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 .
This is in response to Applicant’s communication filed on December 13, 2024
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, 8-11 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by O’BRIEN ET AL (US 8,184,460). Herein after O’BRIEN.
As for claim 1, O’BRIEN discloses a control method for an inverter, wherein the inverter comprises a transformer, an input circuit, and an output circuit, each of the input circuit and the output circuit comprising a switching transistor, and the transformer being able to output a target current inputted by a photovoltaic power generation device through the input circuit to a power grid through the output circuit {see at least figure 1; abstract; col. 1, lines 48-58}, and wherein the method includes the steps of acquiring target operation state information of the output circuit to determine an operation state of the power grid {see at least figure 2; col. 3, lines 42-49}; and controlling the switching transistor to reduce the target current when the power grid is in a predetermined operation state, wherein a peak voltage of the power grid is in an upward trend when the power grid is in the predetermined operation state {see at least figure 2; col. 3, lines 5-10, 12-19, 25-50}.
As for claim 8, O’BRIEN discloses that the controlling the switching transistor to reduce the target current when the power grid is in the predetermined operation state comprises increasing a switching frequency of the switching transistor to reduce the target current when the power grid is in the predetermined operation state, wherein the switching frequency and the target current have a negative correlation {see at least col. 2, lines 58-65}.
As for claim 9, O’BRIEN discloses that the controlling the switching transistor to reduce the target current when the power grid is in the predetermined operation state comprises controlling the switching transistor to switch to an off state to reduce the target current when the power grid is in the predetermined operation state {see at least col. 3, lines 10-19}.
As for claim 10, O’BRIEN discloses that the target operation state information comprises a target voltage of the output circuit; and the method further comprises determining that the power grid is in the predetermined operation state when a present voltage value of the target voltage is smaller than a predetermined voltage value and the target voltage is in an upward trend within a predetermined duration, wherein the predetermined voltage value comprises a lowest value of the target voltage when the power grid is in the predetermined operation state {see at least figures 2, 5, col. 3, lines 6-19}.
As for claims 11-20, the limitations of these claims have been noted in the rejection above. They are therefore rejected for the same reason set forth above.
Claims 2-7 and 12-17 are 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
. Leonard (US 2009/0121549): A method to convert direct current power generated by a photovotiac (PV) array to alternating current power using a PV inverter.
. Wang et al. (US 2023/0208313): A power conversion apparatus and control method for power conversion apparatus.
. Hu et al. (US 2024/00888882): An inverter control method, apparatus and device which solve the problem of risk of damage to switching devices in an inverter due to delays.
. Mao et al. (US 2026/0171929): An inverter and control method for sending pulse width modulation (PWM) driver gating signal which includes a primary side circuit, a transformer, a secondary side circuit and a controller.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kira Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)270-1614. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday 9:00-5:00 ET.
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, Khoi Tran can be reached on 571-272-6919. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KIRA NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3656
Prosecution Insights