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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 1 (Figures 1-2 and 4-12) in the reply filed on 03/18/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 5 and 15 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species 2 (Figures 1 and 3-4), there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/18/2026.
Claims 1-4, 6-14 and 16-20 are currently pending.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/11/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 § 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 1-4, 6-14 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Zhu (US 2019/0252988 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Zhu teaches a power converter (Figure 7B shows the overall circuit system; Figure 1 shows the system without highlighting the source) comprising: a power inverter (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b; Components 104a and 104b are seen in further detail in Figure 3B; Paragraph 0076 “FIG. 3B depicts one embodiment of power converter stages 104a and 104b, respectively”) to convert a direct current (DC) input (Figure 7B Components V1a+V1b) to an alternating current (AC) output (Figure 7B Components 104a and 104b output and AC output; Figure 1 Components V2a+V2b), the power inverter including N bridge circuits connected in parallel, where N>1 (N=2; Figure 3B Components 104a and 104b show 2 bridge circuits connected in parallel based on the common DC source connection seen in Figure 7B); a rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Component 102; Component 102 is seen in further detail in Figure 9; Paragraph 0160 “The passive multi-bridge 902 is used in place of the interleaved multi-bridge circuit 102”) to convert the AC output to a DC output (Figure 7 Component 102 receives the AC output from the transformer and converts it to a DC output Component 107), the rectifier circuit including N+1 series diode pairs connected in parallel (Figure 9 Components 211+212, 215+216 and 213+214 are three pairs of series diode pairs which is 2+1 when N=2); and an isolation transformer circuit coupled to and between the power inverter and the rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Components T1+T2) to transfer the AC output from the power inverter to the rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Components T1+T2 receives the AC output from Components 104a+104b and inputs it into Component 102), the isolation transformer circuit including N transformers (Figure 7B Components T1 and T2 are 2 Transformers which meets N=2), respective ones of the N transformers coupled to one of the N bridge circuits (Figure 7B Component T1 is coupled to Component 104a and Component T2 is coupled to Component 104b) and two of the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 9 Component T1 is coupled to Components 211+212 and 215+216 and Component T2 is coupled to Components 215+216 and 213+214).
Regarding claim 2, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Zhu further teaches wherein the N bridge circuits (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b; Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) include a bridge circuit n (Figure 3B Component 104a or 104b), the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 7B Component 102; Figure 9) include series diode pairs n (Figure 9 Components 211+212 or 215+216) and n+1 (Figure 9 Components 215+216 or 213+214), and the N transformers (Figure 7B Components T1+T2) include a transformer n (Figure 7B Component T1) coupled to and between the bridge circuit n (Figure 3B Component T1 primary winding is coupled to Component 104a) and the series diode pairs n and n+1 (Figure 9 Component T1 secondary winding is coupled Components 211+212 and 215+216).
Regarding claim 3, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Zhu further teaches wherein the N bridge circuits (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b; Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) are N full-bridge circuits (Figure 3B Components 104a and 104b are Full-Bridge Circuits), and respective ones of the N full-bridge circuits include two switch pairs that are bridged by a primary winding of a respective one of the N transformers (Figure 3B Component 104a is a Full Bridge Circuit with two switch pairs Components 301+302 and 303+304 that are bridged together by the primary winding Component 109a of Component T1; Figure 3B Component 104b is a Full Bridge Circuit with two switch pairs Components 305+306 and 307+308 that are bridged together by the primary winding Component 109b of Component T2).
Regarding claim 4, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 3. Zhu further teaches wherein the respective ones of the N full-bridge circuits (Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) include a DC blocking capacitor (Figure 3B Components 382a and 382b; Components 382a and 382b are placed in series with a switch pair and a transformer winding thus being a DC blocking capacitor), and the respective ones of the N full-bridge circuits are selectively operable in a full-bridge mode or a half-bridge mode (Paragraph 0058 “The controller 106 is configured to switch the power converter stages 104a, 104b between the full bridge mode and the half bridge mode”).
Regarding claim 6, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Zhu further teaches wherein the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 9 Components 211+212, 215+216 and 213+214) are arranged in N diode bridge circuits (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216), and respective ones of the N diode bridge circuits include two series diode pairs that are bridged by a secondary winding of a respective one of the N transformers (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216 are bridged by secondary winding Component 109b of Component T1).
Regarding claim 7, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Zhu further teaches wherein the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 9 Components 211+212, 215+216 and 213+214) are arranged in N diode bridge circuits (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216; Components 215+216 and 213+214), and respective ones of N−1 of the N+1 series diode pairs are common to two of the N diode bridge circuits (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216; Components 215+216 and 213+214).
Regarding claim 8, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 1. Zhu further teaches wherein respective ones of the N bridge circuits (Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) include one or more switch pairs (Figure 3B Components 301+302 and 303+304 for Component 104a; Components 305+306 and 307+308 for Component 104b), and the power converter further comprises control circuitry (Figure 1 Component 106) to control switching of the one or more switch pairs to cause the power inverter to convert the DC input to the AC output (Figure 1 Components 104a+104b output an AC output from the DC input based on the control signals sent by Component 106).
Regarding claim 9, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 8. Zhu further teaches wherein the control circuitry includes pulse-width modulation (PWM) control circuitry to generate PWM signals to drive the one or more switch pairs of the respective ones of the N bridge circuits (Paragraph 0060 “the controller 106 uses pulse width modulation to control the power converter stages 104a, 104b”).
Regarding claim 10, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 9. Zhu further teaches wherein the control circuitry is to adjust the PWM signals to achieve zero-voltage switching of the one or more switch pairs of the respective ones of the N bridge circuits (Paragraph 0077).
Regarding claim 11, Zhu teaches a method (Figure 7B shows the overall circuit system; Figure 1 shows the system without highlighting the source) comprising: applying a direct current (DC) input (Figure 7B Component 704 output is the DC input as Components V1a and V1b) to a power converter (Figure 7B Component 100) comprising a power inverter (Figure 7 Components 104a+104b; Components 104a and 104b are seen in further detail in Figure 3B; Paragraph 0076 “FIG. 3B depicts one embodiment of power converter stages 104a and 104b, respectively”) including N bridge circuits connected in parallel, where N>1 (N=2; Figure 3B Components 104a and 104b show 2 bridge circuits connected in parallel based on the common DC source connection seen in Figure 7B), a rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Component 102; Component 102 is seen in further detail in Figure 9; Paragraph 0160 “The passive multi-bridge 902 is used in place of the interleaved multi-bridge circuit 102”) including N+1 series diode pairs connected in parallel (Figure 9 Components 211+212, 215+216 and 213+214 are three pairs of series diode pairs which is 2+1 when N=2), and an isolation transformer circuit (Figure 7B Components T1+T2) including N transformers (Figure 7B Components T1 and T2 are 2 Transformers which meets N=2), respective ones of the N transformers coupled to one of the N bridge circuits (Figure 7B Component T1 is coupled to Component 104a and Component T2 is coupled to Component 104b) and two of the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 9 Component T1 is coupled to Components 211+212 and 215+216 and Component T2 is coupled to Components 215+216 and 213+214); converting the DC input to an alternating current (AC) output by the power inverter (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b convert DC to AC); transferring the AC output from the power inverter to the rectifier circuit by the isolation transformer circuit (Figure 7B Components T1+T2 transfer AC at the primary winding and output the AC to Component 102 at the secondary winding); and converting the AC output to a DC output by the rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Component 102 converts AC to DC to Component 107).
Regarding claim 12, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Zhu further teaches wherein the DC input (Figure 7B Component 704 output is the DC input as Components V1a and V1b) is applied to the power converter in which the N bridge circuits (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b; Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) include a bridge circuit n (Figure 3B Component 104a or 104b), the N+1 series diode (Figure 7B Component 102; Figure 9) include series diode pairs n (Figure 9 Components 211+212 or 215+216) and n+1 (Figure 9 Components 215+216 or 213+214), and the N transformers (Figure 7B Components T1+T2) include a transformer n (Figure 7B Component T1) coupled to and between the bridge circuit n (Figure 3B Component T1 primary winding is coupled to Component 104a) and the series diode pairs n and n+1 (Figure 9 Component T1 secondary winding is coupled Components 211+212 and 215+216).
Regarding claim 13, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Zhu further teaches wherein the DC input is converted to the AC output by the power inverter (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b convert DC to AC) in which the N bridge circuits (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b; Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) are N full-bridge circuits (Figure 3B Components 104a and 104b are Full-Bridge Circuits), and respective ones of the N full-bridge circuits include two switch pairs that are bridged by a primary winding of a respective one of the N transformers (Figure 3B Component 104a is a Full Bridge Circuit with two switch pairs Components 301+302 and 303+304 that are bridged together by the primary winding Component 109a of Component T1; Figure 3B Component 104b is a Full Bridge Circuit with two switch pairs Components 305+306 and 307+308 that are bridged together by the primary winding Component 109b of Component T2).
Regarding claim 14, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 13. Zhu further teaches wherein the DC input is converted to the AC output by the power inverter (Figure 7B Components 104a+104b convert DC to AC) in which the respective ones of the N full-bridge circuits (Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) include a DC blocking capacitor (Figure 3B Components 382a and 382b; Components 382a and 382b are placed in series with a switch pair and a transformer winding thus being a DC blocking capacitor), and the respective ones of the N full-bridge circuits are selectively operable in a full-bridge mode or a half-bridge mode (Paragraph 0058 “The controller 106 is configured to switch the power converter stages 104a, 104b between the full bridge mode and the half bridge mode”).
Regarding claim 16, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Zhu further teaches wherein the AC output is converted to the DC output by the rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Component 102 converts AC to DC to Component 107) in which the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 9 Components 211+212, 215+216 and 213+214) are arranged in N diode bridge circuits (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216), and respective ones of the N diode bridge circuits include two series diode pairs that are bridged by a secondary winding of a respective one of the N transformers (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216 are bridged by secondary winding Component 109b of Component T1).
Regarding claim 17, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Zhu further teaches wherein the AC output is converted to the DC output by the rectifier circuit (Figure 7B Component 102 converts AC to DC to Component 107) in which the N+1 series diode pairs (Figure 9 Components 211+212, 215+216 and 213+214) are arranged in N diode bridge circuits (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216; Components 215+216 and 213+214), and respective ones of N−1 of the N+1 series diode pairs are common to two of the N diode bridge circuits (Figure 9 Components 211+212 and 215+216; Components 215+216 and 213+214).
Regarding claim 18, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 11. Zhu further teaches wherein respective ones of the N bridge circuits (Figure 3B Components 104a+104b) include one or more switch pairs (Figure 3B Components 301+302 and 303+304 for Component 104a; Components 305+306 and 307+308 for Component 104b), and converting the DC input to the AC output includes controlling (Figure 1 Component 106) switching of the one or more switch pairs to cause the power inverter to convert the DC input to the AC output (Figure 1 Components 104a+104b output an AC output from the DC input based on the control signals sent by Component 106).
Regarding claim 19, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 18. Zhu further teaches wherein controlling the switching of the one or more switch pairs includes generating pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals to drive the one or more switch pairs of the respective ones of the N bridge circuits (Paragraph 0060 “the controller 106 uses pulse width modulation to control the power converter stages 104a, 104b”).
Regarding claim 20, Zhu teaches all the limitations of claim 19. Zhu further teaches wherein generating the PWM signals includes adjusting the PWM signals to achieve zero-voltage switching of the one or more switch pairs of the respective ones of the N bridge circuits (Paragraph 0077).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Lee (KR 2016-0053145 A) teaches a dual full-bridge converter, which integrates two full-bridge inverters sharing one leg in a primary side, and integrates two distributing rectifying circuits sharing an inductor in a secondary side, thereby not only achieving a low duty cycle loss and a wide zero voltage switching (ZVS) range, but also reducing the production costs with a small number of composition elements.
Zhang (US 2021/0408927 A1) teaches a series resonant converter and its corresponding control method. In one aspect, the series resonant converter includes m (m=1,2,3, . . . ) sets of primary side stages in parallel, wherein each primary side stage is identical and includes n (n=2,3, . . . ) stacked element circuits, where the primary side stages receive an input voltage; n×m resonant networks coupled to the primary side stages; n×m transformers having n×m primary side windings and n×m secondary side windings, where the primary side windings are coupled to the n×m resonant networks; p (p=1,2,3, . . . ) sets of secondary side stages in parallel, wherein each secondary side stage is identical and includes q (q=n×m/p) stacked element circuits, where the secondary side stages are coupled to n×m secondary side windings; and a control block controlling the primary side switches according to the output voltage, input voltage and input capacitor voltages.
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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