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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/06/2025 the submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 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 nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moritz et al. (DE102019116254) in view of Cheng et al. (US 9,899,841).
Regarding claim 1, Moritz teaches A control method for operating an inverter in an energy grid connected to an energy supply grid via a controllable disconnecting switch (see Abstract), comprising: operating the inverter in a current-impressing mode while the controllable disconnecting switch is closed (see par. [0024-0025]), monitoring the energy supply grid for voltage drops (see par. [0023-0025], [0027-0028], [0072] and [0083]), changing the inverter's operating mode to a voltage, setting mode when a voltage drop in energy supply grid is detected, wherein a temporary voltage that is reduced from a grid normal voltage is set by the inverter (see par. [0023-0025] and [0027-0028]).
However, Moritz does not explicitly teach after a predetermined period of time has elapsed following detection of the voltage drop, when the voltage drop in the energy supply grid persists, opening the controllable disconnecting switch and increasing a voltage provided by the inverter to the grid normal voltage, and after a preset period of time has elapsed after the voltage drop has been detected, when a failure of the energy supply grid does not persist, operating the inverter in the current-impressing mode.
Cheng teaches after a predetermined period of time has elapsed following detection of the voltage drop, when the voltage drop in the energy supply grid persists, opening the controllable disconnecting switch and increasing a voltage provided by the inverter to the grid normal voltage (see col. 10, lines 38-55; and col. 11, lines 1-16), and after a preset period of time has elapsed after the voltage drop has been detected, when a failure of the energy supply grid does not persist, operating the inverter in the current-impressing mode (see col. 10, lines 38-55; and col. 11, lines 1-16).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Moritz with the teachings of Cheng by having after a predetermined period of time has elapsed following detection of the voltage drop, when the voltage drop in the energy supply grid persists, opening the controllable disconnecting switch and increasing a voltage provided by the inverter to the grid normal voltage, and after a preset period of time has elapsed after the voltage drop has been detected, when a failure of the energy supply grid does not persist, operating the inverter in the current-impressing mode in order to ensures grid stability by actively managing the inverter's connection and operating modes during voltage sags, allowing it to seamlessly ride through temporary glitches or transition into a safe, isolated microgrid mode if the main utility fails.
Regarding claim 2, Moritz teaches wherein the voltage drop of the energy supply grid is detected by the voltage of the energy supply grid being reduced by a threshold value (see par. [0072]; Moritz).
Regarding claim 3, the combination teaches wherein the threshold value is at least 5% of the grid normal voltage (see par. [0072]; Moritz).
Regarding claim 4, the combination teaches wherein the voltage provided by the inverter is selected with a same frequency and in phase with the voltage before the voltage drop of the energy supply grid is detected (see par. [0006], [0023-0025], [0027-0028], and [0050]; Moritz).
Regarding claim 8, the combination teaches An energy system comprising at least one inverter (fig. 8@ Inverter 168) adapted to be controlled according to the control method above, and a disconnecting switch (fig. 8@ On-grid relay 174 and Off-grid relay 188) capable of disconnecting the energy system from an energy supply grid (see figure 8; Cheng).
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Moritz et al. (DE102019116254) in view of Cheng et al. (US 9,899,841) and further in view of Premm et al. (US 2015/0380942).
Regarding claim 5, the combination teaches the control method above, but does not explicitly teach wherein a preliminary voltage provided by the inverter is reduced by 10% to 30% compared to the grid normal voltage of the energy supply grid.
Premm teaches a preliminary voltage provided by the inverter is reduced by 10% to 30% compared to the grid normal voltage of the energy supply grid (see Abstract, par. [0019]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Moritz and Cheng with the teachings of Premm by having a preliminary voltage provided by the inverter is reduced by 10% to 30% compared to the grid normal voltage of the energy supply grid in order to control helps manage excess energy and keeps power lines operating safely.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6 and 7 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
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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/XUAN LY/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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