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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on 1/22/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 14-39 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 1/22/2026.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
A title such as the following is suggested: Power Conversion Device having Magnetically Coupled Windings on a Common Core.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 1, lines 8-9 recite “the first port of the channel and the second port of the channel are two side faces of two core plates”. The claim is indefinite when interpreted in light of the specification because the claim contradicts the specification which shows the ports are located between the side faces of the plates, and the ports are not the plates. For the purpose of examination, the claim shall be interpreted as ‘the first port of the channel and the second port of the channel are located between two side faces of two core plates’.
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) 1 and 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Cheon (US 2019/0027293).
With respect to claim 1, Cheon discloses a power conversion device, comprising: a magnetic component (Fig. 2 100), wherein the magnetic component comprises a magnetically permeable core (Fig. 2 111,112) and three windings (Fig. 3 21,24’,25’,26’), the magnetically permeable core comprises two core plates (Fig. 2 111,112) and at least two magnetic legs (Fig. 2 111b,111a,112a,112b), the at least two magnetic legs are arranged between the two core plates, and a channel (Fig. 2 space between 111b and 111a; space between 112a,112b) between every two adjacent magnetic legs is a winding channel; wherein the magnetically permeable core further comprises a first port (Fig. 2 end of channel) of the channel and a second port (Fig. 2 other end of channel) of the channel which are opposite to each other, the first port of the channel and the second port of the channel are two side faces (Fig. 2 front and back sides of 111, 112) of two core plates, and the winding channel penetrates through the first port of the channel and the second port of the channel; wherein the three windings (Fig. 3 22-23, 24’,25’,26’) penetrate through the winding channel respectively, each winding in the three windings comprises a first end and a second end (Fig. 3 beginning and termination ends), and the first end and the second end of each winding in the three windings are arranged on the same side (Fig. 3 upper side) of the magnetically permeable core; wherein the three windings are respectively a first winding (Fig. 3 24’ on 24-1 or 25’), a second winding (Fig. 3 24’ on 24-2 or 26’) and a third winding (Fig. 3 21), and the second end (Fig. 3 via end of 24’) of the first winding and the second end of the second winding have different polarities (Fig. 3 24’ on 24-1 one via end is dotted, 24’ on 24-2 is not; 25’ and 26’ opposite) and are electrically connected (Fig. 3 24’ connected at vias; 25’ and 26’ connected at connector); wherein the third winding (Fig. 3 21) comprises a first end part (Fig. 3 connector end of 22’ on 22-1) and a second end part (Fig. 3 connector end of 23’ on 23-2), the first end part and the second end part are horizontally crossed, and a projection overlapping area is formed (Fig. 3 crossed at the connector terminals).
With respect to claim 3, Cheon discloses the power conversion device of claim 1, wherein the first winding and the second winding respectively comprise a first end part (Fig. 3 connector terminal on 24-1 and 24-2), and the first end part (Fig. 3 connector terminal on 24-1) of the first winding and the first end part (Fig. 3 connector terminal on 24-2) of the second winding are not horizontally crossed to form a projection overlapping area.
With respect to claim 4, Cheon discloses the power conversion device of claim 1, wherein the number of the at least two magnetic legs is three (Fig. 2 legs 111b,111a and 112b), the three magnetic legs are respectively a first side leg, a middle leg and a second side leg, the first side leg, the middle leg and the second side leg are arranged in the same direction (Fig. 2 legs arranged front to back), and a channel between every two adjacent magnetic legs is a winding channel (Fig. 2 channels between E legs); wherein each winding (Fig. 3 windings) sequentially passes through the two winding channels and is wound around the middle leg for at least one circle.
With respect to claim 5, Cheon discloses the power conversion device of claim 1, wherein a first end and a second end of each of the three windings (Fig. 3 21,25,26) are disposed on a first port (Fig. 3 primary side port) of the channel of the magnetically permeable core.
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) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheon (US 2019/0027293) in view of Nakamura (US 2020/0271717).
With respect to claim 2, Cheon discloses the power conversion device of claim 1, further comprising: a winding substrate (Fig. 3 22-1 to 23-2), wherein the three windings are arranged in the winding substrate, the winding substrate comprises one magnetically-permeable-core hole, and the magnetically-permeable-core hole is configured to allow the magnetic leg to pass through. Cheon discloses the orientation of the core to have only one hole for the center leg of the core and does not disclose more than one hole for the magnetic legs. It was well known before the effective filing date of the invention to implement at least two core holes.
Nakamara discloses a power conversion device further comprising: a winding substrate (Fig. 6 610), wherein the three windings (Fig. 6 3 windings on 3 layers) are arranged in the winding substrate, the winding substrate comprises at least two magnetically-permeable-core holes (Fig. 6 one core hole for each of the three legs), and the magnetically-permeable-core holes are configured to allow the magnetic legs (Fig. 6 legs of 620) to pass through. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement a winding substrate, wherein the three windings are arranged in the winding substrate, the winding substrate comprises at least two magnetically-permeable-core holes, and the magnetically-permeable-core holes are configured to allow the magnetic legs to pass through, in order to reduce the size of the power conversion device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-13 are rejected as indefinite for the reasons stated above, but would be allowable if the indefinite rejections were overcome and the claim 6 was rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and the intervening claim. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claim 6, the prior art does not disclose or suggest, in combination with the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims, primarily, a first switch bridge arm and a second switch bridge arm, wherein each switch bridge arm comprises an upper switch, a middle switch and a lower switch, the upper switch, the middle switch and the lower switch are sequentially and electrically connected in series, the connection points of the upper switch and the middle switch are upper nodes, and the connection points of the middle switch and the lower switch are lower nodes.
The aforementioned limitations in combination with all remaining limitations of the respective claims are believed to render the aforementioned indicated claim and any dependent claims thereof patentable over the art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Hung (US 2019/0122814) and Masuda (US 2022/0238271) disclose transformer techniques.
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