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 11/20/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues support for the ‘non-reciprocatingly’ claim language of claim 26 may be found in Figure 2 because two phases may be on at the same time. However, non-reciprocatingly switching switches in each converter leg does not mean that 2 phases can both be ON at a given, time. If Applicant intends to claim that two phases can both be ON at a given time, Applicant should do so and should not claim non-reciprocatingly switching switches in each converter leg. The rejection has been maintained below.
Applicant argues support for claims 28-29 may be found on pages 11-12 of the specification, but those page make no mention of power ranges and do not provide support for the claims. Applicant states this section recites “[f]or the avoidance of doubt, the second power range corresponds to …”, which is incorrect and is not in the specification. In fact, ‘power range’ is not stated anywhere in the specification. Accordingly, the rejection has been maintained below.
Applicant argues support for claim 30 may be found on page 15, but the cited portions of the specification do not support the claim language of the power inversely proportional to the coupling factor or system tuning factor, since increasing the coupling factor increased the output power, and nowhere in the specification is power inversely proportional to the coupling factor or system tuning factor mentioned. The rejection has been maintained below.
Applicant argues that claim 23 is not indefinite because claims 23 and claim 20 are not contradictory, however, the claims as written contradict each other. Claim 23 requires “the at least one of the phase windings” to create a DC bias, but Claim 20 has required no bias in “at least one of a plurality of phase windings”. Claim 23 should be corrected to make clear a phase winding to create a DC bias is a different phase winding from the phase winding of Claim 20 which has no DC bias. The rejection has been maintained below.
The indefiniteness type rejections of claims 26 and 28-29 have not been addressed and the rejections have been maintained below.
Applicant argues Thrimawithana fails to disclose that the periodic voltage waveform is asymmetric as recited in claim 20. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant states that Line C-A of Figure 7(c) is symmetric at the falling edge of the first positive pulse, but the Figure instead shows the waveform is not symmetric about any of the edges. As can be seen in Figure 7(c), the waveform is dissimilar and asymmetric about any of the pulse edges. Examiner does not assert that there is no reference point at which the waveform may be considered symmetric, rather, Examiner maintains the claim language does not specify in what way the waveform must be asymmetric, and since Examiner must give the claim its broadest reasonable interpretation, and there are many reference points over which the waveform is asymmetric, in a broadest reasonable sense, the claim reads upon the reference which is asymmetric about many reference points.
With respect to claim 28, Applicant also argues Sankar teaches nothing more than a scheme for adjusting duty cycle to provide another way to cap power and does not teach “asymmetric in a first power range and symmetric in a second power ranger higher than the first power range”. The primary reference Thrimawithana is relied upon for teaching the use of asymmetric and symmetric operation as in Figures 7(c) and 7(b) and the secondary reference for teaching the power ranges. Applicant argues the deficiencies of the dependent claims are not cured by the secondary references, but the argued deficiencies of the primary reference have been addressed above and the obviousness type rejections have been maintained below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(a)
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.
Claims 26 and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) 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, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 26 recites non-reciprocatingly switching switches in each converter leg, but the original disclosure provides no disclosure or support of switching non-reciprocatingly. Claims 28-29 require power ranges, but the original disclosure makes no mention of, and provides no support, for the claimed power ranges. Claim 30 requires a delivery of power inversely proportional to a coupling factor or system tuning factor, which the original disclosure provides no support for. It is impermissible to claim new matter after the original filing without filing a continuation-in-part.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112(b)
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.
Claims 23, 26 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 23 requires to switch the at least one of the phase windings to create a DC bias, which requires creating unequal positive and negative pulse widths, which contradicts independent claim 20 which requires equal positive and negative pulse widths. The claim is indefinite because it unclear how to generate both equal and unequal positive and negative pulse widths for the at least one of the phase windings. For the purpose of examination, the claim shall be interpreted as requiring the unequal positive and negative pulse widths in a different one of the phase windings.
Claim 26 requires non-reciprocatingly switching, but it is unclear what is intended by the claim language and turning to the specification for clarification of the claim language in light of the specification does not clarify the issue. For the purpose of examination, the claim language shall be interpreted as requiring not alternating.
Claim 28 requires a symmetric periodic voltage waveform which contradicts the independent claim which requires an asymmetric periodic voltage waveform, making it unclear which is intended. For the purpose of examination, the claim shall be interpreted as requiring steps for operation in different modes.
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.
Claim(s) 20, 22, 25-27, 30 and 32-33 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Thrimawithana (US 2015/0207335).
With respect to claim 20, Thrimawithana discloses a method of controlling a polyphase converter (Fig. 6a Tp1-Tp6) associated with a polyphase wireless power transfer coupler (Fig. 6a Lpt1-Lpt3), comprising switching the polyphase converter to produce a periodic voltage waveform (Fig. 7c Line C-A) of equal positive (Fig. 7c pulses to 1) and negative (Fig. 7c pulses to -1) pulse widths across at least one of a plurality of phase windings (Fig. 6a Lpt3,Lpt1) of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler, wherein the periodic voltage waveform is asymmetric (Fig. 7c Line C-A has asymmetric phase).
With respect to claim 22, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20 and further comprising switching the converter to regulate the periodic voltage waveform (paragraph 119) to control a RMS (Thrimawithama discloses controlling the sinusoidal current in the phase winding which is an RMS current) current (paragraph 119) in the at least one of the phase windings.
With respect to claim 25, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20, further comprising switching the converter to apply a respective pair of line-in-neutral voltages (Fig. 7c Phase A,B,C) to each phase winding, and a corresponding respective line-to-line voltage across each phase winding (Fig. 7C Line A-B,B-C,C-A).
With respect to claim 26, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20, further comprising non-reciprocatingly switching switches (Fig. 7c Phase A,B,C switching not alternated) in each converter leg corresponding to the at least one of the phase windings.
With respect to claim 27, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20, wherein the periodic voltage waveform is asymmetric in phase (Fig. 7C Line C-A not symmetric in phase).
With respect to claim 30, Thrimawithana discloses a method of claim 20, further comprising switching the polyphase converter so that a delivery power is inversely proportional (Equation 12 1/sin(θ))to one of: a coupling factor between the at least one of the phase windings and an associated winding; and a system tuning factor (Equation 12 1/sin(θ)).
With respect to claim 32, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20, further comprising: switching a first switch pair (Fig. 6a Tp1,Tp2) and a second switch pair (Fig. 6a Tp3,Tp4) of the polyphase converter in relation to a first one of the phase windings (Fig. 6A Lpt1); switching the second switch pair (Fig. 6a Tp3,Tp4) and a third switch pair (Fig. 6a Tp5,Tp6) of the polyphase converter in relation to a second one (Fig. 6a Lpt2) of the phase windings; and switching the third switch pair (Fig. 6a Tp5,Tp6) and the first switch pair (Fig. 6a Tp1,Tp2) of the polyphase converter in relation to a third one (Fig. 6a Lpt3) of the phase windings.
With respect to claim 33, Thrimawithana discloses a controller (paragraphs 126-1279) to be associated with a polyphase converter and a polyphase wireless power transfer coupler, the controller being configured to perform the method of claim 20.
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) 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thrimawithana (US 2015/0207335) in view of Safaee (US 2015/0217646).
With respect to claim 21, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20 as set forth above, and remains silent as to switching the converter to regulate the periodic voltage waveform across of the at least one of the phase windings to control a circulating current in a compensation network of the phase windings.
Safaee discloses switching to provide a different voltage for each phase to account for differences in impedances (paragraphs 56-57) in each phase. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to implement switching the converter to regulate the periodic voltage waveform across of the at least one of the phase windings to control a circulating current in a compensation network of the phase windings, in order to limit and control the circulating current.
Claim(s) 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thrimawithana (US 2015/0207335) in view of Champion (US 10,230,362).
With respect to claim 23, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20 as set forth above, and remains silent as to switching the converter to switch the at least one of the phases windings of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler with a different pulse width to create a DC bias.
Champion discloses switching the converter to switch the at least one of the phases windings of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler with a different pulse width (Fig. 4B Increase d2; Fig. 4C Increase d1) to create a DC bias (Fig. 4B/4C DC Bias). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to implement switching the converter to switch the at least one of the phases windings of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler with a different pulse width to create a DC bias, in order to prevent saturation or overcharging of components (Champion column 1, lines 37-57).
Claim(s) 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thrimawithana (US 2015/0207335) in view of Pries (US 2022/0085652).
With respect to claim 24, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20 as set forth above, and remains silent as to filtering a DC bias across the at least one of the phase windings of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler with a compensation network of at least one phase windings.
Pries discloses filtering a DC bias (Fig. 11B series capacitors) across the at least one of the phase windings of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler (Fig. 11B Delta coupled windings) with a compensation network of at least one phase windings. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to implement filtering a DC bias across the at least one of the phase windings of the polyphase wireless power transfer coupler with a compensation network of at least one phase windings, in order to prevent the DC bias from saturating the wireless power transfer coupler.
Claim(s) 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thrimawithana (US 2015/0207335) in view of Sankar (US 2014/0159500).
With respect to claim 28, Thrimawithana discloses the method of claim 20 as set forth above, and further discloses a different operation wherein the periodic voltage waveform is symmetric (Fig. 7b Line C-A), and remains silent as to changing the operation over different power ranges.
Sankar discloses operation for a first power range (Fig. 6C d5-d6) and a second power range (Fig. 6C d3-d4) for a second power range higher than the first power range (paragraph 37). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to implement wherein the periodic voltage waveform is asymmetric in a first power range and symmetric in a second power range higher than the first power range, in order to control the power to the load during light load conditions.
With respect to claim 29, Thrimawithana in view of Sankar make obvious the method of claim 28 as set forth above, and Thrimawithana remains silent as to a third power range.
Sankar discloses a third power range higher (Fig. 6C d1-d2) than the second power range. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to implement wherein the periodic voltage waveform is asymmetric in a third power range higher (Fig. 6C d1-d2) than the second power range, in order to limit the power during high load conditions.
Claim(s) 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thrimawithana (US 2015/0207335) in view of Wu (2013/0039099).
With respect to claim 31, Thriawithana discloses the method of claim 20 as set forth above and remains silent as to wherein the periodic voltage waveform complies with: ϕp={ϕs for 0°≤ϕs<120°; θ for 120°≤ϕs≤240°; 360°-ϕs for 240°<ϕs≤360° and α1={θ-ϕs for 0°≤ϕs<120°; ϕs-θ for 120°≤ϕs≤360°; and α2=360°-2ϕp-α1 ∀ϕs where ϕp represents a width of each of positive and negative pulses, ϕs represents a conduction angle of each of positive and negative pulse bridge legs, θ represents a phase difference between the positive and negative pulse bridge legs, α1 represents a zero-step width between each positive pulse and a following negative pulse, and α2 represents a zero-step width between each negative pulse and a following positive pulse.
Wu discloses wherein the periodic voltage waveform complies with: ϕp={ϕs for 0°≤ϕs<120°; θ for 120°≤ϕs≤240°; 360°-ϕs for 240°<ϕs≤360° and α1={θ-ϕs for 0°≤ϕs<120°; ϕs-θ for 120°≤ϕs≤360°; and α2=360°-2ϕp-α1 ∀ϕs where ϕp represents a width of each of positive and negative pulses, ϕs (Fig. 3 pulse widths) represents a conduction angle of each of positive and negative pulse bridge legs, θ (Fig. 3 Beta) represents a phase difference between the positive and negative pulse bridge legs, α1 (Fig. 3 Alpha+) represents a zero-step width between each positive pulse and a following negative pulse, and α2 (Fig. 3 Alpha-) represents a zero-step width between each negative pulse and a following positive pulse. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to implement wherein the periodic voltage waveform complies with: ϕp={ϕs for 0°≤ϕs<120°; θ for 120°≤ϕs≤240°; 360°-ϕs for 240°<ϕs≤360° and α1={θ-ϕs for 0°≤ϕs<120°; ϕs-θ for 120°≤ϕs≤360°; and α2=360°-2ϕp-α1 ∀ϕs where ϕp represents a width of each of positive and negative pulses, ϕs represents a conduction angle of each of positive and negative pulse bridge legs, θ represents a phase difference between the positive and negative pulse bridge legs, α1 represents a zero-step width between each positive pulse and a following negative pulse, and α2 represents a zero-step width between each negative pulse and a following positive pulse, in order to optimize performance of the converter as taught by Wu.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 HARRY RAYMOND BEHM whose telephone number is (571)272-8929. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-5 EST.
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/HARRY R BEHM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838