Ex Parte Zhang

Patent Trials and Appeals Board

Jul 3, 2019

14054999 - (D) (P.T.A.B. Jul. 3, 2019)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
14/054,999 10/16/2013 Sen Zhang
21917 7590 07/08/2019
MCHALE & SLAVIN, P.A.
2855 PGA BL VD
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL 33410
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
4267U.001 4929
EXAMINER
VON BUHR, MARIAN
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
2117
NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE
07/08/2019 ELECTRONIC
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the
following e-mail address(es):
uspatents@mchaleslavin.com
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Exparte SEN ZHAN1
Appeal2018-007190
Application 14/054,999
Technology Center 2100
Before ROBERT E. NAPPI, and JOHN A. EV ANS, and STACY B.
MARGOLIES, Administrative Patent Judges.
NAPPI, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
This is a decision on appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134(a) from the
Examiner's Final Rejection of claims 1 through 3, 5 through 8, 10 through
12, and 14 through 19, which constitute all the claims pending in this
application. We have jurisdiction under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ).
We reverse.
1 According to Appellant, the real party in interest is Greensmith Energy
Management Systems Inc. App. Br. 1.
Appeal2018-007190
Application 14/054,999
INVENTION
The invention is directed to a method for providing group control and
network operations to/for a multiplicity of distributed energy storage units.
Abstract.
Claim 1-the only pending independent claim-is illustrative of the
invention and is reproduced below (with emphasis added to the disputed
limitation).
A method for controlling a network of distributed
energy storage devices comprising:
providing a plurality of distributed energy storage
devices;
providing each of said plurality of distributed
energy storage devices with a computer, each said
computer constructed and arranged to provide local
monitoring and control of one of said plurality of
distributed energy storage devices, each said computer
including an internet connected controller;
providing a centralized server, said centralized
server including an internet connected controller, said
centralized server in internet communication with each of
said computers monitoring a respective energy storage
device, wherein said centralized server collects and
stores data from each of said plurality of energy storage
devices collected by each said respective computer and
analyzes said data to determine energy available at each
of said plurality of energy storage devices to determine
an aggregation of said energy storage devices needed to
alter the load demand of a power network;
providing a master/slave internet protocol network
for connecting each said respective computer and said
centralized server;
providing a group control software, said group
control software installed into each said respective
computer and said centralized server;
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Application 14/054,999
utilizing said group control software to establish
said server as master in said master/slave internet
protocol network over said plurality of distributed energy
storage device computers, whereby said server provides
commands to said computers regarding the storage and
release of electrical power;
utilizing said group control software to define and
control said plurality of energy storage devices into
distinctive user-defined groups, such that each of said
user-defined groups of said plurality of distributed energy
storage devices have said centralized server for
controlling both charge and discharge of power flowing
to and from each said respective distributed energy
storage device.
REJECTION AT ISSUE2
The Examiner has rejected claims 1 through 3, 5 through 8, 10
through 12, and 14 through 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as being
unpatentable over Berkowitz (US 2015/0188482 A 1, published Jul. 2, 2015).
Final Act. 2-6.
ANALYSIS
We have reviewed Appellant's arguments in the Briefs, the
Examiner's rejection, and the Examiner's response to Appellant's
arguments. Appellant's arguments have persuaded us of error in the
Examiner's obviousness rejection.
2 Throughout this Decision, we refer to the Appeal Brief ("App. Br.") filed
December 29, 2017, the Reply Brief ("Reply Br.") filed July 6, 2018, the
Final Office Action ("Final Act.") mailed May 5, 2017, and the Examiner's
Answer ("Ans.") mailed May 8, 2018.
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Application 14/054,999
Appellant argues, on pages 6 through 10 of the Appeal Brief and
pages 1 through 8 of the Reply Brief, that the Examiner's rejection of
independent claim 1 is in error. The dispositive issue presented by these
arguments is, did the Examiner err in finding Berkowitz teaches or suggests
a centralized server in "communication with each of said computers
monitoring a respective energy storage device, wherein said centralized
server collects and stores data from each of said plurality of energy storage
devices collected by each said respective computer and analyzes said data to
determine energy available at each of said plurality of energy storage
devices to determine an aggregation of said energy storage devices needed to
alter the load demand of a power network" as recited in claim 1?
The Examiner, in the Final Action, cites to Berkowitz's distributed
energy storage (DES) units as teaching each of the distributed energy storage
devices providing local monitoring and the HUB controller as teaching the
centralized server. Final Act. 2-3, Ans. 2-3, 6. Further, the Examiner cites
to Figure la, and paragraphs 10, 15, 18, 20, 21, 28, 52, 61-65, 78, 79, and 97
to teach the disputed limitation directed to the centralized server collecting,
storing, and analyzing the data from the distributed energy storage devices to
determine an aggregation of the devices needed to alter the load demand.
Final Act. 2-3. We have reviewed the cited teachings of Berkowitz and
while we concur that Berkowitz discloses that the DES units contain local
monitoring, e.g. they determine the state of charge of the unit (see Berkowitz
,-J,-J 20-22). Each DES unit includes an algorithm to manage the power and
the HUB ( equated to the centralized server) provides control such as
guidance to the DES (such as target state of charge) and selection the
algorithm used by the DES. (Berkowitz ,-J,-J 20, 24, 25). We do not find that
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Appeal2018-007190
Application 14/054,999
the DES units provide state of charge information to the HUB, but rather
that the HUB merely provides a target state of charge information to the
DES units. Thus we do not find that cited portions of Berkowitz include a
teaching or suggestion that the HUB ( equated to the centralized server)
collects, stores, and analyzes data concerning energy available at each of
said plurality of energy storage from the distributed energy storage devices
as recited in independent claim 1. Accordingly, we do not sustain the
Examiner's rejection of independent claim 1 and claims 2, 3, 5 through 8, 10
through 12, and 14 through 19.
DECISION
We reverse the decision of the Examiner to reject claims 1 through 3,
5 through 8, 10 through 12, and 14 through 19 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a).
REVERSED
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