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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tanaka (US 20170366023)
Regarding claim 1 Tanaka teaches an energy storage unit for an energy storage system (see Fig. 1), the energy storage unit comprising: an energy storage bank which is connected to a power conversion device (see 8); and a bank management device (see 11), wherein the bank management device either: calculates, based on a current target value and a current measurement value of the energy storage bank, a current limit value to limit an excess of a current with respect to the current target value (see Fig. 3A); or calculates, based on a power target value and a power measurement value of the energy storage bank, a power limit value to limit an excess of power with respect to the power target value (see Fig. 3B).
Regarding claim 2, Tanaka teaches wherein the bank management device either: acquires at least the current measurement value at a predetermined cycle and updates the current limit value of the energy storage bank, or acquires at least the power measurement value at a predetermined cycle and updates the power limit value of the energy storage bank (see 13, 14, 15, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 3, Tanaka teaches wherein the bank management device either: calculates the current limit value of the energy storage bank based on a difference of the current measurement value from the current target value of the energy storage bank and a ratio of the current measurement value to the current target value; or calculates the power limit value of the energy storage bank based on a difference of the power measurement value from the power target value of the energy storage bank and a ratio of the power measurement value to the power target value (see 13, 14, 15, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6 Tanaka teaches energy storage system which is connected to a power conversion device and stores electric energy, the energy storage system comprising: a plurality of energy storage units; and an integrated battery management device, each of the energy storage units comprising: an energy storage bank which is connected to the power conversion device; and a bank management device which is provided to correspond to the energy storage bank, wherein the integrated battery management device either: acquires or calculates a current limit value of each of the energy storage banks from the bank management device, and calculates a current limit value of the energy storage system based on the current limit value of each of the energy storage banks; or acquires or calculates a power limit value of each of the energy storage banks from the bank management device, and calculates a power limit value of the energy storage system based on the power limit value of each of the energy storage banks (see the rejection of claim 1).
Regarding claim 7, Tanaka teaches electric energy storage and conversion system comprising: a power conversion device (DC/DC Converter); and the energy storage system according to the energy storage system according to wherein the power conversion device either: controls a current of the energy storage system to be less than or equal to a current limit value of the energy storage system; or controls power of the energy storage system to be less than or equal to a power limit value of the energy storage system (see Fig.1 inside 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 5 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.
Claims 4 and 5 seem to see the same claim.
Conclusion
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/ELIM ORTIZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836