DETAILED ACTION
1. This action is in response to the application filed on 5/31/24.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
2. 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
3. Claims 12, 14, and 19-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claims 12 and 19 recites “an electrical ground” should be replaced with “the electrical ground”; “a voltage converter” should be replaced with “the voltage converter”.
Claim 14, recites “a voltage conversion module” should be replaced with “the voltage conversion module”.
Claim 20 recites “A DC/DC voltage converter” should be replaced with “The voltage converter is a DC/DC voltage converter”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. 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.
5. Claim 1 is 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 1 recites the limitation “the opposite case”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Also, it is unclear to what is “the opposite case”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-4, 11-13, 15, and 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Williams (US 20050285619).
Regarding claim 1: Williams discloses (i.e. figures 2-8) a voltage conversion module (i.e. 12) comprising:
a high-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 60) intended to have a high voltage (i.e. from 30) with respect to an electrical ground (i.e. ground of 62);
a low-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 20) intended to have a low voltage (i.e. output voltage of 20) with respect to the electrical ground (i.e. ground of 62);
a ground terminal (i.e. terminal for ground) intended to be connected to the electrical ground (i.e. ground of 62);
an inductor (i.e. 38);
a switching arm (i.e. 34, 36) comprising a high-side switch (i.e. 34) and a low-side switch (i.e. 36) which are connected to each other at a mid-point (i.e. 64), the switching arm (i.e. 34, 36) being connected between the high-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 60) and the ground terminal (i.e. terminal for ground), while the mid-point (i.e. 64) is electrically connected to the low-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 20) via said inductor (i.e. 38) in a first mode (i.e. mode when switch 42 closes) of operation of the voltage conversion module (i.e. 12); and
a device (i.e. controller of 12) for controlling the switches which is designed to alternately place the switching arm (i.e. 34, 36) in a high configuration and in a low configuration (i.e. on/off) in the first mode (i.e. mode when switch 42 closes) of operation of the voltage conversion module (i.e. 12) the high-side switch (i.e. 34) being closed and the low-side switch(i.e. 36) being open in the high configuration, the high-side switch (i.e. 34) being open and the low-side switch (i.e. 36) being closed in the low configuration; said voltage conversion module (i.e. 12) being wherein it further comprises:
a device (i.e. 46) for detecting a malfunction of short-circuit type of the high-side switch (i.e. 34), comprising: either a voltage generator (i.e. circuit of 46) comprising two input terminals (i.e. input terminals for circuit of 46) and one output terminal (i.e. output terminals of circuit 46), said voltage generator (i.e. circuit of 46) being configured to receive on one of its input terminals (i.e. input terminal for 64 of circuit 46) the voltage of the mid-point (i.e. 64) and on the other of its input terminals a first reference voltage (i.e. Vref1), said first reference voltage (i.e. Vref1) being less than or equal to said high voltage (i.e. from 30), said voltage generator (i.e. circuit of 46) being further configured to generate on its output terminal (i.e. output terminal 82) a voltage increasing from a predetermined voltage (i.e. figure 6: voltage of node 82) less than a threshold value (i.e. figure 6: value of Vref) as long as the voltage of the mid-point (i.e. 64) is greater than or equal to the first reference voltage (i.e. Vref1) and to generate a voltage less (i.e. figure 6: voltage of node 82) than the threshold value (i.e. figure 6: value of Vref) in the opposite case, and a first voltage comparison module (i.e. 80) configured to compare the voltage at said output terminal (i.e. output terminal 82) of the voltage generator (i.e. circuit of 46) with said threshold value (i.e. value of Vref1) and to generate an error signal (i.e. F1) when said voltage at the output terminal (i.e. output terminal 82) is greater than said threshold value (i.e. figure 6: value of Vref) (i.e. ¶ 23-30), or
Regarding claim 2: (i.e. figures 2-8) further comprising a safety device (i.e. 48), said safety device connecting said inductor (i.e. 38) to said low-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 20) in the first mode of operation (i.e. mode when switch 42 closes), said safety device (i.e. 48) disconnecting said inductor (i.e. 38) from said low-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 20) in a second mode of operation (i.e. mode when switch 42 open), said voltage conversion module (i.e. 12) operating in the second mode (i.e. mode when switch 42 open) of operation when said error signal (i.e. F1) is generated (i.e. ¶ 23-30).
Regarding claim 3: (i.e. figures 2-8) wherein the device for controlling the switches (i.e. 34, 36) is also designed to keep the low-side switch (i.e. 36) open in the second mode of operation (i.e. mode when switch 42 open) (i.e. ¶ 23-30).
Regarding claims 4 and 15: (i.e. figures 2-8) wherein the voltage generator (i.e. circuit of 46) further comprises a ground terminal (i.e. terminal of 70) intended to be connected to said electrical ground (i.e. ground 70), and a capacitor (i.e. 86) connected between said output terminal (i.e. output terminal 82) and said ground terminal (i.e. terminal of 70) of the voltage generator (i.e. circuit of 46).
Regarding claims 10 and 17: (i.e. figure 1) a voltage converter (i.e. 10) comprising at least one voltage conversion module (i.e. 12) as claimed in claim 1.
Regarding claims 11 and 18: (i.e. figure 1) a voltage converter comprising at least two voltage conversion modules (i.e. 12, 14) as claimed in claim 1 and wherein the first voltage comparison module (i.e. 12) is common to said at least two voltage conversion modules (i.e. 14).
Regarding claims 12 and 12: (i.e. figure 1) an electrical system (i.e. system of figure 1) comprising an electrical ground (i.e. ground of 22), a high-voltage source (i.e. source for system 10) with respect to the electrical ground (i.e. ground of 22), and a voltage converter (i.e. 12) as claimed in claim 10 and wherein the high-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 60) is connected to the high-voltage source (i.e. source for system 10) and the ground terminal (i.e. terminal for ground) is connected to the electrical ground (i.e. ground of 22).
Regarding claim 13: (i.e. figure 2) further comprising a load (i.e. load at the output), said load being connected to the low-voltage terminal (i.e. terminal of 20).
Regarding claim 20: (i.e. figure 2) A DC/DC voltage converter (i.e. converter of 12) as claimed in claim 10.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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.
9. Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Williams (US 20050285619) in view of Tateishi et al. (US 20160373009).
Regarding claim 14: Williams disclose the limitation of the claim(s) as discussed above, but does not specifically disclose a mobility vehicle comprising a voltage conversion module as claimed in claim 1.
Tateishi et al. disclose a mobility vehicle comprising a voltage conversion module as claimed in claim 1 (i.e. ¶ 6).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the earliest effective filing date to modify the circuit of Williams’s invention with the vehicle as disclose by Tateishi et al., because there is a need for step-up/down switching regulators are increasing in the market of vehicle-mounted appliances.
Allowable Subject Matter
10. Claims 5-9 and 16 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
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NGUYEN TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1269. The examiner can normally be reached Flex: M-F 8-7.
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/Nguyen Tran/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838