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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This office action is a response to an application filed on 04/22/2026 in which claims 1-10 are pending and ready for examination.
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) 1-6 and 7-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ALIREZA KHALIGH ET AL: "Comprehensive Topological Analysis of Conductive and Inductive Charging Solutions for Plug-In Electric Vehicles", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY, IEEE, USA, Vol. 61, No. 8, October 1, 2012 (2012-10-01), Pages 3475-3489, XP011468047, ISSN: 0018-9545, DOI: 10.1109/TVT.2012.2213104 (hereinafter Alireza) in view of WO2018/109001 A1 (hereinafter WO001).
As to claims 1 and 9, Alireza discloses a traction network for a vehicle (see page 1, Fig 1 reveals “the drivetrain of a typical PEV”, col 1, row 36), the traction network comprising:
at least one high-voltage battery (see Fig 1, page 1, col 1, rows 1-2, on-board battery);
an inverter (page 1, col 2, rows 3-7, Fig 1, the PEI for propelling primarily consists of the motor inverter);
an electric machine (page 1, col 2, rows 1-2, Fig 1, motor M); and
a DC/DC converter (page 3, see col 2, rows 46-49, Fig 1) arranged between the at least one high-voltage battery and the inverter, the inverter being arranged between the DC/DC converter and the electric machine (see Fig 1 discloses that “motor inverter” is divided between “motor M” and “DC/DC converter” is arranged).
Alireza does not disclose the DC/DC converter being configured such that at least one phase for an inductive AC charger connection is connectable to center taps of half-bridges of the DC/DC converter. However, WO001 discloses the DC/DC converter (Fig 3, GW2) being configured such that at least one phase for an inductive AC charger (Fig 3, LD, charging cable) connection is connectable to center taps of half-bridges (Fig 3, M1, M2, M3) of the DC/DC converter (see Fig 3, parags [0102-0103]). It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the DC/DC converter of Alireza to include one phase for an inductive AC charger connection is connectable to center taps of half-bridges of the DC/DC converter as taught by W001 in order to provide a way to manufacture an on board electrical system, in particular of a motor vehicle, in a simple and cost-effective manner.
As to claims 2 and 10, the combination of Alireza and WO001 discloses the traction network according to claim 1, wherein the DC/DC converter includes a switching logic, which is configured to establish a connection of the at least one phase for the inductive AC charger connection to the center taps of the half-bridges in one switching position (see page 5, col 1, rows 8-14, and in Fig. [3c], namely "the topology in Fig. 3c uses a direct ac/dc conversion scheme [20]. In addition to driving (T6 - T3 - D3), braking (T9 - D2 - T6), and charging modes (T1 - T5 - T4 -D6, T2 - D1 - T7), it is capable of injecting power back to the grid (T8 - T5 - T1, T2 - D5 - T3 - T6) ". In particular, performs a loop of "switches T1, T2" to connect the phase with the center taps of the half-bridges).
As to claim 3, the combination of Alireza and WO001 discloses the traction network according to claim 2, wherein the switching logic has a further switching position, in which the at least one phase for the inductive AC charger connection is disconnected from the center taps, and wherein the center taps of the half-bridges are connected to each other via a storage inductor (, see page 5, col 1, rows 8-14, and in Fig. [3c], namely "the topology in Fig. 3c uses a direct ac/dc conversion scheme [20]. In addition to driving (T6 - T3 - D3), braking (T9-D2-T6), and charging modes (T1 - T5 - T4 -D6, T2 - D1 - T7), it is capable of injecting power back to the grid (T8 - T5 - T1, T2 - D5 - T3 - T6) ". In particular, an opening of switches T1, T2 leads to a separation of the phase of the mid-bridges of the half-bridges).
As to claim 4, the combination of Alireza and WO001 discloses the traction network according to claim 1, wherein the AC charger connection has three phases, the DC/DC converter including three parallel branches with half-bridges, each of the three phases of the AC charger connection being assigned to one of the branches and being connectable to the particular center taps of the branches (see Fig. 3 discloses "integrated single-converter topologies" for a single-phase AC charging port. An extension of the information shown in D1, Fig. 3, the topolagy disclosed in three phases, inter alia, by the introduction of further half-bridges, is a design measure to be expected by a skilled person and is not based on an inventive step, in particular since Fig. 1 explicitly refers to a "3Φ Grid").
As to claim 5, the combination of Alireza and WO001 discloses the traction network according to claim 1, further comprising a conductive AC charger connection (see page 1, col 2, rows 11-12, Fig 1 namely “two different charging approaches, conductive and inductive charging).
As to claim 6, the combination of Alireza and WO001 discloses the traction network according to claim 1, wherein further comprising a DC charger connection.
However, Tsuchiya discloses a DC charger connection (WO001, see claim 13, DC or AC charging connection).
As to claim 7, the combination of Alireza and WO001 discloses the traction network according to claim 5, further comprising an additional switching logic, the additional switching logic being arranged between the DC/DC converter and the inverter and being configured to establish a connection to the rectified conductive AC charger connection and/or a DC charger connection or to disconnect a connection of this type (see page 1, col 2, rows 11-12, and in Fig. 1, discloses "two different charging approaches, namely, conductive and inductive charging", with both charging variants implemented in the vehicle. It would be obvious to the skilled person to switch off conductive charging when inductive charging is used, for example by means of a controlled switch that disconnects a connection with the directed-conductive AC charging port).
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.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by WO2018/109001 A1 (hereinafter WO001).
As to claim 8, WO001 discloses a DC/DC converter (see Fig 3, GW2) for a traction network, the DC/DC converter being configured such that at least one phase for an inductive AC charger connection (Fig 3, LD, charging cable) is connectable to center taps of half-bridges of the DC/DC converter (Fig 3, M1, M2, M3, center-taps of converter GW2).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5-8, filed on 04/22/2026, with respect to claims 1-10 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejection of 102(a)(1) and 103 have been withdrawn.
Conclusion
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/DUC M PHAM/Examiner, Art Unit 2836 September 17, 2026
/TAELOR KIM/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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