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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 4 are objected to because of the following informalities: Appropriate correction is required.
Regarding claim 1: Line 14 recites “this predetermined time period” and line 18 recites “this limit value”, this is narrative in nature and “this” should be replaced with “the”.
Regarding claim 4: This claim needs to end in a period.
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 1-10 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.
Regarding claim 1: Lines 6, 15, 16, and 18 each recite “the output DC”, it is unclear if this is referring to the “output DC voltage” or is a different limitation. It appears it may be unclear.
Regarding claim 2: Similar to claim 1, line 3 also recites “the input DC”.
Regarding claim 5: Line 2 recites “the predefined lower limit”.
Regarding claim 6: Line 8 recites “one or more magnetic bearings”, this has already been introduced in the claim. It is unclear if it is the same or a different limitation.
Regarding claim 8: Line 1 recites “one or more magnetic bearings”, this has already been introduced in claim 6. It is unclear if it is the same or a different limitation.
Regarding claim 10: Lines 1-2 recites “a magnetic bearing control system”, this has already been introduced in claim 1. It is unclear if it is the same or a different limitation.
The remaining claims are rejected due to their dependency on a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kawamura (EP 3 771 083 A1), in view of Ofuji (JP 2016-061283 A, English translation attached).
Regarding claim 1: Kawamura discloses a method of regulating a DC/DC voltage converter (200, Fig, 1, shown in detail in Fig. 3), configured as an electrical supply, the method comprising the steps of:
converting an input DC voltage (1) from the DC/DC voltage converter to an output DC voltage (to load 12), suitable as the electrical supply;
powering the system with the output DC voltage (load 12), thereby generating an output DC when active (inherent); and
monitoring the output DC (via 22);
wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
determining a time-dependent critical temperature (T_th, Fig. 9 and 10A), indicative of a margin to an overheating limit of the DC/DC voltage converter on the basis of a thermal model thereof (look up table 221, paragraph 0015);
determining, on the basis of the critical temperature (T_th), a time-dependent current saturation limit (Fig. 9, current droop I_out between I_a and I_b) over a predefined time period, the current saturation limit being indicative of a warming-up of the DC/DC voltage converter over this predefined time period (between 0 and t_1), thereby obtaining a time-dependent limit value for the output DC (as time is the x-axis of Fig. 9 and 10A); and
when the output DC exceeds the time-dependent limit value, the method further comprises the step of:
limiting the output DC to this limit value (as Fig. 9 and 10A show the limiting of I_out).
Kawamura does not explicitly disclose an electrical supply for a magnetic bearing control system.
However, Ofuji discloses an electrical supply for a magnetic bearing control system (14N, Fig. 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the electrical supply of Kawamura to power the bearing control system of Ofuji in order to allow for additional applications.
Regarding claim 2: Kawamura discloses the thermal model comprising one or more measured quantities from the group of the output DC, the output DC voltage, the input DC voltage, an input DC, one or more internal temperatures, and/or an ambient temperature (as 221 is based on one or more internal temperatures, paragraph 0015).
Regarding claim 3: Kawamura discloses the thermal model comprising one or more of the group of:
a heat loss parameter, indicative of thermal losses of the DC/DC voltage converter when active;
a cooling capacity parameter, indicative of an active and/or passive cooling power of the DC/DC voltage converter; and
an equilibrium current, indicative of a thermal equilibrium of the DC/DC voltage converter when the output DC current is equal thereto (paragraph 0015).
Regarding claim 4: Kawamura discloses further comprising the step of: regulating the output DC voltage (Fig. 9 and 10A).
Regarding claim 5: Kawamura modified by Ofuji disclose the bearing control system Kawamura further discloses further comprising the step of, when the output DC voltage exceeds the predefined lower limit:
sending a control signal to the magnetic bearing control system, including an instruction to switch off the system (Fig. 6, the voltage is limited to 0 along curve C1).
Regarding claim 6: Kawamura modified by Ofuji discloses the bearing control system, Ofuji further discloses a method of regulating a magnetic bearing control system (14N) comprising an input connection connectable to a DC voltage source (14B), a capacitor bank (14D), and an output connection (14P), connectable to one or more magnetic bearings (60), the method comprising the steps of:
powering the magnetic bearing control system through the input connection with the output DC voltage as obtained by the method of claim 1 (see claim 1);
storing electrical energy in the capacitor bank via the output DC as obtained by the method of claim 1 (see claim 1);
energizing one or more magnetic bearings with an energizing current through the output connection; and
complementing the energizing current using the capacitor bank (see last 4 paragraphs of page 3 of the translation, teaching the current path to bearings 60).
Regarding claim 7: Kawamura modified by Ofuji discloses DC/DC voltage converter, configured as an electrical supply for a magnetic bearing control system comprising a regulation unit, configured to regulate the DC/DC voltage converter according to the method of claim 1 (see claim 1).
Regarding claim 8: Kawamura modified by Ofuji discloses a magnetic bearing control system, configured to energize one or more magnetic bearings, comprising a regulation unit, configured to perform the method of claim 6 (see claim 6).
Regarding claim 9: Kawamura discloses a DC/DC converter according to claim 8, but does not explicitly disclose a motor controller for driving an electric motor, comprising: a rectifier for rectifying an input AC voltage; a DC voltage rail for conducting the rectified input DC; an inverter, connected to the DC voltage rail, for rectifying the rectified input alternating current as a supply of the electric motor, connected to the DC voltage rail.
However, Ofuji discloses a motor controller (14, Fig. 5) for driving an electric motor (16), comprising:
a rectifier (14A) for rectifying an input AC voltage (via 15);
a DC voltage rail (between 14A and 14 H) for conducting the rectified input DC;
an inverter (14H), connected to the DC voltage rail, for rectifying the rectified input alternating current as a supply of the electric motor (Fig. 8); and
a DC/DC voltage converter (14J), connected to the DC voltage rail (Fig. 8).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the converter of Kawamura to include the motor controller and motor of Ofuji in order to provide power to a motor.
Regarding claim 10: Kawamura modified by Ofuji discloses the motor controller according to claim 9, Ofuji further discloses further comprising a magnetic bearing control system (14P) connected to the DC/DC voltage converter (14K).
Conclusion
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/SEAN GUGGER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834