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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 6/25/24 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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) 1-2, 5-12, and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (US 2019/0126755) in view of Zbinden (US 4,393,921).
Regarding claim 1,
Yoshida discloses (Fig. 1):
A space-based vehicle comprising (intended use recitation): at least one electrical system (Fig. 1, 20, ¶0019); a cooling system (100) including a coolant loop (11), a motor driven pump (13) configured to drive a coolant through the coolant loop (¶0019), and a radiator (12) through which the coolant loop passes (11, ¶0019); a temperature sensor (14) disposed proximate the coolant loop (10) and configured to output an electrical signal (¶0019), wherein a parameter of the electrical signal is dependent on a temperature of the coolant loop at the temperature sensor (¶0019);
a motor speed control circuit (15) including an input connected to the temperature sensor (14) and an output connected to a motor speed regulator of a motor within the motor driven pump (not shown, connected to 15, ¶0021),
wherein the motor speed control circuit (15) provides a motor control signal from the output (output from 15) and wherein characteristics of the motor speed control circuit depend on a magnitude of a signal received at the input connected to the temperature sensor (¶0021).
Yoshida does not disclose:
an analog motor speed control circuit
the analog motor speed control circuit
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
an analog motor speed control circuit (Fig. 3,Col. 9:25-42 )
the analog motor speed control circuit (Fig. 3,Col. 9:25-42 )
Regarding claim 1, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 2,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 1.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein the analog motor speed control circuit is characterized by an absence of microcontrollers and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein the analog motor speed control circuit is characterized by an absence of microcontrollers and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) (Col. 9:25-42).
Regarding claim 2, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 5,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 1.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein the analog motor speed control circuit comprises: a temperature sensor integrator circuit connected to the input and configured to provide an integral output voltage to a temperature reference differential amplifier; a reference set point generator circuit configured to provide a reference voltage to the temperature reference differential amplifier; the temperature reference differential amplifier configured to output an error signal dependent on a difference between the integral output voltage and the reference voltage; and a motor speed control generator circuit configured to generate the motor control signal based on the error signal.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein the analog motor speed control circuit comprises: a temperature sensor integrator circuit (Fig. 3, A3) connected to the input (Set point temperature) and configured to provide an integral output voltage (output of A3) to a temperature reference differential amplifier (A4, Col. 9:43-Col. 10:4); a reference set point generator circuit (input to A4 from filter) configured to provide a reference voltage to the temperature reference differential amplifier (from filter and A3, Col. 9:25-col. 10:4); the temperature reference differential amplifier configured to output an error signal dependent on a difference between the integral output voltage and the reference voltage (A4, Col. 9:25-col. 10:4); and a motor speed control generator circuit (A2) configured to generate the motor control signal based on the error signal (from A4, Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 5, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 6,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 5.
Yoshida does not disclose:
further comprising a differential amplifier disposed between the temperature sensor differential amplifier and the motor speed control generator circuit, wherein the differential amplifier is configured to amplify the error signal.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
further comprising a differential amplifier (A4) disposed between the temperature sensor differential amplifier (A3) and the motor speed control generator circuit (A2), wherein the differential amplifier is configured to amplify the error signal (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 6, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 7,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 5.
Yoshida does not disclose:
further comprising a speed detection circuit connected to the motor of the motor driven pump, wherein a detected speed is provided to a second comparator the second comparator having at least a maximum speed reference input, and an acceptable speed output configured to output 0 volts when the detected speed is equal to or greater than the maximum speed reference input.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
further comprising a speed detection circuit (Fig. 3, T, filter) connected to the motor of the motor driven pump (via linkage), wherein a detected speed is provided to a second comparator (A4) the second comparator having at least a maximum speed reference input (into A4, from A3 and filter), and an acceptable speed output configured to output 0 volts when the detected speed is equal to or greater than the maximum speed reference input (A3, Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 7, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 8,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 7.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein the acceptable speed output is connected to the differential amplifier such that the differential amplifier drives the error signal to 0 when the acceptable speed output is 0 volts.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein the acceptable speed output is connected to the differential amplifier such that the differential amplifier drives the error signal to 0 when the acceptable speed output is 0 volts (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4, A2 goes to 0 when there is no error).
Regarding claim 8, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 9,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 7.
Yoshida does not disclose:
further comprising a minimum speed reference input, and wherein the acceptable speed output is configured to output 0 volts when the detected speed is equal to or less than the minimum speed reference input.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
further comprising a minimum speed reference input, and wherein the acceptable speed output is configured to output 0 volts when the detected speed is equal to or less than the minimum speed reference input (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4, A2 goes to 0 when there is no error).
Regarding claim 9, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 10,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 5.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein the motor speed control generator circuit is configured to generate a nominal motor speed control signal and adjust the nominal motor speed control signal using the error signal.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein the motor speed control generator circuit is configured to generate a nominal motor speed control signal and adjust the nominal motor speed control signal using the error signal (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4, A2 goes to 0 when there is no error).
Regarding claim 10, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 11,
Yoshida discloses (Fig. 1):
A method for controlling a motor speed of a space-based vehicle cooling system (intended use recitation) comprising: measuring a temperature of a coolant in a coolant loop (11) using a temperature sensor (14, ¶0019) and outputting a temperature signal having a magnitude corresponding to the measured temperature (¶0021);
and driving a coolant pump motor 10 of a coolant pump in the coolant loop using the offset motor speed control signal (¶0020-¶0021).
Yoshida does not disclose:
comparing the temperature signal to a reference temperature signal and generating an error signal corresponding to the difference between the temperature signal and the reference temperature signal; converting the error signal into a motor speed control signal offset; and applying the motor speed control signal offset to a motor speed control signal;
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
comparing the temperature signal (sense water temperature) to a reference temperature signal (Fig. 3, set point temperature) and generating an error signal corresponding to the difference between the temperature signal and the reference temperature signal (output from A3, Col. 9:43-col. 10:4); converting the error signal into a motor speed control signal offset ; and applying the motor speed control signal offset to a motor speed control signal (col. 9:25-42);
Regarding claim 11, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 12,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 11.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein comparing the temperature signal to the reference temperature signal and generating the error signal corresponding to the difference between the temperature signal and the reference temperature signal, converting the error signal into the motor speed control signal offset and applying the motor speed control signal offset to a motor speed control signal is performed without the use of either of a microcontroller and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein comparing the temperature signal to the reference temperature signal and generating the error signal corresponding to the difference between the temperature signal and the reference temperature signal, converting the error signal into the motor speed control signal offset and applying the motor speed control signal offset to a motor speed control signal is performed without the use of either of a microcontroller and a field programmable gate array (FPGA)(Fig. 3, uses op-amps).
Regarding claim 12, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 15,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 11.
Yoshida does not disclose:
further comprising monitoring a speed of the coolant pump motor, comparing the speed to a maximum speed reference point, and setting the motor speed control signal offset to 0 in response to the speed of the coolant pump motor meeting or exceeding the maximum speed reference point.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
further comprising monitoring a speed of the coolant pump motor, comparing the speed to a maximum speed reference point, and setting the motor speed control signal offset to 0 in response to the speed of the coolant pump motor meeting or exceeding the maximum speed reference point (col. 9:25-42).
Regarding claim 15, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 16,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 11.
Yoshida does not disclose:
further comprising comparing the speed to a minimum speed reference point, and setting the motor speed control signal offset to 0 in response to the speed of the coolant pump motor being equal to or less than the minimum speed reference point.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
further comprising comparing the speed to a minimum speed reference point, and setting the motor speed control signal offset to 0 in response to the speed of the coolant pump motor being equal to or less than the minimum speed reference point (col. 9:25-42).
Regarding claim 16, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 17,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 11.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein outputting a temperature signal having a magnitude corresponding to the measured temperature comprises integrating a sensor signal over a predefined time period and providing the integrated sensor signal as the temperature signal.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein outputting a temperature signal having a magnitude corresponding to the measured temperature comprises integrating a sensor signal over a predefined time period and providing the integrated sensor signal as the temperature signal (Fig. 3, performed in A3, Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 17, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 18,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 11.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein outputting a temperature signal having a magnitude corresponding to the measured temperature, comparing the temperature signal to a reference temperature signal and generating an error signal corresponding to the difference between the temperature signal and the reference temperature signal, and converting the error signal into a motor speed control signal offset is performed using an analog motor speed control circuit comprising: a temperature sensor integrator circuit connected to the input and configured to provide an integral output voltage to a temperature reference differential amplifier; a reference set point generator circuit configured to provide a reference voltage to the temperature reference differential amplifier; the temperature reference differential amplifier configured to output an error signal dependent on a difference between the integral output voltage and the reference voltage; and a motor speed control generator circuit configured to generate the motor control signal based on the error signal.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein outputting a temperature signal having a magnitude corresponding to the measured temperature (Fig. 3, from A3), comparing the temperature signal (sense water temperature) to a reference temperature signal (set point temperature) and generating an error signal corresponding to the difference between the temperature signal and the reference temperature signal (col. 9:25-col. 10:4), and converting the error signal into a motor speed control signal offset is performed using an analog motor speed control circuit (A2, A4) comprising: a temperature sensor integrator circuit (A3) connected to the input (set point temperature) and configured to provide an integral output voltage to a temperature reference differential amplifier (A4); a reference set point generator circuit configured to provide a reference voltage to the temperature reference differential amplifier (from A3); the temperature reference differential amplifier configured to output an error signal dependent on a difference between the integral output voltage and the reference voltage (Col. 9:25-Col. 10:4); and a motor speed control generator circuit (A2) configured to generate the motor control signal based on the error signal (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 18, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 19,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 18.
Yoshida does not disclose:
further comprising a differential amplifier disposed between the first comparator and the motor speed control generator circuit, wherein the differential amplifier is configured to amplify the error signal.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
further comprising a differential amplifier disposed between the first comparator and the motor speed control generator circuit (a4), wherein the differential amplifier is configured to amplify the error signal (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 19, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Regarding claim 20,
Yoshida discloses the above elements from claim 11.
Yoshida does not disclose:
wherein applying the motor speed control signal offset to the motor speed control signal increases the motor speed when the temperature signal exceeds the reference temperature and decreases the motor speed when the temperature signal is below the reference temperature.
However, Zbinden teaches (Fig. 3):
wherein applying the motor speed control signal offset to the motor speed control signal increases the motor speed when the temperature signal exceeds the reference temperature and decreases the motor speed when the temperature signal is below the reference temperature (Col. 9:25-col. 10:4).
Regarding claim 20, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
Claim(s) 3-4, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yoshida (US 2019/0126755) and Zbinden (US 4,393,921) as applied to claims 1 and 11, and in further view of Kazari et al. (US 2021/0276398).
Regarding claim 3,
Yoshida and Zbinden disclose the above elements from claim 1.
They do not disclose:
wherein the temperature sensor is disposed proximate a coolest portion of the coolant loop.
However, Kazari teaches (fig. 1):
wherein the temperature sensor is disposed proximate a coolest portion of the coolant loop (fig. 1, 27, ¶0061).
Regarding claim 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
It would have been further obvious to take this combination and place another temperature sensor on the outlet of the radiator in order to calculate the temperature difference and cooling amount of the system in order to speed control a pump motor (¶0061-¶0062). This would increase the efficiency of the system.
Regarding claim 4,
Yoshida discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the coolest portion of the coolant loop is immediately upstream of the at least one electrical system (Fig. 1, output from radiator, 10).
Regarding claim 13,
Yoshida and Zbinden disclose the above elements from claim 11.
They do not disclose:
wherein the temperature sensor is disposed proximate a coolest portion of the coolant loop.
However, Kazari teaches (fig. 1):
wherein the temperature sensor is disposed proximate a coolest portion of the coolant loop (fig. 1, 27, ¶0061).
Regarding claim 13, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the water pump temperature controller from Yoshida that cools an inverter (¶0019) and use the analog circuit from Zbinden which also speed controls a motor based on temperature in order to control the temperature of a coolant loop (Col. 9:25-42). This would decrease costs by using an analog circuit.
It would have been further obvious to take this combination and place another temperature sensor from Kazari on the outlet of the radiator in order to calculate the temperature difference and cooling amount of the system in order to speed control a pump motor (¶0061-¶0062). This would increase the efficiency of the system.
Regarding claim 14,
Yoshida discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the coolest location of the coolant loop is immediately upstream of a set of cooled electronic systems (Fig. 1, output from radiator, 10).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Iwasaki (US 2002/0152972) – cooling system
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/C.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2837 /KAWING CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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