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 Amendment
Acknowledgement is made of preliminary amendment filed on 01/26/2024 in which claims 1-9 have been canceled while claims 10-18 have been newly added. By this amendment, claims 10-18 are now pending in the application for prosecution in a first action on the merits.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 01/26/2024, 05/05/2025, 05/23/2025, 10/16/2025, 01/30/2026 and 06/17/2026 have been considered and put on record. Initialed copies are attached herewith.
Specification
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 limitations of, “A vehicle comprising:…”, as recited in claim 17, 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
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.
Claims 10,12-13,17 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takamatsu et al., (Takamatsu) US 2021/0091585 A1.
Regarding claim 1: Takamatsu at least discloses and shows in Figs. 1-12: An electric driving system(1) for a vehicle(see [0024]), the electric drive system comprising: an electric three-phase motor(10)(see [0026]); an electrical energy storage device(20) configured to supply electricity to the electric three-phase motor(10)([0025],[0027]); an inverter(40) connected to the electric three-phase motor(10)(see [0025]), wherein a positive potential(21) of the electrical energy storage device(20) is connected(via changeover switch 55) with a positive potential of the inverter(40)(see Fig. 2) and a negative potential(22) of the electrical energy storage device(20) is connected(via changeover switch 56) with a negative potential of the inverter(40)(see Fig. 3)(see[0029]); a series circuit(series connection of capacitors C1 and C2), consisting of a first capacitor(C1) and a second capacitor(C2), which is switched between the positive and negative potential of the inverter(40)(see Figs. 2-3 and 7), wherein a center tap(voltage dividing point 30 is the same point as 41c,42c and 43c as shown in Fig. 1) of the inverter(40) is formed between the first capacitor(C1) and the second capacitor(C2); and a switching device(41,42,43) configured to have a first switching state(construed as direct charging mode; see Fig. 7) and at least one of a second(boost mode; see Fig. 2) and third switching state(see Fig. 3), wherein in the first switching state a positive potential of a charging port(101)(of quick charger 100) is connected with the positive potential(21) of the electrical energy storage device(20) and a negative potential(102) of the charging port is connected with a negative potential(22) of the electrical energy storage device(20) such that the electrical energy storage device is chargeable with an input voltage applied to the charging port([0047],[0088]), in the second switching state(boost mode; see Fig. 2) the positive potential of the charging port(101) is connected with the positive potential of the electrical energy storage device(21) and the negative potential of the charging port(102) is connected with the center tap(30) of the inverter(40) such that the electrical energy storage device(20) is chargeable depending on the inverter(40), and in the third switching state(see Fig. 3) the positive potential of the charging port(101) is connected with the center tap(30) of the inverter(40) and the negative potential of the charging port(102) is connected with the negative potential(at lower arms 41b, 42b, see Fig. 3) of the inverter(40), such that the electrical energy storage device(20) is chargeable depending on the inverter(40)(note-by alternately repeating the first state and the second state, the time average value of the terminal voltage Vc1 of the first capacitor C1 and the terminal voltage Vc2 of the second capacitor C2 (for example, the time average value in a control cycle to be described later), thereby charging the battery 20. When the sum of the terminal voltage Vc1 of the first capacitor C1 and the terminal voltage Vc2 of the second capacitor C2 is greater than the terminal voltage Vb of the battery 20, the battery 20 is charged by the first capacitor C1 and the second capacitor C2; see [0077]-[0078]), and wherein the inverter(40) is configured to charge the first capacitor(C1) or the second capacitor(C2), and a sum of a first voltage(Vc1) of the first capacitor(C1) and of a second voltage(Vc2) of the second capacitor(C2) is provided as an output voltage of the inverter(40) to charge the electrical energy storage device(20)(see [0077]-[0078]).
Claim 17 recites the same limitations in addition to a vehicle recited in the preamble(see [0024]) and claim 18 recites the implemented method of claim 1.
Accordingly claims 10,17 and 18 are clearly anticipated.
Regarding claim 12, Takamatsu discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discloses in claim 10 above. Takamatsu further discloses, wherein the inverter(40) is configured to adjust a voltage difference between a battery voltage of the electrical energy storage device(20) and the input voltage in the second switching state(boost mode; see Fig. 2) by reducing a voltage level of the negative potentials of the electrical energy storage device(20), the inverter(40), and the charging port(101,102) by the voltage difference between the battery voltage(Vb) of the electrical energy storage device(20) and the input voltage in the second switching state(boost mode; see Fig. 2), and adjust a voltage difference between the battery voltage and the input voltage in the third switching state(see Fig. 3) by increasing a voltage level of the positive potentials by the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the input voltage in the third switching state(see [0077]-[0078],[0099]-[0100],[0106]-[0107]).
Regarding claim 13, Takamatsu discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discloses in claim 10 above. Takamatsu further discloses, wherein the switching device comprises: first(55) and second(52) charging contactors or third(51) and fourth(56) charging contactors, wherein the first charging contactor(55) is configured to connect the positive potential(101) of the charging port with the positive potential(21) of the electrical energy storage device(20)(see Fig. 2), the second charging contactor(52) is configured to connect the positive potential(101) of the charging port with the center tap(30) of the inverter(40), the third charging contactor(51) is configured to connect the negative potential(102) of the charging port with the center tap(30) of the inverter(40)(see Fig. 2), and the fourth charging contactor(56) is configured to connect the negative potential of the charging port(102) with the negative potential(22) of the electrical energy storage device(20)(see Fig. 3).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takamatsu et al., (Takamatsu) US 2021/0091585 A1 in view of Lu et al., (Lu) USPAT 10,778,114.
Regarding claim 11, Takamatsu discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discloses in claim 10 above. Takatmasu does not teach the limitations of, “wherein the inverter is a 3-level T- type inverter”.
Lu teaches and shows in Figs. 6-7, factual evidence of, wherein the inverter(inverter/Rectifier Module) is a three-level T- type inverter(see Fig. 7 and col. 7, lines 20 to col. 12, line 55).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to modify Takamatsu with Lu by including a three-level-type inverter into the system of Takamatsu, as recited in order to provide three level outputs by toggling the switches to either the positive rail, the negative rail or the neutral/midpoint of the DC bus. Using a three-level T-type inverter present advantages over traditional inverters in providing lower conduction losses, superior output quality by significantly reducing total harmonic distortion and high peak efficiencies.
Accordingly claim 11 would have been obvious.
Claims 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Takamatsu et al., (Takamatsu) US 2021/0091585 A1.
Regarding claim 14, Takamatsu discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 10. Although Takatmatsu does not expressly use the wording of , wherein the switching device is configured to automatically switch to the first switching state when the input voltage of the charging port has a first predetermined voltage value, it is inherently understood that under the charging control unit (82) which maintains the changeover switches 51 and 52 in the open state and maintains the changeover switches 53 to 56 in the closed state in both the first charging mode and the second charging mode. The first charging mode is for alternately repeating the charging of the first capacitor C1 (Fig. 2) and the charging of the second capacitor C2 (Fig. 3) with the quick charger 100, thereby charging the battery 20. That is, in the first charging mode, the charging control unit 82 switches between a first state (Fig. 2) in which DC power is supplied from the quick charger 100 to the first capacitor C1 and a second state (Fig. 3) in which DC power is supplied from the quick charger 100 to the second capacitor C2, and this process takes place when the maximum output voltage Vmax (400 V) is equal to or greater than half of the nominal voltage Vb0 (800 V)(see [0069]-[0078]).
Therefore claim14 would at least have been obvious.
Regarding claim 15, Takamatsu discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 14. Takatmatsu further discloses, wherein the switching device(41,42,43) is configured to automatically switch to the second switching state when the input voltage of the charging port has a second predetermined voltage value and the inverter(40) is operated as a boost converter(first charging mode; see Fig. 2) to reduce a voltage level of the negative potentials(see [0071], [0080],[0085]).
Regarding claim 16, Takamatsu discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claim 14. Takatmatsu further discloses, wherein the switching device is configured to automatically switch to the third switching state(Fig. 3) when the input voltage of the charging port has a second predetermined voltage value and the inverter(40) is operated as a boost converter to increase a voltage level of the positive potentials(see [0077]-[0078],[0099]-[0100],[0106]-[0107]).
Citation of Prior art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
WO 2016011656 to Huang discloses the general state of the art regarding a drive and charging integrated control method for an electric vehicle.
USPAT 9,768,704 to Haj-Maharsi et al., (Haj-Maharsi) discloses a hybrid distribution transformer.
USPAT 5,589,743 to King discloses an integrated cranking inverter and boost converter for a series hybrid drive system.
USPAT 12,728,744 to Tröster et al., (Tröster) discloses an electrical drive system for a vehicle and method for operating a corresponding electrical drive system.
USPAT 12,199,465 to Jeong et al., (Jeong) discloses a system for charging battery for vehicle using motor driving system.
USPAT 11,724,610 to Haussmann et al., (Haussmann) discloses a circuit arrangement for a hybrid or electric vehicle.
USPAT 11,167,654 to King discloses an apparatus for transferring energy using power electronics and machine inductance and method of manufacturing same.
USPAT 10,476,401 to Kusch et al., (Kusch) discloses a device for converting voltage, traction network and method for charging a battery.
KR 20210018599 to Lee Seong et al., (Lee Seong) discloses system and method for charging using a motor driving system.
JP 2021035202 to Ohata discloses a power supply device for an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) and a range extended electric vehicle (REEV).
JP H08214592 to Shironokuchi et al., (Shironokuch) discloses a motor driving apparatus.
DE 102018207185 A1 to Sahhary et al., (Sahhary) discloses a device and method for DC-DC conversion of a DC voltage for a vehicle battery of an electric motor vehicle.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to M'BAYE DIAO whose telephone number is (571)272-6127. The examiner can normally be reached M-F; 10:00AM-6:30PM and OFF most of the time Friday when working IFP.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, DREW A DUNN can be reached at 571-272-2312. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
M'BAYE DIAO
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2859
/M BAYE DIAO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2859 October 14, 2026
