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 .
Examiner notes that application publication is used for reference purposes in the rejection and objections below, with regard to columns, lines, of claims and paragraphs in specification.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “”a control unit” (Claim 5, line 2) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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.
Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show output of the comparison unit 230 is connected to the to turn on or off the switch 202 as described in the specification (see Specification, Paragraph 55). Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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 4, 7 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 4, line 4 recites, “the capacitor” which should be corrected to have proper antecedent basis by amending claim dependency or claim limitations. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 7, line 2 recites, “the second resistor” which should be corrected to have proper antecedent basis by amending claim dependency or claim limitations. 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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2, line 11 recites, “a second ground” and it is indefinite whether the second ground is different from the first ground in potential/magnitude. For examination purposes, a ground/reference node is considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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, 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aeloiza et al. (US 2021/0028778).
Regarding Claim 1, Aeloiza discloses a device for detecting and protecting a short circuit of a switch (Figures 1-4, switch 310, Figure 3), the device comprising:
a voltage measurement unit configured to measure an output voltage of the switch and output the output voltage as a measured voltage (comprising 341, 329, Figure 3);
a comparison unit configured to compare the measured voltage with a specified reference voltage (327, Figure 3); and
a connection unit that is connected between the voltage measurement unit and the comparison unit (comprising 337, Figure 3), and
in case that the switch is turned off, the connection unit is configured to connect an output terminal of the voltage measurement unit to a first ground (Paragraph 29, “….When semiconductor 310 is off, switch 337 is closed to prevent a test voltage from being transmitted to comparator 327 …”).
Regarding Claim 2, Aeloiza discloses the device of Claim 1, wherein the voltage measurement unit comprises:
a diode in which a cathode is connected to an output terminal of the switch (diode 341 with cathode connected to output terminal/drain of 310, Figure 3);
a first resistor in which one end is connected to an anode of the diode (resistor 329 with one end connected to an anode of 341, Figure 3);
a second resistor in which one end receives an external power voltage, and the other end is connected to the other end of the first resistor (second resistor 333 with one end connected to an external power voltage 335 and the other end connected to the other end of 329, Figure 3); and
a capacitor connecting the other end of the first resistor to a second ground (capacitor 339 with one end connected to the other end of 329 and to 313, 313 is connected to source terminal of 310, 337 and considered as reference/ground, Figure 3), and wherein the voltage measurement unit is configured to output a voltage applied to both ends of the capacitor as the measured voltage (output of voltage measurement unit at node 343 to which the capacitor is connected, Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 5, Aeloiza discloses the device of Claim 1, wherein the comparison unit comprises:
a third resistor that receives an external power voltage at one end (resistor 333 receiving external voltage 335/20V at one end, Figure 3);
a fourth resistor connecting the other end of the third resistor to a third ground (resistor 331 connecting to the other end of 333 and to node 313, Figure 3); and
a comparator (327, Figure 3) in which a first input terminal (+) is connected to the output terminal of the voltage measurement unit to receive the measured voltage, and a second input terminal (-) is connected to the other end of the third resistor and receives a voltage applied to both ends of the fourth resistor as a reference voltage (130 with inputs coupled to node 343 and threshold voltage VTHRESHOLD, Figure 3),
wherein, when the measured voltage is equal to or greater than the reference voltage, the comparator outputs a pre-determined error signal (Paragraph 30, “Comparator 327 is structured to compare the short circuit voltage threshold received from controller 323 to the test voltage received from the plurality of components 330, determine a short circuit condition is occurring in response to comparing the short circuit voltage threshold and the test voltage, and transmit an output signal to a latch 345, effective to open semiconductor switch 310 in response to determining the short circuit condition is occurring. Latch 345 is structured to receive the output signal from comparator 327 and interrupt the operation of gate driver 301, thereby opening semiconductor switch 310 ….”).
Regarding Claim 6, Aeloiza discloses the device of Claim 5, further comprising:
a control unit (comprising 345, 341, 323, Figure 3) configured to turn off the power switch according to the error signal from the comparison unit (Paragraph 30, “……… Latch 345 is structured to receive the output signal from comparator 327 and interrupt the operation of gate driver 301, thereby opening semiconductor switch 310),
wherein the switch is a power switch (MOSFET switch 310, Figure 3), and
the measured voltage is a drain-source voltage of the power switch (341, 329 coupled to measure drain-source voltage of MOSFET 310, Figure 3).
Regarding Claim 7, Aeloiza discloses the device of Claim 5, wherein an external power voltage supplied to one end of the second resistor and one end of the third resistor is greater than a gate turn-on voltage provided to a gate to turn on the power switch (335/external voltage is 20V greater than 310 gate turn-on voltage as MOSFET gate turn-on voltage is typically around 2 volts to 5 volts).
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)(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.
Claim 1 is (additionally) rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Miyazaki (US 2023/0086132).
Regarding Claim 1, Miyazaki discloses a device for detecting and protecting a short circuit of a switch (Figures 1-15, switch Q, Figures 1, 3-9), the device comprising:
a voltage measurement unit configured to measure an output voltage of the switch and output the output voltage as a measured voltage (155, Figures 1, 3-9);
a comparison unit configured to compare the measured voltage with a specified reference voltage (130, Figures 1, 3-9); and
a connection unit that is connected between the voltage measurement unit and the comparison unit (comprising 140, 175, Figures 1, 3-9), and
in case that the switch is turned off, the connection unit is configured to connect an output terminal of the voltage measurement unit to a first ground (switch 180 in 175 connected to reference/ground voltage and is ON when switch Qis OFF, Figures 1, 3, 5, Paragraph 29, “…the discharge switch 180 is ON while the semiconductor switching element Q is in an OFF state”, Paragraph 55, “….even in the case where the reference voltage (grounding voltage or the like)…”).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aeloiza et al. (US 2021/0028778) in view of Souma (US 2010/0259860).
Regarding Claim 3, Aeloiza discloses the device of Claim 1, wherein the connection unit comprises:
a MOSFET in which a drain is connected to an output terminal of the voltage measurement unit and a source is connected to the first ground (MOSFET 337 with drain connected to output terminal 343 and source connected to 313, Figure 3); and
a controller that transmits a control signal to a gate of the MOSFET based on the drain-source voltage of the switch (321 receives drain-source voltage and outputs to controller 323 and the controller transmits control signal to the MOSFET, Figure 3, Paragraph 24, 26). Aeloiza also discloses PWM in input to 345 that transmits control signal to the switch.
Aeloiza does not specifically disclose an inverter that receives a control signal input to the switch, inverts the received control signal and the control signal to the MOSFET is the inverted control signal.
Souma discloses a protection circuit for a switch comprising a switch (109, Figure 1) and discharging circuit comprising a MOSFET (108, Figure 1), wherein a control signal to the MOSFET is an inverted signal of a control signal to the switch (Claim 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide in the device of Aeloiza, an inverted control signal to control the MOSFET as taught by Souma by providing an inverter to invert the control signal to the switch, such that same control signal with complementary logic can be used to control the switch and the MOSFET and thus to simplify the circuit.
Regarding Claim 4, combination of Aeloiza and Souma discloses the device of Claim 3, wherein, in case that the switch is turned off, the MOSFET is turned on, and the output terminal of the voltage measurement unit is connected to the first ground (MOSFET 337 providing a current path between the output 343 and reference node 313, Figure 3), the capacitor is discharged (MOSAFET 337 and capacitor 339 connected in parallel, and providing a discharge path for the capacitor when MOSFET is turned ON, Figure 3).
Claims 2-7 are additionally rejected below using primary reference Miyazaki.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki (US 2023/0086132) in view of Huber (US 2018/0183228).
Regarding Claim 2, Miyazaki discloses the device of Claim 1, wherein the voltage measurement unit comprises:
a diode in which a cathode is connected to an output terminal of the switch (diode 160 with cathode connected to output terminal/collector of Q, Figures 1, 3-9);
a first resistor in which one end is connected to an anode of the diode (resistor 150 with one end connected to an anode of 160, Figures 1, 3, 5).
Miyazaki does not specifically disclose a second resistor in which one end receives an external power voltage, and the other end is connected to the other end of the first resistor; and a capacitor connecting the other end of the first resistor to a second ground, and wherein the voltage measurement unit is configured to output a voltage applied to both ends of the capacitor as the measured voltage.
Huber discloses a device for detecting and protecting a short circuit of a switch (Figures 1-7, switch 202, Figures 4B, 4C, see other Figures with corresponding element/s), the device comprising:
a voltage measurement unit configured to measure an output voltage of the switch and output the output voltage as a measured voltage (comprising 204, 228, 230, Figures 4B, 4C);
a comparison unit configured to compare the measured voltage with a specified reference voltage (comprising 218, Figures 4B, 4C); and
wherein the voltage measurement unit comprises:
a diode in which a cathode is connected to an output terminal of the switch (diode 214 with cathode connected to output terminal of 202, Figures 4B, 4C);
a first resistor in which one end is connected to an anode of the diode (resistor 212 with one end connected to an anode of 214, Figures 4B, 4C);
a second resistor in which one end receives an external power voltage, and the other end is connected to the other end of the first resistor (second resistor 228 with one end connected to an external power voltage Vcc and the other end connected to the other end of 212, Figures 4B, 4C); and
a capacitor connecting the other end of the first resistor to a second ground (capacitor 230 with one end connected to the other end of 212 and to GND), and wherein the voltage measurement unit is configured to output a voltage applied to both ends of the capacitor as the measured voltage (output of voltage measurement unit as VDESAT at the capacitor node as input to 218, Figures 4B, 4C).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a second resistor and an external power voltage as taught by Huber to provide charging and discharging circuit for the output voltage.
Claims 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki (US 2023/0086132) in view of Trivedi et al. (US 2010/0207677).
Regarding Claim 3, Miyazaki discloses the device of Claim 1, wherein the connection unit comprises:
a MOSFET in which a drain is connected to an output terminal of the voltage measurement unit and a source is connected to the first ground (switch 180 in Figures 1, 3-9 implemented as an NMOS/PMOS connected to N1/output of 155 and to the first ground, Paragraph 28); and
a delay circuit (comprising 171, Figures 1, 3, 5) that receives a control signal input to the switch, delay the received control signal, and transmits the delayed control signal to a gate of the MOSFET (CONTROL signal input to 170 with output of 170 connected to a control terminal of switch 180, Figures 1, 3-9).
Miyazaki does not specifically disclose an inverter in the implementation of the delay circuit.
Trivedi discloses a switch circuit (Figure 2) comprising a delay circuits (113, 108, Figure 2) implemented as an inverter (113 implemented using inverter I4, I5 and 108 implemented using inverter I1, I2, I3). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide in the device of Miyazaki, an inverter in the delay circuit as taught by Trivedi, to delay/invert the control signal to the gate of MOSFET as desired by selecting the number of inverters in series.
Regarding Claim 4, combination of Miyazaki and Trivedi discloses the device of Claim 3, wherein, in case that the switch is turned off, the MOSFET is turned on (Miyazaki, Paragraph 29, “…the discharge switch 180 is ON while the semiconductor switching element Q is in an OFF state”, Paragraph 55, “….even in the case where the reference voltage (grounding voltage or the like)…”), and the output terminal of the voltage measurement unit is connected to the first ground, the capacitor is discharged (Miyazaki’s switch 180 when turned ON providing a discharging path for the capacitor F1, …Fn, Figure 4).
Claims 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki (US 2023/0086132).
Regarding Claims 5, 7, Miyazaki discloses the device of Claim 1, wherein the comparison unit comprises:
a comparator (130, Figures 1, 3-9) in which a first input terminal (+) is connected to the output terminal of the voltage measurement unit to receive the measured voltage, and a second input terminal (-) is connected to the other end of the third resistor and receives a voltage applied to both ends of the fourth resistor as a reference voltage (130 with inputs coupled to N1 and threshold voltage DESAT at L1 from 110, Figures 1, 3-9, Paragraph 40, “The comparator circuit 130 compares the voltage of the node N1 (object voltage) and the threshold voltage (DESAT voltage) and outputs a signal (first signal) according to a comparison result…”),
wherein, when the measured voltage is equal to or greater than the reference voltage, the comparator outputs a pre-determined error signal (Paragraph 40, “The comparator circuit 130 compares the voltage of the node N1 (object voltage) and the threshold voltage (DESAT voltage) and outputs a signal (first signal) according to a comparison result …..a high level signal is outputted when the object voltage is the threshold voltage or higher and a low level signal is outputted when the object voltage is lower than the threshold voltage….”).
Miyazaki does not specifically disclose a third resistor that receives an external power voltage at one end and a fourth resistor connecting the other end of the third resistor to a third ground (Claim 5) and wherein an external power voltage supplied to one end of the second resistor and one end of the third resistor is greater than a gate turn-on voltage provided to a gate to turn on the power switch (Claim 7). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure an external power supply using resistors in series to divide the external power supply voltage to obtain the desired threshold voltage set based on the type and characteristics such as gate threshold voltage of the power switch.
Regarding Claim 6, Miyazaki discloses the device of Claim 5, further comprising:
a control unit (110, Figures 1, 3-9) configured to turn off the power switch according to the error signal from the comparison unit (Paragraph 44),
wherein the switch is a power switch (Paragraph 23, “… The semiconductor switching element Q may be some other power device such as a power MOSFET…”), and
the measured voltage is a drain-source voltage of the power switch (drain-source for MOSFET corresponding to collector-emitter for IGBT shown in Figures 1, 3-9).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Tanghe et al. (US 2021/0184583) discloses in Figure 2 a protection circuit for a switch (MOSFET 205) comprising a voltage measurement unit (diode and resistor connected to drain of 205) and a comparison unit (215) and a connection unit (230); Kandah (US 2014/0118874) discloses a protection circuit for a switch (Figures 1-4, switch 102, Figures 1, 3-4) comprising a voltage measurement unit (114, Figures 1, 3-4) and a comparison unit (135, Figures 1, 3-4) and a connection unit (comprising 148, Figures 1, 3-4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUCY M THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-6002. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Crystal L Hammond can be reached at (571)270-1682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LUCY M THOMAS/Examiner, Art Unit 2838, 1/10/2026 /CRYSTAL L HAMMOND/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838