DETAILED ACTION
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)(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, 6, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Barrenscheen et al. (Barrenscheen, US 11,626,826).
Regarding claim 1, Barrenscheen shows a power module (module 400 in FIG. 4) comprising: an upper arm structure that includes a first semiconductor switch ( High-side switch 450A in FIG. 4), a second semiconductor switch (Switch 450B) and a fifth semiconductor switch (Switch 450C); a lower arm structure that includes a third semiconductor switch ( Switch 460A), a fourth semiconductor switch (Switch 460B) and a sixth semiconductor switch (Switch 460C); a first gate driving board, attached with the upper arm, wherein the first gate driving board includes a first gate driver (drive 418A) connected to a first gate of the first semiconductor switch (Switch 450A), a second gate driver (drive 418B) connected to a second gate of the second semiconductor switch (switch 450B), and a third gate driver (driver 418C) connected to a fifth gate of the fifth semiconductor switch (switch 450C); a second gate driving board, attached with the lower arm, wherein the second gate driving board includes a third gate driver (driver 420A) connected to a third gate of the third semiconductor switch ( switch 460A), a fourth gate driver (driver 420B) connected to a fourth gate of the fourth semiconductor switch (switch 460B), and a sixth gate driver (driver 420C) connected to a sixth gate of the sixth semiconductor switch (switch 460C).
Regarding claim 2, Barrenscheen shows a power module (module 400 in FIG. 4) comprising, wherein the power module is configured to be operable in first operational states in which first electric currents of equal magnitudes flow in two short communication loops (underlined limitations considered as function of Barrenscheen’s system 400 in FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Barrenscheen shows a power module (module 400 in FIG. 4) comprising, wherein the power module is configured to be operable in second operational states in which second electric currents of equal magnitudes flow in two long commutation loops (underlined limitations considered as a function of Barrenscheen’s system 400 in FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 6, Barrenscheen shows a power module (module 400 in FIG. 4) further comprising: a direct current (DC) positive terminal (DC+); a DC negative terminal (DC-) (see FIG. 2 with respect to FIG. 4).
Regarding claim 15, Barrenscheen shows a power module (module 400 in FIG. 4) further comprising an alternate current (AC) terminal (see FIG. 2 with respect to FGI. 4).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-5 and 6-14 and 16-20 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIAS M ULLAH whose telephone number is (571)272-1415. The examiner can normally be reached M-F at 8AM-5PM EST.
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/ELIAS ULLAH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893