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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The Information Disclosure Statement filed on 12/16/2025, 1/15/2026 and 02/12/2026 has been considered. An initialed copy of form 1449 is enclosed herewith.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
3. 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1, 4- 6, 9, 10 and 12- 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over You et al. (US 20230412106 A1) in view of Lis et al. (US 20240047429 A1).
Re. claims 1 and 10, You discloses in figures 2- 5 a system comprising:
an inverter (INV1) to convert DC power from a voltage source (P/N) to AC power (2u,2v,2w) to drive a motor (M), wherein the inverter includes:
a first power module including:
one or more first phase switches (either 111 or 112 switches in first branch of the inverter);
one or more second phase switches (either 111 or 112 switches in second branch of the inverter 111,112);
one or more positive DC power tabs (You teaches “P-type bus bar 410;” however, it’s silence with regard to a tab. Figs. 3- 5 show a flat-bladed connector 410. Hence, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to consider the shape of the flat-bladed connector 410 as a male tab that slides into a female slot designed for easy and frequent separation) on a first side of the first power module (see positive DC power tab 410 located on the bottom side in fig. 3 where pointed to by reference 400), the one or more positive DC power tabs connected to a positive DC rail to provide positive DC power to the one or more first phase switches and the one or more second phase switches (¶. [0075] and Fig. 2 shows P type terminal as positive DC power input);
one or more negative DC power tabs (“first N-type bus bar 420” ¶. [0075] Figs. 3- 5 show a flat-bladed connector 420) on the first side of the first power module (see negative DC power tab 420 located on the bottom side in fig. 3 where pointed to by reference 400), the one or more negative DC power tabs connected to a negative DC rail to provide negative DC power to the one or more first phase switches and the one or more second phase switches (¶. [0075] Fig. 2 shows N type terminal as negative DC power input);
one or more first phase AC power tabs (430) on a second side of the first power module opposite to the first side (see first phase AC power tabs (430) located on the upper side in fig. 3 where pointed to by reference 500), the one or more first phase AC power tabs to receive AC power from the one or more first phase switches (“first output bus bar 430” ¶. [0076] wherein the output is an AC current supply to three phase winding M shown in Fig. 2, and Figs. 3- 5 show a flat-bladed connector 430); and
You discloses one or more second phase AC power tabs on the first side of the first power module, the one or more second phase AC power tabs to receive AC power from the one or more second phase switches (“second output bus bar 450” ¶. [0076] wherein the output is an AC current supply to three phase winding M shown in Fig. 2, and Figs. 3- 5 show flat-bladed connector 450 as a Tab). However, You does not disclose the second phase AC power is configured to be located on the second side of the first power module.
Lis et al. discloses in figure 4A a view of a power module configured to place the positive and negative DC power input in a first side (154) and place the first and second AC power outputs on a second side (152.) Hence, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of You with the teaching of Lis to separate the sides of the DC power and AC power to provide an optimized thermal performance.
Re, claim 18, You discloses in figures 2- 5 a system comprising:
an inverter (INV1) to convert DC power from a voltage source (P/N) to AC power (2u,2v,2w) to drive a motor (M), wherein the inverter includes:
a first power module including:
one or more first phase switches (either 111 or 112 switches in first branch of the inverter);
one or more second phase switches (either 111 or 112 switches in second branch of the inverter 111,112); and
a third power module to drive a third AC phase of the motor (either 111 or 112 switches in third branch of the inverter 111,112) ,
wherein each of the first power module, the second power module, and the third power module includes:
one or more first phase switches (either 111 or 112 switches);
one or more second phase switches (either 111 or 112 switches);
one or more positive DC power tabs (You teaches “P-type bus bar 410;” however, it’s silence with regard to a tab. Figs. 3- 5 show a flat-bladed connector 410. Hence, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to consider the shape of the flat-bladed connector 410 as a male tab that slides into a female slot designed for easy and frequent separation) on a first side of the first power module (see positive DC power tab 410 located on the bottom side in fig. 3 where pointed to by reference 400), the one or more positive DC power tabs connected to a positive DC rail to provide positive DC power to the one or more first phase switches and the one or more second phase switches (¶. [0075] and Fig. 2 shows P type terminal as positive DC power input);
one or more negative DC power tabs (“first N-type bus bar 420” ¶. [0075] Figs. 3- 5 show a flat-bladed connector 420) on the first side of the first power module (see negative DC power tab 420 located on the bottom side in fig. 3 where pointed to by reference 400), the one or more negative DC power tabs connected to a negative DC rail to provide negative DC power to the one or more first phase switches and the one or more second phase switches (¶. [0075] Fig. 2 shows N type terminal as negative DC power input);
one or more first phase AC power tabs, on a second side of the first power module opposite to the first side (see first phase AC power tabs (430) located on the upper side in fig. 3 where pointed to by reference 500), the one or more first phase AC power tabs to receive AC power from the one or more first phase switches (“first output bus bar 430” ¶. [0076] wherein the output is an AC current supply to three phase winding M shown in Fig. 2, and Figs. 3- 5 show a flat-bladed connector 430); and
You discloses one or more second phase AC power tabs on the first side of the first power module, the one or more second phase AC power tabs to receive AC power from the one or more second phase switches (“second output bus bar 450” ¶. [0076] wherein the output is an AC current supply to three phase winding M shown in Fig. 2, and Figs. 3- 5 show flat-bladed connector 450 as a Tab). However, You does not disclose the second phase AC power is configured to be located on the second side of the first power module.
Lis et al. discloses in figure 4A a view of a power module configured to place the positive and negative DC power input in a first side (154) and place the first and second AC power outputs on a second side (152.) Hence, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of You with the teaching of Lis to separate the sides of the DC power and AC power to provide an optimized thermal performance.
Re. claims 4 and 12, You teaches a changeover switch (220) to change a connection of the one or more first phase switches and the one or more second phase switches with a first winding (M) of the motor (Fig. 2).
Re. claims 5 and 16, You figure 1 discloses wherein the first power module further includes:
a first substrate (A1) having an outer surface and an inner surface;
a second substrate (A2) having an outer surface and an inner surface; and
an electrically conductive spacer (300) coupled to the inner surface of the first substrate (A1) and to the inner surface of the second substrate (A2) (“the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 are electrically connected through the connection spacer 300” ¶. [0048]), wherein
the one or more first phase switches and the one or more second phase switches are coupled to the inner surface of the first substrate and to the inner surface of the second substrate (¶. [0068]- [0072]).
Re. claim 6, You figure 2 discloses wherein: the first power module is configured to drive a first AC phase of the motor (M), and the inverter further includes: a second power module to drive a second AC phase of the motor; and a third power module to drive a third AC phase of the motor (see inverter branches driving the three phase of the motor in Fig. 2).
Re. claim 9, You figure 2 shows the voltage source to supply the DC power to the inverter (PN); and the motor (M) to receive the AC power from the inverter to drive the motor (Fig. 2), wherein the system is provided as a vehicle including the inverter, the voltage source, and the motor (background).
Re. claims 13 and 19, You discloses one or more neutral power tabs (¶. [0024]).
Re. claim 14, You discloses wherein one or more of the one or more first phase switches or the one or more second phase switches includes silicon carbide (¶. [0058]).
Re. claim 15, You discloses one or more signal pins (element 540 in Fig. 3).
Re. claim 17, see figures 2- 4
4. Claims 7, 8, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over You et al. (US 20230412106 A1) in view of Lis et al. (US 20240047429 A1), and further in view of Jansson et al. (US 20120007535 A1).
RE. claims 7, 8 and 20, the combination of You and Liz discloses an inverter (INV1) and power modules (Fig. 2); however, it’s silence with regard to a capacitor and a heat sink. Capacitor and heat sink are crucial components to power converters; capacitors are used for energy storage to stabilize voltage, smooth power delivery, and heat sinks are used to dissipate heat generated by electronic components for preventing overheating and system failure. Jansson figure 4 shows power modules package with a capacitor (5) and heat sink (6) components integrated within the package.
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 2- 3 and 11 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.
Conclusion
6. Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/SAID BOUZIANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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