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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/29/2026 as been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Amendments, filed on 04/29/2026, have been received and made of record. In response to the most recent Office Action, dated 01/30/2026, claims 1, 3 and 11 have been amended.
Claims 1-20 are currently pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments, filed on 04/29/2026, have been entered and fully considered. In light of the amendments, the rejection(s) have been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection(s) have been made, and applicant's arguments are rendered moot.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1, line 12, “converted stage” should be changed to “converter stage”.
Claim 3, line 3, “DC-to-DC converter” should be changed to “DC-to-DC voltage converter”.
Claim 11, line 15, “converted stage” should be changed to “converter stage”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections
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.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Taban (US 10079541 B1) in view of Milavec (US 2014/0015322 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Taban teaches a voltage converter (Figure 6; Figure 3 shows more details of Components 20 and 30 seen in Figure 6), comprising: a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 6 Component 30; Figure 3 Component 30), wherein the converter stage receives a first DC voltage (Figure 3 Component Vdclink) and outputs a second DC voltage different than the first DC voltage (Figure 3 Component LV1); a boost pre-stage (Figure 3 Component 20) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 3 Component L1+Q2+D2) and a capacitor (Figure 3 Component Cdclink), wherein the boost pre-stage receives a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 3 Component HV1) and outputs a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage as the first DC voltage (Figure 3 Component Vdclink), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Col. 7 Lines 4-11 highlights that Component 20 can be operated as a boost converter thus would boost the voltage from Component HV1); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 3 Component Vdclink receives the boosted voltage and outputs it to Component 30 as an input), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage (Figure 6 Component 40 controls the switches in Component 20 to adjust the boosted DC voltage).
Taban does not teach wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converter stage within an operating range of the converter stage.
Milavec teaches a voltage converter (Figure 1), comprising: a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 1 Component 14; Paragraph 0028 “power the first DC-DC converter 14”), wherein the converter stage receives a first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vb) and outputs a second DC voltage different than the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vo; Paragraphs 0027-0028); a boost pre-stage (Figure 1 Component 12) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 1 Components Q1+L1+D2+D1) and a capacitor (Figure 1 Component C1), wherein the boost pre-stage receives a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 1 Component Vi; Paragraph 0031 highlights that Vi is from a railway battery) and outputs a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage as the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component 12 outputs Vb to Component 14; Paragraph 0029), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Figure 1 Component 12 is a boost circuit therefore by operation outputs a boosted voltage; Paragraph 0029-0032 highligh that the converter boosts the voltage of Vi to the required amount); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 1 Component Vb is an input voltage for Component 14), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converted stage within an operating range of the converter stage (Paragraph 0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate adjusting the DC voltage in response to a fluctuation from the battery to maintain the supplied to the converter stage as taught by Milavec. The advantage to this design is that the downstream converter is operated by an acceptable voltage range which thereby avoids unstable voltage operation which could reduce the efficiency of the system overall or hurt circuit and load components.
Regarding claim 2, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban further teaches wherein the boosting circuit comprise an inductor (Figure 3 Component L1), a diode (Figure 3 Component D2), and a switch (Figure 3 Component Q2), and wherein an output of the boosting circuit charges the capacitor and provides electrical power to the DC-to-DC voltage converter (Figure 6 Component Cdclink is charged by the output of Component 20).
Regarding claim 3, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 2. Taban further teaches wherein discharge of the capacitor provides electrical power to the DC-to-DC voltage converter (Figure 6 Component Vdclink, which is the voltage at the DC link capacitor, is the input for Component 30).
Taban does not teach wherein the capacitor maintains the boosted DC voltage in the DC-to-DC converter when the first DC voltage is lesser than a malfunction threshold voltage.
Milavec teaches a voltage converter (Figure 1), comprising: a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 1 Component 14; Paragraph 0028 “power the first DC-DC converter 14”), wherein the converter stage receives a first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vb) and outputs a second DC voltage different than the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vo; Paragraphs 0027-0028); a boost pre-stage (Figure 1 Component 12) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 1 Components Q1+L1+D2+D1) and a capacitor (Figure 1 Component C1), wherein the boost pre-stage receives a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 1 Component Vi; Paragraph 0031 highlights that Vi is from a railway battery) and outputs a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage as the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component 12 outputs Vb to Component 14; Paragraph 0029), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Figure 1 Component 12 is a boost circuit therefore by operation outputs a boosted voltage; Paragraph 0029-0032 highligh that the converter boosts the voltage of Vi to the required amount); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 1 Component Vb is an input voltage for Component 14), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converted stage within an operating range of the converter stage (Paragraph 0031), wherein the boosting circuit comprise an inductor (Figure 1 Component L1), a diode (Figure 1 Component D2), and a switch (Figure 1 Component Q1), and wherein an output of the boosting circuit charges the capacitor and provides electrical power to the DC-to-DC voltage converter (Figure 1 Component C1), and wherein discharge of the capacitor provides electrical power to the DC-to-DC voltage converter and maintains the boosted DC voltage in the DC-to-DC converter when the first DC voltage is lesser than a malfunction threshold voltage (Paragraphs 0029-0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate adjusting the DC voltage in response to a fluctuation from the battery to maintain the supplied to the converter stage as taught by Milavec. The advantage to this design is that the downstream converter is operated by an acceptable voltage range which thereby avoids unstable voltage operation which could reduce the efficiency of the system overall or hurt circuit and load components.
Regarding claim 4, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 2. Taban further teaches a controller configured to control operation of the switch to effect charging of the capacitor (Figure 6 Component 40).
Regarding claim 5, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban does not teach a DC link capacitor connected in parallel with a primary side of the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage.
Milavec teaches a voltage converter (Figure 1), comprising: a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 1 Component 14; Paragraph 0028 “power the first DC-DC converter 14”), wherein the converter stage receives a first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vb) and outputs a second DC voltage different than the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vo; Paragraphs 0027-0028); a boost pre-stage (Figure 1 Component 12) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 1 Components Q1+L1+D2+D1) and a capacitor (Figure 1 Component C1), wherein the boost pre-stage receives a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 1 Component Vi; Paragraph 0031 highlights that Vi is from a railway battery) and outputs a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage as the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component 12 outputs Vb to Component 14; Paragraph 0029), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Figure 1 Component 12 is a boost circuit therefore by operation outputs a boosted voltage; Paragraph 0029-0032 highligh that the converter boosts the voltage of Vi to the required amount); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 1 Component Vb is an input voltage for Component 14), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converted stage within an operating range of the converter stage (Paragraph 0031); and a DC link capacitor connected in parallel with a primary side of the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage (Figure 1 Component C2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate adjusting the DC voltage in response to a fluctuation from the battery to maintain the supplied to the converter stage as taught by Milavec. The advantage to this design is that the downstream converter is operated by an acceptable voltage range which thereby avoids unstable voltage operation which could reduce the efficiency of the system overall or hurt circuit and load components. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate a DC link capacitor in parallel with the primary side as taught by Milavec. The benefit of this design is that it will help enhance voltage stability by being in parallel with the capacitor taught by Taban.
Regarding claim 6, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban further teaches wherein the first DC voltage is greater than the second DC voltage (Col. 7 Lines 31-46 highlights that the second voltage is around 12V which is a lower voltage).
Regarding claim 7, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban further teaches wherein the first DC voltage is one of equal to or greater than 400 volts (Col. 3 Lines 5-8 highlights that the input voltage to the pre-regulator can be 480 or greater than 400 and when boosted by the preregular the first voltage would be greater than or equal to 400) and the second DC voltage is one of equal to or less than 12 volts (Col. 7 Lines 42-46; Col. 3 Lines 20-22).
Regarding claim 8, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban further teaches wherein the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage supplies electrical power from a high voltage battery (Figure 6 Component HV) to electrical loads on a low voltage network to power the electrical loads (Figure 6 Component LV and Rload).
Regarding claim 9, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban further teaches wherein the DC- to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage supplies electrical power from a high voltage battery (Figure 6 Component HV) to a low voltage battery to charge the low voltage battery (Figure 6 Component LV).
Regarding claim 10, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 1. Taban further teaches a vehicle comprising the voltage converter according to claim 1 (Col. 1 Lines 10-14).
Regarding claim 11, Taban teaches a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored computer executable instructions for controlling (Col. 7 Lines 47-50; Figure 6 Components 40+50) a voltage converter (Figure 6; Figure 3 shows more details of Components 20 and 30 seen in Figure 6) comprising (i) a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 6 Component 30; Figure 3 Component 30) and (ii) a boost pre-stage (Figure 3 Component 20) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 3 Component L1+Q2+D2) and a capacitor (Figure 3 Component Cdclink), wherein execution of the computer executable instructions causes the converter to: in response to receipt of a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 3 Component HV1), output a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage (Figure 3 Component Vdclink), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Col. 7 Lines 4-11 highlights that Component 20 can be operated as a boost converter thus would boost the voltage from Component HV1); and receive the boosted DC voltage at the converter stage as a first DC voltage (Figure 3 Component Vdclink receives the boosted voltage and outputs it to Component 30 as an input) and output from the converter stage a second DC voltage (Figure 3 Component LV1), wherein the second DC voltage is different than the first DC voltage (Figure 3 Component LV1 is a different voltage than Vdclink); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 3 Component Vdclink receives the boosted voltage and outputs it to Component 30 as an input), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage (Figure 6 Component 40 controls the switches in Component 20 to adjust the boosted DC voltage).
Taban does not teach wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converter stage within an operating range of the converter stage.
Milavec teaches a voltage converter (Figure 1), comprising: a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 1 Component 14; Paragraph 0028 “power the first DC-DC converter 14”), wherein the converter stage receives a first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vb) and outputs a second DC voltage different than the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vo; Paragraphs 0027-0028); a boost pre-stage (Figure 1 Component 12) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 1 Components Q1+L1+D2+D1) and a capacitor (Figure 1 Component C1), wherein the boost pre-stage receives a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 1 Component Vi; Paragraph 0031 highlights that Vi is from a railway battery) and outputs a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage as the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component 12 outputs Vb to Component 14; Paragraph 0029), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Figure 1 Component 12 is a boost circuit therefore by operation outputs a boosted voltage; Paragraph 0029-0032 highligh that the converter boosts the voltage of Vi to the required amount); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 1 Component Vb is an input voltage for Component 14), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converted stage within an operating range of the converter stage (Paragraph 0031).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate adjusting the DC voltage in response to a fluctuation from the battery to maintain the supplied to the converter stage as taught by Milavec. The advantage to this design is that the downstream converter is operated by an acceptable voltage range which thereby avoids unstable voltage operation which could reduce the efficiency of the system overall or hurt circuit and load components.
Regarding claim 12, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban further teaches wherein the boosting circuit comprises an inductor (Figure 3 Component L1), a diode (Figure 3 Component D2), and a switch (Figure 3 Component Q2), and wherein an output of the boosting circuit charges the capacitor and provides electrical power to the DC-to-DC voltage converter (Figure 6 Component Cdclink is charged by the output of Component 20).
Regarding claim 13, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 12. Taban further teaches wherein discharge of the capacitor provides electrical power to the DC- to-DC voltage converter (Figure 6 Component Vdclink, which is the voltage at the DC link capacitor, is the input for Component 30).
Regarding claim 14, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 12. Taban further teaches wherein the voltage converter further comprises a controller, and wherein execution of the computer executable instructions causes the controller to operate the switch to effect charging of the capacitor (Figure 6 Components 40+50).
Regarding claim 15, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban does not teach wherein the voltage converter further comprises a DC link capacitor connected in parallel with a primary side of the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage.
Milavec teaches a voltage converter (Figure 1), comprising: a converter stage comprising a direct current to direct current (DC-to-DC) voltage converter (Figure 1 Component 14; Paragraph 0028 “power the first DC-DC converter 14”), wherein the converter stage receives a first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vb) and outputs a second DC voltage different than the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component Vo; Paragraphs 0027-0028); a boost pre-stage (Figure 1 Component 12) comprising a boosting circuit (Figure 1 Components Q1+L1+D2+D1) and a capacitor (Figure 1 Component C1), wherein the boost pre-stage receives a DC voltage from a battery (Figure 1 Component Vi; Paragraph 0031 highlights that Vi is from a railway battery) and outputs a boosted DC voltage to the converter stage as the first DC voltage (Figure 1 Component 12 outputs Vb to Component 14; Paragraph 0029), wherein the boosted DC voltage is greater than the DC voltage from the battery (Figure 1 Component 12 is a boost circuit therefore by operation outputs a boosted voltage; Paragraph 0029-0032 highligh that the converter boosts the voltage of Vi to the required amount); wherein the boosted DC voltage of the boost pre-stage acts as an input to the converter stage (Figure 1 Component Vb is an input voltage for Component 14), wherein the boost pre-stage is configured to adjust the boosted DC voltage in response to a fluctuation in the DC voltage from the battery to maintain the first DC voltage supplied to the converted stage within an operating range of the converter stage (Paragraph 0031); and a DC link capacitor connected in parallel with a primary side of the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage (Figure 1 Component C2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate adjusting the DC voltage in response to a fluctuation from the battery to maintain the supplied to the converter stage as taught by Milavec. The advantage to this design is that the downstream converter is operated by an acceptable voltage range which thereby avoids unstable voltage operation which could reduce the efficiency of the system overall or hurt circuit and load components. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Taban to incorporate a DC link capacitor in parallel with the primary side as taught by Milavec. The benefit of this design is that it will help enhance voltage stability by being in parallel with the capacitor taught by Taban.
Regarding claim 16, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban further teaches wherein the first DC voltage is greater than the second DC voltage (Col. 7 Lines 31-46 highlights that the second voltage is around 12V which is a lower voltage).
Regarding claim 17, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban further teaches wherein the first DC voltage is one of greater than or equal to 400 volts (Col. 3 Lines 5-8 highlights that the input voltage to the pre-regulator can be 480 or greater than 400 and when boosted by the preregular the first voltage would be greater than or equal to 400) and the second DC voltage one of is less than or equal to 12 volts (Col. 7 Lines 42-46; Col. 3 Lines 20-22).
Regarding claim 18, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban further teaches wherein the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage supplies electrical power from a high voltage battery (Figure 6 Component HV) to electrical loads on a low voltage network to power the electrical loads (Figure 6 Component LV and Rload).
Regarding claim 19, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban further teaches wherein the DC-to-DC voltage converter of the converter stage supplies electrical power from a high voltage battery (Figure 6 Component HV) to a low voltage battery to charge the low voltage battery (Figure 6 Component LV).
Regarding claim 20, Taban and Milavec teach all the limitations of claim 11. Taban further teaches a vehicle comprising the non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 11 (Col. 1 Lines 10-14).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shahzeb K. Ahmad whose telephone number is (571)272-0978. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 A.M. to 5 P.M..
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/Shahzeb K Ahmad/Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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