CTNF 18/467,801 CTNF 82866 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Acknowledgement is made of application #18/467,801 filed on 09/15/2023 in which claims 1-20 have been presented for prosecution in a first action on the merits. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 03/26/2024, 10/22/2024 and 05/29/2026 have been considered and put on record. Initialed copies are attached herewith. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim (s) 1-5,8-12,15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Pastor et al., (Pastor) US 2019/0202300 A1(also cited by Applicants) . Regarding claim 1,5 and 8: Pastor at least discloses and shows in Figs. 1-3: A charger (10)(see annotated Fig. 1) , comprising: a control module (17) ; a DC-DC conversion circuit (28) , a first high potential end (HP1) and a first low potential end (LP1) of the DC-DC conversion circuit (28)([0024]) are configured to receive charging electric energy (from either side of either the HV-AC side of OBC 10 and HV-DC side of the OBC; [0025]) , and a second high potential end (HP2) and a second low potential end (LP2) of the DC-DC conversion circuit (28) are configured to connect to a battery system (traction battery 12)(see [0033]) ; and a first capacitor (26) , wherein one end (1E) of the first capacitor (26) is connected to the first high potential end (HP1) of the DC-DC conversion circuit (38) , and a second end (2E) of the first capacitor (26) is connected to the first low potential end (LP1) of the DC-DC conversion circuit (28) ; and the control module (17) is configured to: control the DC-DC conversion circuit (28)(see [0026]) to charge the first capacitor (26) by using battery electric energy output by the battery system (traction battery 12)() ; and send first indication information to a charging pile (construed as EVSE 33)(see double arrow between the EVSE 33 and the controller 17 in annotated Fig. 1) after a capacitance voltage of the first capacitor (26) reaches a first threshold voltage (V CBulk )(note-DC link capacitor 26 is thus to be pre-charged from the zero or low DC capacitor voltage up to the minimum voltage that allows the proper operation of PFC stage 14, i.e., the peak voltage of the input AC voltage; see [0008],[0016],[0027],[0029] and [0035]) , wherein the first indication information indicates the charging pile to output the charging electric energy (note-Controller 17 is operable to communicate with EVSE 33 to not allow the connection of OBC 10 to mains supply 32 while DC link capacitor 26 is not pre-charged. Controller 17 is operable to detect the value of the capacitor voltage of DC link capacitor 26, as indicated by the V CBulk controller input shown in FIG. 1. Controller 17 can compare the value of the capacitor voltage of DC link capacitor 26 to the value of the boosted DC capacitor voltage. Furthermore, When the capacitor voltage of DC link capacitor 26 is greater than the boosted voltage, controller communicates with EVSE 33 to have the EVSE connect OBC 10 to mains supply 32, as indicated in block 58. Controller 17 then controls OBC 10 to operate in the stable operation mode, as indicated in block 60. During the stable operation mode, controller 17 controls PFC stage 14 and DC/DC converter 28 to charge traction battery 12 using AC power from mains supply 32 see [0039-[0040] and particularly [0049]) . Accordingly claims 1,8,15-16 are clearly anticipated. Regarding claims 2,9 an d17: Pastor at least discloses and shows in Fig. 1: wherein the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (EVSE 33) is alternating current electric energy (note- the EVSE 33 is directly connected to AC mains 32 which is an AC electric energy; see Fig. 1 and [0028]-[0029]) the charger further comprises a rectifier circuit (22)(see [0028],[0030]) , one end of the rectifier circuit (22) is configured to receive the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (EVSE 33) , and the other end of the rectifier circuit is connected (via switched converter 24) to the DC-DC conversion circuit (28)(see [0023] and [0026]) ; and the rectifier circuit (22) is configured to: convert the received charging electric energy from the alternating current electric energy (as received by EVSE 33 from AC mains supply 32)(see [0028]-[0029]) into direct current electric energy (see [0030]) , and output the converted charging electric energy (from AC to DC) to the DC-DC conversion circuit (28)(see [0031]-[0033]) . Accordingly, claims 2,9 and 17 are clearly anticipated . Regarding claims 3, 10 and respectively 18, Pastor discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claims 2,9 and respectively 17. Pastor further discloses, wherein the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (EVSE 33) is a single-phase alternating current (see [0029]) , and the first threshold voltage (V CBulk ) is greater than or equal to a peak voltage of the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (note the Vpeak to peak = 2 V RMS and since (V CBulk ) is a boosted version of Vpeak(see [0004],[0035])) which implies that the first threshold voltage (V CBulk ) is greater than or equal to a peak voltage because the DC link capacitor 26 is thus to be pre-charged from the zero or low DC capacitor voltage up to the minimum voltage that allows the proper operation of PFC stage 14, i.e., the peak voltage of the input AC voltage. After the pre-charge of DC link capacitor 26, switched converter 24 boosts the voltage of DC link capacitor 26 up to the desired boosted voltage and keeps it at that level during the stable operation mode; see [0035]). Furthermore, the switching method used is a soft-start method since variants of DC/DC converter 28 include using full-bridge arrangements instead of half-bridge arrangements shown in FIG. 2. In this case, a capacitor may be in series to the resonant inductor Lr, thus soft-switching topology; see [0047]), as per claim 8. Accordingly, claims 3, 10 and 18 are clearly anticipated. Regarding claims 4, 11 and respectively 19, Pastor discloses all the claimed invention as set forth and discussed above in claims 2, 9 and respectively 17. Pastor further discloses, wherein the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (EVSE 33) is a three-phase alternating current (see [0029])) , and the first threshold voltage (V CBulk ) is greater than or equal to a peak voltage of a line voltage (Vpeak of the mains AC supply signal) of the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (EVSE 33) (note the Vpeak to peak = 2 V RMS and since (V CBulk ) is a boosted version of Vpeak(see [0004],[0035])) which implies that the first threshold voltage (V CBulk ) is greater than or equal to a peak voltage because the DC link capacitor 26 is thus to be pre-charged from the zero or low DC capacitor voltage up to the minimum voltage that allows the proper operation of PFC stage 14, i.e., the peak voltage of the input AC voltage. After the pre-charge of DC link capacitor 26, switched converter 24 boosts the voltage of DC link capacitor 26 up to the desired boosted voltage and keeps it at that level during the stable operation mode; see [0035]) . Regarding claims 5,12 and respectively 20, Pastor discloses all the claimed inventions as set forth and discussed above in claims 1,8 and respectively 15. Pastor further discloses, wherein the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (EVSE 33) is direct current electric energy (as rectified by rectifier 22 and converted into a suitable DC voltage; see [0030]-[0033] and [0043]) , and the first threshold voltage (boosted DC capacitor voltage during stable operation; see [0043]) is a voltage of the charging electric energy output by the charging pile (ESVE 33) . PNG media_image1.png 702 882 media_image1.png Greyscale Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 6-7 and 13-14 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. Regarding claims 6 and 13, patentability exists at least in part with the claimed limitations of, further comprising: a second capacitor, wherein one end of the second capacitor is connected to the second high potential end of the DC-DC conversion circuit, and the other end of the second capacitor is connected to the second low potential end of the DC-DC conversion circuit; and the control module is further configured to: send second indication information to the battery system, wherein the second indication information indicates the battery system to output the battery electric energy to the second capacitor; and when a capacitance voltage of the second capacitor reaches a second threshold voltage, control the DC-DC conversion circuit to charge the first capacitor by using the battery electric energy. While it is known in the art that EMI filter do include output filter capacitor (second capacitor), Pastor does not teach or suggest, among other patentable features, “…the control module is further configured to: send second indication information to the battery system, wherein the second indication information indicates the battery system to output the battery electric energy to the second capacitor; and when a capacitance voltage of the second capacitor reaches a second threshold voltage, control the DC-DC conversion circuit to charge the first capacitor by using the battery electric energy”. Claim 7 and respectively claim 14 depend directly from claim 6 and respectively from claim 13 and therefore are allowed for the same reasons. 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 June 12, 2026 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 2 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 3 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 4 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 5 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 6 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 7 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 8 Art Unit: 2859 Application/Control Number: 18/467,801 Page 9 Art Unit: 2859
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