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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/21/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1, 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 1 and 6, replace the limitation “the side” with “a side” in line 9 of both claims.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 7 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.
Regarding claim 7, the claim recites “the magnetic sensing unit” in lines 6-8. It is unclear which magnetic sensing unit this is referring to as there is a first magnetic sensing unit and a second magnetic sensing unit.
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 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 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
Regarding claim 1, Berkcan discloses a current detection device with a stepped copper bar comprising: the magnetic induction module at least comprising a first magnetic sensing unit and a second magnetic sensing unit (Fig. 9; sensors 82, 80), wherein the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on the same horizontal plane (Fig. 9 as shown, sensors 80 and 82 are aligned in parallel); and a stepped copper bar (Fig. 4a; 9; L-shaped structure 110 may be copper; See col. 6 lines 10-15), wherein the side of the stepped copper bar facing the magnetic induction module is stepped (Fig. 4a; 9; as shown, the structure 110 is stepped and faces sensors 80, 82), the stepped copper bar comprises at least a first step and a second step different from the first step (Fig. 4a, 9; structure 110 having multiple surfaces that are in different planes, having steps that are different from each other); in a direction perpendicular to the magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; structure 110 is to the left of the sensors 80, 82), the first magnetic sensing unit is located above the first step (Fig. 9; sensor 82 is above the top step of 110), and the second magnetic sensing unit is located above the second step (Fig. 9; sensor 80 is above the bottom step of 110); and the stepped copper bar is electrically isolated from the magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; copper structure 100 does not contact the sensors 80, 82); wherein a current to be measured flows through a cross section perpendicular to the stepped copper bar (Col. 4 lines 50-55; current I which flows along the conductive path), and the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit sense, in a differential manner, the 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; Col. 7 line 60-65: “operational amplifier 86…is responsive to the difference of respective AC signals being induced in reference coil 80 and in sense coil 82”).
Berkcan is silent in a circuit board; the magnetic induction module secured on the circuit board, and the horizontal plane is parallel to the plane where the circuit board is located. Schaller teaches a circuit board, and a the 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 3, Berkcan teaches wherein it also includes: a mechanical support housing, which wraps, fixes, and supports the magnetic induction module and the stepped copper bar (Fig. 9, bolts or joints 114).
Regarding claim 5, Berkcan teaches wherein the magnetic induction module also includes a closed-loop signal conditioning circuit and a magnetic field feedback coil, and the closed-loop signal conditioning circuit, the magnetic field feedback coil, the first magnetic sensing unit, and the second magnetic sensing unit constitute a closed-loop magnetic field feedback component; after the differential voltage signal is amplified by the closed-loop signal conditioning circuit, a feedback magnetic field is generated through the magnetic field feedback coil to reversely offset the differential mode magnetic field; when the dynamic balance of the magnetic field is reached, the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit operate at equal common mode magnetic field operating points, and then the feedback current of the magnetic field feedback coil is sampled through a sampling resistor to form an output signal of the magnetic induction module; or, the magnetic induction module also includes an open-loop signal conditioning circuit, which performs conditioning, amplification, temperature compensation, and linearity correction on the differential voltage signal (Fig. 9; feedback form amplifier 86; Col. 6 lines 40-50; temperature correction with use of current sensor).
Regarding claim 6, Berkcan teaches a current detection device with a stepped copper bar comprising a stepped copper bar (Fig. 4a, 9; 9; L-shaped structure 110 may be copper; See col. 6 lines 10-15), a current shunting copper bar (Fig. 9; conductor plate 18; Col. 3 lines 35-36), a magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; sensors 82, 80), the stepped copper bar and the current shunting copper bar are connected in series and parallel to form a to-be-measured current input module (Fig. 9; plate 18 and structure 110 are connected in series and parallel to each other), and the to-be-measured current input module is electrically isolated from the signal output module (Fig. 9; sensors 80, 82 are electrically isolated from structure and structure 110 and plate 18); the side of the stepped copper bar facing the magnetic induction module is stepped, and the stepped copper bar comprises at least a first step and a second step (Fig. 4a; 9; as shown, the structure 110 is stepped with 2 steps and faces sensors 80, 82); the magnetic induction module at least includes a first magnetic sensing unit and a second magnetic sensing unit (Fig. 9; sensors 82, 80), the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on the same horizontal plane (Fig. 9 as shown, sensors 80 and 82 are aligned in parallel), the first magnetic sensing unit is located above the first step (Fig. 9; sensor 80 is above the bottom step of 110), and the second magnetic sensing unit is located above the second step (Fig. 9; sensor 82 is above the top step of 110); a current to be measured flows through a cross section perpendicular to the stepped copper bar and the current shunting copper bar (Col. 4 lines 50-55; current I which flows along the conductive path), and generates a magnetic field at the position of the magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; current I induces a magnetic field); the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit sense, in a differential manner, the magnetic field generated by the current to be measured flowing through the to-be-measured current input module(Fig. 9; Col. 7 line 60-65: “operational amplifier 86…is responsive to the difference of respective AC signals being induced in reference coil 80 and in sense coil 82”), and generate a voltage signal, which forms an output signal of the current detection device with a stepped copper bar (Fig. 9; Col. 7 line 50-65; amplifier 86 generates an output signal;)
Berkcan is silent in a circuit board; the magnetic induction module and the circuit board form a signal output module, the magnetic induction module secured on the circuit board, and the horizontal plane is parallel to the plane where the circuit board is located. Schaller teaches a circuit board, a magnetic induction module and the circuit board form a signal output module, and the 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 8, Berkcan is silent in wherein the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on the same circuit board; or, the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on two separate circuit boards. Schaller teaches wherein the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on the same circuit board; or, the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on two separate circuit boards (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.
Regarding claim 10, Berkcan teaches wherein the magnetic induction module also includes an open-loop signal conditioning circuit, and the open-loop signal conditioning circuit performs conditioning, amplification, temperature compensation, and linearity correction on the differential voltage signal; or, the magnetic induction module also includes a closed-loop signal conditioning circuit and a magnetic field feedback coil; the closed-loop signal conditioning circuit performs conditioning, amplification, temperature compensation, and linearity correction on the differential voltage signal; the closed-loop signal conditioning circuit, the magnetic field feedback coil, the first magnetic sensing unit, and the second magnetic sensing unit constitute a closed-loop magnetic field feedback; after the differential voltage signal is amplified by the closed-loop signal conditioning circuit, a feedback magnetic field is generated through the magnetic field feedback coil to reversely offset the differential mode magnetic field; when the dynamic balance of the magnetic field is reached, the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit operate at equal common mode magnetic field operating points, and then the feedback current of the magnetic field feedback coil is sampled through a sampling resistor to form an output signal of the magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; feedback form amplifier 86; Col. 6 lines 40-50; temperature correction with use of current sensor).
Regarding claim 11, Schaller teaches wherein the number of the current shunting copper bars is one or more (Fig. 9); along the vertical direction of magnetic induction module, the position of any current shunting copper bar is above the magnetic induction module or below the stepped copper bar(Fig. 9; plate 18 is above the sensors 80, 82), and the vertical projection of the current shunting copper bar on the plane where the magnetic induction module is located covers each magnetic sensing unit in the magnetic induction module (Fig. 9; plate 18 covers sensors 80, 82). Schaller is silent in a circuit board. Schaller teaches a circuit board, and the magnetic induction module secured on the circuit board (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) 2 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 2, Berkcan is silent in 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 the stepped copper bar at the positions of the magnetic sensing units. 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
Claim 4, 9, 12 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 4, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein the first magnetic sensing unit includes at least one magnetoresistive bridge arm, and the second magnetic sensing unit includes 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 are electrically connected to form a differential half-bridge structure output or connected to form a differential full-bridge structure output, wherein all magnetoresistive bridge arms have the same sensitivity direction, and are formed by connecting at least one magnetoresistive sensitive element in series and parallel; and the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on the same chip or on two separate chips” in combination with all the limitations of claim 4.
Regarding claim 9, 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 the 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, the magnetoresistive bridge arm is composed of one or more magnetoresistive sensitive elements connected in series and parallel, and the four magnetoresistive bridge arms have the same sensitivity direction and are electrically connected to form a differential full-bridge structure; and the first magnetic sensing unit and the second magnetic sensing unit are located on the same chip or on two separate chips” in combination with all the limitations of claim 9.
Regarding claim 12, prior art does not disclose or suggest: “wherein: at the position of the magnetic induction module, the current direction of the current shunting copper bar is the same as or opposite to the current direction of the stepped copper bar; in the current detection device with a stepped copper bar, the input range of the current to be measured of the current detection device with a stepped copper bar is adjusted by setting the series-parallel connection mode of the current shunting copper bar and the stepped copper bar, and/or the input range of the current to be measured of the current detection device with a stepped copper bar is adjusted by setting the number of the current shunting copper bars” in combination with all the limitations of claim 12.
Conclusion
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/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858