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 .
Claims 19-38 are pending in this application.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/18/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Claims 37 and 38 are added.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/05/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that paragraphs 0002 and 0003 of Lindell et al. U.S. Patent Application 2016/0149396 (hereinafter “Lindell”) “relate to surge arresters and do not mention fault interrupters, let alone contemplate over-voltage events that may be specifically caused by fault interrupters” and fault interrupters “which protect against ground faults and electrical shorts, and surge arresters, which protect against voltage spikes (e.g., caused by lightning), are not equivalent.” However, the Final Rejection mailed 04/10/2026 clearly cites the circuit breakers 108, 110, and 112 as the fault interrupter not surge arresters 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136 in figure 5 of Lindell. These circuit breakers are referred to in paragraphs 0002 and 0003 (i.e. “vacuum circuit breakers” in both paragraphs) and the circuit breakers are described as protecting against electrical shorts (i.e. “Opening during the transformer inrush current or during a short circuit” in paragraph 0003). Furthermore, these two paragraphs were cited to teach “a voltage protector…to protect the transformer from transient over-voltage events caused by the at least one fault interrupter” and [0002] and [0003] discuss the fact that the circuit breakers cause transient over voltages and surge arresters (cited as surge arresters 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136 in the Final Rejection) are used to limit the transient over voltages (refer to [0003] “surge arresters may be utilized to limit transient voltage amplitudes”). In the Final Rejection mailed 04/10/2026, the surge arresters are cited as equivalent to the claimed “voltage protector” not the claimed “fault interrupter”. Therefore, Lindell does teach both fault interrupters and voltage protectors and the argument is not persuasive. Applicant further argues “that circuit breakers and fault interrupters are not equivalent and not interchangeable.” However, “fault interrupter” is a very broad term essentially encompassing any device which interrupts a fault. There does not appear to be any disclosure within the specification, drawings, or claims of the instant application that would preclude the vacuum circuit breakers 108, 110, and 112 of Lindell from fulfilling the claim limitation of “fault interrupter” since the vacuum circuit breakers of Lindell are disclosed as “opening during the transformer inrush current or during a short circuit” (refer to [0003] of Lindell). Transformer inrush and short circuits are two types of faults and the circuit breaker opening would interrupt those faults, therefore, the circuit breakers 108, 110, and 112 of Lindell are “fault interrupters” and this argument is not persuasive. Applicant further argues that “’implicit’ is improper in an anticipation rejection.” However, “implicit” is defined as “capable of being understood from something else though not clearly or directly stated.” In this case, the paragraphs, abstract, and/or claims do not specifically state that the voltage protector is coupled to the at least one winding or that the voltage protector is configured to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding; however, when looking at figure 5 of Lindell, the surge arrestors (equivalent to the voltage protector) are coupled to the windings 102, 104, 106 and based on how the surge arrestors are connected in figure 5, they are configured to clamp the voltage along the windings. Even though it is not explicitly stated in the text of Lindell, Lindell clearly teaches the limitations through the drawings. The word “implicit” was used to indicate this. Applicant also argues that [0002] and [0003] make no mention of clamping the voltage along the at least one winding, however as stated above, the surge arresters are used to limit transient over voltages (refer to [0003] “surge arresters may be utilized to limit transient voltage amplitudes”). This is done by shorting (or clamping) across the terminals of the surge arrester as shown in figure 5 of Lindell. Therefore, the arguments are not persuasive. Applicant further argues that “Lindell...clearly shows that surge arresters 114, 116, and 118 are … not ‘along the at least one winding’ as required by claim 19.” While it is correct that surge arresters 114, 116, and 118 are not along the at least one winding and they do not fulfill the claim limitations of “wherein the voltage protector is configured to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding to reduce damage to the transformer”, surge arresters 114, 116, and 118 are never cited in either the Non-Final Rejection mailed 01/06/2026 or the Final Rejection mailed 04/10/2026. The surge arresters cited in the Office actions are 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136 of Figure 5 of Lindell. As shown in figure 5 of Lindell, surge arrester 120 is connected to one end and a midpoint of winding 102; surge arrester 122 is connected to the midpoint and other end of winding 102; surge arrester 128 is connected to one end and a midpoint of winding 104; surge arrester 130 is connected to the midpoint and other end of winding 104; surge arrester 134 is connected to one end and a midpoint of winding 106; and surge arrester 136 is connected to the midpoint and other end of winding 106. This connection of the windings and surge arresters would cause the surge arresters to claim the voltage along the winding during an overvoltage. Therefore, surge arresters 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136 are “configured to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding to reduce damage to the transformer.” Therefore, the Applicant’s argument is not persuasive. Applicant also argues that “the Office Action’s rebuttal arguments attempt to argue that Lindell could be modified to include these missing features” and “these arguments are an improper attempt to impose an obviousness rejection on the claims under Sec. 103 without acknowledging the imposition of a new ground of rejection that would make the finality of the present office action improper”. However, as stated above and in the response to arguments of the Final rejection, Lindell teaches all of the claim limitations of claim 19. There has been no modification of either Lindell or the original rejection in the Response to Amendments here or in the Final rejection. Both responses to arguments attempt to explain the rejection and misconstrued citations within the rejection. All of the limitations of at least claim 19 are taught by Lindell and claim 19 is still rejected under 102 not 103. Therefore, Applicant’s argument is not persuasive. Applicant also argues that the International Preliminary Report of Patentability “indicated that the cited prior art did not disclose that ‘the voltage protector is configured to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding to reduce damage to the transformer’ and that these features ‘relate to the technical problem of how to minimize the degradation of the winding insulation in a transformer with a fault interrupter associated to the winding, according to the prior art’ The IPRP concluded that ‘[t]he proposed solution – and in particular the adoption of a voltage protector to clamp the voltage along the winding in combination with the over-current protector – is not suggested or rendered obvious by the available prior art.’” However, Lindell does not appear to have been considered during the PCT phase. Examiner agrees that the prior art references found during the PCT phase do not teach “the voltage protector is configured to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding to reduce damage to the transformer”; however, upon reaching National Stage Entry, a new search was performed and the Lindell reference was found. Furthermore, as stated by the Applicant, “findings at the PCT phase are not binding on the Office” and are therefore, irrelevant. Therefore, the Applicant’s argument is not persuasive.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
Claim(s) 19, 22, 35, and 36 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lindell et al. U.S. Patent Application 2016/0149396 (hereinafter “Lindell”).
Regarding claim 19, Lindell teaches a protection arrangement (refer to fig.5) for a transformer (refer to windings 102, 104, and 106)(fig.5), comprising: at least one fault interrupter (i.e. circuit breaker arrangement 108, 110, and 112)(fig.5) configured to be coupled to at least one winding of the transformer (implicit)(refer to fig.5), to protect the transformer from over-current faults (refer to [0049]); and a voltage protector (i.e. surge arresters 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136)(fig.5) configured to be coupled to the at least one winding (implicit), to protect the transformer from transient over-voltage events caused by the at least one fault interrupter (refer to [0002] and [0003]), wherein the voltage protector is configured to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding to reduce damage to the transformer (implicit)(refer to surge arresters 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136)(fig.5)(refer also to [0002] and [0003]).
Regarding claim 22, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19, wherein the at least one fault interrupter includes a pair of fault interrupters (i.e. circuit breaker arrangement 108 and 110)(fig.5) configured to be coupled with a respective pair of sources (i.e. Phase A and Phase B)(fig.5).
Regarding claim 35, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19, wherein the transformer is a dry transformer (refer to [0058]).
Regarding claim 36, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19, wherein the at least one fault interrupter is a medium-voltage interrupter (refer to [0002]).
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Tepper et al. U.S. Patent Application 2015/0270699 (hereinafter “Tepper”).
Regarding claim 20, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19; however, Lindell does not teach wherein the at least one fault interrupter is located outside of an enclosure housing the transformer. However, Tepper teaches wherein the at least one fault interrupter is located outside of an enclosure housing the transformer (refer to housing 12 and power switch 40)(fig.1). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell to include the housing of Tepper to provide the advantage of preventing heat or arcing from the transformer from affecting the fault interrupter.
Claim(s) 21, 23, and 34 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Hermann et al. U.S. Patent No. 3,040,212 (hereinafter “Hermann”).
Regarding claim 21, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19; however, Lindell does not teach wherein the at least one fault interrupter is located inside of an enclosure housing the transformer. However, Hermann teaches wherein the at least one fault interrupter is located inside of an enclosure housing the transformer (refer to tank 5, transformer 2, and circuit breaker 10)(fig.1). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell to include the housing of Hermann to provide the advantage of providing all of the components of the system within a single compact housing which protects all of the components from the elements.
Regarding claim 23, Hermann teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19, wherein the voltage protector is located inside of an enclosure housing the transformer (refer to tank 5, transformer 2, and arrester 18)(fig.1). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell to include the housing of Hermann to provide the advantage of providing all of the components of the system within a single compact housing which protects all of the components from the elements.
Regarding claim 34, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19; however, Lindell does not teach wherein the transformer is a liquid-immersed transformer. However, Hermann teaches wherein the transformer is a liquid-immersed transformer (refer to col. 4 line 20). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell to include the liquid-immersed transformer of Hermann to provide the advantage of protecting many different common types of transformers.
Claim(s) 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Piasecki et al. U.S. Patent Application 2007/0103823 (hereinafter “Piasecki”).
Regarding claim 24, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19, wherein the voltage protector includes at least one of metal oxide varistors (refer to surge arresters 120, 122, 128, 130, 134, and 136)(fig.5); however, Lindell does not teach the voltage protector further including at least one of surge arresters as winding arresters. However, Piasecki teaches the voltage protector further including at least one of surge arresters as winding arresters (i.e. thermal fuse 2)(fig.5). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Piasecki to provide the advantage of protecting the varistor from damage due to overheating.
Claim(s) 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, and 33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell as applied to claim 19 above, and further in view of Papapana-Giotou International Patent Document WO 2011/032585 A1 (hereinafter “Papapana”).
Regarding claim 25, Lindell teaches the protection arrangement of claim 19, further comprising one or more monitoring systems (refer to [0058] “power system controller”); however, Lindell does not teach the one or more monitoring systems to monitor one or more conditions in the protection arrangement to determine at least one of the over-current faults and the over-voltage events. However, Papapana teaches the one or more monitoring systems to monitor one or more conditions in the protection arrangement to determine at least one of the over-current faults and the over-voltage events (refer to page 5 lines 11-22). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell to include the monitoring system of Papapana to provide the advantage of protecting the transformer from a number of different types of faults to better prevent damage to the transformer or its connected systems.
Regarding claim 26, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25, wherein the one or more monitoring systems include a first monitoring system (i.e. Papapana sensors 107)(fig.4) located inside of an enclosure housing the transformer (i.e. Papapana second container 403)(fig.4) and a second monitoring system located outside of the enclosure housing the transformer (i.e. Papapana zero sequence sensors 103 and 103’)(fig.4).
Regarding claim 28, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25, wherein the one or more monitoring systems include one or more sensors (i.e. Papapana sensors 103, 103’ and 107)(fig.4).
Regarding claim 30, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25, wherein the one or more monitoring systems is configured to monitor current from an external network to the protection arrangement (refer to Lindell [0080]).
Regarding claim 31, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25, wherein the protection arrangement includes one or more lines, and the one or more monitoring systems include one or more current transformers (CT) configured to measure current in the one or more lines (refer to Papapana fig.5).
Regarding claim 33, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25, wherein at least one of the one or more monitoring systems is coupled to another winding (refer to Lindell [0080]).
Claim(s) 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell and Papapana as applied to claim 25 above, and further in view of Hulse U.S. Patent Application 2015/0124358 (hereinafter “Hulse”).
Regarding claim 27, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25; however, they do not teach wherein the one or more monitoring systems include one or more relays. However, Hulse teaches wherein the one or more monitoring systems include one or more relays (i.e. MPCV relay 64)(Fig.2). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell and Papapana to include the relays of Hulse to provide the advantage of detecting open feeder conditions.
Claim(s) 29 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell and Papapana as applied to claim 25 above, and further in view of Ma et al. Chinese Patent Document CN 108711829 A (hereinafter “Ma”).
Regarding claim 29, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25; however, they do not teach wherein the one or more monitoring systems is configured to monitor current to ground. However, Ma teaches wherein the one or more monitoring systems is configured to monitor current to ground (refer to current transformer CT1)(fig.1). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell and Papapana to include the ground current monitoring of Ma to provide the advantage of detecting a ground fault to determine proper operation of the transformer.
Claim(s) 32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindell and Papapana as applied to claim 25 above, and further in view of Murray U.S. Patent Application 2002/0135964 (hereinafter “Murray”).
Regarding claim 32, Lindell and Papapana teach the protection arrangement according to claim 25, wherein the protection arrangement includes one or more lines (refer to Lindell Phase A, Phase B, and Phase C)(fig.5); however they do not teach the one or more monitoring systems include one or more potential transformers (PT) that measure voltage in the one or more lines. However, Murray teaches the one or more monitoring systems include one or more potential transformers (PT) that measure voltage in the one or more lines (refer to [0126]). It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the protection arrangement of Lindell and Papapana to include the potential transformers of Murray to provide the advantage of allowing the monitoring system to detect and respond to many different types of faults, thereby better protecting the transformer and its connected systems.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 37 and 38 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 an examiner’s statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claims 37 and 38 are indicated as containing allowable subject matter because prior art fails to teach or suggest, either alone or in combination all of the limitations of claim 37, especially at least one first switch configured to connect at least one first metal oxide varistor between a first end of the at least one winding and a point along the at least one winding to clamp the voltage along the at least one winding to reduce damage to the transformer. Claim 38 is indicated as containing allowable subject matter based on its dependency on claim 37.
Conclusion
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/KEVIN J COMBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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