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 .
Applicant’s response filed on 04/27/2026 has been entered and considered. Upon entering claims 1-18 were pending; and claim 1 has been amended.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 04/27/2026 have been fully considered, however they are not persuasive for following reasons:
Applicant argues that Liu fails to teach an occurrence of a power oscillation in a circuit and regulate a direct-current voltage to a voltage with a difference from an open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic array less than a preset difference.
The Examiner would like to reiterate that all examination must be done under Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI). BRI dictates that claim terms be given their plain, ordinary meaning as understood by a skilled artisan, provided that reading remains consistent with the written description.
When considering the standard highlighted above a voltage fluctuation can simply refer to a transition from on to off or off to on. In each case a clear occurrence of a power oscillation in the main circuit is observed.
Further in par. [n0047] the prior art states; The controller 102 can be used to control the DC/DC power conversion circuit 101 after the power converter 100 starts working, so as to enable the photovoltaic power generation system where the power converter 100 is located to supply power to the grid 300.
The transition to on would meet the limitation of “an occurrence of a power oscillation in the main circuit” and "regulate a direct-current voltage to a voltage with a difference from an open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic array less than a preset difference” is achieved via the control of the DC/DC power conversion circuit 101 or as stated the prior art in par. [n0053] and [n0062-n0076], After multi-peak maximum power point tracking is activated, i.e. in multi-peak maximum power point tracking mode, the controller 102 controls the DC/DC power conversion circuit 101 to track the maximum output power of the photovoltaic string 200; and the controller 102 can calculate the preset maximum power P<sub>max</sub> based on the open-circuit voltage.
In conclusion as currently amended all of the limitation are disclosed by the prior art of record. The examiner suggest that applicant amend the claims to include structural limitations that distinguish the current application from the prior art of record.
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.
Claim 1-5, 7-8, 10-14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being participated by Liu et al. (CN117081147).
Regarding claim 1, Liu teaches a photovoltaic inverter (see figures 1 and fig. 4@ power converter 100), comprising: a main circuit (100), wherein a direct-current side (fig. 4: input end of the DC/DC power conversion circuit 101 is used for connecting the photovoltaic string 200) of the main circuit (100) is configured to connect a photovoltaic array (200), and an alternating-current side (fig. 4: power conversion DC/AC 103) of the main circuit (100) is configured to connect at least one of a power grid (fig. 1@power grid 300) (see par. [n0046-n0047]); and a controller (fig. 4@ controller 102), configured to: control the main circuit (100) to operate (see par. [n0046-n0047]); and in response to an occurrence of a power oscillation in the main circuit (par. [n0047] and [n0053], “The controller 102 can be used to control the DC/DC power conversion circuit 101 after the power converter 100 starts working”), regulate a direct-current voltage of the main circuit to a voltage with a difference from an open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic array less than a preset difference and control the main circuit to perform a global maximum power point tracking (MPPT) search based on the regulated voltage (see par. [n0062-n0076]).
Regarding claim 2, Liu teaches wherein for regulating the direct-current voltage of the main circuit (100) to the voltage with the difference from the open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic array (200) less than the preset difference, the controller (102) is further configured to: block a control signal for the main circuit; limit a power of the main circuit, wherein a difference between a limited power and zero is less than a preset power (see par. [n0062-n0082]).
Regarding claim 3, Liu teaches wherein for controlling the main circuit (100) to perform the global MPPT search, the controller (102) is further configured to: control the main circuit to perform the global MPPT search within a preset range (see par. [n0010], [n0062-n0082] and [n0086]; the controller is used to update the maximum preset reference power to find the global maximum power point).
Regarding claim 4, Liu teaches wherein an upper limit of the preset range is the open-circuit voltage, and a lower limit of the preset range is an upper limit of a preset oscillation interval in a characteristic curve of the photovoltaic array (see par. [n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]; controlling the DC/DC power conversion circuit to track the maximum output power of the photovoltaic string within the tracking interval).
Regarding claim 5, Liu teaches The photovoltaic inverter, further comprising a detection module (fig. 4@ detection circuit 104), wherein the detection module is configured to detect an electrical parameter of the main circuit (100) and transmit the electrical parameter to the controller (102), wherein the controller (102) is further configured to determine whether the power oscillation occurs in the main circuit based on the electrical parameter (see par. [n0046], [n0051]; the power converter 100 may also include a detection circuit 104, which is used to collect the output voltage or output current information of the photovoltaic string 200 in real time and send the obtained information to the controller 102).
Regarding claim 7, Liu teaches wherein upon determining that the power oscillation occurs in the main circuit (100), the controller (102) is further configured to: regulate the power of the main circuit to be less than a lower limit of a power oscillation range; and determine whether the power oscillation occurs in the main circuit again after regulating the power of the main circuit to be less than the lower limit of the power oscillation range (see par. [n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]).
Regarding claim 8, Liu teaches wherein the controller is further configured to: regulate, upon determining that no power oscillation occurs in the main circuit (100) after regulating the power of the main circuit to be less than the lower limit of the power oscillation range, the direct-current voltage of the main circuit to the voltage with the difference from the open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic array less than the preset difference (see par. [n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]); and control the main circuit to perform the global MPPT search based on the regulated voltage (see par. [n0062-n0076]).
Regarding claim 10, Liu teaches wherein the main circuit (100) comprises: a direct-current/alternating-current (DC/AC) conversion circuit (fig. 4@ 103); or a DC/AC conversion circuit and at least one direct-current/direct-current (DC/DC) conversion circuit (fig. 4@ 101), wherein the at least one DC/DC conversion circuit (101) is connected to a direct-current side of the DC/AC conversion circuit (103), (see figure 4).
Regarding claim 11, Liu teaches a method for controlling a photovoltaic inverter (see figures 1 and fig. 4@ power converter 100), comprising: in response to an occurrence of a power oscillation in a main circuit (100) of the photovoltaic inverter (par. [n0047] and [n0053]), regulating a direct-current voltage of the main circuit to a voltage with a difference from an open-circuit voltage of a photovoltaic array connected to the main circuit less than a preset difference (see par. [n0062-n0076]); and controlling the main circuit to perform a global maximum power point tracking (MPPT) search based on the regulated voltage (see par. [n0062-n0076]).
Regarding claim 12, Liu teaches wherein the regulating a direct-current voltage of the main circuit to a voltage with a difference from an open-circuit voltage of a photovoltaic array connected to the main circuit less than a preset difference comprises one of: blocking a control signal for the main circuit; limiting a power of the main circuit, wherein a difference between a limited power and zero is less than a preset power; and shutting down the photovoltaic inverter (see par. [n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]).
Regarding claim 13, Liu teaches wherein the controlling the main circuit to perform an MPPT search comprises: controlling the main circuit (100) to perform the global MPPT search within a preset range, wherein an upper limit of the preset range is the open-circuit voltage, and a lower limit of the preset range is an upper limit of a preset oscillation interval in a characteristic curve of the photovoltaic array (see par. [n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]).
Regarding claim 14, Liu teaches determining whether the power oscillation occurs in the main circuit (100) based on an electrical parameter of the main circuit (see par. [n0046], [n0051] and [n0062-n0076]).
Regarding claim 16, Liu teaches wherein upon determining that the power oscillation occurs in the main circuit, the method further comprises: detecting a power of the main circuit (100) to obtain a power oscillation range, and determining an upper limit and a lower limit of the power oscillation range (see par. [n0019], [n0046], [n0051], and [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]); regulating the power of the main circuit to be less than the lower limit of the power oscillation range ([n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]); and determining whether the power oscillation occurs in the main circuit again after regulating the power of the main circuit to be less than the lower limit of the power oscillation range ([n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]).
Regarding claim 17, Liu teaches regulating, upon determining that no power oscillation occurs in the main circuit (100) after regulating the power of the main circuit to be less than the lower limit of the power oscillation range, the direct-current voltage of the main circuit to the voltage with the difference from the open-circuit voltage of the photovoltaic array connected to the main circuit less than the preset difference (see par. [n0019], [n0062-n0082], [n0086] and [n0092-n0096]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6, 9, 15, and 18 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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to XUAN LY whose telephone number is (571)272-9885. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rexford Barnie can be reached at 571-272-7492. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/XUAN LY/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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