DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to the applicant's amendment submitted on 12/17/2025. In virtue of this amendment:
Claims 5-6, 9-11 and 16 are currently amended; and thus,
Claims 1-20 are pending;
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 .
Specification
The objection to the disclosure for minor informalities is withdrawn in view of the amendment made to the specification.
35 USC § 112
The rejection to claims 5-6 and 10-11 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph is withdrawn in view of the amendment made to the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
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, 6-7 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US2024/0268011A1 hereinafter “Altonen”
Regarding claim 1, Altonen discloses a solid-state circuit breaker (¶164L1: control device [1000]) comprising:
a breaker housing (¶68L26-27: control device comprise an enclosure);
a line-in terminal (¶164L5: a hot terminal H) and a line-out terminal (¶164L11: a dimmed hot terminal DH);
one or more solid-state switching components (¶165L1-2: controllably conductive device) configured between the line-in terminal and the line-out terminal (¶165L1-7: controllably conductive device coupled in series electrical connection between AC power source and lighting device; as shown in Fig.37 for example);
an air gap (¶165L14: an air-gap switch) disposed between the line-in terminal and the line-out terminal (as shown in Fig.37) and coupled in series with the one or more solid-state switching components (¶165L14-16: coupled in series with the controllably conductive device) to complete a current conducting path when closed (¶165L18-20: when the air-gap switch is closed, the controllably conductive device conduct a load current through eh lighting load),
the air gap including a pair of opposing contacts (as shown in Fig.37 for example) and an air gap driving mechanism (¶165L16-18: the air-gap switch may be opened and closed)
an air gap actuator to interact with the air gap driving mechanism (¶165L16-18: the air-gap switch may be opened and closed in response to actuations of an air-gap actuator);
a transceiver (¶170L1-20: device comprise a communication circuit; communication circuit comprise a wireless communication circuit for example a RF transceiver); and
a controller (¶166L1-3: a control circuit includes one or more processor) that controls the air gap actuator (¶172L26-34: the control circuit configured to control the actuator adjustment circuit) and the one or more solid-state switching components (¶166L22-27: the control circuit configured to render the controllably conductive device conductive and/or non-conductive), wherein
the controller is configured to receive a command signal and to responsively control the one or more solid-state switching components based on the command signal (¶172L26-34: in response to receiving a message including a command to control the lighting load the control circuit configured to control the controllably conductive device)
Regarding claim 2, Altonen discloses the solid-state circuit breaker of claim 1, wherein
the command signal indicates a desired output power level of the solid-state circuit breaker. (¶66L9-13: the control circuit configured to render the controllably conductive device conductive or non-conductive to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load)
Regarding claim 3, Altonen discloses the solid-state circuit breaker of claim 2, wherein
the desired output power level is a percentage that ranges from zero to one hundred. (¶172L22-26: actuation member between on position and off position) (Note: off position would be zero output level, and on position would be any level greater than zero)
Regarding claim 4, Altonen discloses the solid-state circuit breaker of claim 1, wherein
controlling the one or more solid- state switching components based on the command signal comprises selectively activating and deactivating the one or more solid-state switching components based on a phase angle of an alternating current signal at the line-in terminal. (¶166L22-27: the control circuit configured to render the controllably conductive device conductive and/or non-conductive at pre-determined times relative to the zero-crossing points of the AC main line voltage using a phase-control dimming technique)
Regarding claim 6, Altonen discloses the solid- state circuit breaker of claim 1, wherein
the transceiver is configured to communicate using one or more of a short-range wireless communication protocol, a wireless local area network communication protocol and a low-power wireless mesh network protocol (¶170L1-20: a RF transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving RF signals)
Regarding claim 7, Altonen discloses the solid-state circuit breaker of claim 1,wherein the controller is further configured to
selectively perform one of a forward-phase dimmer control and a reverse-phase dimmer control using the one or more solid-state switching components. (¶51L16-19: the control signal may be generated via various phase-control techniques (e.g., a forward phase-control dimming technique or a reverse phase-control dimming technique)
Regarding claim 16, Altonen discloses a system comprising:
a solid-state circuit breaker (¶164L1: control device [1000]) comprising:
a breaker housing (¶68L26-27: control device comprise an enclosure);
a line-in terminal (¶164L5: a hot terminal H) and a line-out terminal (¶164L11: a dimmed hot terminal DH);
one or more solid-state switching components (¶165L1-2: controllably conductive device) configured between the line-in terminal and the line-out terminal (¶165L1-7: controllably conductive device coupled in series electrical connection between AC power source and lighting device; as shown in Fig.37 for example);
an air gap (¶165L14: an air-gap switch) disposed between the line-in terminal and the line-out terminal (as shown in Fig.37) and coupled in series with the one or more solid-state switching components (¶165L14-16: coupled in series with the controllably conductive device) to complete a current conducting path when closed (¶165L18-20: when the air-gap switch is closed, the controllably conductive device conduct a load current through eh lighting load),
the air gap including a pair of opposing contacts (as shown in Fig.37 for example) and an air gap driving mechanism (¶165L16-18: the air-gap switch may be opened and closed)
an air gap actuator to interact with the air gap driving mechanism (¶165L16-18: the air-gap switch may be opened and closed in response to actuations of an air-gap actuator);
a transceiver (¶170L1-20: device comprise a communication circuit; communication circuit comprise a wireless communication circuit for example a RF transceiver); and
a controller (¶166L1-3: a control circuit includes one or more processor) that controls the air gap actuator (¶172L26-34: the control circuit configured to control the actuator adjustment circuit) and the one or more solid-state switching components (¶166L22-27: the control circuit configured to render the controllably conductive device conductive and/or non-conductive), wherein
the controller is configured to receive a command signal and to responsively control the one or more solid-state switching components based on the command signal (¶172L26-34: in response to receiving a message including a command to control the lighting load the control circuit configured to control the controllably conductive device)
the command signal is received from a user device that is in communication with the transceiver of the solid-state circuit breaker. (¶127L20-27: the wireless communication circuit may be configured to receive a message from one or more remote contorl device)
Regarding claim 17, Altonen discloses the system of claim 16, wherein controlling the one or more solid-state switching components based on the command signal comprises selectively activating and deactivating the one or more solid-state switching components based on a phase angle of an alternating current signal at the line-in terminal. (¶166L22-27: the control circuit configured to render the controllably conductive device conductive and/or non-conductive at pre-determined times relative to the zero-crossing points of the AC main line voltage using a phase-control dimming technique)
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Altonen.
Regarding claim 5, Altonen discloses the solid-state circuit breaker of claim 1 wherein
a solid-state switching component of the one or more solid- state switching components is a metal-oxide-semiconductor field- effect transistor (NMOSFET) or an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) (¶165L8-13: the controllably conductive device include FET or IGBTs)
Altonen does not expclitly disclose:
the switching component has a reaction time and can switch off in about 1 microsecond or less after receiving a trigger signal from the controller
However, the examiner takes official notice that the typical switching speed of a MOSFET or IGBTs ranges from 20ns to 300ns which is less than 1 microsecond.
Claims 8 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Altonen in view of US2019/0297706A1 hereinafter “Huang”
Regarding claim 8, Altonen discloses the solid-state circuit breaker of claim 1
Altonen does not expclitly disclose:
use pulse modulation to control the one or more solid-state switching components, wherein a duty cycle of the pulse modulation is based on the command signal.
Huang discloses an lighting system wherein the LED is driving using an PWM controlling module as driver. (¶50)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to utilize PWM as disclosed by Huang to drive the switching component as disclosed by Altonen.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because PWM provide higher precision of controlling the luminance of LED. (Huang ¶50)
Regarding claim 20, Altonen discloses the system of claim 16
Altonen does not expclitly disclose:
use pulse modulation to control the one or more solid-state switching components, wherein a duty cycle of the pulse modulation is based on the command signal.
Huang discloses an lighting system wherein the LED is driving using an PWM controlling module as driver. (¶50)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to utilize PWM as disclosed by Huang to drive the switching component as disclosed by Altonen.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because PWM provide higher precision of controlling the luminance of LED. (Huang ¶50)
Claims 9-12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Altonen in view of US2023/0063682A1 hereinafter “Xiong”
Regarding claim 9, Altonen discloses a method for operating a solid-state circuit breaker comprising
a breaker housing (¶68L26-27: control device comprise an enclosure);
an air gap including a pair of opposing contacts (as shown in Fig.37 for example) and an air gap driving mechanism (¶165L16-18: the air-gap switch may be opened and closed)
an air gap actuator to interact with the air gap driving mechanism (¶165L16-18: the air-gap switch may be opened and closed in response to actuations of an air-gap actuator);
the method comprising:
receiving a command signal indicating a desired output power level of the solid-state circuit breaker (¶172L26-34: in response to receiving a message including a command to control the lighting load the control circuit configured to control the controllably conductive device)
Altonen does not expclitly disclose:
calculating one of a phase angle and a duty cycle corresponding to the desired output power level;
generating a modified output alternating current signal by controlling an operation of one or more solid-state switching components configured between a line-in terminals and a line-out terminal based on the one of the phase angle and the duty cycle of an alternating current signal at the line-in terminal wherein
the command signal is received via a transceiver of the solid-state circuit breaker from a user device that is separate from the solid-state circuit breaker.
Xiong discloses a method of operating a solid-state circuit breaker comprising:
calculating one of a phase angle (¶55L13-17: changing or adjusting feature of input power such as its phase conduction angle frequency, amplitude, phase) and a duty cycle (¶73L15-37: adjust the duty cycle of the lighting control signal Slc) corresponding to the desired output power level (¶73L15-37: a luminance message indicated by the dimming control signal Sdc);
generating a modified output alternating current signal by controlling an operation of one or more solid-state switching components (¶72L5: switching circuit PSW) configured between a line-in terminals and a line-out terminal (as shown in Fig.4 for example)based on the one of the phase angle and the duty cycle of an alternating current signal at the line-in terminal (¶73L32-37: the duty cycle refer to a percentage of time during a cycle or half cycle for which the lighting control signal Slc has sufficient voltage to turn on switching circuit) wherein
the command signal is received via a transceiver of the solid-state circuit breaker from a user device that is separate from the solid-state circuit breaker. (¶55L10-12: the control interface may comprise a switch, a knob or a wireless signal receiver)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to utilize the the phase-cut angle corresponding to the dimming input as disclosed by Xiong to operate the switching device disclosed by Altonen.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because dimming control is achieved while maintaining or not hindering power conversion efficiency of the LED lighting apparatus. (Xiong ¶12 L1-5)
Regarding claim 10, Altonen in view of Xiong hereinafter “Altonen/Xiong” discloses in Altonen the method of claim 9, wherein
the transceiver is configured to communicate using one or more of a short-range wireless communication protocol, a wireless local area network communication protocol and a low-power wireless mesh network protocol (¶170L1-20: a RF transceiver for transmitting and/or receiving RF signals)
Regarding claim 11, Altonen/Xiong discloses the method of claim 9,
Altonen/Xiong does not explicitly disclose:
a solid-state switching component of the one or more solid-state switching components is a metal-oxide-semiconductor field--effect transistor (MOSFET) or an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) which has a reaction time and can switch off in about 1 microsecond or less after receiving a trigger signal from a controller of the solid-state circuit breaker.
However, the examiner takes official notice that it would’ve been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to use a MOSFT or IGBT for the switching element disclosed by Xiong and that the typical switching speed of a MOSFET or IGBTs ranges from 20ns to 300ns which is less than 1 microsecond.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because those are the most common and widely available switching component, making them cost effective and easy to obtain.
Regarding claim 12, Altonen/Xiong discloses in Xiong the method of claim 9,wherein
the desired output power level is a percentage that ranges from zero to one hundred. (¶90L9-12: correspond to 100%-10% of maximum value Lmax)
Regarding claim 15, Altonen/Xiong discloses in Xiong the method of claim 9, wherein
calculating the duty cycle includes calculating a modulation frequency, an on time for each pulse, and an off time for each pulse to create the desired output power level. (¶73L32-37: the duty cycle refer to a percentage of time during a cycle or half cycle for which the lighting control signal Slc has sufficient voltage to turn on switching circuit)
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Altonen/Xiong in view of US2014/006232A1 hereinafter “Chen”
Regarding claim 13, Altonen/Xiong discloses the method of claim 9,
Altonen/Xiong does not disclose
obtaining a first phase angle corresponding to a cut-off output power level;
obtaining a second phase angle corresponding to a full output power level; and
interpolating the phase angle between the first phase angle and the second phase angle based on the cut-off output power level, the full output power level, and the desired output power level.
Chen discloses determine phase angle of desired output level wherein:
obtaining a first phase angle corresponding to a cut-off output power level (¶26L24-25: a second reference corresponding to the cut-off phase angle; ¶33L1-16: when the signal is equal to second reference operate in min luminance) );
obtaining a second phase angle corresponding to a full output power level (¶26L23-24: a first reference corresponding to the start-up phase angle; ¶33L1-16: when the signal is equal to first reference operate in max luminance); and
interpolating the phase angle between the first phase angle and the second phase angle based on the cut-off output power level, the full output power level, and the desired output power level (¶26L30-34: when the controlling signal is between the first reference and the second referee; dimming signal to change linearly between the max and min luminance) .
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the phase-cut angle corresponding to the dimming input as disclosed by Altonen/Xiong to be linearly determined as disclosed by Chen.
Regarding claim 14, Altonen/Xiong in view of Chen discloses in Chen method of ciaim13, wherein
the first phase angle corresponding to the cut-off output power level is stored in a memory of the solid-state circuit breaker and is determined based at least in part on an input from the user device. (¶17L1-6: signals or waveforms within a computer , processor, controller, device and/or memory)
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Altonen in view of Chen.
Regarding claim 18, Altonen discloses the system of claim 17, wherein
the phase angle is calculated based on a desired output power level indicated by the command signal (¶166L22-27: the control circuit configured to render the controllably conductive device conductive and/or non-conductive at pre-determined times relative to the zero-crossing points of the AC main line voltage using a phase-control dimming technique)
Altonen does not disclose wherein calculating the phase angle includes:
obtaining a first phase angle corresponding to a cut-off output power level;
obtaining a second phase angle corresponding to a full output power level; and
interpolating the phase angle between the first phase angle and the second phase angle based on the cut-off output power level, the full output power level, and the desired output power level.
Chen discloses determine phase angle of desired output level wherein:
obtaining a first phase angle corresponding to a cut-off output power level (¶26L24-25: a second reference corresponding to the cut-off phase angle; ¶33L1-16: when the signal is equal to second reference operate in min luminance) );
obtaining a second phase angle corresponding to a full output power level (¶26L23-24: a first reference corresponding to the start-up phase angle; ¶33L1-16: when the signal is equal to first reference operate in max luminance); and
interpolating the phase angle between the first phase angle and the second phase angle based on the cut-off output power level, the full output power level, and the desired output power level (¶26L30-34: when the controlling signal is between the first reference and the second referee; dimming signal to change linearly between the max and min luminance) .
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art prior to the effective filing date of the application to modify the phase-cut angle corresponding to the dimming input as disclosed by Altonen to be linearly determined as disclosed by Chen.
One of ordinary skill in the art would’ve been motivated because it overcomes the drawbacks of increase power loss, lower operation efficiency and poorer dimming performance. (Chen ¶4)
Regarding claim 19, Altonen in view of Chen discloses in Chen the system of claim 18, wherein
the first phase angle corresponding to the cut-off output power level is stored in a memory of the solid-state circuit breaker and is determined based at least in part on an input from the user device. (¶17L1-6: signals or waveforms within a computer , processor, controller, device and/or memory)
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/17/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding claims 1, 9 and 16, applicant argued that Altonen does not disclose the "an air gap including a pair of opposing contacts and an air gap driving mechanism" with "an air gap actuator to interact with the air gap driving mechanism" as recited by claims 1, 9 as amended, and 16, and that the enclosure are specifically for dimmer switches and electric switches rather than circuit brakers.
The examiner disagrees, as clearly shown in Fig. 37 of Altonen, air-gap swtich [1029] is incorporated with the control device (dimmer) which is housed by the enclosure as described by the applicant. The claim does not preclude any other component being housed within “the breaker housing” and thus the disclosed enclosure of Altonen can be considered as the breaker housing.
Applicant further argued, Xiong also does not disclose "an air gap including a pair of opposing contacts and an air gap driving mechanism" with "an air gap actuator to interact with the air gap driving mechanism" which is irrelevant as the examiner does not rely upon Xiong reference to disclose said feature.
Regarding claim 5, applicant argued the claimed solid-state circuit breaker is for safety protection which is not a feature recited by the claim, furthermore a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Regarding claims 8 and 20, the applicant argued Huang’s LED driving circuit is directed to LED lighting system rather than circuit breaker application for electrical safety protection, which is not a feature recited by the claim, furthermore a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Furthermore, the claim limitation is controlling of the “solid-state switching complement” and not the “air-gap component” which is used to control the current to the load of the circuit, which can be an LED lighting load. (see application specification ¶44)
Regarding claims 10-11, the applicant argued Huang’s LED driving circuit is directed to LED lighting system rather than circuit breaker application for electrical safety protection, the claim limitation is controlling of the “solid-state switching complement” and not the “air-gap component” which is used to control the current to the load of the circuit, which can be an LED lighting load. (see application specification ¶44)
Regarding claims 13-14, the applicant argued, Chen also does not disclose "an air gap including a pair of opposing contacts and an air gap driving mechanism" with "an air gap actuator to interact with the air gap driving mechanism" which is irrelevant as the examiner does not rely upon Xiong reference to disclose said feature.
Regarding claims 18-19, applicant argued the claimed solid-state circuit breaker is for safety protection which is not a feature recited by the claim, furthermore a recitation of the intended use of the claimed invention must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAYMOND R CHAI whose telephone number is (571)270-0576. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30AM-5:00PM.
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, Alexander H Taningco can be reached at (571)272-8048. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Raymond R Chai/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844