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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Page 9, line 11 delete the extra “on the”. Page 14, line 31 delete the extra “from the”. Page 15, line 1 delete “be” and replace it with –by--. Page 19, line 20 delete “9” and replace it with –11--. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 14, 16, 19-21, 23-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barbachano et al. (US 2013/0093194) (“Barbachano”) in view of Howard et al. (US 2021/0399550) (“Howard”).
With respect to claim 14, Barbachano discloses an electrolysis system, comprising: a renewable power generation plant (wind farm 2), an electrolysis plant (hydrogen production system 4), and an AC bus bar (AC bar is the line connecting the power generation plant and electrolysis plant to the power grid 3, figures 1-2); said AC bus bar being connected to a public electricity grid at a point of connection (figures 1-2 discloses that AC bar is connected to each of power generation plant and electrolysis plant to the power grid 3 at a point of connection); said renewable power generation plant being connected through said AC bus bar to the public electricity grid at the point of connection, and said renewable power generation plant including a power plant controller and a self-controlled converter connected to said AC bus bar (paragraphs 0024, 0068 discloses that the renewable power station comprises control systems and electronics/converters for exchanging power with the grid 3); said electrolysis plant including an electrolysis active power controller and a converter arrangement connected to said AC bus bar (paragraphs 0024, 0068 discloses that the hydrogen production system comprises a control systems and electronics/converters for exchanging power with the grid 3); and said electrolysis active power controller configured for controlling active power of said electrolysis plant at said AC bus bar, and said power plant controller configured for controlling reactive power at the point of connection (paragraphs 0026, 0068-0069 discloses that the power electronics installed in the hydrogen production system and the renewable power station control the apparent power exchange with the grid).
Barbachano; however, does not expressly disclose a transformer station.
Howard discloses a renewable station, wind farm 100 that provides real and reactive power to a transmission grid 190 via a main transformer 130, figure 1.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention, to have modify Barbachano and include the transformer of Howard, for the purpose of providing a regulated power that is needed in the system and the grid, for example.
With respect to claim 16, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose the electrolysis system according to claim 14, wherein said power plant controller and said electrolysis active power controller are configured to respectively obtain an independent control of active power of said electrolysis plant and of said renewable power generation plant. Paragraphs 0024, 0068 disclose that the hydrogen production system and renewable power station comprise a control system to independently control the apparent power exchange with the grid.
With respect to claim 19, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose the electrolysis system according to claim 14, wherein said renewable power generation plant includes a photovoltaic plant with a plurality of voltage-source converters having AC-outputs connected to said AC bus bar. Paragraph 0005 discloses the use of photovoltaic system.
With respect to claim 20, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose the electrolysis system according to claim 14, wherein said renewable power generation plant includes a wind power plant with a wind power plant controller configured to provide a requested reactive power requirement based on an output power of said wind power plant. Figure 2 discloses windfarm 2 with respective controller (paragraph 0024).
With respect to claims 21, 25, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose the electrolysis system according to one of the claims, which further comprises storage equipment providing a backup power supply for reducing a power intake from the public electricity grid at the point of connection. Barbachano disclose the use of any storage system to provide back up, paragraphs 003-0035.
With respect to claim 23, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose a method for operating an electrolysis system, the method comprising: providing the electrolysis system according to claim 14; controlling the active power of said electrolysis plant at said AC bus bar of the electrolysis system; and controlling the reactive power from said power plant controller of said renewable power generation plant at the point of connection for the overall electrolysis system. Paragraphs 0026, 0068-0069 discloses that the power electronics installed in the hydrogen production system and the renewable power station control the apparent power, active and reactive, exchange with the grid.
With respect to claim 24, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose the method according to claim 23, which further comprises controlling the active power of said renewable power generation plant from said power plant controller at the point of connection. Paragraphs 0024, 0026, 0068-0069 discloses that the wind farm controller/electronics control the apparent power/active power exchange with the grid.
Claim(s) 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Barbachano et al. (US 2013/0093194) (“Barbachano”) in view of Howard et al. (US 2021/0399550) (“Howard”) in further view of Utz (US 2021/0140057).
With respect to claim 17, Barbachano in view of Howard disclose the electrolysis system according to claim 14; except for, wherein said converter arrangement of said electrolysis plant includes a plurality of thyristor- based converters having respective AC inputs to said AC bus bar connected in parallel.
Utz discloses an electrolyser, and a thyristor based rectifier connected to an AC source and providing DC voltage to the electrolyser; the rectifier comprising a thyristor assembly, paragraph 0051 and figure 2.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention, to have modify Barbachano and Howard and have the converter electronics of Barbachano to be thyristor based, for the purpose of providing a converter that is fine control, for example (paragraph 0009).
With respect to claim 18, Barbachano and Howard in view of Utz disclose the electrolysis system according to claim 17, wherein said thyristor-based converters have respective DC-outputs, and said electrolysis active power controller is connected to said thyristor-based converters to achieve a control of the active power at said respective DC-outputs of said thyristor-based converters to a set point of said electrolysis plant during operation. Utz discloses in figure 6 that rectifier comprises DC terminals, the thyristor rectifier is control, paragraph 0013.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15, 22, 26 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.
Claim 15 is allowable over the prior art of record, because the prior art of record does not disclose an operator device; said power plant controller having an AC power input; said electrolysis active power controller being connected by said operator device to said AC power input of said power plant controller; and said converter arrangement having a thyristor-based converter, achieving compensation of harmonics on said AC bus bar involved from said thyristor-based converter of said converter arrangement during operation.
Claim 22 is allowable over the prior art of record, because the prior art of record does not disclose wherein said converter arrangement includes an IGBT-based converter providing a combination of thyristor-based converters and at least one non-thyristor-based converter, said at least one non-thyristor-based converter enabling an operation mode at a low current.
Claim 26 is allowable over the prior art of record, because the prior art of record does not disclose providing said converter arrangement with a thyristor-based converter, measuring a total AC current at a metering point at the point of connection, and injecting an opposite value of the total AC current at an input of said power plant controller, for significantly reducing harmonics incurred with said thyristor-based converter during operation.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hunt et al. (US 11,670,960) discloses a power production system comprising hydrogen generation system and renewable sources connected to a grid.
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/CARLOS AMAYA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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