DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Elections/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I (Claims 1-14) without traverse in the reply filed on 7/2/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(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 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sattel (US 20200388436 A1).
Regarding Claim 1:
Sattel teaches that a current sensor, comprising:
a printed circuit board substrate (22, Fig. 2a; para 0060-0072);
at least one electrically conductive trace arranged on the PCB substrate in a
generally spiral pattern to form a planar coil (24); and
at least one vertical interconnect access via( not shown see para 0074)) in the PCB substrate connected to the electrically conductive trace, the at least one via connected to provide a lead terminal (30, 32; Fig. 2b; para 0068) the electrically conductive trace
Regarding Claim 2:
As applied to claim 1, Sattel teaches that a the PCB substrate includes multiple layers (22a, 22b; Fig. 2a; see claim 6), each layer having an electrically conductive trace arranged thereon in a generally spiral pattern to form a planar coil.
Regarding Claim 3:
As applied to claim 2, Sattel teaches that each planar coil on the PCB substrate is connected in electrical series to other planar coils on the PCB substrate (see claim 6 or para 0032).
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 of this title, 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.
3. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sattel in view of Ham (US 20200116762 A1).
Regarding Claim 4:
As applied to claim 1, Sattel teaches the PCB substrate and the planar coil except an electromagnetic shield positioned on or near the PCB substrate, the electromagnetic shield configured to reduce electromagnetic interference on the planar coil.
However, Ham taught in para 0045 that the shielding part may be provided at the substrate part 410, in order to shield the core and PCB coil assembly 230, from external noise. For this, the shielding part may be applied to a side surface of the substrate part 410, or may be connected to a ground.
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 an electromagnetic shield positioned on or near the PCB substrate to minimize electromagnetic interference.
3. Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sattel in view of Kevin (US 20160124024 A1).
Regarding Claim 5:
As applied to claim 1, Sattel teaches the PCB substrate and the planar coil except a signal conditioning circuit on the PCB substrate, the signal conditioning circuit configured to provide signal conditioning and processing for any voltage signal outputted by the current sensor.
However, Kevin taught in para 0017 that measurement and signal conditioning circuits 115 on the printed circuit board 104, are electrically connected to leads 107 and 109 from the sensor coil 106, to sample secondary current induced in the sensor coil 106 as a measure of primary current in the primary current carrying wire 103. FIG. 1C illustrates the example embodiment of the invention, showing the self-correcting current transformer of in FIG. 1B.
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 a signal conditioning circuit on the PCB substrate to prepare sensor outputs for accurate measurement and analysis.
Regarding Claim 14:
As applied to claim 6, the modified Storkey teaches that the current flow monitoring device is one of: an advanced function miniature circuit breaker, a ground fault interrupt (GFI) receptacle wiring device, a GFI smart plug, or a metering device as explained 6 analysis in light of intended use recitation.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Storkey (US 20100109643 A1)in view of Bolz (US 20040223282 A1).
Regarding Claim 6:
Storkey teaches that a current flow monitoring device, comprising:
a current conductor (1, Fig. 1; see claim 1 and Abstract) in the current flow monitoring device ;
a neutral conductor (not shown see para 0050) in the current flow monitoring device;
a planar coil (7) mounted in the current flow monitoring device in close proximity to the current conductor; a monitoring circuit (i.e. current sensor; see Abstract)
The limitation "a monitoring circuit operable to monitor the planar coil current sensor and determine an amount of current flowing through the current conductor " is merely a functional/intended use limitation that does not structurally distinguish the claimed invention over the prior art. While features of an apparatus may be recited either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art in terms of structure rather than function. In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1477-78, 44 USPQ2d 1429, 1431-32 (Fed. Cir. 1997). It has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (1987). See
Furthermore, Bolz taught in para 0022 that “a measuring device to measure an actual value of the coil current, and a regulator for forming a system deviation signal from setpoint and actual value of the coil current and for corresponding activation of the current switching device”.
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 a monitoring circuit to detects and measures the flow of electrical current in a circuit that converts the current into a measurable output signal (like a specific voltage or a digital reading) so that control systems can track power usage, detect overloads, or trigger electronic fuses for successful and safe operation of the device.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Storkey in view of Boiz and further in view of Sattel.
Regarding Claim 7:
As applied to claim 6, the modified Storkey teaches planar coil except a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate; at least one electrically conductive trace arranged on the PCB substrate in a spiral pattern to form a planar coil; and at least one vertical interconnect access (via) in the PCB substrate connected to the electrically conductive trace, the at least one via connected to provide a lead terminal for the electrically conductive trace.
However, Sattel teaches that a printed circuit board (22, Fig. 2a; para 0060-0072) substrate;
at least one electrically conductive trace arranged on the PCB substrate in a
spiral pattern to form a planar coil (24); and
at least one vertical interconnect access via( not shown see para 0074)) in the PCB substrate connected to the electrically conductive trace, the at least one via connected to provide a lead terminal (30, 32; Fig. 2b; para 0068) the electrically conductive trace.
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 a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate; at least one electrically conductive trace arranged on the PCB substrate in a spiral pattern to form a planar coil; and at least one vertical interconnect access (via) in the PCB substrate connected to the electrically conductive trace, the at least one via connected to provide a lead terminal for the electrically conductive trace to provide an electromagnetic coupling in use, thus enabling the current sensor to provide a measurement of the flux present in the first air-core inductor coil (see para 0010).
Regarding Claim 8:
As applied to claim 6, the modified Storkey teaches that the PCB substrate includes multiple layers (22a, 22b; see Sattel’s Fig. 2a; see claim 6), each layer having an electrically conductive trace arranged thereon in a spiral pattern that resembles a planar coil.
Regarding Claim 9:
As applied to claim 8, the modified Storkey teaches that wherein each planar coil on the PCB substrate is connected in electrical series to other planar coils on the PCB substrate (see Sattel’s claim 6 or para 0032).
Regarding Claim 12:
As applied to claim 6, the modified Storkey teaches that planar coil current sensors, each planar coil current sensor mounted in the current flow monitoring device in close proximity to a respective current conductor except multiple planar coil current sensors.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to have multiple planar coil current sensors, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8. See MPEP 2144.04 (VI-B).
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 multiple planar coil current sensors as claimed to meet design requirement for certain application.
Regarding Claim 13:
As applied to claim 6, the modified Storkey teaches that the monitoring circuit comprises an energy measurement circuit configured to perform energy and power usage calculations using line voltage, neutral voltage, and current signals as explained 6 analysis above in light of intended use recitation.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Storkey in view of Boiz in view of Sattel and further view of Ham.
Regarding Claim 10:
As applied to claim 7, the modified Storkey teaches the PCB substrate and the planar coil except an electromagnetic shield positioned on or near the PCB substrate, the electromagnetic shield configured to reduce electromagnetic interference on the planar coil.
However, Ham taught in para 0045 that the shielding part may be provided at the substrate part 410, in order to shield the core and PCB coil assembly 230, from external noise. For this, the shielding part may be applied to a side surface of the substrate part 410, or may be connected to a ground.
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 an electromagnetic shield positioned on or near the PCB substrate to minimize electromagnetic interference.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Storkey in view of Boiz in view of Sattel and further view of Kevin.
Regarding Claim 11:
As applied to claim 7, the modified Storkey that the PCB substrate and the planar coil except a signal conditioning circuit on the PCB substrate, the signal conditioning circuit configured to provide signal conditioning and processing for any voltage signal outputted by the current sensor.
However, Kevin taught in para 0017 that measurement and signal conditioning circuits 115 on the printed circuit board 104, are electrically connected to leads 107 and 109 from the sensor coil 106, to sample secondary current induced in the sensor coil 106 as a measure of primary current in the primary current carrying wire 103. FIG. 1C illustrates the example embodiment of the invention, showing the self-correcting current transformer of in FIG. 1B.
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 a signal conditioning circuit on the PCB substrate to prepare sensor outputs for accurate measurement and analysis.
,
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A list of pertinent prior art is attached in form 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kazi Hossain whose telephone number is 571-272-8182. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday from Monday to Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (EST).
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 https:/www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Shawki Ismail can be reached on 571-272-3985. 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.
/KAZI HOSSAIN/
Examiner, Art Unit 2837
/SHAWKI S ISMAIL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights