The compartments may also be provided with valves in their common wall to allow for a controlled fluid communication between adjacent compartments 22′, 22″, etc. For example, the valves can be mounted to enable fluid flow between the compartments, allowing water (or other fluids) to be moved between compartments 22, such as by pumps. Sensors (including floats, etc.) can be fitted within the compartments 22 to sense the water level in given compartments. Such information can be passed to a buoyancy control system, for monitoring and control of the buoyancy of the building”), wherein the data acquisition instrument configured to transmit the acquired data to the data processing system, and the flow monitoring and control system is configured to control the pump on each pipeline according to a processing result of the data processing system to realize a redistribution adjustment of liquid storage volumes and liquid levels of seawater in the central liquid tank and each distributed liquid tank (Paragraph 0048: “The compartments may also be provided with valves in their common wall to allow for a controlled fluid communication between adjacent compartments 22′, 22″, etc. For example, the valves can be mounted to enable fluid flow between the compartments, allowing water (or other fluids) to be moved between compartments 22, such as by pumps. Sensors (including floats, etc.) can be fitted within the compartments 22 to sense the water level in given compartments. Such information can be passed to a buoyancy control system, for monitoring and control of the buoyancy of the building”), and adjust an overall mass distribution of a structure of the jacket to realize an adjustment and control of the natural frequency and the motion damping of the structure (Paragraph 0052: “By controlling the relative amounts of water ballast present in different compartments across the perimeter of the building 10, the relative buoyancy of different parts of the building 10 may be adjusted in order to affect the trim and roll or heel/list of the building 10 in the water, as shown in FIG. 4”).
Barrett recognizes accelerations in the disclosure such as in Paragraph 0055 that states “Excessively large values of GM are to be avoided however, as very large metacentric heights can result in very short periods of roll (e.g. in response to waves or wakes), which may lead to high accelerations at the deck level or superstructure of the building and be uncomfortable for passengers, particularly during rough seas. A balanced or ‘ideal’ metacentric height is thus preferred, which balances both the roll stability and roll acceleration of the floating building 10”. But Barrett does not explicitly disclose an acceleration data acquisition and analysis system comprising acceleration acquisition devices and a data processing system, wherein the acceleration acquisition devices are arranged at key nodes of the jacket foundation and transmit acquired data to the data processing system. Zhang discloses an acceleration data acquisition and analysis system comprising acceleration acquisition devices and a data processing system, wherein the acceleration acquisition devices are arranged at key nodes of the jacket foundation and transmit acquired data to the data processing system (Paragraph 0035: “The damping and vibration reduction device of the present invention includes a water storage tank, a water level monitor, a base plate, a support, a controllable limit switch, an acceleration sensor, an inlet and outlet water valve controller, a limit switch control device, a computer, and other components”; Paragraph 0045: “The water level monitor 11 and the acceleration sensor 5 mentioned above are electrically connected to the main control computer to collect data and generate relevant electrical signals”). Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide an acceleration data acquisition and analysis system comprising acceleration acquisition devices and a data processing system, wherein the acceleration acquisition devices are arranged at key nodes of the jacket foundation and transmit acquired data to the data processing system. The motivation would have been to ensure the balancing of both the roll stability and roll acceleration of the structure.
As to Claim 7, Barrett as modified teaches the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Barrett as modified also teaches wherein stiffening plates (24) and horizontal stiffening rods (21) are additionally welded at the nodes of the jacket for installing and fixing the distributed liquid tanks.
Claims 1 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Changbin (China Patent Publication No. CN216617753U) in view of Zhang (China Patent Publication No. CN106193357B).
As to Claim 1, Changbin discloses an offshore wind turbine jacket foundation capable with adjustable natural frequency and motion damping, comprising:
A jacket (1);
A tuned liquid damper system comprising a central liquid tank (Central 2) mounted at a bottom surface of a working platform at a top of the jacket, and multiple distributed liquid tanks (Upper 2, Lower 2; Paragraph 0009: “As a further embodiment, the number of emergency water tanks is two or more, and each emergency water tank is arranged sequentially from top to bottom along the wind turbine tower; the volume of the emergency water tanks decreases sequentially from bottom to top.”) arranged at nodes of the jacket, wherein the central liquid tank and the distributed liquid tanks are connected through pipelines (5, 6) and communicated with seawater, and each of the pipelines is provided with a flowmeter and controls liquid transportation by a pump (4); and
A flow monitoring and control system comprising the flowmeter, the pump (4), a data acquisition instrument and a liquid level gauge (10) arranged in each distributed liquid tank (2), wherein the data acquisition instrument configured to transmit the acquired data to the data processing system, and the flow monitoring and control system is configured to control the pump on each pipeline according to a processing result of the data processing system to realize a redistribution adjustment of liquid storage volumes and liquid levels of seawater in the central liquid tank and each distributed liquid tank (Paragraph 0019: “The wind turbine tower vibration sensor of this utility model can detect vibration signals and convert them into electrical signals. After the electrical signals are amplified, they control the relay to close, thereby controlling the water pump to start. At the same time, when the water level in the emergency water tank reaches the water level limit, the limit sensor controller will send a signal to cut off the power supply and the water pump will stop working”), and adjust an overall mass distribution of a structure of the jacket to realize an adjustment and control of the natural frequency and the motion damping of the structure (Paragraph 0020: “When there are multiple emergency water tanks in this utility model, the volume of the emergency water tanks decreases from bottom to top, so that the mass of the tower near the water surface gradually transitions and changes evenly, the integrity and vibration characteristics of the structure are better, the overall structure has obvious damping effect, and construction and installation are convenient”).
However, Changbin is silent about an acceleration data acquisition and analysis system comprising acceleration acquisition devices and a data processing system, wherein the acceleration acquisition devices are arranged at key nodes of the jacket foundation and transmit acquired data to the data processing system. Zhang discloses an acceleration data acquisition and analysis system comprising acceleration acquisition devices and a data processing system, wherein the acceleration acquisition devices are arranged at key nodes of the jacket foundation and transmit acquired data to the data processing system (Paragraph 0035: “The damping and vibration reduction device of the present invention includes a water storage tank, a water level monitor, a base plate, a support, a controllable limit switch, an acceleration sensor, an inlet and outlet water valve controller, a limit switch control device, a computer, and other components”; Paragraph 0045: “The water level monitor 11 and the acceleration sensor 5 mentioned above are electrically connected to the main control computer to collect data and generate relevant electrical signals”). Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide an acceleration data acquisition and analysis system comprising acceleration acquisition devices and a data processing system, wherein the acceleration acquisition devices are arranged at key nodes of the jacket foundation and transmit acquired data to the data processing system. The motivation would have been to ensure the balancing of both the roll stability and roll acceleration of the structure.
As to Claim 7, Changbin as modified teaches the invention of Claim 1 (Refer to Claim 1 discussion). Changbin as modified also teaches wherein stiffening plates (Walls of 2) and horizontal stiffening rods (3) are additionally welded at the nodes of the jacket for installing and fixing the distributed liquid tanks (2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-6 and 8-10 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim.
Claims 1-10 would be allowable if all the limitations from both Claims 3 and 8 are incorporated into Claim 1 in addition of making the necessary amendments, without deleting limitations, to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
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/EDWIN J TOLEDO-DURAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
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