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 06/11/2024.
Drawing Objection
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention in claims 16-19. Therefore, the limitation “processing circuitry" claimed in claims 16-19 must be shown or the feature canceled from the claims. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered, and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objection
Claim 16 is objected to because of the following informalities: It appears that on line 1 of the claim “a dual active bridge (DAB) converter comprising” should be “a dual active bridge (DAB) converter comprising:”. Appropriate correction is required.
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)(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 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Oelmann et al. (US 2024/0204669 A1), hereinafter ‘Oelmann.
In re to claim 16, Oelmann disclose a dual active bridge (DAB) converter (i.e. 11, fig. 1A, see par. [0026]) comprising processing circuitry (i.e. 38/32, see par. [0024]) configured to: cause a current to flow through a transformer (i.e. 14, see para. [0022]) of the DAB converter (i.e. 11); measure the current; based on the measured current (i.e. the first voltage sensor 46 and the second voltage sensor 48 may measure one or more of the following: alternating current (AC) voltage levels, see para. [0045]), determine a leakage inductance of the transformer (i.e. see pars. [0036, 0055]); and based on the leakage inductance of the transformer, determine a control scheme for operating the DAB converter (i.e. such as the integrate inductances 940 are suitable to facilitate the transfer of energy from the primary converter 410 to the secondary converter 412; henceforth, to the load 24, see figs. 1A-1D and par. [0055]).
In re to claim 17, Oelmann disclose the DAB converter (i.e. 11, fig. 1A, see par. [0026]) of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the control scheme for operating the DAB converter by determining a zero-voltage switching scheme for the DAB converter (i.e. 38/32, see pars. [0067, 0080]) wherein the control scheme: differs from a nominal control scheme based on a nominal leakage inductance of the transformer; and increases, compared to the nominal control scheme, a power conversion efficiency of the DAB converter when the determined leakage inductance deviates from the nominal leakage inductance (i.e. such as intentionally introducing additional leakage inductance by way of one or more of the following: (a) by adding a gap in the transformer core, (b) by changing the winding configuration of the primary winding, the secondary winding or both, or (c) by changing the core geometry in some way as to induce a controlled leakage inductance, see pars. [0037, 0055]).
In re to claim 18, Oelmann disclose the DAB converter (i.e. 11, fig. 1A, see par. [0026]) of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry (i.e. 38/32, see par. [0024, 0067]) is configured to determine the control scheme for operating the DAB converter by scheduling a plurality of gains of the DAB converter based on the determined leakage inductance (i.e. see paras. [0055]), wherein the control scheme: differs from a nominal control scheme based on a nominal leakage inductance of the transformer; and increases, compared to the nominal control scheme, accuracies of the plurality of scheduled gains when the determined leakage inductance deviates from the nominal leakage inductance (i.e. such as the integrate inductances 940 are suitable to facilitate the transfer of energy from the primary converter 410 to the secondary converter 412; henceforth, to the load 24, see figs. 1A-1D and par. [0055]).
In re to claim 19, Oelmann disclose the DAB converter (i.e. 11, fig. 1A, see par. [0026]) of claim 17, wherein the processing circuitry (i.e. 38/32, see par. [0024, 0067]) is configured to determine the leakage inductance of the transformer (i.e. 14) by, based on the measured current: (i.e. the first voltage sensor 46 and the second voltage sensor 48 may measure one or more of the following: alternating current (AC) voltage levels, see para. [0045]), determining a tank resistance of the transformer; and determining the leakage inductance based on the tank resistance (i.e. such as a discrete inductor or variable inductor 16 can be replaced by or the leakage inductance of the transformer (14, 114, 414, figs. 1A-1D) by intentionally introducing additional leakage inductance by way of one or more of the following: (a) by adding a gap in the transformer core, (b) by changing the winding configuration of the primary winding, the secondary winding or both, or (c) by changing the core geometry in some way as to induce a controlled leakage inductance, see para. [0037]).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Knight et al.
(US 2022/0014106 A1), hereinafter ‘Knight.
In re to claim 20, Knight disclose a non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory computer-readable instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: cause a current to flow through a transformer of a dual active bridge (DAB) converter (i.e. the transformer of fig. 2 and see par. [0036 and 0044]).; measure the current; based on the measured current, determine a leakage inductance of the transformer; and based on the leakage inductance of the transformer, determine a control scheme for operating the DAB converter (i.e. see par. [0036 and 0044]).
In re to claims 1-15, method claims 1-15 are rejected based on the following case law, note that under MPEP 2112.02, the principles of inherency, if a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device. When the prior art device is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device inherently performs the claimed process. In re King, 801 F.2d 1324, 231 USPQ 136 (Fed Cir. 1986). Therefore, the previous rejections based on the apparatus will not be repeated.
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