DETAILED ACTION
This office action is in response to preliminary amendments filed on 04/05/2024. Claims 1-12 are pending.
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
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/05/2024 was filed after the filing date of the application. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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 1 & 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai et al. US 20180034388 A1 (Hereinafter “Kawai”), in view of Carcia et al. US 9837952 B1 (Hereinafter “Carcia”).
Regarding Claim 1, Kawai power conversion device (Fig. 2, 1) comprising:
rectifier circuitry (Fig. 2, 35) to rectify a first alternating current supplied from a power source and to output a first current as a rectified current;
a smoothing capacitor (Fig. 2, 31) connected between output terminals of the rectifier circuitry;
an inverter (Fig. 2, 37) including input terminals (Fig. 2, node above Q2 & node below Q5), to convert a second current in the first current into a second alternating current, and to output the second alternating current, the second current being a current inputted to the input terminals;
a snubber capacitor (Fig. 2, Cs) connected between the input terminals at a position in the proximity of the input terminals; and
a controller (Fig. 2, 38) to control the inverter so that pulsation in AC power output from the inverter is smaller than pulsation of power output from the rectifier circuitry.
Kawai does not expressly disclose a controller to control the inverter so that pulsation in AC power output from the inverter is smaller than pulsation of power output from the rectifier circuitry.
However, Carcia teaches a controller (Fig. 2, 54) to control the inverter so that pulsation in AC power output from the inverter is smaller than pulsation of power output from the rectifier circuitry (Carcia col 6 lines 24-26, the inverter 50 switching frequency may be lower in comparison to the active rectifier 40 switching frequency).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement a controller to control the inverter so that pulsation in AC power output from the inverter is smaller than pulsation of power output from the rectifier circuitry as taught by Carcia in the circuit of Kawai for the purpose to reduce inverter switching losses when operating the inverter at higher output current levels.
Regarding Claim 9, Kawai in view of Carcia the power conversion device according to
claim 1 wherein the smoothing capacitor is an electrolytic capacitor (Kawai [0077], The capacitors 31a and 31b are each an electrolytic capacitor in the present embodiment).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai in view of Carcia, further in view of Sakakibara JP 2020-165215 via US 20230238898 A1 (Hereinafter “Sakakibara”).
Regarding Claim 3, Kawai in view Carcia teaches the power conversion device according to claim 1,
Kawai in view Carcia does not expressly disclose wherein an impedance of first circuitry that is circuitry from one of the input terminals of the inverter through the snubber capacitor to the other input terminal is smaller than an impedance of second circuitry that is circuitry from one of the input terminals of the inverter through the smoothing capacitor to the other input terminal.
However, Sakakibara teaches an impedance of first circuitry that is circuitry from one of the input terminals of the inverter through the snubber capacitor to the other input terminal is smaller than an impedance of second circuitry that is circuitry from one of the input terminals of the inverter through the smoothing capacitor to the other input terminal (Sakakibara Claim 1, a terminal of the second capacitor, with which terminal the second diode is connected, impedances from the positive output to the negative output being such that an impedance across the clamp circuit is lower than an impedance across the snubber circuit)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement an impedance of first circuitry that is circuitry from one of the input terminals of the inverter through the snubber capacitor to the other input terminal is smaller than an impedance of second circuitry that is circuitry from one of the input terminals of the inverter through the smoothing capacitor to the other input terminal as taught Sakakibara, in the circuitry of Kawai in view of Carcia, for the purpose to enable a reduction in the inrush current.
Claims 4-5 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai in view of Carcia, further in view of Lee et al. US 20210116155 A1 (Hereinafter “Lee”).
Regarding Claim 4, Kawai in view Carcia teaches the power conversion device according to claim 1,
Kawai in view Carcia does not expressly disclose further comprising a heatsink, wherein the snubber capacitor is disposed at a position in the proximity of the heatsink.
However, Lee teaches a heatsink (Lee Fig. 4, 200), wherein the snubber capacitor (Fig. 4, 130) is disposed at a position in the proximity of the heatsink ([0058], the heatsink 200 may be assembled into one module at the outside of the inverter enclosure 90).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement a heatsink, wherein the snubber capacitor is disposed at a position in the proximity of the heatsink as taught by Lee, in the circuitry of Kawai in view of Carcia, for the purpose that workability and productivity of the inverter assembly may be improved.
Regarding Claim 5, Kawai in view Carcia teaches the power conversion device according to
claim 1,
Kawai in view Carcia does not expressly disclose further comprising a heatsink,wherein the snubber capacitor is disposed in contact with the heatsink.
However, Lee teaches a heatsink (Lee Fig. 4, 200),
wherein the snubber capacitor (Fig. 4, 130) is disposed in contact with the heatsink ([0058], the heatsink 200 may be assembled into one module at the outside of the inverter enclosure 90).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement a heatsink,wherein the snubber capacitor is disposed in contact with the heatsink as taught by Lee, in the circuitry of Kawai in view of Carcia, for the purpose that workability and productivity of the inverter assembly may be improved.
Regarding Claim 7, Kawai in view Carcia teaches the power conversion device according to
claim 4 wherein the inverter is disposed in contact with the heatsink ([0058], the heatsink 200 may be assembled into one module at the outside of the inverter enclosure 90).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai in view of Carcia, further in view of Ueda et al. US 5298848 A (Hereinafter “Ueda”).
Regarding Claim 10, Kawai in view of Carcia teach the power conversion device according to claim 1,
Kawai in view of Carcia does not expressly disclose further comprising a power-factor improvement circuit.
However, Ueda teaches a power-factor improvement circuit (Ueda Fig. 1, 340).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement a power-factor improvement circuit as taught by Ueda in the system of Kawai in view of Carcia, for the purpose to improve energy efficiency of the power conversion device.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawai in view of Carcia, further in view of Kanamori et al. US 20170288578 A1 (Hereinafter “Kanamori”).
Regarding Claim 11, Kawai in view of Carcia the power conversion device according to claim 1;
including an electric motor (Kawai Fig. 2, 15) driven by the power conversion device (Kawai Fig. 2, 37).
Kawai in view of Carcia does not expressly disclose refrigeration cycle applied equipment comprising: and a refrigeration cycle device.
However, Kanamori teaches refrigeration cycle applied equipment comprising (Kanamori [0022]):
and a refrigeration cycle device (Kanamori [0028]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement refrigeration cycle applied equipment comprising: and a refrigeration cycle device as taught Kanamori in the circuitry Kawaii in view of Carcia, for the purpose of application of an air conditioning apparatus.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 6, 8, and 12 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CORTEZ M COOK whose telephone number is (571)270-7954. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7:30-5pm.
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/CORTEZ M COOK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846