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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/11/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Order does not teach “the magnetic core further includes coupling limbs that interconnect the phase limbs, wherein each phase limb is connected to adjacent ones of the other phase limbs at a location of the phase limb between the ends of the phase limb…, wherein each of the control windings constitutes a portion of the corresponding secondary winding” as currently claimed in claims 1 and 15. Applicant asserts that in Order, the control windings and the secondary windings are physically separate and distinct components located on different parts of the transformer core. Accordingly, applicant concludes that a winding that is physically separated and located on one limb of a core cannot be interpreted as constituting a “portion” of another winding located on a different core limb.
After careful consideration without passion or prejudice, the argument is not found persuasive, respectfully. Figure 3 of the present invention has most of the claimed features. Figure 3 has phase limbs, each phase limb is connected to each other at the respective upper and lower ends. Each coupling limb connects two adjacent phase limb. The coupling limbs are located at a location between the upper and lower ends of the phase limbs. Each primary winding and secondary windings is wound on each phase limb, and the control winding is wound on the coupling limb. The majority of the specification also discloses the control limb being wound on the coupling limb. Order also teaches these features above, as stated in the Office action dated 09/19/2025. If applicant considers the control winding on the coupling limb constitute a portion of the secondary winging, then it’s also reasonable to interpret as such in Order. While the disclosure of the present invention corresponding to Figure 19 appears to suggest the control winding could be wound on the phase limb and coupled to the secondary winding, this disclosure or Figure 19 does not teach the coupling limbs as claimed or the primary and secondary windings being on the respective phase limb. Accordingly, it’s reasonable to interpret that Order anticipates claims 1 and 15. In addition, the claim does not require the control winding and secondary winding are on the same phase limb.
With respect to drawings objection 37 CFR 1.83(a) requires the drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. The objected limitations must also be shown in the drawings so that a person with ordinary skill in the art would understand the subject matter sought to be patented. Therefore, the drawings objection is maintained.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Regarding claim 1, the originally filed specification does not disclose “the magnetic core further includes coupling limbs that interconnect the phase limbs, wherein each phase limb is connected to adjacent ones of the other phase limbs at a location of the phase limb between the ends of the phase limb; primary windings around the respective phase limbs…; secondary windings around the respective phase limbs…; and control windings around respective portions of the magnetic core, wherein each of the control windings constitutes a portion of the corresponding secondary winding” as currently claimed in claim 1. This claimed invention is not disclosed in a single invention. For example, in the embodiment of Figure 3 and or similar other figures of the present invention and the corresponding specification discloses a plurality of magnetic core phase limbs in which each phase limb has primary and secondary windings, respectively. The phase limbs are connected each other at their respective upper and lower ends, and the coupling limbs are located at the middle portion of each phase limb, connecting adjacent phase limbs. Inverter and or control windings are wound on the coupling limbs, separate from the secondary windings on the phase limbs. However, in the specification corresponding to FIG. 19, the control winding is coupled to the secondary winding, but there’s no coupling limbs “at a location of the phase limb between the ends of phase limb” or the “primary windings” and secondary windings” wound on “the respective phase limbs” as currently required by claim 1. Accordingly, claim 1 contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Similar rejection is applied in claim 15.
Claims 2, 4, 5, 7-14, 16 and 17 are rejected as being dependent on claim 1 or 15.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 1 and 15, the claimed limitations are unclear because the limitations contain mutually exclusive structures/characteristics from different embodiments of the present application.
Claims 2, 4, 5, 7-14, 16 and 17 are rejected as being dependent on claim 1 or 15.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “one or more rectifier windings around respective portions of the magnetic core to generate electric power for the control windings” of claim 7, the “control component [and] one or more inverter components” as recited in claim 12 and the “control components” as claimed in claim 13 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claims 1, 4 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Edward G. Oder, Jr. (U.S. Patent No. 3,617,858, hereinafter “Oder”).
With respect to claim 1, Oder teaches an electrical power control apparatus (Figs. 2-3), comprising:
a magnetic core 50 having a plurality of phase limbs 50a-50c (annotated Fig. 3) for respective phases of electric power, each of the phase limbs being interconnected to the other phase limbs at respective ends (upper and or lower ends) of the limb;
wherein the magnetic core further includes coupling limbs 50-2C and 50-3C that interconnect the phase limbs, wherein each phase limb is connected to adjacent ones of the other phase limbs at a location of the phase limb between the ends of the phase limb;
primary windings 54 around the respective phase limbs to receive input electrical energy 14 in the form of input signals for the respective electrical phases and generate corresponding magnetic fluxes in the phase limbs;
secondary windings 58 around the respective phase limbs to generate output electrical energy in the form of output signals for respective electrical phases from magnetic fluxes in the phase limbs; and
control windings 56 around respective portions of the magnetic core to receive control signals for respective electrical phases to modify the magnetic fluxes in the respective phase limbs in order to modify the output signals generated from the secondary windings so that the output signals have one or more electrical attributes that satisfy respective predetermined criteria, wherein each of the control windings constitutes a portion of the corresponding secondary winding (col. 2, lines 2-4, 30-36, 43-63, col. 2, line 70 to col. 3, line 2).
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With respect to claim 4, Oder teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the limbs of the magnetic core have a square or rectangular cross-section (col. 2, lines 33-36).
With respect to claim 13, Oder teaches the electrical power control apparatus claim 1. including control components (components associated with control winding) to generate, for each of the phases of electric power, the corresponding control signal that is applied to the corresponding control winding to dynamically control the magnetic flux through the corresponding phase limb and consequently the corresponding output signal at the corresponding secondary winding (col. 2, lines 59-63).
With respect to claim 14, Oder teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more electrical attributes are selected from AC voltage and harmonic content or harmonic distortion (col. 2, lines 38-43).
With respect to claim 15, Oder teaches a multiphase electric power transformer (Figs. 2-3), comprising:
a magnetic core 50 having a plurality of phase limbs 50a-50c (annotated Fig. 3) for respective phases of electric power, each of the phase limbs being interconnected to the other phase limbs at respective ends (upper and lower ends) of the limb,
wherein the magnetic core further includes coupling limbs 50-2C and 50-3C that interconnect the phase limbs, wherein each phase limb is connected to adjacent ones of the other phase limbs at a location of the phase limb between the ends of the phase limb;
primary windings 54 around the respective phase limbs to receive input electrical energy 14 in the form of input signals for respective electrical phases and generate corresponding magnetic fluxes in the magnetic core;
secondary windings 58 around the respective phase limbs to generate output electrical energy in the form of output signals for respective electrical phases from magnetic fluxes in the magnetic core, wherein each of the control windings constitutes a portion of the corresponding secondary winding (col. 2, lines 30-36, 43-57).
With respect to claim 16, Oder teaches the multiphase electric power transformer of claim 15, wherein the limbs of the magnetic core have a square or rectangular cross-section (col. 2, lines 33-36).
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.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oder, as applied to claim 1 above, in view of Rocke et al. (U.S. PG. Pub. No. 2013/0009737 A1).
With respect to claim 2, Oder teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 1. Order does not expressly teach each of the phase limbs is interconnected to the other phase limbs only at respective ends of the phase limb.
Rocke et al., hereinafter referred to as “Rocke,” teaches an electrical power control apparatus (Fig. 1), wherein each of the phase limbs 2-4 is interconnected to the other phase limbs only at respective ends of the phase limb (upper and or lower ends) (para. [0040]). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have the phase limbs interconnection as taught by Rocke to the electrical power control apparatus of Oder to reduce weight.
Claims 5, 7-12 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oder, as applied to claims and 15 above, in view of Ross et al. (U.S. PG. Pub. No. 2022/0301767 A1).
With respect to claims 5 and 17, Oder teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 1 and the multiphase electrical power transformer of claim 15, respectively. Oder wherein the limbs of the magnetic core have a circular cross-section.
Ross et al., hereinafter referred to as “Ross,” teaches an electric power control apparatus and or a multiphase electric power transformer (Fig. 1), wherein the limbs 10A-10C of the magnetic core have a circular cross-section (para. [0186]). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have the circular cross-section limbs as taught by Ross to the electrical power control apparatus and or the multiphase electrical power transformer of Oder to equally distribute winding stress on circumference of core limb.
With respect to claim 7, Oder teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 1. Oder does not expressly teach one or more rectifier windings around respective portions of the magnetic core to generate electric power for the control windings.
Ross teaches an electric power control apparatus and or a multiphase electric power transformer (Fig. 1), further comprising one or more rectifier windings 24U around respective portions of the magnetic core to generate electric power for the control windings 26 (paras. [0199]). It would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have the rectifier winding as taught by Ross to the electrical power control apparatus of Oder to provide increased functionality of the apparatus.
With respect to claim 8, Oder in view of Ross teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of the rectifier windings 52 constitutes a portion of the corresponding primary winding (Order, col. 3, lines 6-9)
With respect to claim 9, Oder in view of Ross teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 7, further comprising one or more rectifier components (elements associated with rectifier windings) coupled to the rectifier windings, wherein each rectifier component receives an AC input from the corresponding rectifier winding, rectifies the received signal and charges at least one corresponding capacitor, wherein the at least one corresponding capacitor provides the electric power for at least one of the control windings (Ross, paras. [0187] and [0240]).
With respect to claim 10, Oder in view of Ross teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 9, wherein each rectifier component is configured to correct the power factor of the corresponding electrical phase (Ross, paras. [0187] and [0240]).
With respect to claim 11, Oder in view of Ross teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 9, further comprising one or more inverter components, each inverter component 104 (Fig. 8) being coupled to the at least one corresponding capacitor (“capacitors”) and at least one of the corresponding control windings 26, and configured to generate the control signal for at least one of the control windings (paras. [0184], [0214] and [0216]).
With respect to claim 12, Oder in view of Ross teaches the electrical power control apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a control component 102 to control operation of the one or more inverter components (para. [0184]).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MANGTIN LIAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5729. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 0800-1700.
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/MANG TIN BIK LIAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837