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
This action claims priority to JP2023-053388.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 05/20/2024, 05/08/2026 and 07/28/2026 are is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
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.
1. Claims 1-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Bae (2021/0336472).
As to claim 1: Bae teaches a power converter, comprising:
a charger configured to convert input alternating current (AC) power into direct current (DC) power (paragraph 0035, 120 inverts DC to AC through battery 110 through controller 150);
a battery connected to the charger and supplied with DC power that is output from the charger (110, paragraph 0037, the battery is connected to 150 with a DC terminal);
an inverter connected to the battery and configured to be supplied with DC power that is output from the battery (120, paragraph 0037);
a motor connected to the inverter and including three star-connected coils (130 is a three coil system which mechanically is a star-connected coil), wherein the motor is configured to be supplied with AC power that is output from the inverter (paragraph 0035);
a positive conductor connecting the charger to a positive electrode of the battery (121p);
a negative conductor connecting the charger to a negative electrode of the battery (121n);
a first switching unit arranged in the positive conductor and configured to connect or disconnect the charger and the battery (Q11-Q12);
a connection line connecting a node between the charger and the first switching unit in the positive conductor to a neutral point of the motor (Q11-Q16, paragraph 0038); and
a second switching unit arranged in the connection line and configured to connect or disconnect the positive conductor and the neutral point of the motor (Q11-Q16, paragraph 0038, wherein the controller selects the appropriate switching elements to use for each terminal pair).
As to claim 2: Bae teaches processing circuitry (150), wherein
the processing circuitry is configured to turn on the first switching unit in order to connect the charger to the battery and turn off the first switching unit in order to disconnect the charger from the battery (paragraph 0061),
the processing circuitry is configured to turn on the second switching unit in order to connect the positive conductor to the neutral point of the motor and turn off the second switching unit in order to disconnect the positive conductor from the neutral point of the motor (paragraph 0056), and
the processing circuitry is configured to charge the battery by performing a step-up operation with the inverter while turning off the first switching unit and turning on the second switching unit (paragraph 0047, wherein a voltage-boosting converter circuit is used with the switching elements and inverter).
As to claim 3: Bae teaches that when the voltage that is to be supplied to the battery is less than or equal to a threshold voltage, the processing circuitry is configured to charge the battery while turning on the first switching unit and turning off the second switching unit, and
when the voltage that is to be supplied to the battery is greater than the threshold voltage, the processing circuitry is configured to charge the battery by performing a step-up operation with the inverter while turning off the first switching unit and turning on the second switching unit (paragraph 0047, wherein a first charging mode is used when the battery is less than a maximum charging voltage value 200, which is the mode described as the disconnect mode, and the second charging mode is used otherwise, which is described as the mode which includes the voltage-boosting converter circuit, as shown in figure 2, steps S12 and S14 check the voltage threshold, and S13 and S15 are the two charging modes).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID P TARDIF whose telephone number is (571)270-7810. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 11AM-7:30PM. If the examiner cannot be reached by telephone, he can be reached through the following email address: david.tardif@uspto.gov
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone and email are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas Pham can be reached on (571)272-3689. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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DAVID TARDIF
Examiner
Art Unit 2876
/DAVID TARDIF/
Examiner, Art Unit 2876
david.tardif@uspto.gov
/THOMAS K PHAM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2876
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