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
1. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 2/18/2022 and is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. According, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the Examiner.
Examiner Notes
2. Examiner cites particular paragraphs, columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
3. 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.
4. Claims 1-4, 9, 11-13, 18, 20-22, 27, 29-36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nejatali et al. (U.S. Pub. 2016/0231364; hereinafter “Nejatali”).
Regarding claim 1, Nejatali discloses an AC current sensor (an AC current sensor 900 in Fig. 9) comprising: a busbar (a main current conductor 904); an integrated coil (a sensing coil element 902) integrated in a substrate (a substrate 932) and configured for inductive coupling with the busbar (the current sensor using magnetic induction or magnetically coupling between the sensing coils and the main conductor, see at least in paragraph [0001]), wherein the integrated coil (902) includes a twisted loop (a twisted loop is formed by two connected loops 912-1 and 912-2), and wherein the integrated coil (902) is configured to provide differential sensing of current (a differential amplifier connected to conductive leads in the current sensor in Figs. 9-9a, see [0079-80]) in the busbar and to reject stray magnetic fields (“a current sensor may further include second means for generating a second magnetic field that opposes the external magnetic field to shield the sensing area from the external magnetic field” in [0085] or “The eddy currents induced in the electrically conductive layer of second material 704a, in turn, can generate a magnetic field that opposes the external magnetic field and thus can have a cancelling effect on the external magnetic field” in [0075]); and an integrated circuit (IC) (such as (an amplifier circuit 48 in Figs. 5 ad 9) connected to the integrated coil (902) and configured to measure AC current in the busbar (“A current sensor 402 in accordance with the present disclosure may be configured to sense the flow of current in the current-carrying conductor 42 and produce a signal that is representative of the flow of current in the conductor ….”, see at least in [0053, 77]).
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Regarding claim 2, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 1, wherein the twisted loop includes a cross-over portion between first and second coil portions (a cross-over portion between two loops 912-1 and 912-2 in Fig. 9), wherein the cross-over portion is substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the busbar (904, see Fig. 9).
Regarding claim 3 and similarly claims 12 and 21, taking claim 3 as an example, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) (see [0058]).
Regarding claim 4 and similarly claims 13 and 22, taking claim 4 as an example,, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 3, wherein the busbar is integrated into the PCB (see [0058]).
Regarding claim 9 and similarly claims 18 and 27, taking claim 9 as an example,, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 1, wherein the busbar (504 in Fig. 5) is integrated into the substrate (532 in Fig. 5, see [0058]).
Regarding claim 11, Nejatali discloses an AC current sensor (a current sensor 402 in Fig. 5) comprising: a busbar (a main current conductor 504) ; an integrated coil (a sensing coil element 502) integrated in a substrate (a substrate 532) and configured for inductive coupling with the busbar (the current sensor using magnetic induction or magnetically coupling between the sensing coil and the main conductor, see at least in paragraph [0001]), wherein the integrated coil (502, 512) is configured to sense current in the busbar (“A current sensor 402 in accordance with the present disclosure may be configured to sense the flow of current in the current-carrying conductor 42 and produce a signal that is representative of the flow of current in the conductor ….”, see at least in [0053, 77]); and an integrated circuit (IC) (an amplifier circuit 48 in Fig. 5) connected to the integrated coil (502) and configured to measure AC current in the busbar (see at least in [0003, 53, 77]).
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Regarding claim 20, Nejatali discloses an AC current sensor (an AC current sensor 900 in Fig. 9) comprising: a busbar (a main current conductor 904); one or more pairs of coils (a sensing coils element 902) integrated in a substrate (a substrate 932) and configured for inductive coupling with the busbar (the current sensor using magnetic induction or magnetically coupling between the sensing coils and the main conductor, see at least in paragraph [0001]), wherein each pair of integrated coils includes a first coil (a first coil 912-1) and a second coil (a second coil 912-2), and is configured to sense current in the busbar (“A current sensor 402 in accordance with the present disclosure may be configured to sense the flow of current in the current-carrying conductor 42 and produce a signal that is representative of the flow of current in the conductor ….”, see at least in [0053, 77]) and to reject stray magnetic fields (“a current sensor may further include second means for generating a second magnetic field that opposes the external magnetic field to shield the sensing area from the external magnetic field” in [0085] or “The eddy currents induced in the electrically conductive layer of second material 704a, in turn, can generate a magnetic field that opposes the external magnetic field and thus can have a cancelling effect on the external magnetic field” in [0075]); and an integrated circuit (IC) (such as (an amplifier circuit 48 in Figs. 5 ad 9) connected to the one or more pairs of integrated coil (see Figs. 9 and 9A) and configured to measure AC current in the busbar (see at least in [0003, 53, 77]).
Regarding claim 29, Nejatali discloses a method of making an AC current sensor (a current sensor 402 in Fig. 5), the method comprising: providing a primary current path (a main current conductor 504); providing an integrated coil (a sensing coil element 502 includes a coil 512) integrated in a substrate (a substrate 532), wherein the integrated coil (502, 512) is configured to detect current in the primary current path (“A current sensor 402 in accordance with the present disclosure may be configured to sense the flow of current in the current-carrying conductor 42 and produce a signal that is representative of the flow of current in the conductor ….”, see at least in [0053, 77]); and providing an integrated circuit (IC) connected to the integrated coil and configured to measure AC current in the primary current path.
Regarding claim 30, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 29, wherein the primary current path comprises a busbar (a main conductor 504 in Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 31, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 30, wherein the busbar is integrated into the substrate (see [0058] and Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 32, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 29, wherein the primary current path (504) comprises a conductive trace disposed in the substrate (see [0058]).
Regarding claim 33, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 29, wherein the integrated coil comprises a twisted coil (a twisted loop is formed by two connected loops 912-1 and 912-2, see Fig 9) configured to detect current in the primary current path and to reject stray magnetic fields (“a current sensor may further include second means for generating a second magnetic field that opposes the external magnetic field to shield the sensing area from the external magnetic field” in [0085] or “The eddy currents induced in the electrically conductive layer of second material 704a, in turn, can generate a magnetic field that opposes the external magnetic field and thus can have a cancelling effect on the external magnetic field” in [0075]).
Regarding claim 34, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 33, wherein a cross-over portion of the twisted coil is substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the primary current path (Fig. 9 shows the twisted coil 912-1 and 912-2 is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the main conductor path 904).
Regarding claim 35, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 30, wherein the integrated coil comprises a pair of coils (912-1 and 912-2) configured to detect current in the busbar (904) and to reject stray magnetic fields (see at least in [0075, 85]), wherein the pair of coils is disposed symmetrically about a longitudinal axis of the primary current path (see Fig. 9).
Regarding claim 36, Nejatali discloses the method of claim 29, wherein the substrate comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) (see [0058] and Figs. 5 and 9).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. 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 of this title, 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.
6. Claims 5-6, 14-15, 23-24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nejatali in view of Wade et al. (U.S. Pub. 2013/0104410; hereinafter “Wade”).
Regarding claim 5 and similarly claims 14 and 23, taking claim 5 as an example, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 3, except for explicitly specify that wherein the PCB comprises FR-4.
Wade discloses, in Fig. 7, a printed circuit board PCB 90 is formed from a material such as FR-4 (woven glass and epoxy) (see [0070]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the printed circuit board of Nejatali by forming the material of FR-4 as taught by Wade for purpose of to meet the system design and specification requirement, since select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding claim 6 and similarly claims 15 and 24, taking claim 6 as an example, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 3, except for explicitly specify that wherein the PCB comprises FR-5.
Wade discloses, in Fig. 7, a printed circuit board PCB 90 is formed from a material such as FR-5 (woven glass and epoxy) (see [0070]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the printed circuit board of Nejatali by forming the material of FR-5 as taught by Wade for purpose of to meet the system design and specification requirement, since select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
7. Claims 7, 16, 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nejatali in view of Kashiwaya (U.S. Pub. 2019/0277893; hereinafter “Kashiwaya”).
Regarding claim 7 and similarly claims 16 and 25, taking claim 7 as an example, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 1, except for explicitly specifying wherein the substrate comprises a ceramic substrate.
Kashiwaya discloses a current sensor (1 in Figs. 1-2) comprising a substrate and sensing coil structure (30) integrated into the substrate, wherein the substrate comprises a ceramic substrate (see [0048]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the current sensor of Nejatali by having the substrate comprising a ceramic material as taught by Kashiwaya for purpose of providing the substrate with excellence in heat resistance for electric current detection. The in-phase noise component is reduced. Since thermal expansion of coil structure and electric power wiring is suppressed by the ceramic material/ceramic part of heat resistant substrate, the thermal effect with respect to position of coil structure and electric power wiring and the position of coil portion and the electric power wiring is reduced effectively. The precision of detection electric current is improved (see the summary).
8. Claims 8 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nejatali in view of Breymesser (U.S. Pub. 2022/0132677; hereinafter “Breymesser”).
Regarding claim 8 and similarly claim 17, taking claim 8 as an example, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 1, except for explicitly specifying wherein the substrate comprises a glass substrate including one or more layers of glass alternating with one or more respective layers of metal.
Breymesser discloses, in Figs. 1 and 7, a current sensor (102) comprising a glass substrate including one or more layers of glass (104) alternating with one or more respective layers of metal (132).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the substrate of the current sensor of Nejatali by having a glass substrate including one or more layers of glass alternating with one or more respective layers of metal as taught by Breymesser for purpose of enables protecting the current measurement device from a short circuit if an event is detected to disable the device before damaging voltage or current is applied to the device in a reliable, quick, easy and cost-effective manner (see the summary).
9. Claims 10, 19, 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nejatali in view of Rendon Hernandez et al. (U.S. Pub. 2024/0331914; hereinafter “Rendon Hernandez”).
Regarding claim 10 and similarly claims 19 and 28, taking claim 10 as an example, Nejatali discloses the sensor of claim 1, except for explicitly specifying that wherein the busbar is separate from the substrate.
Rendon Hernandez discloses a inductive coupling current sensor (125 in Fig. 4C) comprising a busbar (a current conductor 410) is separate from the substrate (a substrate 400, the substrate is separate from the conductor 410, see Fig. 4C).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the current sensor of Nejatali by having the busbar is separate from the substrate as taught by Rendon Hernandez for purpose of providing a current sensor has reduced volume, small footprint, low profile, simple hardware architecture (see the summary).
10. Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nejatali in view of Kashiwaya and further in view of Breymesser.
Regarding claim 26, Nejatali and Kashiwaya disclose the sensor of claim 16, except for explicitly specifying wherein the substrate comprises a glass substrate including one or more layers of glass alternating with one or more respective layers of metal.
Breymesser discloses, in Figs. 1 and 7, a current sensor (102) comprising a glass substrate including one or more layers of glass (104) alternating with one or more respective layers of metal (132).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ the substrate of the current sensor of Nejatali and Kashiwaya by having a glass substrate including one or more layers of glass alternating with one or more respective layers of metal as taught by Breymesser for purpose of enables protecting the current measurement device from a short circuit if an event is detected to disable the device before damaging voltage or current is applied to the device in a reliable, quick, easy and cost-effective manner (see the summary).
Prior Art of Record
11. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Riehl et al. (U.S Pub. 20170016937) discloses an AC current sensor comprising: a busbar; and an integrated coil integrated in a substrate and configured for inductive coupling with the busbar, wherein the integrated coil includes a twisted loop, the integrated coil is configured to provide differential sensing of current in the busbar and to reject stray magnetic fields (see specification for more details).
Conclusion
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THANG LE whose telephone number is (571)272-9349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday thru Friday 7:30AM-5:00PM EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Huy Phan can be reached on (571) 272-7924. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/THANG X LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
11/26/2025