DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments, filed 8/3/2026, with respect to 1-20 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The previous rejection has been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
(a) A patent may not be obtained though the invention is not identically disclosed or described as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the subject matter sought to be patented and the prior art are such that the subject matter as a whole would have been obvious at the time the invention was made to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which said subject matter pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-6, 8-13 and 15-19 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Shoda et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8,129,928 B2) in view of Giuntini et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,857,812 B2).
With respect to claim 1, Shoda discloses a system comprising:
a power converter (see power converter 6, such as a voltage-type PWM inverter, configured to convert input electrical power to output electrical power for supplying power to the associated loads/motors (see e.g. Figs. 2 and col. 4) wherein the power converter converts an input power to an output power (supplying electrical power from a driver to multiple motors; each branch delivers power to a respective load which is the motor shown in Fig. 2; motors 1-4);
determine a first electrical parameter related to the power converter (current sensors detecting current values in each branch; col. 4; lines 55-57; the power lines 15b are connected to the respective linear motor 5, current detected by each current sensor 21 is a current supplied to a corresponding linear motor 5; abstract see Fig. 1));
determine a second electrical parameter related to the power converter (detecting multiple current values across branches shown in Fig. 2; this is considered multiple electrical parameters)
Shoda, however does not expressly teach a parameter difference based on a comparison between the first electrical parameter and the second electrical parameter;
compare the parameter difference to a threshold value; and set an alarm condition based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value.
Giuntini et al. discloses determining a parameter difference based on a comparison between the first electrical parameter and the second electrical parameter (a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
compare the parameter difference to a threshold value; and set an alarm condition based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value (the current-unbalance detection circuit calculates a difference between a reference current and an output current of the respective power conversion module, and the processing device performs processing using the calculated difference; col. 4, lines 46-50).
Therefore. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the power conversion and monitoring arrangement of Shoda to employ the plurality of power conversion modules and module-level current-unbalance detection taught by Giuntini, such that the claimed electrical-parameter monitoring is performed with respect to each power converter. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to make such a modification to provide current-unbalance detection at the individual power conversion module level and thereby facilitate detection and diagnosis of an abnormal operating condition associated with a particular converter module.
With respect to claim 2, the combination of Shoda et al. and Giuntini et al. disclose the system of claim 1, wherein the first electrical parameter is a first power, the second electrical parameter is a second power, and the parameter difference is a power difference (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 3, the combination of Shoda et al. and Giuntini et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the first electrical parameter is a first noise, the second electrical parameter is a second noise, and the parameter difference is a noise difference (see Guitini et al. col. 3, lines 56-61).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of Shoda et al. and Giuntini et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each power converter is configured to shut down based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the system of claim 1, wherein each power converter of the plurality of power converters is configured to communicate with at least one other power converter (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 6, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the system of claim 5, wherein each power converter of the plurality of power converters is configured to communicate using power line communication (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto).
With respect to claim 8, Shoda et al. discloses a method comprising:
converting, by each power converter of a plurality of power converters, an input power to an output power (see power converter 6, such as a voltage-type PWM inverter, configured to convert input electrical power to output electrical power for supplying power to the associated loads/motors (see e.g. Figs. 2 and col. 4).
determining, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, a first electrical parameter related to the power converter (current sensors detecting current values in each branch; col. 4; lines 55-57; the power lines 15b are connected to the respective linear motor 5, current detected by each current sensor 21 is a current supplied to a corresponding linear motor 5; abstract see Fig. 1));
determining, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, a second electrical parameter related to the power converter (detecting multiple current values across branches shown in Fig. 2; this is considered multiple electrical parameters);
Shoda et al., however does not disclose determining, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, a parameter difference based on a comparison between the first electrical parameter and the second electrical parameter;
comparing, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, the parameter difference to a threshold value; and
setting, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, an alarm condition based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value.
Guitini et al. discloses determining, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, a parameter difference based on a comparison between the first electrical parameter and the second electrical parameter (a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold);
comparing, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, the parameter difference to a threshold value (the current-unbalance detection circuit calculates a difference between a reference current and an output current of the respective power conversion module, and the processing device performs processing using the calculated difference; col. 4, lines 46-50); and
setting, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, an alarm condition based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value (col. 5, lines 19-26).
Therefore. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the power conversion and monitoring arrangement of Shoda to employ the plurality of power conversion modules and module-level current-unbalance detection taught by Giuntini, such that the claimed electrical-parameter monitoring is performed with respect to each power converter. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to make such a modification to provide current-unbalance detection at the individual power conversion module level and thereby facilitate detection and diagnosis of an abnormal operating condition associated with a particular converter module.
With respect to claim 9, the combination of Shoda et al. and Giuntini et al. discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the first electrical parameter is a first power, the second electrical parameter is a second power, and the parameter difference is a power difference (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 10, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the first electrical parameter is a first noise, the second electrical parameter is a second noise, and the parameter difference is a noise difference (see Guitini et al. col. 3, lines 56-61).
With respect to claim 11, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising shutting down each power converter of the plurality of power converters based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 12, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising communicating, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, with at least one other power converter (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 13, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the method of claim 12, wherein the communicating, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, is using power line communication (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto).
With respect to claim 15, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses an electronic module comprising a power converter configured to: convert an input power to an output power (see power converter 6, such as a voltage-type PWM inverter, configured to convert input electrical power to output electrical power for supplying power to the associated loads/motors (see e.g. Figs. 2 and col. 4); determine a first electrical parameter related to the power converter; determine a second electrical parameter related to the power converter (current sensors detecting current values in each branch; col. 4; lines 55-57; the power lines 15b are connected to the respective linear motor 5, current detected by each current sensor 21 is a current supplied to a corresponding linear motor 5; abstract see Fig. 1).
Shoda et al. does not disclose determine a parameter difference based on a comparison between the first electrical parameter and the second electrical parameter; compare the parameter difference to a threshold value; and set an alarm condition based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value.
Guitini et al. discloses a parameter difference based on a comparison between the first electrical parameter and the second electrical parameter; compare the parameter difference to a threshold value; and set an alarm condition based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value (a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
Therefore. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the power conversion and monitoring arrangement of Shoda to employ the plurality of power conversion modules and module-level current-unbalance detection taught by Giuntini, such that the claimed electrical-parameter monitoring is performed with respect to each power converter. One of ordinary skill would have been motivated to make such a modification to provide current-unbalance detection at the individual power conversion module level and thereby facilitate detection and diagnosis of an abnormal operating condition associated with a particular converter module.
With respect to claim 16, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the electronic module of claim 15, wherein the first electrical parameter is a first power, the second electrical parameter is a second power, and the parameter difference is a power difference (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 17, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the electronic module of claim 15, wherein the first electrical parameter is a first noise, the second electrical parameter is a second noise, and the parameter difference is a noise difference (see Guitini et al. col. 3, lines 56-61).
With respect to claim 18, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the electronic module of claim 15, wherein the power converter is configured to shut down based on the parameter difference being greater than the threshold value (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold, and calculates a percentage of time (e.g. duty cycle) during which the computed difference exceeds the predetermined threshold).
With respect to claim 19, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the electronic module of claim 15, wherein the power converter is configured to communicate with at least one other power converter (see Guitini et al. a plurality of power conversion modules 502 connected in parallel; each power conversion module includes a current-unbalance detection circuit 504 and a processing device 506 communicatively coupled thereto; col. 6, lines 46-50; PIC 506 compares the computed difference to a predetermined threshold).
Claims 7, 14 and 20 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) as being unpatentable over Shoda et al. (U.S. Patent No. 8,129,928 B2) in view of Giuntini et al. (U.S. Patent No. 9,857,812 B2) as applied to claims 1-6, 8-13 and 15-19 above and further in view of Yoscovich et al. (U.S. Patent No. 11,205,946 B2).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the system of claim 5.
The combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. does not disclose wherein each power converter of the plurality of power converters is configured to communicate using wireless communication.
Yoscovich et al. discloses wherein each power converter of the plurality of power converters is configured to communicate using wireless communication (col. 6, lines 58-62).
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 device of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. to include wherein each power converter of the plurality of power converters is configured to communicate using wireless communication as taught by Yosocovich et al. to predictably be able to simplify the converter system and reduce wiring complexity.
With respect to claim 14, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the method of claim 12.
The combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. does not disclose wherein the communicating, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, is using wireless communication.
Yoscovich et al. discloses wherein the communicating, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, is using wireless communication (col. 6, lines 58-62).
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 device of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. to include wherein the communicating, by each power converter of the plurality of power converters, is using wireless communication as taught by Yosocovich et al. to predictably be able to simplify the converter system and reduce wiring complexity.
With respect to claim 20, the combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. discloses the electronic module of claim 19.
The combination of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. does not disclose wherein the power converter is configured to communicate using at least one of: power line communication and wireless communication.
Yoscovich et al. discloses wherein the power converter is configured to communicate using at least one of: power line communication and wireless communication (col. 6, lines 58-62).
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 device of Shoda et al. and Guitini et al. to include wherein the power converter is configured to communicate using at least one of: power line communication and wireless communication as taught by Yosocovich et al. to predictably be able to simplify the converter system and reduce wiring complexity.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FARHANA AKHTER HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)270-7543. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm.
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/FARHANA A HOQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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