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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/23/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the second branch comprising at least one submodule a plurality of submodules”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claims 10 and 11 are objected because of the limitation “a first submodule”. The limitation has been used to describe submodule of the first branch and the second branch of the same leg, but fails to clearly distinguish different “first submodule” being used for the first brand and the second branch of the same leg. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 8 and 26 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Tian et al. (US 2015/0194902 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Tian discloses an AC-DC-AC converter (e.g. Fig. 3: 2) for delivering power to an electric motor (e.g. Fig. 3: 200) from a power source (e.g. Fig. 3: 102), the AC-DC-AC converter comprising a front-end converter (e.g. Fig. 3: 70) and a motor-end converter (e.g. Fig. 3: 80) connected through a DC link (e.g. Fig. 3: 90a, 90b), the DC link voltage being generated and controlled by the front-end converter (e.g. Fig. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Tian discloses the front-end converter and the motor- end converter are hybrid modular multilevel converters (e.g. [0001, 0032, 0033]: MMC in hybrid typologies).
Regarding claims 8 and 26, Tian discloses the front-end converter is operating so that the DC link voltage is controlled to a constant value during steady state operation (e.g. [0004]: constant common mode voltage).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 2-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian et al. (US 2015/0194902 A1).
Regarding claim 2, Tian discloses the front-end converter is a modular multilevel converter (e.g. [0001, 0032, 0033]: MMC), the motor-end converter being a hybrid modular multilevel converter (e.g. [0001, 0032, 0033]: MMC in hybrid typologies).
Tian fails to explicitly discloses front-end converter is a MMC and the motor-end converter is a hybrid MMC, but Tian discloses different types of known alternative converters can be used for its invention (including MMC and hybrid MMC).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize any type of converters as the front-end converter and the motor-end converter including MMC and/or hybrid MMC in the invention of Tian since MMC and hybrid MMC are known alternative as taught by Tian, and it is merely simple substitutions of one known element with another according to KSR.
Regarding claim 3, Tian discloses the front-end converter is a hybrid modular multilevel converter, the motor-end converter being a modular multilevel converter (e.g. [0001, 0032, 0033]: MMC and/or MMC in hybrid typologies).
Tian fails to explicitly discloses front-end converter is a hybrid MMC and the motor-end converter is a MMC, but Tian discloses different types of known alternative converters can be used for its invention (including MMC and hybrid MMC).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize any type of converters as the front-end converter and the motor-end converter including MMC and/or hybrid MMC in the invention of Tian since MMC and hybrid MMC are known alternative as taught by Tian, and it is merely simple substitutions of one known element with another according to KSR.
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian et al. (US 2015/0194902 A1) in view of Pottebaum et al. (US 2015/0115854 A1).
Regarding claim 5, Tian fails to disclose, but Pottebaum teaches the front-end converter is operating so that the DC link voltage is controlled as a function of motor frequency (e.g. [0035]: control DC bus voltage by regulating output frequency, i.e. motor frequency, and motor speed).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Pottebaum to control DC voltage in a manner as taught by Pottebaum, since Pottebaum suggests it is advantageous to control DC bus ripple within acceptable limits to prolong service life of DC capacitor (e.g. [0030]).
Regarding claim 6, Tian fails to disclose, but Pottebaum teaches the front-end converter is operating so that the DC link voltage is controlled as a function of motor speed (e.g. [0035]: control DC bus voltage by regulating output frequency, i.e. motor frequency, and motor speed).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Pottebaum to control DC voltage in a manner as taught by Pottebaum, since Pottebaum suggests it is advantageous to control DC bus ripple within acceptable limits to prolong service life of DC capacitor (e.g. [0030]).
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian et al. (US 2015/0194902 A1) in view of Dai et al. (US 2021/0036628 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Tian fails to discloses, but Dai teaches the DC link voltage is controlled as a function of motor voltage (e.g. Abstract & [0064]).
Therefore, the combination of Tian and Dai discloses the claimed invention.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify teachings of Tian to control DC voltage as a function of motor output voltage as taught by Dai, since Dai suggests it would effectively reduce DC ripple (e.g. [0004]).
Claim(s) 9 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tian et al. (US 2015/0194902 A1) in view of Liu (US 11,515,807 B1).
Regarding claim 9, Tian fails to disclose, but Liu teaches the modular multilevel converter (e.g. Fig. 1A) comprises at least one leg, each leg being connected to an AC connection and to two DC connections, each leg comprising two branches, each branch comprising at least one submodule of a plurality of submodules connected in series and an inductor connected in series, wherein a first branch comprising the first inductor is connected to a first DC connection by a submodule and to an AC connection through the first inductor, the second branch comprising the second inductor being connected to a second DC connection by a submodule and to an AC connection through the second inductor (e.g. Fig. 1A: 3 legs 104A-104C, each leg comprises upper and lower branches that connect to DC link, and have a common AC output).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify the teachings of Tian with the teachings of Liu to replace one known MMC with another, since it is merely simple substitutions of one known element with another known alternative according to KSR, and the modification would have yielded only predictable results to one skilled in the art.
Regarding claim 16, Liu teaches the modular multilevel converter comprises at least two legs, the first DC connections of the at least two legs are connected together, and the second DC connections of the at least two legs are connected together, the AC connections of the at least two legs are independent and form at least two phases of the AC connections (e.g. Fig. 1A).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-15 and 17-25 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.
Conclusion
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/KAWING CHAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846