Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (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.
Priority
3. Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
5. The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Power Regeneration Converter with dq-axis calculations and filter compensation.
Drawings
6. The drawings are objected to because:
Figures 1, 4 and 5 show elements labeled (elements 2 and 3 shown below) which based on the specification relates to the control unit 3 and Filter Unit 2. However, it’s unclear what the elements shown below represent or the intention of them is1.
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Figures 4 shows the AC voltage detector 30 (recited in the specifications) labeled as (element 3).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
7. Claims 1 - 4 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In regards to claim 1 line 5, it appears that “the induced electromotive force” should be “an induced electromotive force.”
In regards to claim 1 line 20, it appears that “the PWM modulation” should be “a PWM modulation.”
In regard to claim 2 line 2 “wherein the DC voltage target value …”. However, it appears that it should recites “wherein a DC voltage target value …”.
In regards to claim 3 line 5, it appears that “the induced electromotive force” should be “an induced electromotive force.”
In regards to claim 3 line 15, it appears that “units” should be “unit.”
In regards to claim 3 line 17, it appears that “the PWM modulation” should be “a PWM modulation.”
In regards to claim 3 line 18, it appears that “the DC voltage detection unit” should be “a DC voltage detection unit.”
In regards to claim 3 line 19, it appears that “the DC voltage” should be “a DC voltage.”
In regards to claim 4 line 5, it appears that “the induced electromotive force” should be “an induced electromotive force.”
In regards to claim 4 line 11, it appears that “the filter portion” should be “a filter portion.”
In regards to claim 4 line 22, it appears that “the PWM modulation” should be “a PWM modulation.”
In regards to claim 4 line 34, it appears that “the AC current detection unit,” should be “the AC current detection unit.” (The sentence is ending with a comma instead of a period.)
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
8. 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.
9. Claim(s) 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Saeki et al (US Pub. No. 2013/0279213 A1); (hereinafter Saeki et al).
Regarding claim 1, Saeki et al [e.g., Fig. 1 and 2, -- Fig. 2 illustrates a configuration of the power regeneration apparatus 1-- ] discloses a power regeneration converter [e.g., power regeneration apparatus 1] that is disposed between an inverter that outputs three-phase AC to an electric motor and a three-phase AC power supply using as input system [e.g., between Inverter device 3 and AC source 2], performs bidirectional conversion between DC and AC by a conversion unit [e.g., inverter device 3 performs DC to AC when operating in Monitoring operation state and AC to DC when operating in regenerative operation state, p. 0027 - 0028 recites “Upon motoring operation, the power regeneration apparatus 1 functions as a converter device, and converts AC power supplied from the three-phase AC power supply 2 into DC power. The inverter device 3 converts the DC power converted by the power regeneration apparatus 1 into AC power. …. On the other hand, upon regenerative operation, the inverter device 3 drives switching elements therein to convert an induced electromotive force created at the motor 4 by the deceleration of the motor 4 into DC power. The inverter device 3 supplies the DC power to the power regeneration apparatus 1. The power regeneration apparatus 1 converts the DC power supplied from the inverter device 3 into AC power, and supplies the AC power to the three-phase AC power supply 2.”], and regenerates the induced electromotive force generated in the electric motor to the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., power regenerative apparatus 1 operating in regenerative operation state, p. 0028 recites “On the other hand, upon regenerative operation, the inverter device 3 drives switching elements therein to convert an induced electromotive force created at the motor 4 by the deceleration of the motor 4 into DC power. The inverter device 3 supplies the DC power to the power regeneration apparatus 1. The power regeneration apparatus 1 converts the DC power supplied from the inverter device 3 into AC power, and supplies the AC power to the three-phase AC power supply 2. Consequently, power regeneration is realized.”], comprising: a filter unit disposed between the conversion unit and the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., filter 30 between three phase bridge circuit 12 and AC source 2]; an AC voltage detection unit that is connected to the three-phase AC power supply as an input system and detects a three-phase AC voltage supplied from the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., voltage detecting unit 21detecting input voltages R,S and T from AC source 2], and an AC current detection unit that detects a three- phase AC current flowing between the filter and the conversion unit [e.g., -- refer to Fig. 2 --, current detecting unit 40 connected between filter 30 and three-phase bridge circuit 12]; a DC voltage detection unit that detects a DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter [e.g., DC Bus voltage detector 55]; a control unit for calculating a three-phase AC voltage target value for performing the PWM modulation [e.g., output voltage command V* generated by Voltage Amplitude Command Generator 64, p. 0064 recites “The PWM controller 67 being a control signal generation unit obtains a three-phase AC voltage command based on the output voltage command V* output from the voltage amplitude command generator 64 and the phase Op calculated by the adder 66. The three-phase AC voltage command is an output voltage command VR*, VS*, or VT* for each phase of the three-phase AC power supply 2. For example, the PWM controller 67 obtains the R-phase output voltage command VR*, the S-phase output voltage command VS*, and the T-phase output voltage command VT* from the following equations (3) to (5).”], based on the three-phase AC voltage detected by the AC voltage detection unit, the three-phase AC current detected by the AC current detection unit, and the DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter detected by the DC voltage detection unit [e.g., based on three phase voltage detected by the power supply voltage detecting unit 21a, AC current detected by current detecting unit 40, and DC voltage detected by DC bus voltage detector 55]; and the control unit controls the DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter based on the calculated three-phase AC voltage target value [e.g., control DC voltage of capacitor C1 based on output voltage command V*, p. 0061 recites “The voltage amplitude command generator 64 obtains an output voltage command V* based on the q-axis voltage command Vq* output from the q-axis voltage command corrector 60 and the d-axis voltage command Vd* output from the d-axis current regulator 63. For example, the voltage amplitude command generator 64 obtains the output voltage command V* from the following equation (1).”].
10. Claim(s) 3 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Takase et al (US Pub. No. 2013/0279214 A1); (hereinafter Takase et al).
Regarding claim 3, Takase et al [e.g., Figs. 1 and 2] discloses a power regeneration converter that is disposed between an inverter that outputs three-phase AC to an electric motor and a three-phase AC power supply using as input system [e.g., power regenerative converter 1 between inverter device 3 and ac source 2], performs bidirectional conversion between DC and AC by a conversion unit [e.g., p. 0019 recites “In other words, the power regenerative converter 1 can perform bidirectional power conversion.”], and regenerates the induced electromotive force generated in the electric motor to the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., p. 0008 recites “The power conversion unit is configured to convert AC power supplied from an AC power supply into DC power and convert DC power into AC power to be supplied as regenerative electric power to the AC power supply.”], comprising: a filter unit disposed between the conversion unit and the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., Filter 20 between power conversion unit 10 and AC source 2]; an AC voltage detection unit that detects a three- phase AC voltage output by the power regeneration converter [e.g., power supply voltage detection unit 22 detect output voltage during regenerative operation state, p. 0030 recites “Specifically, the power supply voltage detecting unit 22 monitors a connection point between each phase of the R, S and T phases of the three-phase AC power supply 2 and the LCL filter 20.”]; an alternating current detection unit that detects a three-phase AC current flowing between the conversion units [e.g., current detecting unit 21]; a control unit for calculating a three-phase AC voltage target value for performing the PWM modulation [e.g., control unit 30 calculates and supplies Vr*, Vs* and Vt* to Drive control unit 35 for PWM modulation (signals S1 - S6)], based on the DC voltage detection unit that detects the DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter [e.g., based on DC Bus Voltage Detection unit 23], the three-phase AC voltage detected by the AC voltage detection unit [e.g., voltages VR, VS and VT detected by Power supply voltage detection unit 22], the three-phase AC current detected by the AC current detection unit [e.g., three phase current detected by current detecting unit 21], and the DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter detected by the DC voltage detection unit [e.g., voltage Vdc detected by DC bus voltage detection unit 23]; and as a DC voltage target value input to the control unit [e.g., -- refer to Fig. 2 --, target values Id* and Iq*, p. 0035 recites “The DC link voltage control unit 33 outputs a current command so as to maintain the inter-terminal voltage of the smoothing capacitor C1 constant, based on a DC voltage command Vdc* accepted from an unillustrated upper controller. The DC link voltage control unit 33 is a voltage regulator (Automatic Voltage Regulator: AVR). The DC link voltage control unit 33 compares the DC voltage value Vdc and the DC voltage command Vdc*, and generates a d-axis current command Id* and a q-axis current command Iq*, for example, by performing PI control. The q-axis current command Iq* is a target current value of an active current. The d-axis current command Id* is a target current value of a reactive current. If the power factor is set to 1, the d-axis current command Id* is set to zero.”], a DC voltage target value between the power regeneration converter and the inverter is calculated based on the AC voltage value detected from the AC voltage detection unit [e.g., based on voltage phase detection value ϴrst supplied to 3ϴ/dq converter 40 from voltage detected by power supply voltage detection unit 22 and supplied to phase detection unit 31].
Regarding claim 4, Takase et al [e.g., Figs. 1 and 8] discloses a power regeneration converter that is disposed between an inverter that outputs three-phase AC to an electric motor and a three-phase AC power supply using as input system [e.g., power regenerative converter 1 between inverter device 3 and ac source 2], performs bidirectional conversion between DC and AC by a conversion unit [e.g., p. 0019 recites “In other words, the power regenerative converter 1 can perform bidirectional power conversion.”], and regenerates the induced electromotive force generated in the electric motor to the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., p. 0008 recites “The power conversion unit is configured to convert AC power supplied from an AC power supply into DC power and convert DC power into AC power to be supplied as regenerative electric power to the AC power supply.”], comprising: a filter unit disposed between the conversion unit and the three-phase AC power supply [e.g., Filter 20 between power conversion unit 10 and AC source 2]; a filter drop voltage detection circuit that detects a voltage drop in the filter portion [e.g., -- refer to Fig. 8 --, Capacitor Voltage detection unit 71 detected and generating ]; an AC voltage detection unit that detects a three- phase AC voltage connected to the three-phase AC power supply and supplied from the three-phase AC power supply as the input system [e.g., power supply voltage detection unit 22 detecting voltages VR, VS and VT]; an alternating current detection unit that detects a three-phase AC current flowing between the filter and the conversion unit [e.g., current detecting unit 21]; a DC voltage detection unit that detects a DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter [e.g., DC Bus Voltage Detection unit 23]; a control unit for calculating a three-phase AC voltage target value for performing the PWM modulation [e.g., control unit 30 calculates and supplies VR*, VS* and VT* to Drive control unit 35 for PWM modulation (signals S1 - S6)], based on the three-phase AC voltage detected by the AC voltage detection unit [e.g., based on voltages detected by power supply voltage detection unit 22 (VR, VS and VT)], the three-phase AC current detected by the AC current detection unit [e.g., three phase current detected by current detecting unit 21], and the DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter detected by the DC voltage detection unit [e.g., DC voltage detected by DC Bus Voltage Detection unit 23], as an DC voltage target value input to the control unit [e.g., -- refer to Fig. 8 --, Vq* and Vd* generated control unit 30A and supplied to dq/3ϴ converter], the DC voltage between the power regeneration converter and the inverter is calculated based on the voltage drop detected from the filter drop voltage detection circuit [e.g., Vq* and Vd* calculated based on compensation term Vcq detected by Capacitor Voltage detention unit 71], the power supply voltage detected from the AC voltage detection unit [e.g., based on ϴrst supplied to capacitor voltage detection unit 71], and the alternating current detected from the AC current detection unit [e.g., current IR, IT and IS supplied to 3ϴ/dq converter 40].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saeki et al (US Pub. No. 2013/0279213 A1) in view of Watabu et al (US Pub. No. 2016/0226423 A1); hereinafter (Saeki et al and Watabu et al).
Regarding claim 2, Saeki et al does not discloses a DC voltage target value between the power regeneration converter and the inverter is a constant multiple of the three-phase AC voltage target value.
Watabu et al teaches wherein a DC voltage target value [e.g., -- refer to equation 17, -- threshold voltage VthA] between the power regeneration converter and the inverter is a constant multiple of the three-phase AC voltage target value [e.g., multiple of , p. 0146 recites “An arithmetic operation indicated by the following Formula (17) is applied to the VthA_0, i.e., VthA_0 is multiplied by a constant Ka/Vac0 and further multiplied by the AC voltage value Vac from the AC-voltage-value detecting unit 8 to obtain the voltage threshold VthA during regeneration.”].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Saeki et al with a DC voltage target value between the power regeneration converter and the inverter is a constant multiple of the three-phase AC voltage target value as suggested by Watabu et al to suppress the regenerative power regenerated via the converter to the predetermined threshold without providing a DC bus current amount detecting unit.
Examiner’s Note
14. Examiner has cited particular columns, paragraphs and line numbers in the references applied to the claims above for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figure may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses, to fully consider the references in their entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art disclosed by the Examiner.
15. In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Conclusion
16. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US Pub. No. 2014/0376282 A1 (Mine) discloses a power conversion system and a voltage detection device that detects the voltage value of a direct current intermediate voltage between the converter and inverter.
US Pub. No. 2015/0171763 A1 (Kondo et al) discloses a power conversion device in which the control circuit controls turning-on and turning-off of the semiconductor switch so that a DC voltage tracks a target voltage of the DC capacitor.
17. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ULARISLAO CORDOVA whose telephone number is (571)272-4690. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 - 5:00 ET.
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/ULARISLAO CORDOVA/Examiner, Art Unit 2838
/JEFFREY A GBLENDE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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