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 .
Claims 14-20 are pending in this application. Claims 1-13 have been cancelled. Claims 21-33 are withdrawn.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 03/19/26 has been entered.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-13 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention 1, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 7/10/2025.
New claims 21-33 are substantially equivalent to original claims 1-13 that are drawn to non-elected Invention 1. In the office action dated 05/23/25 Requirement for Restriction/Election, applicant was required to elect Invention I or Invention II related to process of use and product. If applicant elected Invention I, applicant would also be required to elect species and sub-species related to Invention I. Applicant elected Invention II related to process of use in claims 14-20. New claims 21-33 require a data processing controller, an analog-to-digital converter, a signal shaper controller, and a data communication controller which appear to be distinct from the method claims 14-20. Method claims 14-20 can be practiced in general computing hardware running a software program, rather than the specific, integrated power controller circuit with dedicated components described in the apparatus claims. New claims 21-33 do not overcome the restriction requirement and therefore are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention I.
Drawings
The drawings were received on 04/21/2023. These drawings are accepted.
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)(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.
Claims 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Telefus et al (US11114947B2; hereinafter Telefus).
Regarding claim 14, Telefus discloses a method of determining a load voltage across a load comprising (claim 13; fig 5, AC mains 501 is connected to the load 502 through the load identifying AC power supply 503-516): receiving electrical energy from a voltage source (fig 5, AC mains 501) through a voltage input (fig 5, power connection 513); transferring at least a portion of the received electrical energy to the load (fig 5, load 502) through a voltage output (fig 5, electrical connection to/from load) via a switching assembly coupled between a mains voltage zone and a load voltage zone (e.g. fig 5, switch 508 coupled between AC mains 501 and Load 502); determining a voltage of the received electrical energy via a first voltage sensor coupled to the voltage input (fig 5, voltage sensor 505; electrical energy comes from the AC voltage source 501, and its input voltage is measured directly by the first voltage sensor 505); determining a voltage across the switching assembly via a second voltage sensor (fig 5, voltage sensor 510; the second voltage sensor 510 is not connected directly across the load. Instead, it is bridged between the mains-side rail (before the switches 508) and the load-side rail (after the switches 508). This means it is configured to explicitly measure the voltage differential across the switching assembly) coupled between a mains voltage zone and a load voltage zone (fig 5, 510 shown electrically bridged between the mains-side rail (before the switches 508) and the load-side rail (after the switches 508)); and determining the load voltage based on a comparison of the determined voltage of the received electrical energy with the determined voltage across the switching assembly (claims 11 and 12 teach the comparison of voltage sensor waveforms by the microprocessor to identify the voltage across the load; by measuring the input voltage via sensor 505 and the differential voltage across the switch contacts via sensor 510, the microprocessor 504 can calculate the load voltage using Kirchhoff's Voltage Law V_load = V_input - V_switch. This setup allows the controller to safely infer load-side voltage even when the switches are completely open (separated).When the switches 508 are open, no current flows, and the differential voltage measured by sensor 510 equals the full input voltage. This allows the microprocessor 504 to verify isolation without needing a direct galvanic connection across the high-voltage load terminals).
Regarding claim 15, Telefus discloses the method of claim 14, wherein the first voltage sensor and the second voltage sensor share a common node (common node shown in detailed version of switching assembly 508 and controller 509 in fig 8).
Regarding claim 16, Telefus discloses the method of claim 15, further comprising determining a current flowing through the switching assembly via: measuring a voltage across a sense resistor (col 3 lines 47-49 “Voltage sensors utilize resistive dividers and current is sensed with a current-sensing resistor, current amplifier, and Hall Effect sensors”; fig 5 current sensors 506-507 and 511-512) and determining the current flowing through the switching assembly based on the measured voltage and a resistance of the sense resistor (claim 11 “comparing the first set of waveforms with the second set of waveforms includes: a) comparing the phase of the phase of the waveform of the second voltage sensor and phase of the waveform of the current sensor with the phase of the waveform of the first voltage sensor”); wherein the sense resistor is coupled with the common node (fig 5, each current sensor 506-507 and 511-512 is electrically connected to common nodes shown in detailed version of switching assembly 508 and controller 509 in fig 8) .
Regarding claim 17, Telefus discloses the method of claim 14, wherein determining the load voltage comprises subtracting the determined voltage across the switching assembly from the determined voltage of the received electrical energy (claim 1 teaches how the microprocessor identifies the load waveforms of the voltage and current sensors).
Regarding claim 18, Telefus discloses the method of claim 14, wherein each of the first and second voltage sensors comprises a resistor divider comprising a first resistor serially coupled with a second resistor via a common node (first and second voltage dividers are not shown in detail in fig 5 for simplicity of the figure, though the specification explains the voltage sensors to be made up of resistor in a voltage divider network; details of AC to DC converter 503 of fig 5 are shown in figs 6 and 7; sampling elements 603 and 703 include resistors configured into a voltage divider network with common node between the two resistors).
Regarding claim 19, Telefus discloses the method of claim 18, wherein determining the voltage of the received electrical energy via the first voltage sensor comprises measuring a voltage across the first resistor (col 8 lines 33-37 “The load identifying AC power supply includes an AC to DC converter 503 that supplies power to the current 506, 507, 511, 512 and voltage 505, 510 sensors that acquire the AC mains data and the load data”; col 8 lines 40-43“The voltage and current sensors are as those known in the art and include voltage sensors using resistive dividers and current sensors including current-sensing resistor”; claim 1 “a first voltage sensor to monitor the voltage of the AC supply, and, d) a second voltage sensor to monitor a voltage applied to the load, and, e) a current sensor to monitor a current drawn by the load”); wherein the first resistor is coupled with a first terminal of the voltage input (fig 5, voltage sensor 505 is electrically connected to AC mains 501 via 515); and wherein the second resistor is coupled with a second terminal of the voltage input (fig 5, voltage sensor 505 is electrically connected to AC mains 501 via 513).
Regarding claim 20, Telefus discloses the method of claim 18 wherein determining the voltage across the switching assembly via the second voltage sensor (fig 5, 510) comprises measuring a voltage across the first resistor (claim 1 “a second voltage sensor to monitor a voltage applied to the load”); wherein the first resistor is coupled with a first terminal of the voltage input; and wherein the second resistor is coupled with a first terminal of the voltage output (fig 5, voltage sensor 510 positioned between switching assembly 508 and the load 502).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Telefus et al. (US 11170964 B2) - Circuit breaker with detection circuitry configured to detect fault conditions
Telefus et al. (US 11336199 B2) - Load Identifying AC Power Supply With Control
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/LAUREN ASHLEY SHAW/Examiner, Art Unit 2838
/THIENVU V TRAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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