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 .
Interview Request
Examiner contacted Attny. of Record Michael Gnibus on 6/23/2026 to attempt to resolve the 101 issues with Claim 15, but did not result in an interview.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments have placed claims 1 and 12 in condition for allowance.
Applicant's arguments filed 6/12/2026 with respect to amended claim 15 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that because claim 15 is directed to non-transitory subject matter, the claim is subject matter eligible. While claim 15 is now directed towards a product, Examiner believes the claim is directed toward a judicial exception, as detailed below.
Applicant contends Allowable subject matter has been incorporated into claim 15, but Examiner believes the recitations are external to the claimed medium and present intended use limitations without requiring additional structure.
Claim Interpretation
Claim 15 is directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a table, to which Applicant has amended claim limitations (electrical converter terminals, the optimized pulse pattern to be applied to the electrical converter, etc) directed towards an intended use of the table and external to the claimed medium which are interpreted as intended use not providing structure to the medium and therefore not granted full patentable weight.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more. The claim(s) recite(s) mathematical calculations to derive data of optimized pulse patterns. This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claim only recites the table, that is merely a table of stored data, and there are no additional claim elements to the judicial exception. The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because only the table is claimed and the intended use of the table does not add significantly more structure.
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(s) 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Hokayem (US 2018/0054112) in view of Spudic (Neutral Point Potential Balance when using Optimized Pulse Patterns).
With respect to claim 15, Al-Hokayem discloses a computer-readable medium storing a table (Fig. 2 30) of optimized pulse patterns for an electrical converter,
wherein the electrical converter comprises a positive terminal (Fig. 1 DC high bus), a negative terminal (Fig. 1 DC return), and a neutral point (Fig. 1 N) and at least one phase output (Fig. 1 Vi) connectable to the positive terminal, the negative terminal and to the neutral point via at least one phase leg (Fig. 1 phase leg not shown),
wherein the table (paragraph 53) of optimized pulse patterns is indexed with respect to a set of modulation indices (Fig. 2 m*) and a set of pulse numbers (Fig. 2 d); wherein for a modulation index and a pulse number, an optimized pulse pattern (Fig. 2 Ui,n) comprises switching angles (Fig. 3 t*a1,t*a2) and at least one of a switching state (Fig. 3 1,0,-1) and a switching transition of at least one phase leg of the electrical converter for each switching angle; wherein for at least some modulation indices and pulse numbers, an optimized pulse pattern for a modulation index and a pulse number comprises switching angles, which correspond to different reference angles of the inverter flux (Fig. 2 output from 26 to 30) and wherein an actual active power reference to be provided for the at least one phase output is determined, the table of optimized pulse patterns is additionally indexed with respect to a set of active power references, and the optimized pulse pattern to be applied to the electrical converter is selected from the table with respect to the actual active power reference [intended use]; or wherein the optimized pulse patterns are stored in the table for a complete fundamental cycle, the optimized pulse patterns stored in the table are asymmetric with respect toa quarter of the complete fundamental cycle, and the optimized pulse patterns stored in the table have been optimized to generate a non-zero DC-component of the neutral point current [limitations satisfied by first OR condition of intended use]. Al-Hokayem does not disclose wherein the optimized pulse pattern for a modulation index and a pulse number comprises switching angles, which correspond to different neutral point balancing values. It was known before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to optimize pulse patterns corresponding to different neutral point balancing values.
Spudic discloses neutral point balancing with optimized pulse patterns
wherein optimized pulse patterns (Fig. 19 output of OPP-based modulation) corresponding to different neutral point balancing values (Fig. 19 Δα) are optimized to increase and/or decrease a neutral point voltage (Fig. 19 Vnp) at a neutral point (Fig. 2 N) of the electrical converter (Fig. 2 NPC converter). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement wherein for at least some modulation indices and pulse numbers, an optimized pulse pattern for a modulation index and a pulse number comprises switching angles, which correspond to different neutral point balancing values; wherein optimized pulse patterns corresponding to different neutral point balancing values are optimized to increase and/or decrease a neutral point voltage at a neutral point of the electrical converter, in order to improve performance by balancing the neutral point voltage.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7, 10-12 and 16-24 are allowed. See the action dated 2/12/2026, for the reasons for allowance.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HARRY RAYMOND BEHM whose telephone number is (571)272-8929. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thienvu Tran can be reached at 571-270-1276. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HARRY R BEHM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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