DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/20/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
additional discharge resistor DRA in [0024] is shown as “DCA” in Figure 2.
PWU in Figure 2 is not described in the Specification.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 5-8 are objected to because of the following informalities: The Claims do not expand what the acronym “IT” means at any point. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, it is unclear what the relationship is between the test voltage, the insulation monitor and the rest of the circuit. It is unclear whether and how the insulation monitor is connected to the other elements in the arrangement. It is unclear whether the test voltage is applied by the insulation monitor or if it is related to the insulation monitor in some other way.
Claims 2-4 are rejected as depending on Claim 1.
Claim 5 is rejected on the same grounds as Claim 1.
Claims 6-8 are rejected as depending on Claim 5.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Minks (US 3,383,555, Pub May 14, 1968).
Regarding Claim 1, Minks teaches:
An arrangement (Figure) comprising:
an insulation monitor for an IT system (Firing control circuit 7 monitors the capacitor 40 to control trigger means 37 [4:41-5:18]; Figure);
a discharge resistor (resistor 28; Figure) configured for discharging a ground discharge capacitance (capacitor 5; Figure) of the IT system; and
two Z diodes that are arranged back-to-back (back-to-back diodes 26 & 27; Figure) and connected in series with the discharge resistor (resistor 28; Figure),
wherein each of the two Z diodes has a reverse voltage above a test voltage of the insulation monitor (The reverse voltage of the back-to-back diodes 26 & 27 is greater than the voltage provided by battery 1 [3:18-52].; Figure).
Regarding Claim 2, Minks teaches:
an interference suppression capacitor (capacitor 39; Figure) arranged in parallel with a series circuit that includes the discharge resistor (resistor 28; Figure) and the two Z diodes that are arranged back-to-back (back-to-back diodes 26 & 27; Figure).
Claim 5 is rejected on the same grounds as Claim 1.
Claim 6 is rejected on the same grounds as Claim 2.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 4, 7 and 8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding Claim 3, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest, singly or in combination an arrangement wherein:
“the discharge resistor is a first discharge resistor,
wherein the arrangement further comprises a second discharge resistor that is arranged in parallel with the two Z diodes that are arranged back-to-back, and in series with the first discharge resistor, and
wherein the second discharge resistor has a higher resistance value than the first discharge resistor, which is arranged in series with the two Z diodes that are arranged back-to-back” in combination with the other limitations of the Claim.
Claims 4, 7 and 8 have the same limitations.
Conclusion
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/R.M/Examiner, Art Unit 2858 02/19/2026
/ALESA ALLGOOD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858