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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 2 (Figures 2-6) in the reply filed on 03/18/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-23 are currently pending as claims 1-23 read on the elected species as currently presented.
Claim Rejections
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claims 1-10, 16 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nystrom (US 2016/0336867 A1) in view of Morroni (US 11762405 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Nystrom teaches a power converter system (Figure 1; Figure 2 shows Component 102 from Figure 1 in detail) comprising: a first power converter (Figure 1 Component 102-1) comprising a first controller circuit (Figure 1 Components 110+112+114), wherein the first controller circuit is configured to drive a first switch (Figure 1 Component 102-1 is seen in further detail in Figure 2; Figure 2 Components 104 or 108 each comprise switches and either of these switches can be a first switch) according to a first switching frequency (Figure 1 Component 114 outputs a signal to control the switch in Component 104 in Component 102-1 according to a first frequency) such that the first power converter transfers a first power to a load (Figure 1 Component 102-1 outputs a first power to Component DC output); a second power converter (Figure 1 Component 102-2) comprising a second controller circuit (Figure 1 Component 102-2 has the same Components seen in Figure 1 Component 102-1; Components 110+112+114), wherein the second controller circuit is configured to drive a second switch (Figure 1 Component 102-2 is seen in further detail in Figure 2; Figure 2 Components 104 or 108 each comprise switches and either of these switches can be a second switch) according to a second switching frequency (Figure 1 Component 114 outputs a signal to control the switch in Component 104 in Component 102-2 according to a second frequency) such that the second power converter transfers a second power to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-2 outputs a second power to Component DC output).
Nystrom does not teach a first push pull feedback network configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency, to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency, and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first power is substantially equal to the second power.
Morroni teaches a power converter system (Figure 5), comprising: a first power converter (Figure 5 Component 82); a second power converter (Figure 5 Component 84); a first push pull feedback network (Figure 5 Components 168+172+174+176) configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 114 from sensor Component 92), to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 112 from sensor Component 90), and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first power is substantially equal to the second power (Figure 5 Component 168 outputs to Component 170 which generates a control signal to Component 84 switches; Abstract “power balancing technique further includes controlling the at least two power converters such that a first one of the power converters outputs an amount of current to the single power rail that is proportional to and/or equal to the amount of current output by another of the power converters”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nystrom to incorporate the balancing technique of Morroni. The advantage of this design is that the it will improve current sharing accuracy, reduce output current mismatch and improve the overall system’s reliability.
Regarding claim 2, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 1. Nystrom further teaches wherein the first power converter is a flyback converter (Figure 1 Component 102-1 is seen in further detail in Figure 2; Figure 2 Component 106 is a transformer in a flyback formation thus shows Component 102 is a flyback converter).
Regarding claim 3, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 1. Nystrom further teaches wherein the second power converter is a flyback converter (Figure 1 Component 102-2 is seen in further detail in Figure 2; Figure 2 Component 106 is a transformer in a flyback formation thus shows Component 102 is a flyback converter).
Regarding claim 4, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 1. Nystrom further teaches wherein the first controller circuit (Figure 1 Component 102-1 Components 110+112+114) comprises: a primary controller (Figure 1 Component 114) and a secondary controller (Figure 1 Component 110).
Regarding claim 5, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 1. Nystrom further teaches wherein the first power converter is configured to provide a first output current to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-1 outputs a first current to the load).
Regarding claim 6, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 5. Nystrom further teaches wherein the second power converter is configured to provide a second output current to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-2 outputs a second current to the load).
Regarding claim 7, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 6. Nystrom does not teach wherein the first output current is substantially equal to the second output current.
Morroni teaches a power converter system (Figure 5), comprising: a first power converter (Figure 5 Component 82); a second power converter (Figure 5 Component 84); a first push pull feedback network (Figure 5 Components 168+172+174+176) configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 114 from sensor Component 92), to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 112 from sensor Component 90), and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first power is substantially equal to the second power (Figure 5 Component 168 outputs to Component 170 which generates a control signal to Component 84 switches; Abstract “power balancing technique further includes controlling the at least two power converters such that a first one of the power converters outputs an amount of current to the single power rail that is proportional to and/or equal to the amount of current output by another of the power converters”), wherein the first output current is substantially equal to the second output current (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nystrom to incorporate the balancing technique of Morroni. The advantage of this design is that the it will improve current sharing accuracy, reduce output current mismatch and improve the overall system’s reliability.
Regarding claim 8, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 6. Nystrom does not teach wherein the first switching frequency monotonically increases as a function of the first output current.
Morroni teaches a power converter system (Figure 5), comprising: a first power converter (Figure 5 Component 82); a second power converter (Figure 5 Component 84); a first push pull feedback network (Figure 5 Components 168+172+174+176) configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 114 from sensor Component 92), to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 112 from sensor Component 90), and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first power is substantially equal to the second power (Figure 5 Component 168 outputs to Component 170 which generates a control signal to Component 84 switches; Abstract “power balancing technique further includes controlling the at least two power converters such that a first one of the power converters outputs an amount of current to the single power rail that is proportional to and/or equal to the amount of current output by another of the power converters”), wherein the first switching frequency monotonically increases as a function of the first output current (Col. 13 Lines 20-39).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nystrom to incorporate the balancing technique of Morroni. The advantage of this design is that the it will improve current sharing accuracy, reduce output current mismatch and improve the overall system’s reliability.
Regarding claim 9, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 6. Nystrom does not teach wherein the second switching frequency monotonically increases as a function of the second output current.
Morroni teaches a power converter system (Figure 5), comprising: a first power converter (Figure 5 Component 82); a second power converter (Figure 5 Component 84); a first push pull feedback network (Figure 5 Components 168+172+174+176) configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 114 from sensor Component 92), to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 112 from sensor Component 90), and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first power is substantially equal to the second power (Figure 5 Component 168 outputs to Component 170 which generates a control signal to Component 84 switches; Abstract “power balancing technique further includes controlling the at least two power converters such that a first one of the power converters outputs an amount of current to the single power rail that is proportional to and/or equal to the amount of current output by another of the power converters”), wherein the second switching frequency monotonically increases as a function of the second output current (Col. 13 Lines 20-39).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nystrom to incorporate the balancing technique of Morroni. The advantage of this design is that the it will improve current sharing accuracy, reduce output current mismatch and improve the overall system’s reliability.
Regarding claim 10, Nystrom and Morroni teach all the limitations of claim 6. Nystrom further teaches wherein the power converter system is configured to provide a regulated output voltage to the load (Figure 1 shows a power converter system that outputs an output voltage based on feedback parameters to control the switches thus showing a regulated output voltage is output to the load).
Regarding claim 16, Nystrom teaches a method (Figure 1) of providing a total power with regulated output voltage to a load (Figure 1 Components 102-1 to 102-n provide a total power with controlled, thus regulated, output voltage to a load at Component DC output) comprising: using (Figure 1 Component 102-1 Components 110+112+114) a first power converter (Figure 1 Component 102-1) to transfer a first power according to a first switching frequency to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-1 Components 110+112+114 control the switch in Component 104 at a first frequency to output a first power to Component DC output); using (Figure 1 Component 102-2 is the same as Component 102-1; Component 102-2 Components 110+112+114) a second power converter (Figure 1 Component 102-2) to transfer a second power according to a second switching frequency to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-2 Components 110+112+114 control the switch in Component 104 at a second frequency to output a second power to Component DC output).
Nystrom does not teach providing a first control signal at the first switching frequency to a first push-pull feedback network; providing a second control signal at the second switching frequency to the first push-pull feedback network; generating a first feedback signal in response to the first and second control signals; and providing the first power to be substantially equal to the second power in response to the first feedback signal.
Morroni teaches a power converter system (Figure 5), comprising: a first power converter (Figure 5 Component 82); a second power converter (Figure 5 Component 84); a first push pull feedback network (Figure 5 Components 168+172+174+176) configured to receive a first control signal signal at the second switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 114 from sensor Component 92), to receive a second control signal at the first switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 112 from sensor Component 90), and in response generating a first feedback signal in response to the first and second control signals; and providing the first power to be substantially equal to the second power in response to the first feedback signal (Figure 5 Component 168 outputs to Component 170 which generates a control signal to Component 84 switches; Abstract “power balancing technique further includes controlling the at least two power converters such that a first one of the power converters outputs an amount of current to the single power rail that is proportional to and/or equal to the amount of current output by another of the power converters”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nystrom to incorporate the balancing technique of Morroni. The advantage of this design is that the it will improve current sharing accuracy, reduce output current mismatch and improve the overall system’s reliability.
Regarding claim 22, Nystrom teaches a power converter system (Figure 1) configured to provide a regulated output voltage to a load (Figure 1 Component DC output goes to a load) and comprising: a first power converter (Figure 1 Component 102-1) comprising a first controller circuit (Figure 1 Components 110+112+114), wherein the first controller circuit is configured to drive a first switch (Figure 1 Component 102-1 is seen in further detail in Figure 2; Figure 2 Components 104 or 108 each comprise switches and either of these switches can be a first switch) according to a first switching frequency (Figure 1 Component 114 outputs a signal to control the switch in Component 104 in Component 102-1 according to a first frequency) such that the first power converter provides a first current to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-1 outputs a first current to Component DC output); a second power converter (Figure 1 Component 102-2) comprising a second controller circuit (Figure 1 Component 102-2 has the same Components seen in Figure 1 Component 102-1; Components 110+112+114), wherein the second controller circuit is configured to drive a second switch (Figure 1 Component 102-2 is seen in further detail in Figure 2; Figure 2 Components 104 or 108 each comprise switches and either of these switches can be a second switch) according to a second switching frequency (Figure 1 Component 114 outputs a signal to control the switch in Component 104 in Component 102-2 according to a second frequency) such that the second power converter provides a second current to the load (Figure 1 Component 102-2 outputs a second current to Component DC output).
Nystrom does not teach a first push pull feedback network configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency, to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency, and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first current is substantially equal to the second current.
Morroni teaches a power converter system (Figure 5), comprising: a first power converter (Figure 5 Component 82); a second power converter (Figure 5 Component 84); a first push pull feedback network (Figure 5 Components 168+172+174+176) configured to receive a first push signal at the second switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 114 from sensor Component 92), to receive a first pull signal at the first switching frequency (Figure 5 Component 112 from sensor Component 90), and in response to provide a first feedback signal to the first controller circuit such that the first power is substantially equal to the second power (Figure 5 Component 168 outputs to Component 170 which generates a control signal to Component 84 switches; Abstract “power balancing technique further includes controlling the at least two power converters such that a first one of the power converters outputs an amount of current to the single power rail that is proportional to and/or equal to the amount of current output by another of the power converters”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Nystrom to incorporate the balancing technique of Morroni. The advantage of this design is that the it will improve current sharing accuracy, reduce output current mismatch and improve the overall system’s reliability.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11-15, 17-21 and 23 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 11, none of the prior art, made of record, singularly or in combinations, teaches or fairly suggests a second push-pull feedback network configured to receive a second push signal at the first switching frequency, to receive a second pull signal at the second switching frequency, and in response to provide a second feedback signal to the second controller circuit such that the second power is substantially equal to the first power. Claims 12-15 depend upon claim 11.
Regarding claim 17, none of the prior art, made of record, singularly or in combinations, teaches or fairly suggests providing the first control signal at the first switching frequency to a second push-pull feedback network; providing the second control signal at the second switching frequency to the second push-pull feedback network; generating a second feedback signal in response to the first and second control signals; and providing the second power to be substantially equal to the first power in response to the second feedback signal. Claims 18-21 depend upon claim 17.
Regarding claim 22, none of the prior art, made of record, singularly or in combinations, teaches or fairly suggests a second push-pull feedback network configured to receive a second push signal at the first switching frequency, to receive a second pull signal at the second switching frequency, and in response to provide a second feedback signal to the second controller circuit such the second current is substantially equal to the first current.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Medina-Garcia (US 2024/0405685 A1) teaches a power supply controller is operative to: control switching of a first asymmetrical half bridge flyback power converter to supply first current from a secondary winding SW1 of the first asymmetrical half bridge flyback power converter during a first portion of a switch control cycle to produce an output voltage, the first asymmetrical half bridge flyback power converter operative to block the first current through the secondary winding SW1 during a second portion of the control cycle; and control switching of a second asymmetrical half bridge flyback power converter to supply second current from a secondary winding SW2 of the second asymmetrical half bridge flyback power converter during a second portion of the switch control cycle to produce the output voltage, the second asymmetrical half bridge flyback power converter operative to block the second current through the secondary winding SW2 during the first portion of the control cycle.
Mazgut (US 2022/0060121 A1) teaches a current balancing for interleaved power converters. One example is a method of operating a power converter comprising: operating, at a switching frequency, a first power converter defining a first resonant primary, the first power converter provides a first portion of a total power provided to a load; operating, at the switching frequency, a second power converter defining a second resonant primary, the second power converter provides a second portion of the total power provided to the load; and limiting a resonant voltage of the first resonant primary by controlling energy in the first resonant primary, the controlling during periods of time when the first portion is larger than the second portion.
Li (US 2020/0021189 A1) teaches a current balance method used in multi-phase switching converters, including: generating an error amplifying signal based on a reference voltage signal and a feedback voltage signal indicative of an output voltage of the multi-phase converter; generating a first and second voltage signals respectively indicative of output currents of a first and second switching circuits; generating an average voltage signal indicative of the average value of the first and second voltage signals; generating a first adjusting voltage signal based on the average voltage signal and the first voltage signal; comparing a sum of the error amplifying signal and the first adjusting voltage signal with a first current sensing signal indicative of the current flowing through a transistor in the first switching circuit, to provide a first comparison signal; and generating a first control signal based on the first comparison signal to control the transistor.
Li (US 2011/0080146 A1) teaches a power supply device for providing an output voltage includes a first resonant converter, a second resonant converter, a first converting circuit, and a current regulating circuit. The first resonant converter is for converting a first input voltage into the output voltage. The second resonant converter is for converting a second input voltage into the output voltage. The output ends of the first and second resonant converters are coupled in parallel. The first converting circuit is coupled to the first resonant converter and is operable to provide the first input voltage to the first resonant converter. The current regulating circuit receives signals related to output currents of the first and second resonant converters, and drives operation of the first converting circuit according to the signals received thereby such that the output currents of the first and second resonant converters have substantially equal magnitudes.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Shahzeb K. Ahmad whose telephone number is (571)272-0978. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8 A.M. to 5 P.M..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thienvu V. 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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/Shahzeb K Ahmad/Examiner, Art Unit 2838
/THIENVU V TRAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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