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.
Claims 19, 25-27, and 33-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Gleave et al. (US 2018/0123349, of record and hereinafter “Gleave”).
Claim 19: Gleave discloses a method of operating a first electrical generator (Figs.11-13) having a first engine (1101A) and a first generator (1102A) connected to the first engine that generates electrical power (see Fig.11, [0036]), an electrical bus (1115 or 1106, connected via 1103 and/or 1104 and 1105) connected to and receiving electrical power from the first generator (from 1102; see Fig.11), and at least one electrical output (1106 or 1115) connected to the electrical bus (either directly at 1106 or indirectly via 1103A-2, 1104, 1105) and that outputs electrical power (see Fig.11 and [0036]), the method comprising:
varying revolutions per minute of the first engine based on a load that is connected to the at least one electrical output, whereby varying the revolutions per minute varies the electrical power that is output at the at least one electrical output and reduces power consumption of the first engine (see [0052], [0057], [0058], [0066], [0079], and [0080], where speed commands are provided to control the speed of an engine control unit of a variable speed engine based on the load, providing maximum efficiency).
Claim 27: Gleave discloses a method of operating an electrical generator (Figs.11-13) having an engine (1101A) and a generator (1102A) connected to the engine (see Fig.11) that generates electrical power (see Fig.11, [0036]), an electrical bus (1115 or 1106, connected via 1103 and/or 1104 and 1105) connected to and receiving electrical power from the generator (Fig.11, [0036]), and a first electrical output connected to the electrical bus and that outputs a first type of electrical power (any of “OUT TO LOAD”, “TO INTERNAL 480 VAC LOADS” or “TO INTERNAL 120v AND 208VAC LOADS”), the method comprising:
with a first load connected to the first electrical output, operating the engine at a first revolutions per minute (see Figs.15A-15D and [0083], which demonstrates providing different RPMs according to the loads connected to the electrical output);
with a second load connected to the first electrical output, changing the revolutions per minute of the engine so that the engine operates at a second revolutions per minute that differs from the first revolutions per minute (see Figs.15A-15D and [0083], which demonstrates providing different RPMs according to the loads connected to the electrical output; see also [0052], [0057], [0058], [0066], [0079], and [0080], where speed commands are provided to control the speed of an engine control unit of a variable speed engine based on the load, providing maximum efficiency).
Claim 35: Gleave discloses an electrical generator (Fig.11) comprising:
an engine (1101A) having a mechanical output (inherent in an engine);
an electrical generating element (1102A) connected to the mechanical output (see Fig.11), the electrical generating element is configured to generate an alternating current (see Fig.11, where the output of the generator 1102A is provided to a rectifier, thus generates AC);
a power converter (1103A-1) electrically connected to the electrical generating element and receiving the alternating current therefrom (see Fig.11), the power converter is configured to convert the alternating current to a direct current (output of the rectifier 1103A-1);
a direct current bus (1115) electrically connected to the power converter and receiving the direct current therefrom (see Fig.11);
a first electrical power output electrically connected to the direct current bus and that outputs a first type of electrical power (1115, providing a DC power to 1110, 1111, and 1112);
a control system (1114) connected to the engine (providing control to the engine, shown in Figs.12 and 13) and that is configured to monitor a first load (“OUT TO LOAD”) that electrically connects to the first electrical power output (indirectly, via 1103A-2, 1104A, 1105) and the control system is configured to automatically adjust output revolutions per minute of the engine based on the monitored first load thereby reducing power consumption of the engine (see Figs.15A-15D and [0083], which demonstrates providing different RPMs according to the loads connected to the electrical output; see also [0052], [0057], [0058], [0066], [0079], and [0080], where speed commands are provided to control the speed of an engine control unit of a variable speed engine based on the load, providing maximum efficiency).
Claim 25: Gleave discloses a second electrical generator (1101B, 1102B) connected in parallel to the first electrical generator (see Fig.11), the second electrical generator having a second engine (1101B) and a second generator (1102B) connected to the second engine that generates electrical power (see Fig.11), the second generator is electrically connected to the electrical bus (see Fig.11); and comprising adjusting revolutions per minute of the first engine and/or of the second engine based on system load (see [0066] and [0075], where the above control scheme providing an RPM according to load is also applied to multiple power supplies).
Claim 33: Gleave discloses a second electrical generator (1101B, 1102B) connected in parallel to the electrical generator (see Fig.11), the second electrical generator having a second engine (1101B) and a second generator (1102B) connected to the second engine that generates electrical power (see Fig.11), the second generator is electrically connected to the electrical bus (see Fig.11); and comprising adjusting the revolutions per minute of the engine and/or of the second engine based on first load or the second load (see [0066] and [0075]).
Claims 26 and 34: Gleave discloses adjusting revolutions per minute of the first engine and of the second engine based on the system load, i.e. the first load or the second load (see [0066] and [0075]).
Claim 36: Gleave discloses a second electrical power output (“OUT TO LOAD”) electrically connected to the direct current bus (via 1103A, 1104, 1105) and that outputs a second type of electrical power (AC power), where the second type of electrical power differs from the first type of electrical power (AC vs. DC); and the control system is configured to monitor a second load that electrically connects to the second electrical power output, and the control system is configured to automatically adjust the output revolutions per minute of the engine based on the monitored second load (see Figs.15A-15D and [0083], which demonstrates providing different RPMs according to the loads connected to the electrical output; see also [0052], [0057], [0058], [0066], [0079], and [0080], where speed commands are provided to control the speed of an engine control unit of a variable speed engine based on the load, providing maximum efficiency).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 24 and 32 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gleave in view of Sutton et al. (US 5,552,640, hereinafter “Sutton”).
Gleave discloses the limitations of claims 19 and 27, as discussed above. However, Gleave only discloses the supervisory control unit monitoring load information generally (see [0040]) and does not explicitly disclose the first electrical generator “receiving a load signal from the load, and adjusting the revolutions per minute of the first engine based the load signal” of claim 19 or “receiving a first load signal from the first load when the first load is connected to the first electrical output and receiving a second load signal from the second load when the second load is connected to the first electrical output; adjusting the revolutions per minute of the engine based on the first load signal; and adjusting the revolutions per minute of the engine based on the second load signal” of claim 32. Sutton discloses a similar generator providing adjustable speed/rpm based on load conditions (see abstract). Sutton further discloses that load information may be received via a signal from the load (see col.2,65-col.3,5). As the specific load metering device included with the load providing a signal to a control unit for speed control accomplishes the same function as the generic load monitoring of Gleave, substituting the load metering and signal of Sutton with generic load monitoring of Gleave would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the application to have provided the load monitoring and signaling included in the load of Sutton in place of generic load monitoring of Gleave as the simple substitution of one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20-23 and 28-31 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art does not disclose within the overall context of the claims “the first electrical generator implementing a proportioning ratio that proportions a first percentage of a total power generated by the first generator to the first one of the at least two electrical outputs and that proportions a second percentage of the total power to the second one of the at least two electrical outputs” or “the electrical generator implementing a proportioning ratio that proportions a first percentage of a total power generated by the generator to the first electrical output and that proportions a second percentage of the total power to the second electrical output”.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Ryan Johnson whose telephone number is (571)270-1264. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
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/RYAN JOHNSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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