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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 5-6, 14-17 and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Johnson (US 2015/0032096).
With regards to claim 1, 15 and 20, Johnson discloses electrosurgical generators and methods that use a multi-stage power converter for generating electrosurgical energy [0003] and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing computer instructions, wherein a processor, when performing at least a portion of the computer instructions [0016][0049][0057][0083], comprising:
obtaining a current output voltage and a target output voltage of the high voltage generator ([0008]; “To achieve this output power characteristic, the ES generator executes a control loop that samples the output voltage and current, calculates power and/or impedance based on the sampled output voltage and current, …”);
determining an outer loop control parameter based on the current output voltage and the target output voltage ([0051]; outer power control loop 282) ([0008]; “To achieve this output power characteristic, the ES generator executes a control loop that samples the output voltage and current, calculates power and/or impedance based on the sampled output voltage and current, feeds the calculated power and/or impedance through a digital compensator, and then adjusts a control signal (e.g., adjusts the pulse width or phase shift of the control signal) that controls the power stage.”)[0015][0039];
obtaining one or more internal physical parameters of the high voltage generator, wherein the one or more internal physical parameters correspond to at least one internal circuit module of the high voltage generator ([0051]; “…the parameters selected by the user are provided to the state machine 284 which determines a state or mode of the generator circuitry 200. The outer power control loop 282 uses this state information and the output from the DMAC 272 to determine a control signal. The control signal is provided to the power setpoint circuit 286 which generates a power setpoint value based on the control signal.”);
determining one or more inner loop control parameters based on the one or more internal physical parameters and the outer loop control parameter (see above relating to the outer loop power control parameter and DMAC), wherein one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters are dynamically determined based on the one or more internal physical parameters or a target output state ([0049; an inner power control loop 274)[0050]; “The DMAC 272 then provides the impedance of the tissue to the inner power control loop 274, which generates control signals for the inverter controller 276 and the converter controller 278 based on the impedance of the tissue.”)([0056]; “The DMAC 272 provides a control signal, which is the impedance of the tissue being treated, to the inner power control loop 274 via signal line 321 and to the processor subsystem 280 via signal line 379.”); and
determining a closed loop control parameter based on the one or more inner loop control parameters to control the high voltage generator [0052][0059][0060].
With regards to claim 2 and 16, Johnson discloses the method of claim 1 and 15, wherein each of the one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters includes an upper limit value of an inner loop control parameter or a lower limit value of the inner loop control parameter. ([0059][0086][0087]; FIG. 10)
With regards to claim 3, Johnson discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the determining the one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters includes: determining the one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters based on a preset relationship between the one or more value ranges and the one or more inner loop control parameters or a preset relationship between the one or more value ranges and the target output state. [0012][0085]-[0087]
With regards to claim 5, Johnson discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the determining the one or more inner loop control parameters based on the one or more internal physical parameters and the outer loop control parameter (see the rejection of claim 1) includes:
determining the one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters based on the one or more internal physical parameters or the target output state [0012][0052][0085]-[0087];
determining one or more inner loop setting values based on the one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters and the outer loop control parameter [0012][0052][0058][0085]-[0087]; and
determining the one or more inner loop control parameters based on the one or more inner loop setting values and the one or more internal physical parameters [0012][0052][0058][0085]-[0087].
With regards to claim 6 and 17, Johnson discloses the method of claim 1 and 15, wherein
the at least internal circuit module includes a plurality of internal circuit modules ([0058][0059]; PWM module, PWM register, four transistors, RF amplifier), at least one stage ([0060]; power stages) of inner loop control circuit ([0059]; inner power control loop 274) and the plurality of internal circuit modules are coupled, and the at least one stage of inner loop control circuit is configured to sample at least one internal physical parameter of the one or more internal physical parameters corresponding to the plurality of internal circuit modules [0055][0063].
With regards to claim 14 and 19, Johnson do not specifically disclose the method of claim 1 and 15, wherein
the at least one internal circuit module of the high voltage generator includes an inverter circuit ([0058]; resonant inverter 234), a resonance network ([0058]; resonant inverter 234), a voltage converter circuit ([0054]; ADC), or a rectifier filter circuit ([0041]; LF rectifier 220) that are connected in sequence, and the one or more internal physical parameters includes at least one of:
an inverter current, an inverter input current, a voltage difference between bridge arms of the inverter circuit, a voltage of a series resonance capacitor of the resonance network, a primary voltage of the voltage converter circuit, or an output current of the high voltage generator [0060].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 7-13 and 18 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:
With regards to claim 4, Johnson do not disclose the method of claim 2, wherein the determining the one or more value ranges of the one or more inner loop control parameters includes:
determining the one or more value ranges using a range determination model based on the one or more internal physical parameters or the target output state;
wherein an input of the range determination model includes the one or more internal physical parameters or the target output state, and an output of the range determination model includes the one or more value ranges corresponding to the one or more inner loop control parameters.
With regards to claim 7 and 18, Johnson do not specifically disclose the method of claim 1 and 15, wherein a plurality of inner loop control circuits is sequentially connected in series to form multiple stages of inner loop control circuits; wherein
each of the multiple stages of inner loop control circuits is coupled and connected to one or more of the at least one internal circuit module, respectively, and the each of the plurality of inner loop control circuits is configured to sample at least one internal physical parameter corresponding to the one or more of the at least one internal circuit module that is connected to the each of the plurality of inner loop control circuits.
Claims 8-10 are objected due to dependency on objected base claim 7.
With regards to claim 11, Johnson do not specifically disclose the method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a sampling physical parameter using a trained physical parameter determination model based on a preset condition.
Claims 12-13 are objected due to dependency on objected base claim 7.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Woywode et al. (US 2019/0387602)
Bancroft (US 2011/0157935)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HUGH H MAUPIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1495. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 - 5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uzma Alam can be reached at 571-272-3995. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/HUGH MAUPIN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2884