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 . 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 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.
This office action is in response to the application filed on 06/03/2024.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawing
The drawings filed on 06/03/2024 are acceptable.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS/s) submitted on 06/03/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 C.F.R. § 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the examiner.
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-5, 10 and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Woo et al. (US 2008/0252273 A1), hereinafter ‘Woo.
In re to claim 1, Woo teach a switching power supply device (i.e. Buck DC/DC converter, fig. 4, see par. [0069]) configured to buck an input voltage (i.e. Vin) to produce an output voltage (i.e. Vout), comprising: a first switch (i.e. 113) of which a first terminal is configured to be connectable to an application terminal for the input voltage (i.e. coupled to Vin), and of which a second terminal is configured to be connectable to a first terminal of an inductor (i.e. 1st terminal of inductor 101); a second switch (i.e. 114) of which a first terminal is configured to be connectable to the first terminal of the inductor (i.e. 1st terminal of inductor 101) and to the second terminal of the first switch (i.e. 2nd terminal of 113), and of which a second terminal is configured to be connectable to an application terminal for a low voltage (i.e. GND) lower than the input voltage (i.e. lower than Vin); and a controller (i.e. 107) to turn on and off the first and second switches (i.e. control switching of 113 and 114), wherein the controller (i.e. controller 107 controls the switching cycle of switches 113 and 114, see par. [0068]) has a first state in which the controller keeps the first switch on (i.e. 113 is ON) and the second switch off (i.e. 114 is OFF), a second state in which the controller keeps the first switch off (i.e. 113 is OFF) and the second switch on (i.e. 114 is ON), a third state in which the controller (i.e. 107) keeps the first and second switches off (i.e. 113 and 114 are switched OFF, implicit, suppress or prevent overshoot of the output voltage ‘Vout), and a fourth state in which the controller (i.e. 107) keeps a voltage at a connection node between the first and second switches (i.e. between 113 switched to OFF and 114 switched to ON) lower than in the third state (i.e. approximately equal to GND voltage); and the controller (i.e. 107) further has a first mode in which the controller repeats the first, second, third, and fourth states at a first cycle, and a second mode in which the controller repeats the first, second, third, and fourth states at a second cycle longer than the first cycle (i.e. the switching cycle repeats applying PWM or PFM based on the requirement of the output voltage needed for the load, see par. [0062]).
In re to claims 2-3, Woo teach the switching power supply device (i.e. Buck DC/DC converter, fig. 4, see par. [0069]) according to claim 1, wherein the controller (i.e. 107 repeats the first, second, third, and fourth states in an order of the first to second to third to fourth states in each of the first mode and the second mode; wherein the controller repeats the first, second, third, and fourth states at a fixed cycle in the first mode (i.e. the switching cycle repeats applying PWM or PFM based on the requirement of the output voltage needed for the load, see par. [0062]).
In re to claims 4-5 and 10, Woo teach the switching power supply device (i.e. Buck DC/DC converter, fig. 4, see par. [0069]) according to claim 3, wherein the controller executes the first mode when a load of the switching power supply device is within a first range (i.e. during the state when higher output voltage is required by the load), and the controller executes the second mode when the load is within a second range that is lighter than the first range (i.e. during the state when higher output voltage is required by the load); wherein in the second mode, the lighter the load is, the more the controller prolongs the second cycle( i.e. the switching cycle repeats applying PWM or PFM based on the requirement of the output voltage needed for the load, see par. [0062]); wherein in the fourth state, the controller keeps the first switch off (i.e. 113 switched off) and the second switch on (i.e. 114 switched on).
In re to claim 16, Woo teach a switch control device (i.e. 107, fig. 4) for turning on and off: a first switch (i.e. 113) of which a first terminal is configured to be connectable to an application terminal for an input voltage (i.e. Vin), and of which a second terminal is configured to be connectable to a first terminal of an inductor (i.e. first terminal of 101); and a second switch (i.e. 114) of which a first terminal is configured to be connectable to the first terminal of the inductor (i.e. 101) and to the second terminal of the first switch (i.e. 113), and of which a second terminal is configured to be connectable to an application terminal for a low voltage lower than the input voltage (i.e. GND), wherein the switch control device has a first state (i.e. a state to increase the output voltage to the load) in which the switch control device (i.e. 107) keeps the first switch on (i.e. 113, set ON) and the second switch off (i.e. 114, set OFF), a second state in which the switch control device (i.e. 107) keeps the first switch off (i.e. 113 set to OFF) and the second switch on (i.e. 114, set ON, lowering the output voltage), a third state in which the switch control device keeps the first and second switches off (i.e. both 113 and 114 are set to OFF), in a situation when the power supply to the load is not required), and a fourth state in which the switch control device (i.e. 107) keeps a voltage at a connection node between the first and second switches lower than in the third state (i.e. a state in which both the Vin and the GND power sources are disconnected from the device); and the switch control device (i.e. 107) further has a first mode in which the switch control device repeats the first, second, third, and fourth states at a first cycle, and a second mode in which the switch control device repeats the first, second, third, and fourth states at a second cycle longer than the first cycle (i.e. the switching cycle repeats applying PWM or PFM based on the requirement of the output voltage needed for the load, see par. [0062]).
.
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) 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Woo et al. (US 2015/01 Woo et al. (US 2008/0252273 A1), hereinafter ‘Woo, in view of Yabuuchi (US 2018/0215278A1).
In re to claims 17 and 19, Woo disclose the switching power supply device (i.e. Buck DC/DC converter, fig. 4, see par. [0069]) according to claim 1. Except, Woo fail to explicitly disclose that a vehicle-mounted appliance and a battery for supplying the vehicle-mounted appliance with electric power. Whereas Yabuuchi teaches a vehicle-mounted appliance (i.e. 80 and 90 mounted in in vehicle 1, fig. 1), and a battery (i.e. 2, fig. 1, see par. [0035]) for supplying the vehicle-mounted appliance with electric power (i.e. see the Abstract and par. [0035]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the switching power supply device as Woo’s vehicle mounted appliance or rechargeable power supply to provide power supply to an electric or hybrid vehicle.
In re to claims 18 and 20, Woo disclose the switch control device (i.e. 107, fig. 4) according to claim. Except, Woo fail to explicitly disclose a vehicle-mounted appliance; and a battery for supplying the vehicle-mounted appliance with electric power. Whereas Yabuuchi teaches a vehicle-mounted appliance (i.e. 80 and 90 mounted in in vehicle 1, fig. 1, see par. [0035]); and a battery (i.e. 2) for supplying the vehicle-mounted appliance with electric power (i.e. 80 and 90, fig. 1, see par. [0035]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the switch control device for Woo’s vehicle mounted appliance or rechargeable power supply to provide power supply to an electric or hybrid vehicle.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-9, 11-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim but
would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In re to claim 6, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein when a time duration from a start time point of the first state until detection of a zero-crossing point of a current flowing through the inductor is less than a fixed value, the controller decides that the load is within the second range”.
In re to claims 7, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein when an error signal indicating an error between a feedback signal input to signal based on the output voltage and a first reference voltage exceeds a second reference voltage, the controller decides that the load is within the second range”.
In re to claims 9, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein the controller has a dead time period, in which the first and second switches are kept off, provided between the fourth state and the first state, and starts the first state at a zero-crossing point of the current flowing through the inductor”.
In re to claims 11, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “a third switch which is configured to be connectable in parallel with the second switch and which has at least either of a lower on-state resistance and a lower capacitance than the second switch, wherein the controller is configured to turn on and off the third switch, and in the fourth state, the controller keeps the first switch off and the third switch on.
In re to claims 12, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “a capacitance of which a first terminal is connected to a second terminal of the third switch and of which a second terminal is configured to be connectable to the application terminal for the low voltage, wherein the controller is configured to turn on and off the third switch, and in the fourth state, the controller keeps the first switch off and the third switch on”.
In re to claims 14, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein the controller is configured to control the variable voltage, and in the fourth state, the controller keeps the first switch off and, by controlling the variable voltage, produces a voltage difference between the first terminal and the second terminal of the capacitance”.
In re to claims 15, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein in the first mode, a voltage with a frequency of 1.8 MHz or higher but 2.1 MHz or lower is produced at the connection node between the first and second switches”.
The art of record does not disclose the above limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify the art of record to include either of the above limitations.
In re to claim 8, claim 8 depend on claim 6, thus is also objected for the same reasons provided above.
In re to claim 13, claim 13 depend on claim 12, thus is also objected for the same reasons provided above.
Remarks
The examiner has cited columns, line numbers, paragraph numbers, references, or
figures in the references applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses to fully consider the reference in entirety, as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2141.02 and § 2123.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEMANE MEHARI whose telephone number is (571)270-7603. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM TO 6 PM.
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/YEMANE MEHARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838