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 .
2. This action is in response to application filed on May 28, 2024.
Drawings
3. The drawings were received on May 28, 2024. These drawings are accepted.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. 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.
5. Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (US 2022/0166325).
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a circuit (i.e. circuit of Figure 2) comprising:
a flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2) having a terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor Cin directly connected to terminal Vin) configured to receive a power supply voltage (Fig. 2, voltage Vin), an output (Fig. 2, drain terminal of switch S1), and an input (Fig. 2, input terminal of input CS2);
a transformer (Fig. 2, circuit of transformer T1 and primary and secondary windings directly connected to transformer T1) including a coil (Fig. 2, primary winding directly connected to transformer T1) having a first terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of primary winding directly connected to transformer T1 connected to capacitors Cin and C1 and resistor R1) coupled to the terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor Cin directly connected to terminal Vin) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2), and a second terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of primary winding directly connected to transformer T1 connected to anode of diode D4 and drain terminal of switch S1) coupled to the output (Fig. 2, drain terminal of switch S1) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2); and
a bypass network (Fig. 2, circuit of resistor R1, capacitor C1 and diode D3) having a first terminal (Fig. 2, anode of diode D3) coupled to the output (Fig. 2, drain terminal of switch S1) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2), a second terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of resistor R1 directly connecting to terminal of capacitor Cin) coupled to the terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor Cin directly connected to terminal Vin) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2), and a third terminal (Fig. 2, shared node between resistor R1, capacitor C1, and diode D3) coupled to the input (Fig. 2, input terminal of input CS2) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2) (i.e. shared node between resistor R1, capacitor C1, and diode D3 is coupled to input terminal of input CS2 via diode D4, switch S2, and resistor R6).
Regarding claim 2, Wang further discloses wherein the bypass network (Fig. 2, circuit of resistor R1, capacitor C1 and diode D3) includes a capacitor (Fig. 2, capacitor C1) having a first terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor C1 directly connected to terminal carrying Vin) coupled to the terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor Cin directly connected to terminal Vin) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2), and a second terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor C1 connected to diode D3) coupled to the output (Fig. 2, drain terminal of switch S1) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2) (i.e. terminal of capacitor C1 connected to diode D3 is coupled to the drain terminal of switch S1 via diode D3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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.
7. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al (KR-20160120611-A) in view of Wang (US 2022/0166325).
Regarding claim 15, Song et al discloses a vehicle drive system (i.e. circuit of Figure 9) comprising:
an electric motor (Fig. 9, motor M);
an inverter circuit (Fig. 9, inverter 20) having an output (Fig. 9, output of inverter 20) coupled to the electric motor (Fig. 9, motor M), and an input (Fig. 9, input of inverter 20); and
a flyback converter (Fig. 9, circuit of element AC, element 220, and switch TAS1) including:
a transformer (Fig. 9, transformer TR) including:
a primary coil (Fig. 9, primary coil of transformer TR) having a first terminal (Fig. 9, terminal of primary coil of transformer TR directly connected to diodes) coupled to a terminal (Fig. 9, output terminal of element 220) of a flyback switching circuit (Fig. 9, circuit of element 220 and switch TAS1), and a second terminal (Fig. 9, terminal of primary coil of transformer TR directly connected to switch TAS1) coupled to the output (Fig. 9, terminal of switch TAS1 directly connected to primary coil of transformer TR) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 9, circuit of element 220 and switch TAS1); and
a secondary coil (Fig. 9, primary coil of transformer TR) coupled to the input (Fig. 9, input of inverter 20) of the inverter circuit (Fig. 9, inverter 20).
Song et al fails to explicitly disclose a flyback switching circuit having a terminal configured to receive a power supply voltage, an output, and an input; and a bypass network having a first terminal coupled to the output of the flyback switching circuit, a second terminal coupled to the terminal of the flyback switching circuit, and a third terminal coupled to the input of the flyback switching circuit.
However, Wang discloses a flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2) having a terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor Cin directly connected to terminal Vin) configured to receive a power supply voltage (Fig. 2, voltage Vin), an output (Fig. 2, drain terminal of switch S1), and an input (Fig. 2, input terminal of input CS2); and a bypass network (Fig. 2, circuit of resistor R1, capacitor C1 and diode D3) having a first terminal (Fig. 2, anode of diode D3) coupled to the output (Fig. 2, drain terminal of switch S1) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2), a second terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of resistor R1 directly connecting to terminal of capacitor Cin) coupled to the terminal (Fig. 2, terminal of capacitor Cin directly connected to terminal Vin) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2), and a third terminal (Fig. 2, shared node between resistor R1, capacitor C1, and diode D3) coupled to the input (Fig. 2, input terminal of input CS2) of the flyback switching circuit (Fig. 2, circuit of capacitor Cin, control circuit 105, diode D4, and switches S1 and S2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious, to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to have modified the circuit of Song et al, by including Wang, in order to obtain a flyback converter circuit capable of ensuring safe and efficient operation.
Allowable Subject Matter
8. Claims 8-14 allowed.
9. Claims 3-7 and 16-20 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.
10. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 3-7, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below:
A circuit,
wherein the bypass network includes a resistor having a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the capacitor, and a second terminal coupled to the output of the flyback switching circuit.
Regarding claims 8-14, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below:
A circuit comprising:
a flyback switching circuit having a terminal configured to receive a power supply voltage, an output, and an input configured to receive a feedback signal;
a transformer including a primary coil and a secondary coil, the primary coil having a first terminal coupled to the terminal of the flyback switching circuit, and a second terminal coupled to the output of the flyback switching circuit; and
a bypass network having a first terminal coupled to the output of the flyback switching circuit, a second terminal coupled to the terminal of the flyback switching circuit, and a third terminal coupled to the input of the flyback switching circuit, the bypass network configured to attenuate, at the input of the flyback switching circuit, transients passing from the secondary coil to the primary coil.
Regarding claims 16-19, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below:
A vehicle drive system,
wherein the bypass network includes a capacitor and a resistor coupled in series between output of the flyback switching circuit and the terminal of the flyback switching circuit.
Regarding claim 20, the prior art fails to disclose or suggest the emboldened and italicized features below:
A vehicle drive system,
wherein the bypass network is configured to attenuate, at the input of the flyback switching circuit, transients passing from the secondary coil to the primary coil.
Conclusion
11. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ng et al (US 2022/0037985) deals with a power generation and zvs control in a power supply, Bastholm (US 10,243,450) deals with a flyback converter with a snubber circuit, Teo et al (US 2018/0226894) deals with a switched-mode power supply controller using a single pin for both input voltage sensing and control of power supply charging, Bazzi et al (US 2016/0322915) deals with a dual AC and DC output flyback converter and associated systems and methods, and Yang (US 2007/0159856) deals with a flyback power converter with a split primary winding transformer.
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GARY NASH whose telephone number is (571) 270-3349. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8am-4pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner‘s supervisor, Thienvu Tran can be reached on (571) 270-1276. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GARY A NASH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838