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.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fukuda (WO 2020204154).
Regarding claim 1, xxx teaches a system for protecting against a short-circuit for a high- voltage direct-current electrical circuit (see Fig. 1-28), the system comprising a main branch (see 4c; Fig. 1-28) and a secondary branch (see 5c; Fig. 1-28) connected in parallel (see Fig. 3) and adapted to be connected to the electrical circuit via two common input (see connection via 421 Fig. 1-28) and output terminals (see connection via 421 Fig. 1-28), the secondary branch comprising a fuse (see 5B; Fig. 1-28) and having an impedance greater than that of the main branch (see 53M Narrow Portion ), the system comprising a pyrotechnic actuator comprising a gas generator and a piston movable between an initial position and a final position (see gas generator 7, and operating pin 8 Fig. 1), said system being configured to occupy the following positions:
a passive position in which the piston is in its initial position (see before operation Fig. 1-28), the main and secondary branches being closed (see before operation Fig. 1-28);
an active position in which the piston is placed in its final position under the action of gas generated by said generator when a short-circuit current is detected, the main branch being opened under the action of the piston (see operation of 7 and 8 Fig. 1-28); the secondary branch comprising a movable slide which is secured to one end of the fuse and able to be driven in translation under the action of the piston when the system moves from its passive position to its active position (see after operation Fig. 1-28), the system being configured so that the slide causes the fuse to break after the main branch has opened when the system moves from its passive position to its active position, so as to ensure that the secondary branch opens regardless of the intensity of the short-circuit current (see braking of 30, Fig. 7); where in the main branch comprises a first electrical contact between a fixed member and a first flexible tab, the system comprising a first separator which is movable in translation and secured to the piston, the first separator being configured to be interposed between the fixed member and the first flexible tab when the system is in its active position, so as to open the first electrical contact and consequently the main branch (see Fig. 7).
Regarding claim 2. (Currently Amended) The system according to claim 1, wherein the slide has a first end attached to the fuse and a second end attached to a stop which is movable in translation, the first separator being able to come to bear against a bearing face of the stop in order to drive it in translation when the system passes from its passive position to its active position (see Fig. 4 – 7; xxx).
Regarding claim 3. (Currently Amended) The system according to claim 2, wherein the first separator is at a distance from the bearing face of the stop when the system is in the passive position (see Fig. 4 – 7; xxx).
Regarding claim 13. (Currently Amended) An electrical circuit comprising at least one electrical thruster and a system for protecting against a short-circuit according to claim 1 (see Fig. 1 – 28; xxx).
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.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over xxx
Regarding claim 14, xxx teaches an electrical circuit as claimed in claim 13.
Yet, does not disclose an aircraft comprising.
However, placing an electrical protection device within a aircraft, or any other vehicle would flow naturally to one of ordinary skill in the filed without an inventive step.
Furthermore placing the protection device in any vehicle would not significantly change the protection device operation and use.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is 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.
Claims 5-12 are dependent of claim 4 and are also object to.
Conclusion
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/ELIM ORTIZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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