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 .
Responsive to correspondence
This office action is in response to correspondence filed on 01/13/2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement filed 01/13/2025 and 08/15/2025 were filed before the first action on the merits. This submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97.
Accordingly, these have been fully considered by the Office.
Abstract
The abstract filed 01/13/2025 appears to be acceptable.
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 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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 non-obviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 8, 4, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP 2778406 A1 to GRAGGEN et al. (GRAGGEN) in view of U.S Publication number 2016/0222830 A1 to AGA et al. (AGA).
Re: Claim 1:
GRAGGEN discloses:
A system comprising:
a thermodynamic cycle system operable in an energy storage mode (See Figs.1-4)
wherein operating the thermodynamic cycle system in the energy storage mode comprises:
circulating a working fluid through at least, a compressor (See Figs.1-4: compressor 25) and a first heat exchanger (See Figs.1-4: first heat exchanger 21), and transferring heat from the working fluid to the first thermal storage medium at the first heat exchanger (See Figs.1-4: ¶0023: heat exchanger 21 the hot working fluid transfers thermal energy to the cool thermal storage fluid coming from thermal cool storage 12), resulting in the hot first thermal storage medium (See Figs.1-4: thermal hot storage 11),
wherein operating the thermodynamic cycle system in the power generation mode comprises:
transferring heat from the hot first thermal storage medium to the working fluid via the first heat exchanger (See Figs.1-4: ¶0026: working fluid reaches its highest temperature in the thermodynamic discharging cycle as it is heated in the ETES heat exchanger 21. Here the working fluid flows countercurrent to the hot thermal storage fluid coming from thermal hot storage 11), driving a turbine (See Figs.1-4: turbine 26) by expansion of the heated working fluid, and driving a generator (See Figs.1-4: generator as shown) with the turbine (See Figs.1-4: turbine 26),
wherein operating the thermodynamic cycle system in the power generation mode comprises a high-pressure working fluid path comprising a working fluid path from the first heat exchanger (See Figs.1-4: working fluid path from the first heat exchanger extending to compressor 25 to turbine 26) to the turbine, and
wherein operating the thermodynamic cycle system in power generation mode further comprises a low-pressure working fluid path (See Figs.1-4: extending from turbine 26 after expansion) , wherein the low-pressure working fluid path comprises a second working fluid path from the turbine (See Figs.1-4: turbine 26) to a second heat exchanger (See Figs.1-4: a second heat exchanger 24), wherein heat is removed from the working fluid at the second heat exchanger (See Figs.1-4: ¶0024: heat is removed from the second heat exchanger 24) ;
an intercooler system (See Figs.1-4: intercooler 22 which cools the working fluid as heat is extracted by the working fluid delivered to the turbine 26) for providing cooling to the compressor in the energy storage mode; and
a fluid path (See Figs.1-4: a fluid path extending from compressor 25 to turbine 26 which provides power generation fluid to the turbine 26) for providing a power generation source fluid of a power generation source to receive heat from the intercooler system (See Figs.1-4: intercooler 22 which cools the working fluid as heat is extracted by the working fluid delivered to the turbine 26), wherein in the energy storage mode the fluid path is arranged to pass the power generation source fluid to the intercooler system (See Figs.1-4: intercooler 22 ) to receive heat and to the power generation source to provide heat for power generation (See Figs.1-4: heated working fluid from intercooler 22 is delivered to turbine 26 for power generation),
GRAGGEN substantially discloses all the limitations of claim 1, GRAGGEN is silent regarding:
thermodynamic cycle system operable in energy storage mode to convert electricity into stored thermal energy in a hot first thermal storage medium and further operable in a power generation mode to convert at least a portion of the stored thermal energy into electricity,
However, AGA teaches:
thermodynamic cycle system operable in energy storage mode to convert electricity into stored thermal energy in a hot first thermal storage medium and further operable in a power generation mode to convert at least a portion of the stored thermal energy into electricity (AGA: See Fig. 2: ¶0025, ¶0031: discloses a heat pump and a thermodynamics cycle in an energy storage mode and convert at least a portion of stored energy into electricity).
it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure GRAGGEN to operate a thermodynamics cycle in energy storage mode to covert electricity into thermal energy
and providing electrical heating derived from renewable energy sources, which is an art known system and provides a cost-efficient system for storing energy , heating working fluid thereby an economical way of generating electricity.
Regarding method claim 8 GRAGGEN modified by AGA discloses all the limitations of method claim 8. Further when the prior art device is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device will inherently perform the claimed process. In re King, 801 F.2d 1324, 231 USPQ 136 (Fed. Cir. 1986). (See MPEP 2112.02).
Re: Claim 4:
GRAGGEN modified by AGA discloses:
The system of claim 1, modified GRAGGEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and wherein the power generation source is a thermal power generation plant (See Figs.1-4: and as disclosed throughout the disclosure).
Re: Claim 11:
GRAGGEN modified by AGA discloses:
The method of claim 8, modified GRAGGEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1, and wherein the power generation source is a thermal power generation plant (See Figs.1-4: and as disclosed throughout the disclosure).
Claim(s) 6,13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP 2778406 A1 to GRAGGEN et al. (GRAGGEN) in view of U.S Publication number 2016/0222830 A1 to AGA et al. (AGA) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S Publication number 2007/0220889 A1 to NAYEF et al. (NAYEF).
Re: Claims 6, 13:
GRAGGEN modified by AGA discloses:
The system of claim 1, modified GRAGGEN discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and 8, and
wherein in the energy storage mode, the thermodynamic cycle system receives the electricity (AGA: See Fig.1: via electric heater 50), the modified GRAGGEN is silent regarding:
for conversion into the stored thermal energy from the power generation source,
However, NAYEF teaches:
for conversion into the stored thermal energy from the power generation source (NAYEF: ¶0011-¶0018).
It is well known in the art that thermal storage medium is heated by an electric heater and such electric heater may consume electricity generated by wind turbine plant or solar energy or nuclear energy power plant or thermal power plant or an electric grid as labeled in figure 1, such a system is explicitly taught by NAYEF (NAYEF: See Fig. 1: ¶0011-¶0018, ¶0024: which discloses use of electricity from variety of power sources including thermal power plant and that electricity produced by the generators 4,7,10 directed through an electrical transformer 11 and then to a power grid for distribution or, alternatively, to a unit or units 12 that consume the electricity produced and further electric grid may be used to provide electricity to electric heaters (NAYEF: ¶0018, ¶0024), it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide electric heating in a thermal storage using any alternate source or two sources such as thermal power plant depending upon economics of the system and alternatively from electric grid.
Allowable Subject Matter and Prior Art
Claims 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 12 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim and intervening claims, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The combination of the features of dependent claims 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 12 appears neither known from, nor rendered obvious by, the closest prior art of record, since none of the available prior art documents neither discloses nor suggests, the specific claim limitations of in these claims . The combination of features of claims 1 and 8, with respective dependent claims 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 12 including limitations of base claim and intervening claims are therefore also allowable in combination with the limitations of corresponding base claims and intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAFIQ A MIAN whose telephone number is (571)272-4925. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30 am to 6:30 pm (Monday thru Thursday).
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, MARK LAURENZI can be reached at (571) 270-7878. 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.
/SHAFIQ MIAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3746
January 29, 2026