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 .
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, 4-7, 9-11, and 13-14 are is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Roessier et al. Publication No. US 2012/0235661.
Regarding claims 1, 6, and 11, Roessier discloses a control circuit [Fig. 1, 100] for use in a solid-state battery disconnect and protection system, the control circuit comprising:
a high-voltage switch [Fig. 1, switch 340] coupled between an electric battery [Fig. 1, energy source 200; par. 0024] and a DC link capacitor [Fig. 1, 410; par. 0037, 0039] of an electric vehicle [Fig. 1, 400; par. 0017 – “The load 400 may include a converter, an electric machine, wherein the electric machine may include an electric machine for driving an electric vehicle.”] wherein the electric vehicle is powered by the electric battery [Fig. 1, batteries 220; par. 0002, par. 0016, par. 0017]; and
a control block operable to:
monitor a rate of change and a value of a current on a current path [Fig. 1, current measuring devices 330; par. 0028, “the current measuring device 330 measures at least one parameter of the current I and provides the current measuring signal S330, which is dependent on the current parameter, to the control unit 350. Such current parameter may be the absolute value |I| of the current and/or the slope dI/dt (differential quotient) of the current I”];
determine whether the rate of change of the current exceeds a first predetermined threshold and determine whether the value of the current exceeds a second predetermined threshold [par. 0030; “When a short circuit occurs, the current increases rapidly, so that the current I may absolutely increase above a first threshold value, and the differential quotient dI/dt may increase above a second threshold. Evaluating the current parameter in the control circuit 350 may, therefore, include to compare the absolute value with a first threshold value and/or to compare the differential quotient with a second threshold value”].
and determine an overcurrent fault exists in the case that the first or second predetermined threshold is exceeded [par. 0031; “If the at least one evaluated current parameter reaches or increases above its associated threshold value, the control circuit 350 switches off the switching element 340 independent of the signal level of the input signal Sin”].
Regarding claims 2, 7, Roessier discloses that the control block is further operable to open the high-voltage switch when the overcurrent fault is determined [par. 0031, par. 0032: “When, in case of the occurrence of a short circuit, the current reaches this threshold value, the switching element 340 is switched off controlled by the control circuit 350”].
Regarding claims 4, 9, and 13, Roessier discloses that the control block further comprises a current measurement circuit [Fig. 1, current measuring device 330; par. 0021], and wherein the current measurement circuit comprises an overcurrent detector operable to determine the value of the current and a slope detector operable to determine the rate of change of the current [par. 0028, par. 0029].
Regarding claim 5, Roessier discloses that the rate of change comprises a rate of increase [par. 0030; “When a short circuit occurs, the current increases rapidly, so that the current I may absolutely increase above a first threshold value, and the differential quotient dI/dt may increase above a second threshold”].
Regarding claims 10, 14, Roessier discloses that the control block further comprises logic and a gate drive operable to open the high-voltage switch when the overcurrent fault is determined [Fig. 1, the control circuit 350 comprises comparators that compare the current values detected by the current measuring device 330 with threshold values and outputs a driving signal S340 to the switching 340; the comparator is a logic circuit and the driving signal is generated by a gate drive [Fig. 3, the switching modules comprises two transistors 341, 342 controlled by the driving signal S340].
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.
Claims 3, 8, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Roessier et al. Publication No. US 2012/0235661, in view of Namuduri et al. Publication No. US 2024/0339990.
Regarding claims 3, 8, and 12, Roessier does not disclose that the control block is further operable to reset the high-voltage switch following the overcurrent fault.
Namuduri discloses a smart electronically resettable fuse for an electric vehicle. Namuduri discloses a control circuit comprising: a high-voltage switch [Fig. 2, 112] coupled between an electric battery [Fig. 2, 24] and a DC link [Fig. 2, C] of an electric vehicle, wherein the vehicle is powered by the electric vehicle;
a control block operable to: monitor a value of a current on a current path [Fig. 2, current sensor 120]; determine an overcurrent fault when the value of the current exceeds a predetermined threshold [par. 0050];
wherein the control block is further operable to reset the high-voltage switch following the overcurrent fault [par. 0059.
Roessier and Namuduri are analogous control circuits for electric vehicles. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to incorporate Namuduri’s controller with a reset signal, into Roessier, for the benefit of providing automatic recovery from overcurrent faults and eliminating the ned for manual intervention after a fault is cleared.
Conclusion
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DHARTI PATEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2836
/DHARTI H PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838