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 .
Inventorship
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-5 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the external AC power supply side" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the first DC power supply side" in line 5. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the second DC power supply side" in line 6. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claims 2-5 inherit the same from claim 1.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1/a2 as being anticipated by Khaligh et al. (US 20210155100 – IDS).
Khaligh et al. disclose an in-vehicle charging device that charges a first direct current (DC) power supply (e.g. 26) and a second DC power supply (e.g. 28) electrically isolated from the first DC power supply with power supplied from an external alternating current (AC) power supply (18), the in-vehicle charging device comprising an AC-DC converter (16, 21, 20, 14, 22) that converts power between AC power (18) on the external AC power supply and first DC power (26), and converts power between AC power (18) on the external AC power supply and second DC power (28), wherein the AC-DC converter is a triple active bridge circuit including: a transformer (14) including a primary-side coil (23), a secondary-side first coil (25), and a secondary-side second coil (27); a primary-side bridge circuit (16, 20) connected to the primary-side coil (23); a secondary-side first bridge circuit (22) connected to the secondary-side first coil (25); and a secondary-side second bridge circuit (24) connected to the secondary-side second coil (27), and the primary-side bridge circuit includes a bidirectional switching device (16).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 2 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Khaligh et al. in view of Ishibashi et al. (US 20220021311).
Claim 2; Khaligh et al. disclose the claimed subject matter in regards to claim 1 supra, except for a first chopper circuit that includes a first switching circuit, a first choke coil, and a first output capacitor, and converts the first DC power into third DC power; and a second chopper circuit that includes a second switching circuit, a second choke coil, and a second output capacitor, and converts the second DC power into fourth DC power, wherein the first DC power supply is charged with the third DC power, and the second DC power supply is charged with the fourth DC power.
Ishibashi et al. teach a power conversion device with multi-winding transformer and also including a chopper circuit (60) that includes a first switching circuit (Q61/Q62), a first choke coil (61), and a first output capacitor (Cdc6), and converts the first DC power into third DC power. Power conversion device 100 can thus supply DC power at different voltage levels and switching converter 60 can also suppress a current in the secondary bridge circuit.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify Khaligh et al. to include two chopper circuits including a first chopper circuit that includes a first switching circuit, a first choke coil, and a first output capacitor, and converts the first DC power into third DC power; and a second chopper circuit that includes a second switching circuit, a second choke coil, and a second output capacitor, and converts the second DC power into fourth DC power, wherein the first DC power supply is charged with the third DC power, and the second DC power supply is charged with the fourth DC power in order to supply DC power at different voltage levels and also suppress a current in the secondary bridge circuits as taught by Ishibashi et al.
Claim 4; Khaligh et al. disclose the claimed subject matter in regards to claim 1 supra, except for a chopper circuit that includes a switching circuit, a choke coil, and an output capacitor and converts the first DC power into third DC power or converts the second DC power into fourth DC power, wherein, in a case where the chopper circuit converts the first DC power into the third DC power, the first DC power supply is charged with the third DC power, and the second DC power supply is charged with the second DC power, and in a case where the chopper circuit converts the second DC power into the fourth DC power, the first DC power supply is charged with the first DC power, and the second DC power supply is charged with the fourth DC power.
Ishibashi et al. teach a power conversion device with multi-winding transformer and also including a chopper circuit (60) that includes a first switching circuit (Q61/Q62), a first choke coil (61), and a first output capacitor (Cdc6), and converts the first DC power into third DC power. Power conversion device 100 can thus supply DC power at different voltage levels and switching converter 60 can also suppress a current in the secondary bridge circuit.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to modify Khaligh et al. to include a chopper circuit that includes a switching circuit, a choke coil, and an output capacitor and converts the first DC power into third DC power or converts the second DC power into fourth DC power, wherein, in a case where the chopper circuit converts the first DC power into the third DC power, the first DC power supply is charged with the third DC power, and the second DC power supply is charged with the second DC power, and in a case where the chopper circuit converts the second DC power into the fourth DC power, the first DC power supply is charged with the first DC power, and the second DC power supply is charged with the fourth DC power in order to supply DC power at different voltage levels and also suppress a current in the secondary bridge circuits as taught by Ishibashi et al.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 5 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objection(s) set forth in this Office action and to include 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:
Claim 3; prior art fails to disclose or fairly suggest, inter alia, the first DC power supply is connected to a first rotating electrical machine via a first inverter, the first rotating electrical machine including a first stator coil of multiple phases connected to each other at a neutral point, the first inverter converting power between a DC and an AC, the second DC power supply is connected to a second rotating electrical machine via a second inverter, the second rotating electrical machine including a second stator coil of multiple phases connected to each other at a neutral point, the second inverter converting power between a DC and an AC, the first chopper circuit includes: the first switching circuit configured using the first inverter; the first choke coil configured using the first stator coil of multiple phases; and the first output capacitor connected to the neutral point of the first stator coil of multiple phases, the second chopper circuit includes: the second switching circuit configured using the second inverter; the second choke coil configured using the second stator coil of multiple phases; and the second output capacitor connected to the neutral point of the second stator coil of multiple phases.
Claim 5; prior art fails to disclose or fairly suggest, inter alia, a DC power supply charged via the chopper circuit in the first DC power supply and the second DC power supply is connected to a rotating electrical machine via an inverter, the rotating electrical machine including a stator coil of multiple phases connected to each other at a neutral point, the inverter converting power between a DC and an AC, and the chopper circuit includes: the switching circuit configured using the inverter; the choke coil configured using the stator coil of multiple phases; and the output capacitor connected to the neutral point of the stator coil of multiple phases.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20180034446 Wood discloses bidirectional switches used in converter bridges; US 20080013351 Alexander discloses a power converter with bidirectional switches.
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/GARY L LAXTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838 2/03/2026