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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/25/2025, 7/10/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
CLAIM INTERPRETATION
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim element (also commonly referred to as a claim limitation) is limited by the description in the specification when 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is invoked.
As explained in MPEP § 2181, subsection I, claim limitations that meet the following three-prong test will be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
(A) the claim limitation uses the term “means” or “step” or a term used as a substitute for “means” that is a generic placeholder (also called a nonce term or a non-structural term having no specific structural meaning) for performing the claimed function;
(B) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is modified by functional language, typically, but not always linked by the transition word “for” (e.g., “means for”) or another linking word or phrase, such as “configured to” or “so that”; and
(C) the term “means” or “step” or the generic placeholder is not modified by sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function.
Use of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim with functional language creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites sufficient structure, material, or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Absence of the word “means” (or “step”) in a claim creates a rebuttable presumption that the claim limitation is not to be treated in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph. The presumption that the claim limitation is not interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, is rebutted when the claim limitation recites function without reciting sufficient structure, material or acts to entirely perform the recited function.
Claim limitations in this application that use the word “means” (or “step”) are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action. Conversely, claim limitations in this application that do not use the word “means” (or “step”) are not being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, except as otherwise indicated in an Office action.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are: “a gate driver unit” and “an equipment health monitoring component” in claim 1 and claim 14.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
In this application in claim 1 the recited “a gate driver unit” coupled with the functional language “configured to control the semiconductor switching elements”.
In this application in claim 1 the recited “an equipment health monitoring component” coupled with the functional language “configured to collect data indicative of the health of the power electronics converter and/or components thereof”.
All these limitations in claim 1 have no structural meaning and are considered a generic placeholder.
In the present application (PGPUB NO: US 20250035714 A1) discloses:
In Paragraph 76, “[0076] a gate driver unit 340 which exercises control over the electrical power system 300 including the converter 320. The gate driver unit includes an equipment health monitoring component 350, the function of which is described in detail below.”
In Paragraph 82, “[0082] FIG. 4 is a schematic of a gate driver unit 340 including an integrated equipment health monitoring component 350 (also referred to as an electronic health monitoring integrated gate driver, or EHM-IGD). Overall, the gate driver unit, including the equipment health monitoring (EMH) component 350 is operable to measure the capacitor DC link current”
In Paragraph 99, “[0099] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a component of the gate driver unit, and specifically an EHM-IGD DC-link capacitor prognostic unit.”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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) 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Ricci et al. (Hereinafter, “Ricci”) in the US patent Application Publication Number US 20220185490 A1
Regarding claim 1, Ricci teaches power electronics converter [318B] (power sources for electrically propelled urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are energy dense, power dense, efficient, reliable, and that provide power to electric motors that drive rotors and propellers that provide lift and/or thrust with bus voltage that is insensitive to bus current, and the bus has low voltage and current ripple; Paragraph [0002] Line 2-8), connectable, on a DC-side, to a DC electrical network [319] (DC BUS 319 as the DC electrical network) and either, on an AC-side [U,V,W] (FIG. 10 also shows the MOSFET power bridge 1007 incorporates six MOSFETs 1007a-1007f connected across the bus in complimentary pairs and controlled, respectively, by binary gate voltage signals b.sub.U 1010, b.sub.V 1012, and b.sub.W 1014; Paragraph [0075] Line 1-3), to an electrical machine [306] (motor /alternator as the machine 306) (Mechanical energy is transmitted from the motor/alternator 306 when the ICE 300 is being started; Paragraph [0070] Line 4-5), coupled to a drive shaft of an engine or propulsor, or, on a second DC-side [Vbus], to a battery pack [320] in Figure 9 (A battery management system (BMS) 322 monitors the battery 320 and balances the cell voltages to be nearly identical via balance sense connections 908; Paragraph [0070] Line 31-34), the power electronics converter [318B] (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) connected between either the electrical machine [306] and the DC electrical network [319] (FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the regenerative drive 318B for a three-phase motor/alternator. The regenerative drive 318B is connected to the DC bus 319 at terminals + and − and supplies a current I.sub.alt to the DC bus when the alternator is producing power. I.sub.alt<0 when the ICE 300 is starting (aka “Motor Mode”); Paragraph [0073] Line 1-5) including:
a power conversion unit (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) (FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the regenerative drive 318B for a three-phase motor/alternator. The regenerative drive 318B is connected to the DC bus 319 at terminals + and − and supplies a current I.sub.alt to the DC bus when the alternator is producing power. I.sub.alt<0 when the ICE 300 is starting (aka “Motor Mode”); Paragraph [0073] Line 1-5; Figure 10 shows a power electronics converter [318B] (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) connected between either the electrical machine [306] and the DC electrical network [319]) including a plurality of semiconductor switching elements [1007] (FIG. 10 also shows the MOSFET power bridge 1007 incorporates six MOSFETs 1007a-1007f; Paragraph [0075] Line 1-2) and a DC-link [319] (Figure 10),
a gate driver unit [1000] (processor 1000 as the gate drive unit) configured to control the semiconductor switching elements [1007a-1007f] (FIG. 10 also shows the MOSFET power bridge 1007 incorporates six MOSFETs 1007a-1007f connected across the bus in complimentary pairs; Paragraph [0075] Line 1-3) so that the power conversion unit [318B] (The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-23):
inverts DC power received from the DC electrical network to AC power and provides the AC power to the electrical machine, rectifies AC power received from the electrical machine to DC power and provides the DC power to the DC electrical network (During alternator mode and SVPWM submode the regenerative drive boosts the phase voltages up to the bus voltage and outputs power. When the peak phase-to-phase voltages reach or slightly exceed the bus voltage, the boosting provided by the SVPWM is not needed and the drive is operated in a synchronous rectifier submode. In the synchronous rectifier submode, the MOSFET power bridge 1007 is controlled to mimic a passive diode bridge rectifier—the MOSFETs are switched on as if they were diodes; Paragraph [0074] Line 4-13), or
perform DC-DC conversion between the DC electrical network and the battery pack (not required by the claim);
wherein the gate driver unit includes an equipment health monitoring component, configured to collect data indicative of the health of the power (regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller to monitor health) (In fault tolerant embodiments of the hybrid power system of the disclosed implementation the battery pack and/or the regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller. These disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus. If the battery pack is disconnected from the DC Bus due to a fault, then the control algorithm for the combined engine, motor/alternator, and regenerative drive changes from the power and current control scheme previously described to an algorithm that regulates the bus voltage to a constant commanded value, based on the same general control scheme utilizing feed-forward maps and feed-back loops on the prime mover speed and the DC bus voltage; Paragraph [0072] Line 1-15; The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007, provide phase current feedback control with the three phase current sensors 1009, provide overcurrent and overvoltage protection, and communication functions. Voltage is sensed with voltage sensor 1002 and received by the processor 1000 to control the duty cycle of the PWM modulation. The regenerative drive 318B also incorporates power supplies 1006 to supply power to the processor 1000 and gate drivers (not shown) for the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-32).
Regarding claim 2, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the equipment health monitoring component is configured to collect data indicative of one or more of (one element is required by the claim):
an on-state voltage of the power conversion unit and/or components thereof;
a gate voltage of one or more of the plurality of semiconductor switching elements (The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007, provide phase current feedback control with the three phase current sensors 1009, provide overcurrent and overvoltage protection, and communication functions. Voltage is sensed with voltage sensor 1002 and received by the processor 1000 to control the duty cycle of the PWM modulation. The regenerative drive 318B also incorporates power supplies 1006 to supply power to the processor 1000 and gate drivers (not shown) for the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-32);
a temperature of the power conversion unit and/or components thereof;
a ripple voltage of a capacitor of the DC-link (FIG. 21A is a graphical representation of the bus voltage ripple of an exemplary three-phase system in synchronous rectifier submode with the peak bus voltage normalized to 1; Paragraph [0039] Line 1-3);
a ripple current of a capacitor of the DC-link;
a DC-link current;
a DC-link voltage;
a phase-to-phase voltage of the AC-side; and
a phase current in the AC-side (Claim 7 The hybrid power system of claim 6 wherein the controller comprises: a Clark transformation module receiving phase currents from the motor/alternator and configured to provide a phase current (I.sub.α I.sub.β).sup.T output; a Park transformation module receiving the (I.sub.α I.sub.β).sup.T output and configured to provide a motor/alternator current (I.sub.d I.sub.q).sup.T output; a current controller receiving the motor/alternator current (I.sub.d I.sub.q).sup.T output and the current command, said current controller configured to provide a voltage (V.sub.d V.sub.q).sup.T output responsive to the current command; an inverse Park transformation module receiving the voltage (V.sub.d V.sub.q).sup.T output and configured to provide a modified voltage output vector (V.sub.α V.sub.β).sup.T; and, a PWM timing module receiving the modified voltage output vector (V.sub.α V.sub.β).sup.T and configured to provide the plurality of binary gate voltage signals to the semiconductor switch Power bridge operable in the PWM submode).
Regarding claim 3, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the equipment health monitoring component is configured to:
utilise the collected data to prognosticate the health of the power electronics
converter and/or components thereof (regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller to monitor health) (In fault tolerant embodiments of the hybrid power system of the disclosed implementation the battery pack and/or the regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller. These disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus. If the battery pack is disconnected from the DC Bus due to a fault, then the control algorithm for the combined engine, motor/alternator, and regenerative drive changes from the power and current control scheme previously described to an algorithm that regulates the bus voltage to a constant commanded value, based on the same general control scheme utilizing feed-forward maps and feed-back loops on the prime mover speed and the DC bus voltage; Paragraph [0072] Line 1-15); and/or
utilise the collected data to diagnose faults in the power electronics converter
and/or components thereof.
Regarding claim 4, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein prior to utilising the collected data the equipment health monitoring component is configured to pre-process the collected data (The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007, provide phase current feedback control with the three phase current sensors 1009, provide overcurrent and overvoltage protection, and communication functions. Voltage is sensed with voltage sensor 1002 and received by the processor 1000 to control the duty cycle of the PWM modulation. The regenerative drive 318B also incorporates power supplies 1006 to supply power to the processor 1000 and gate drivers (not shown) for the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-32; This is the pre process step of the processor to collect the data before the health is monitored).
Regarding claim 5, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the equipment health monitoring component is configured to take remedial action based on the prognostication and/or diagnosis of a fault (regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller to monitor health) (In fault tolerant embodiments of the hybrid power system of the disclosed implementation the battery pack and/or the regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller. These disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus. If the battery pack is disconnected from the DC Bus due to a fault, then the control algorithm for the combined engine, motor/alternator, and regenerative drive changes from the power and current control scheme previously described to an algorithm that regulates the bus voltage to a constant commanded value, based on the same general control scheme utilizing feed-forward maps and feed-back loops on the prime mover speed and the DC bus voltage; Paragraph [0072] Line 1-15; disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus as the remedial action).
Regarding claim 6, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
further including one or more sensors which generate the data collected by the equipment health monitoring component (The BMS 322 incorporates cell voltage sensing circuits, battery pack current sensor, and a microprocessor running an algorithm to estimate the state of charge from the cell and pack measurements. The BMS 322 may also include cell temperature sensors and may include a pack disconnect relay/switch that can be controlled to break the current path connection from the output of the battery pack to the DC bus; Paragraph [0071] Line 5-12; A current sensor 1001 monitors I.sub.alt for transmission to the system controller 318A; Paragraph [0073] Line 6-7).
Regarding claim 7, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the one or more sensors include one or more of (one limitation is required by the claim):
a first current sensor, located on the DC side of the power electronics
converter and configured to sense current flowing therethrough (A current sensor 1001 monitors I.sub.alt for transmission to the system controller 318A; Paragraph [0073] Line 6-7);
a second current sensor, located on the AC side of the power electronics converter and configured to sense current flowing therethrough;
a first voltage sensor, located on the DC side of the power electronics converter and configured to sense a voltage of the DC side;
a second voltage sensor, located on the AC side of the power electronics converter and configured to sense a voltage of the AC side;
a first temperature sensor located proximal to one or more of the semiconductor switching elements, configured to measure a temperature of a heatsink thereof; and
a second temperature sensor, located proximal to a capacitor of the DC-link, and configured to measure a temperature of a case thereof.
Regarding claim 8, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the first and/or second current sensors are indirect current sensors (A current sensor 1001 monitors I.sub.alt for transmission to the system controller 318A; Paragraph [0073] Line 6-7; 1001 can be an indirect current sensor).
Regarding claim 9, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the equipment health monitoring component is configured to use one or more measured temperatures to derive one or both of an estimated junction temperature of the or each semiconductor switching element and a core temperature of a capacitor of the DC-link (The prime mover control system for the hybrid power system can be augmented with sensors of various types as is known in the art of prime mover control including sensors for mass flow, cylinder head temperature, intake temperature, coolant temperature, exhaust gas temperature, and combustion chamber pressure, or combustion chamber temperature. The carburetors may be replaced with a fuel injection system in an ICE; Paragraph [0058] Line 1-8; The BMS 322 may also include cell temperature sensors and may include a pack disconnect relay/switch that can be controlled to break the current path connection from the output of the battery pack to the DC bus; Paragraph [0071] Line 9-11).
Regarding claim 10, Ricci teaches a power electronics converter,
wherein the equipment health monitoring component is configured to utilise the collected data to derive further data related to the power electronics converter and/or components thereof (regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller to monitor health) (In fault tolerant embodiments of the hybrid power system of the disclosed implementation the battery pack and/or the regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller. These disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus. If the battery pack is disconnected from the DC Bus due to a fault, then the control algorithm for the combined engine, motor/alternator, and regenerative drive changes from the power and current control scheme previously described to an algorithm that regulates the bus voltage to a constant commanded value, based on the same general control scheme utilizing feed-forward maps and feed-back loops on the prime mover speed and the DC bus voltage; Paragraph [0072] Line 1-15; disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack data is utilise the collected data to derive further data related to the power electronics converter and/or components thereof).
Regarding claim 11, Ricci teaches an electrical power system (power sources for electrically propelled urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are energy dense, power dense, efficient, reliable, and that provide power to electric motors that drive rotors and propellers that provide lift and/or thrust with bus voltage that is insensitive to bus current, and the bus has low voltage and current ripple; Paragraph [0002] Line 2-8),
the electrical power system (FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the regenerative drive for a three-phase motor/alternator; Paragraph [0026] Line 1-2) comprising:
an electrical machine [306] (motor /alternator as the machine) coupled to a drive shaft of an engine (Mechanical energy is transmitted from the motor/alternator 306 when the ICE 300 is being started; Paragraph [0070] Line 4-5), and/or
a battery pack [320] in Figure 9 (A battery management system (BMS) 322 monitors the battery 320 and balances the cell voltages to be nearly identical via balance sense connections 908; Paragraph [0070] Line 31-34),
the electrical power system further comprising:
a DC electrical network [319] (DC BUS 319 as the DC electrical network), and
the power electronics converter [318B] (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) of claim 1 (see rejection of claim 1) connected on the DC-side to the DC electrical network and either, on the AC-side, to the electrical machine or, on the second DC-side, to the battery pack. (FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the regenerative drive 318B for a three-phase motor/alternator. The regenerative drive 318B is connected to the DC bus 319 at terminals + and − and supplies a current I.sub.alt to the DC bus when the alternator is producing power. I.sub.alt<0 when the ICE 300 is starting (aka “Motor Mode”); Paragraph [0073] Line 1-5; Figure 10 shows a power electronics converter [318B] (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) connected on the DC-side to the DC electrical network and either, on the AC-side, to the electrical machine or, on the second DC-side, to the battery pack).
Regarding claim 12, Ricci teaches an aircraft [Figure 1A] power and propulsion system (power sources for electrically propelled urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are energy dense, power dense, efficient, reliable, and that provide power to electric motors that drive rotors and propellers that provide lift and/or thrust with bus voltage that is insensitive to bus current, and the bus has low voltage and current ripple; Paragraph [0002] Line 2-8) comprising:
the electrical power system according to claim 11 (See rejection of claim 11), wherein the electrical machine of the electrical power system is mechanically coupled with a fan (The implementations disclosed herein relate to power sources for electrically propelled urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are energy dense, power dense, efficient, reliable, and that provide power to electric motors that drive rotors and propellers that provide lift and/or thrust with bus voltage that is insensitive to bus current, and the bus has low voltage and current ripple; Paragraph [0002] Line 1-8).
Regarding claim 13, Ricci teaches an aircraft [Figure 1A] comprising
the power and propulsion system [130] (The electronics unit 318 in Figure 3A is connected to a DC bus 319, which, in turn, is connected to a battery 320 and to the propulsion motors contained in nacelles 130 shown in FIG. 1A; Paragraph [0059] Line 6-9) of claim 12 (See rejection of claim 12 Above).
Regarding claim 14, Ricci teaches a method of controlling an electrical power system (power sources for electrically propelled urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are energy dense, power dense, efficient, reliable, and that provide power to electric motors that drive rotors and propellers that provide lift and/or thrust with bus voltage that is insensitive to bus current, and the bus has low voltage and current ripple; Paragraph [0002] Line 2-8), the electrical power system (FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the regenerative drive for a three-phase motor/alternator; Paragraph [0026] Line 1-2) comprising:
an electrical machine [306] (motor /alternator as the machine) (Mechanical energy is transmitted from the motor/alternator 306 when the ICE 300 is being started; Paragraph [0070] Line 4-5), and/or
a battery pack [320] in Figure 9 (A battery management system (BMS) 322 monitors the battery 320 and balances the cell voltages to be nearly identical via balance sense connections 908; Paragraph [0070] Line 31-34),
the electrical power system further comprising:
a DC electrical network [319] (DC BUS 319 as the DC electrical network), and
a power electronics converter [318B] (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) connected between either the electrical machine [306] and the DC electrical network [319] (FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the regenerative drive 318B for a three-phase motor/alternator. The regenerative drive 318B is connected to the DC bus 319 at terminals + and − and supplies a current I.sub.alt to the DC bus when the alternator is producing power. I.sub.alt<0 when the ICE 300 is starting (aka “Motor Mode”); Paragraph [0073] Line 1-5; Figure 10 shows a power electronics converter [318B] (regenerative drive 318B as the power electronic converter) connected between either the electrical machine [306] and the DC electrical network [319]) or the battery pack [320] and the DC electrical network [319] (Figure 9),
the method comprising:
controlling, by a gate driver unit [1000] (processor 1000 as the gate drive unit), the switching of semiconductor switching elements [1007a-1007f] (FIG. 10 also shows the MOSFET power bridge 1007 incorporates six MOSFETs 1007a-1007f connected across the bus in complimentary pairs; Paragraph [0075] Line 1-3) of a power conversion unit of the power electronics converter [318B] (The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-23) to:
invert a DC input from the DC electrical network [319] to an AC output and supply the AC output to the electrical machine, rectify an AC power received from the electrical
machine to DC power and provide the DC power to the DC electrical network (During alternator mode and SVPWM submode the regenerative drive boosts the phase voltages up to the bus voltage and outputs power. When the peak phase-to-phase voltages reach or slightly exceed the bus voltage, the boosting provided by the SVPWM is not needed and the drive is operated in a synchronous rectifier submode. In the synchronous rectifier submode, the MOSFET power bridge 1007 is controlled to mimic a passive diode bridge rectifier—the MOSFETs are switched on as if they were diodes; Paragraph [0074] Line 4-13), or
perform DC-DC conversion between the DC electrical network and the battery pack (not required by the claim);
and
collecting, by an equipment health monitoring component (regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller to monitor health) which forms a part of the gate driver unit [1000], data indicative of the health of the power electronics converter and/or components thereof (In fault tolerant embodiments of the hybrid power system of the disclosed implementation the battery pack and/or the regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller. These disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus. If the battery pack is disconnected from the DC Bus due to a fault, then the control algorithm for the combined engine, motor/alternator, and regenerative drive changes from the power and current control scheme previously described to an algorithm that regulates the bus voltage to a constant commanded value, based on the same general control scheme utilizing feed-forward maps and feed-back loops on the prime mover speed and the DC bus voltage; Paragraph [0072] Line 1-15; The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007, provide phase current feedback control with the three phase current sensors 1009, provide overcurrent and overvoltage protection, and communication functions. Voltage is sensed with voltage sensor 1002 and received by the processor 1000 to control the duty cycle of the PWM modulation. The regenerative drive 318B also incorporates power supplies 1006 to supply power to the processor 1000 and gate drivers (not shown) for the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-32).
Regarding claim 15, Ricci teaches a gate driver unit [1000] (processor 1000 as the gate drive unit) for an electrical power system configured to:
control the semiconductor switching elements [1007a-1007f] (FIG. 10 also shows the MOSFET power bridge 1007 incorporates six MOSFETs 1007a-1007f connected across the bus in complimentary pairs; Paragraph [0075] Line 1-3) so that the power conversion unit [318B] (The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-23):
inverts DC power received from the DC electrical network to AC power and provides the AC power to the electrical machine, rectifies AC power received from the electrical machine to DC power and provides the DC power to the DC electrical network (During alternator mode and SVPWM submode the regenerative drive boosts the phase voltages up to the bus voltage and outputs power. When the peak phase-to-phase voltages reach or slightly exceed the bus voltage, the boosting provided by the SVPWM is not needed and the drive is operated in a synchronous rectifier submode. In the synchronous rectifier submode, the MOSFET power bridge 1007 is controlled to mimic a passive diode bridge rectifier—the MOSFETs are switched on as if they were diodes; Paragraph [0074] Line 4-13), or
perform DC-DC conversion between the DC electrical network and the battery pack (not required by the claim);
wherein the gate driver unit includes an equipment health monitoring component, configured to collect data indicative of the health of the power electronics converter and/or components thereof (regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller to monitor health) (In fault tolerant embodiments of the hybrid power system of the disclosed implementation the battery pack and/or the regenerative drive may have a disconnect switch, circuit breaker, or disconnect relay controlled by the system controller. These disconnect switches can be used to isolate faulted electronics or a faulted battery pack that could short out the DC bus. If the battery pack is disconnected from the DC Bus due to a fault, then the control algorithm for the combined engine, motor/alternator, and regenerative drive changes from the power and current control scheme previously described to an algorithm that regulates the bus voltage to a constant commanded value, based on the same general control scheme utilizing feed-forward maps and feed-back loops on the prime mover speed and the DC bus voltage; Paragraph [0072] Line 1-15; The regenerative drive incorporates a processor 1000 in the form of a microcontroller, digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), microprocessor or other computing element with associated memory to receive the current input command I*.sub.q 912, the bus voltage from voltage sensor 1002, the phase currents from phase current sensors 1009, the electrical angle 904, and other system inputs and responsively control gate voltage signals 1010, 1012, 1014, 1020, 1022, and 1024 to the MOSFETs in the power bridge 1007, provide phase current feedback control with the three phase current sensors 1009, provide overcurrent and overvoltage protection, and communication functions. Voltage is sensed with voltage sensor 1002 and received by the processor 1000 to control the duty cycle of the PWM modulation. The regenerative drive 318B also incorporates power supplies 1006 to supply power to the processor 1000 and gate drivers (not shown) for the power bridge 1007; Paragraph [0075] Line 15-32).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Zou et al. (US 20180241337 A1) discloses, “REDUCED RIPPLE INVERTER FOR HYBRID DRIVE SYSTEMS-[0005] A method of controlling a powertrain includes, in response to an electrical connection between an AC grid and an electric vehicle containing the powertrain, modulating switches of an inverter according to reactive power from the AC grid to induce a field in a wye wound electric machine of the powertrain to absorb a portion of the reactive power. [0029] With reference to FIG. 3, a system 300 is provided for controlling a power electronics module (PEM) 126. The PEM 126 of FIG. 3 is shown to include a plurality of switches 302 (e.g., IGBTs) configured to collectively operate as an inverter with first, second, and third phase legs 316, 318, 320. While the inverter is shown as a three-phase converter, the inverter may include additional phase legs. For example, the inverter may be a four-phase converter, a five-phase converter, a six-phase converter, etc. In addition, the PEM 126 may include multiple converters with each inverter in the PEM 126 including three or more phase legs. For example, the system 300 may control two or more inverters in the PEM 126. The PEM 126 may further include a DC to DC converter having high power switches (e.g., IGBTs) to convert a power electronics module input voltage to a power electronics module output voltage via boost, buck or a combination thereof. [0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the inverter may be a DC-to-AC converter. In operation, the DC-to-AC converter receives DC power from a DC power link 306 through a DC bus 304 and converts the DC power to AC power. The AC power is transmitted via the phase currents ia, ib, and is to drive an AC machine also referred to as an electric machine 114, such as a three-phase permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) as depicted in FIG. 3. In such an example, the DC power link 306 may include a DC storage battery to provide DC power to the DC bus 304. In another example, the inverter may operate as an AC-to-DC converter that converts AC power from the AC machine 114 (e.g., generator) to DC power, which the DC bus 304 can provide to the DC power link 306. Furthermore, the system 300 may control the PEM 126 in other power electronic topologies-However Zou does not disclose inverts DC power received from the DC electrical network to AC power and provides the AC power to the electrical machine, rectifies AC power received from the electrical machine to DC power and provides the DC power to the DC electrical network, or performs DC-DC conversion between the DC electrical network and the battery pack; wherein the gate driver unit includes an equipment health monitoring component, configured to collect data indicative of the health of the power electronics converter and/or components thereof.”
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/NASIMA MONSUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858