DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 3/27/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claim 1, Applicant argues (See pages 9-13):
“As can be seen in FIGS. 5a—5d of Shibahara, Shibahara describes and shows a single through-current conductor 31 provided with a through slit 33. (Shibahara, para. [0046]). Shibahara describes a sealed and integrated sensor package 34 that includes magnetic detectors 32a and 32b. (Shibahara, para. [0047]). And as can be seen in the different views of FIGS. 5a—5d, the sensor package 34 of Shibahara is at the center of the conductor, and therefore not offset. Shibahara thus fails to disclose or suggest ‘each of said plurality of current sensors being offset from a center of said one conductor surface in an offset direction orthogonal to said current direction,’ as required by claim 1…Thus Shibahara fails to disclose or suggest “each of said current sensors fully overlapping with said conductor surface,” as required by claim 1.. So even though Shibahara arguably describes two magnetic sensors 32a, 32b these sensors are not ‘fully overlapping with said conductor surface,’ as required amended claim 1”.
Examiner has considered Applicant’s arguments but respectfully disagrees. Shibahara is not used to teach the limitations of the current sensor being offset from a center of said conductor and fully overlapping with the conductor surface. The reference of Tamura is used to teach the limitation of current sensors being offset from a center and fully overlapping a conductor surface. Shibahara is only used to teach that a measurement function of the current sensors. The modification of Tamura to include the measurement function of Shibahara does not appear to make Tamura inoperable since current sensors can be adapted to measure a magnetic field and current in multiple directions.
Applicant further argues: “Applicant respectfully submits that for one of ordinary skill in the art, there would be no reason or motivation to combine of both teachings of Tamura and Shibahara, or modify the device of Tamura in view of Shibahara. Upon review of FIG. 5 of Shibahara, it would indeed be counterintuitive to move the sensor towards the edge of the conductor. The sensing elements would not sense any field (the magnetic field line above the conductor towards the edge is horizontal while the sensing element senses the vertical component). Thus because the combination of Tamura and Shibahara fails to disclose or suggest all features, and because one of ordinary skill in the art would not be motivated to combine of both teachings of Tamura and Shibahara, or modify the device of Tamura in view of Shibahara, an obviousness-based rejection of claim 1 remains to be established”.
In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, Shibahara teaches a conductor having current which produces magnetic field components in opposite directions as well as an external field. Tamura is modified by Shibahara in that the current sensors would detect a vertical component of the magnetic field. Tamura teaches a magnetic field being produced by the conductor current as shown in Fig. 4b and a sensitivity direction which is horizontal. Therefore, Shibahara is only brought in to modify the functionality of the sensor rather than the placement of the sensor in relation to the conductor.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments of claims 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, See pages 14-17, Applicant argues that the cited references fails to remedy the deficiencies of the combination of Tamura and Shibahara. Examiner disagrees with Applicant’s conclusion regarding claim 1, as noted above, and therefore maintains the rejection.
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) 1,2, 6, 7,10, 14, 17, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451
Regarding claim 1, Tamura discloses a current-sensor structure comprising: a conductor for conducting electrical current in a current direction (Fig. 4a; conductor 11), said conductor having one or more conductor surfaces (Fig. 4a; conductor 11 inherently has multiple surfaces), said conductor having a top surface area and a side surface area (Fig. 4a; conductor 11 has a top and side)
and a plurality of current sensors, each current sensor of said plurality of current sensors being disposed in a plane parallel to the top surface (Fig. 4a; sensors 125, 121, 122), and each of said plurality of current sensors being offset from a center of said one conductor surface in an offset direction orthogonal to the current direction (Fig. 4a; sensor 125 is near the edge of the conductor 125 and is therefore offset from center of the conductor 11), each of said plurality of current sensors fully overlapping with said conductor surface (Fig. 4a; as shown );
wherein said conductor has a notch or a hole or a slot and a width at the notch or the hole or the slot (Fig. 4a; slit between D2 and D3 of conductor 11), the width of the conductor at the notch or the hole or the slot extending across the conductor in a direction orthogonal to the current direction (Fig. 4a; slit has a width in the direction orthogonal to the current flowing direction), and wherein the width of the conductor at the notch or the hole or the slot is smaller than an overall width of the conductor not at the notch of the hole or the slot (Fig. 4a; as shown, overall width of conductor 11 is larger than the width of D3 since overall width of conductor is a sum of D1, D2, D3 and the slit widths).
Tamura is silent in wherein at least two current sensors of said plurality of current sensors are disposed in relation to said conductor to measure a magnetic field generated by an electrical current in different or opposite directions and to measure an external magnetic field in the same direction as the magnetic field generated by said electrical current is measured. Shibahara teaches wherein at least two current sensors of a plurality of current sensors are disposed in relation to a conductor (Fig. 5a-5d; conductor 31 with magnetic detection units 32a-32b) to measure the magnetic field generated by an electrical current in different or opposite directions (See Fig. 5b; 32a measures a field going down and 32b measures a field going up) and to measure an external magnetic field in the same direction as the magnetic field generated by said electrical current is measured (Fig. 5b; Bext is in the same direction as fields B1 and B2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Shibahara into Tamura for the benefit of providing a sensor which can detect the magnetic field in multiple directions for the benefit of providing a current sensor which is less susceptible to external fields.
Regarding claim 2, Tamura discloses wherein said conductor has a length and a thickness, where said length is greater than said overall width, said overall width is greater than said thickness, and said offset direction is in a width direction (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 6, Tamura discloses wherein said conductor has an edge and an edge or center of each of said plurality current sensors is aligned with said conductor edge or wherein the edge or center of each of said plurality of current sensors is within a distance of half said overall width of the conductor edge (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 7, Tamura is silent in wherein each of said plurality of current sensors is a two-axis or a three-axis magnetic field sensor. Ugge teaches wherein a current sensor is a two-axis or a three-axis magnetic field sensor (Para [0034] “multi-axial magnetic sensor that is capable of detecting magnetic fields in multiple directions”). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Ugge into Tamura for the benefit of providing a sensor which can detect the magnetic field in various directions so as to produce a more accurate measurement of the environment.
Regarding claim 10, Tamura teaches wherein said conductor has a top surface area and a side surface area, the side surface area being smaller than said top surface area, and wherein the plurality of current sensors include a first current sensor and a second current sensor, wherein the first current sensor and the second current sensor are both disposed in a line or plane parallel to the top surface or wherein said first current sensor and said second current sensor are both disposed in a line or plane parallel to said side surface (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 14, Tamura discloses wherein said conductor has an edge and an edge of each of said plurality of current sensor is aligned with said conductor edge (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 17, Tamura discloses wherein each of the plurality of current sensor is disposed adjacent to said notch or said hole or slot (Fig. 4a).
Regarding claim 18, Tamura discloses a current-sensor structure comprising: a conductor for conducting electrical current in a current direction (Fig. 4a; conductor 11), said conductor having one or more conductor surfaces (Fig. 4a; conductor 11 inherently has multiple surfaces), said conductor having a top surface area and a side surface area smaller than said top surface area (Fig. 4a; conductor 11 has a top and side)
and a plurality of current sensors, each current sensor of said plurality of current sensors being disposed in a plane parallel to the top surface (Fig. 4a; sensors 125, 121, 122), and each of said plurality of current sensors being offset from a center of said one conductor surface in an offset direction orthogonal to the current direction (Fig. 4a; sensor 125 is near the edge of the conductor 125 and is therefore offset from center of the conductor 11), each of said plurality of current sensor fully overlapping with said conductor surface (Fig. 4a; as shown );
wherein said conductor has a notch or a hole or a slot and a width at the notch or the hole or the slot (Fig. 4a; slit between D2 and D3 of conductor 11), the width of the conductor at the notch or the hole or the slot extending across the conductor in a direction orthogonal to the current direction (Fig. 4a; slit has a width in the direction orthogonal to the current flowing direction), and wherein the width of the conductor at the notch or the hole or the slot is smaller than an overall width of the conductor not at the notch of the hole or the slot (Fig. 4a; as shown, overall width of conductor 11 is larger than the width of D3 since overall width of conductor is a sum of D1, D2, D3 and the slit widths).
Tamura is silent in wherein at least two current sensors of a plurality of current sensors are disposed in relation to a conductor to measure the magnetic field generated by an electrical current in different or opposite directions and to measure an external magnetic field in the same direction as the magnetic field generated by said electrical current is measured. Shibahara teaches wherein at least two current sensors of a plurality of current sensors are disposed in relation to a conductor (Fig. 5a-5d; conductor 31 with magnetic detection units 32a-32b) to measure the magnetic field generated by an electrical current in different or opposite directions (See Fig. 5b; 32a measures a field going down and 32b measures a field going up) and to measure an external magnetic field in the same direction as the magnetic field generated by said electrical current is measured (Fig. 5b; Bext is in the same direction as fields B1 and B2). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Shibahara into Tamura for the benefit of providing a sensor which can detect the magnetic field in multiple directions for the benefit of providing a current sensor which is less susceptible to external fields.
Claim(s) 3, 4, 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451 in view of Shibahara, US 2005/0030018
Regarding claim 3, Tamura is silent in wherein said plurality of current sensors are not in direct contact with said one or more conductor surfaces and is distant from said conductor by a distance less than said overall width. Shibahara discloses wherein said plurality of current sensors are not in direct contact with said one or more conductor surfaces and is distant from said conductor by a distance less than said width W (Fig. 3a-3c; substrate 32 in contact with conductor 22; hall elements are not in contact with conductor surface). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Shibahara into Tamura for the benefit providing a current sensor connection to other elements in the system and for ease of removal of the current sensor form conductor.
Regarding claim 4, Tamura is silent in a substrate or a printed-circuit board, wherein said conductor is disposed on, over, in contact with, embedded within or adjacent to said substrate or printed-circuit board. Shibahara discloses comprising a substrate or a printed-circuit board, wherein said conductor is disposed on, over, in contact with, embedded within or adjacent to said substrate or printed-circuit board (Fig. 3a-3c; substrate 32). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Shibahara into Tamura for the benefit providing a current sensor connection to other elements in the system.
Regarding claim 11, Tamura is silent in a shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said plurality of current sensors, wherein said conductor is disposed in, on, in contact with or over the shield, or on a layer disposed on the shield, wherein a cross section of said shield in a direction orthogonal to said current direction surface forms a U-shape, a plane or two parallel planes. Shibahara teaches a shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said current sensor, wherein said conductor is disposed in, on, in contact with or over the shield, or on a layer disposed on the shield (Fig. 5b; magnetic material 50 limits external flux therefore is a shield), wherein a cross section of said shield in a direction orthogonal to said current direction surface forms a U-shape, a plane or two parallel planes (Fig. 5b; cross section of material 50 forms a plane since cross section of 50 would be a flat surface). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Shibahara into Tamura for the benefit providing a structure that is capable of removing interference to the current sensor from other elements.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451 in view of Shibahara, US 2005/0030018 in view of Ohtsuka, US 6812687
Regarding claim 5, Tamura as modified is silent in wherein said substrate or printed-circuit board comprises a ground plane, a power plane or an electrical field shield plane disposed between said plurality of current sensors and said conductor. Ohtsuka teaches wherein a substrate or printed-circuit board comprises a ground plane, a power plane or an electrical field shield plane disposed between a current sensor and a conductor (Fig. 1; shield layer 17 between conductor 3, 4 and hall device 1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Ohtsuka into Tamura for the benefit of providing a sensor which can reduce interference in the environment so that a more accurate measurement can be made.
Claim(s) 12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451 in view of Ohtsuka, US 6812687
Regarding claim 12, Tamura is silent in a laminated shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said plurality of current sensors, wherein said laminated shield comprises lamination layers and said lamination layers are disposed orthogonally to said current direction or parallel to said current direction. Ohtsuka teaches a laminated shield at least partially surrounding a conductor and a current sensor, wherein said laminated shield comprises lamination layers and said lamination layers are disposed orthogonally to said current direction or parallel to said current direction (Fig. 1, 2, shield layer 17). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Ohtsuka into Tamura for the benefit of providing a sensor which can reduce interference in the environment so that a more accurate measurement can be made.
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451 in view of Shibahara US 2009/0121704
Regarding claim 13, Tamura is silent in comprising three or more conductors, each conductor having a longest dimension extending in a similar, parallel direction, each conductor conducting a phase of a three-phase current, and at least two conductors of said three or more conductors having at least one current sensor or having at least two current sensors. Shibahara ‘704 teaches three or more conductors (Fig. 8; 4a-4c), each conductor having a longest dimension extending in a similar, parallel direction, each conductor conducting a phase of a three-phase current (Para [0050]: “currents in three phases from an inverter or the like flow through the three bus bars 4a, 4b, 4c”), and at least two conductors of said three or more conductors having at least one current sensor or having at least two current sensors (Fig. 8; sensors 2a’ and 2a). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Shibahara ‘704 into Shibahara for the purpose of measuring a current from a 3-phase circuit such as an inverter/motor so that adverse effects of the currents in different phases may be inhibited.
Claim(s) 15, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451 in view of Tamura, US 2015/0015241
Regarding claim 15, Tamura is silent in a shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said plurality of current sensor, wherein said conductor is disposed in, on, in contact with or over the shield, or on a layer disposed on the shield, and wherein a cross section of said shield in a direction orthogonal to said current direction surface forms a U-shape. However, Tamura ‘241 discloses a shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said current sensor (Fig. 3; shield 36 surrounding bus bar 12, sensor 31), wherein said conductor is disposed in, on, in contact with or over the shield, or on a layer disposed on the shield (Fig. 3; bus bar 12 is in, on or over the shield 36), and wherein a cross section of said shield in a direction orthogonal to said current direction surface forms a U-shape (Fig. 3; shield 36 is a U-Shape). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the shield of Tamura into Shibahara for the benefit of providing a block to unwanted interference signals from external sources.
Regarding claim 16, Tamura is silent in comprising a shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said plurality of current sensor, wherein said conductor is disposed in, on, in contact with or over the shield, or on a layer disposed on the shield, wherein a cross section of said shield in a direction orthogonal to said current direction surface forms two parallel planes. However, Tamura discloses comprising a shield at least partially surrounding said conductor and said current sensor (Fig. 3; shield 36 surrounding bus bar 12, sensor 31), wherein said conductor is disposed in, on, in contact with or over the shield, or on a layer disposed on the shield (Fig. 3; bus bar 12 is in, on or over the shield 36), and wherein a cross section of said shield in a direction orthogonal to said current direction surface forms two parallel planes (Fig. 3; shield 36 has parallel planes on the two sides which are parallel as shown in fig. 3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the shield of Tamura into Shibahara for the benefit of providing a block to unwanted interference signals from external sources.
Claim(s) 19, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tamura, US 20110221429 in view of Shibahara et al., JP 2005283451 in view of Ausserlechner, US 20130138372
Regarding claim 19, Tamura is silent wherein the current sensor comprises an integrated circuit and a package, the integrated circuit being molded in the package, wherein a width of the package is less than a width of the conductor. Ausserlechner teaches wherein a current sensor comprises an integrated circuit and a package, the integrated circuit being molded in the package, wherein a width of the package is less than a width of the conductor (Fig. 1a; current sensor package 100, sensor 102, controller 106 integrated in the package 100, width of package in longitudinal direction is less than width of conductor 108 in longitudinal direction). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Ausserlechner into Tamura for the benefit of providing a sensor and controller in one integrated package so that connections between multiple elements in a system is reduced.
Regarding claim 20, Tamura is silent in wherein the current-sensor structure further comprises a printed-circuit board, wherein said conductor is disposed on, over, in contact with, embedded within, or adjacent to said printed-circuit board. Ausserlechner teaches a current-sensor structure further comprises a printed-circuit board, wherein said conductor is disposed on, over, in contact with, embedded within, or adjacent to said printed-circuit board (Fig. 10; pcb 112, current sensor 100). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Ausserlechner into Tamura for the benefit of connecting the current sensor to other elements in an integrated circuit system.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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