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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 5/26/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Regarding independent claim 13, Applicant argues “Claim 13 requires that the first top surface and the second top surface each be parallel to the plane of the circuit board. Berkcan's L-shape does not have two such parallel surfaces. Claim 13 further requires that the first top surface and the second top surface be laterally offset from each other along a lateral direction parallel to the plane of the circuit board. Claim 13 also requires that the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit be laterally offset from each other along the same lateral direction. Applicant respectfully submits that Berkcan does not show or suggest the recited subject matter”. Examiner disagrees with Applicant’s argument. Berkcan discloses multiple configurations of current shunt having an L-shape which includes a top and bottom surface as outlined in the current rejection (See Annotated figure below). Applicant has not specifically pointed out how the disclosure of Berkcan fails to teach the parallel surfaces. Regarding the circuit board limitations, Berckan is not relied upon to teach the circuit board. Schaller teaches a circuit board having a magnetic sensor. It would be within the level of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a circuit board into Berkcan since it is known that magnetic sensors can be secured onto circuit boards.
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) 13, 16, 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkcan et al., US 5587652 in view of Schaller et al., CN 112542439
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Regarding claim 13, Berkcan teaches a current detection device, comprising:
a magnetic induction module comprising a first magnetic sensing unit and a second magnetic sensing unit (Fig. 9; coils 80, 82), wherein the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on a same horizontal plane (Fig. 9; both coils in same place), and a stepped copper bar electrically isolated from the magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; combination of structure 110 and plate 18), the stepped copper bar comprising a side facing the magnetic induction module that is stepped, the stepped copper bar comprising a first step and a second step different from the first step (See fig. 9; two steps shown in the structure 110),
wherein the first step has a first top surface facing the magnetic induction module and the second step has a second top surface facing the magnetic induction module (Fig. 1; top step of structure 110 and bottom step of structure 110), the first top surface and the second top surface each being parallel to the plane where the magnetic induction module circuit board is located (Fig. 9 as shown; surfaces are parallel to the horizontal plane of the magnetic sensor module),
wherein the first top surface and the second top surface are at different vertical heights relative to the magnetic induction module and are laterally offset from each other along a lateral direction parallel to the plane where the magnetic induction module is located (Fig. 9; top step and bottom step of structure 110 are at different heights),
wherein the first magnetic sensing unit is located above the first top surface and the second magnetic sensing unit is located above the second top surface, the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit being laterally offset from each other along the lateral direction (Fig. 9; coil 80 is above the bottom step, coil 82 above top step), and
wherein a current to be measured flows through a cross section of the stepped copper bar perpendicular to the lateral direction, and the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit sense, in a differential manner, a differential mode magnetic field generated by the current to be measured flowing through the stepped copper bar, and generate and output a differential voltage signal (Fig. 9; amplifier 86 responsive to difference in signals induced in coils 80, 82).
Berkcan is silent in a circuit board; a magnetic induction module secured on the circuit board and the horizontal plane is parallel to a plane where the circuit board is located. Schaller teaches a circuit board, and a magnetic induction module secured on the circuit board (Fig. 7; “sensor chip 10 having one or more sensor elements 12”; circuit board 26) and a horizontal plane on which the sensors are located is parallel to the plane where the circuit board is located (Fig. 7; sensor element 12 is parallel to the board 26). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Schaller into Berkcan for the benefit of providing a component to secure the sensor elements thereby having a more reliable system.
Regarding claim 16, Berkcan teaches a mechanical support housing wrapping, fixing, and supporting the magnetic induction module and the stepped copper bar (Fig. 9, bolts or joints 114).
Regarding claim 18, Berkcan is silent in wherein the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on a same chip or on two separate chips. Schaller teaches a first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on a same chip or on two separate chips (Fig. 7; “sensor chip 10 having one or more sensor elements 12”; circuit board 26). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Schaller into Berkcan for the benefit of providing a component to secure the sensor elements thereby having a more reliable system.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Berkcan et al., US 5,587,652 in view of Schaller et al., CN 112542439 in view of Futakuchi et al., US 10416200 B2
Regarding claim 15, Berkcan is silent wherein sensitivity directions of the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are the same, and are the same as or opposite to a direction of a magnetic field generated by the stepped copper bar at the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit, the sensitivity directions being parallel to the plane where the circuit board is located and parallel to the lateral direction. Futakuchi teaches wherein the sensitivity directions of the magnetic sensing units in the magnetic induction module are the same, and the sensitivity directions of the magnetic sensing units are the same as or opposite to the direction of the magnetic field generated by a bar at the positions of the magnetic sensing units (Col. 4 lines 60-65; Fig. 1; sensitivity influencing axis direction of the sensor 21 and sensor 24 are the same). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Futakuchi into Berkcan as modified for the benefit of offsetting undesirable and disturbing magnetic fields effectively.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 5-8, 10-12, 19, 20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the first magnetic sensing unit comprises at least one magnetoresistive bridge arm and the second magnetic sensing unit comprises at least one magnetoresistive bridge arm, the magnetoresistive bridge arm of the first magnetic sensing unit and the magnetoresistive bridge arm of the second magnetic sensing unit being electrically connected to form a differential half-bridge structure output or a differential full-bridge structure output, wherein all magnetoresistive bridge arms have a same sensitivity direction and are formed by connecting at least one magnetoresistive sensitive element in series and parallel; and wherein the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on a same chip or on two separate chips” in combination with all the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding claim 6, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the first magnetic sensing unit is composed of a magnetoresistive bridge arm, the second magnetic sensing unit is composed of a magnetoresistive bridge arm, the magnetoresistive bridge arm is composed of one or more magnetoresistive sensitive elements connected in series and parallel, and the two magnetoresistive bridge arms have a same sensitivity direction and are electrically connected to form a differential half-bridge structure; or the first magnetic sensing unit is composed of two magnetoresistive bridge arms, the second magnetic sensing unit is composed of two magnetoresistive bridge arms, each magnetoresistive bridge arm is composed of one or more magnetoresistive sensitive elements connected in series and parallel, and the four magnetoresistive” in combination with all the limitations of claim 6.
Claims 14, 17, 21, 22 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.
Regarding claim 14, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the first magnetic sensing unit comprises at least one magnetoresistive bridge arm and the second magnetic sensing unit comprises at least one magnetoresistive bridge arm, the magnetoresistive bridge arm of the first magnetic sensing unit and the magnetoresistive bridge arm of the second magnetic sensing unit being electrically connected to form a differential half-bridge structure output or a differential full-bridge structure output, wherein all magnetoresistive bridge arms have a same sensitivity direction and are formed by connecting at least one magnetoresistive sensitive element in series and parallel” in combination with all the limitations of claim 14.
Regarding claim 17, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the magnetic induction module further comprises a closed-loop signal conditioning circuit and a magnetic field feedback coil, the closed-loop signal conditioning circuit, the magnetic field feedback coil, the first magnetic sensing unit, and the second magnetic sensing unit forming a closed-loop magnetic field feedback component configured to amplify the differential voltage signal and drive the magnetic field feedback coil to generate a feedback magnetic field that reversely offsets the differential mode magnetic field, such that at dynamic balance the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit operate at equal common mode magnetic field operating points, and a feedback current of the magnetic field feedback coil is sampled through a sampling resistor to form an output signal of the magnetic induction module” in combination with all the limitations of claim 17.
Regarding claim 21, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “a current shunting copper bar connected with the stepped copper bar in a series-parallel configuration, the current shunting copper bar configured to produce a common mode magnetic field that offsets a common mode magnetic field generated by the stepped copper bar at the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit” in combination with all the limitations of claim 21.
Regarding claim 22, prior art does not disclose or suggest: wherein at the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit, a current direction of the current shunting copper bar is the same as or opposite to a current direction of the stepped copper bar, and an input range of the current to be measured is adjusted by setting a series-parallel connection mode of the current shunting copper bar and the stepped copper bar, by setting a number of current shunting copper bars, or both” in combination with all the limitations of claim 22.
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
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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.
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/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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