DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the following communications: Application filed on Oct. 14, 2024.
Claims 1-13 are presented for Examination. Claim 1 is independent.
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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 13 recite "the path voltage being a voltage of the power supply path on the inverter side than the power switch" is indefinite. The comparative term "than" is grammatically incorrect in this context and fails to clearly define the spatial relationship between the path voltage measurement point and the power switch. The specification (paragraphs [0067]-[0070]) describes the path voltage as being on "the inverter side" of the power switch, but the claim language is unclear. Correction to "the path voltage being a voltage of the power supply path on an inverter side of the power switch" or similar language is required.
Claims 1 and 13 recite "when a switch diagnostic condition is satisfied in the conduction state of the power switch" is indefinite. The claim fails to define what constitutes the "switch diagnostic condition" or how this condition is determined to be "satisfied." While the specification provides examples of diagnostic conditions (e.g., abnormality detection in paragraphs [0075]-[0076], periodic diagnosis in paragraph [0166]), the claim language is too broad without reference to specific conditions that would enable one of ordinary skill to determine the scope of the claim.
Claims 2-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as being indefinite due to their dependency from claim 1.
Appropriate correction is requested.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2020/0021185 A1 to Yamamura et al. (“Yamamura”) as the primary reference, in further view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2011/0221374 A1 to Maebara et al. (“Maebara”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Yamamura teaches that a diagnostic device applicable to a power supply system, the power supply system comprising: a power supply; an inverter connected to the power supply; a motor connected to the inverter; a power switch on a power supply path connecting the power supply and the inverter; a voltage sensor that detects a path voltage, the path voltage being a voltage of the power supply path on the inverter side than the power switch (FIG. 1; para. [0034]-[0037], [0041] disclosing battery 10 (power supply), inverter 30 with bridge circuit 60, motor 80, power source relay 15 on the direct-current bus line Lp between the battery and the inverter, and voltage sensor 51 directly detecting capacitor voltage Vc on the inverter side of the power source relay),
wherein the diagnostic device comprising:
a shutdown command unit that outputs a shutdown command to shutdown the power switch with the control of the inverter stopped when a switch diagnostic condition is satisfied in the conduction state of the power switch (FIG. 4, Step S01 "OPEN POWER SUPPLY RELAY"; para. [0032], [0038] disclosing that when the vehicle is stopped and the ready state of the power switch is turned off — the diagnostic condition — the power source relay 15, which was in the closed/conduction state during running, is opened (shut down), and the diagnostic process is started in cooperation with the vehicle control unit 20; para. [0049]-[0052] disclosing the shutdown signal SO that stops the gate drive of the inverter);
an acquisition unit that acquires a voltage change, which is the change in the detected voltage of the voltage sensor in response to the change in the number of revolutions of the motor after the output of the shutdown command by the shutdown command unit (para. [0048], [0056]-[0057] disclosing that the abnormality determination section 45 acquires the change in the capacitor voltage Vc detected by the voltage sensor 51 after the relay is opened, the voltage change resulting from energy flow between the smoothing capacitor 50 and the motor 80 through the bridge circuit; FIG. 5 showing the time profile of capacitor voltage Vc after the relay opening at times t1-t4; Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, Steps S14-S16, expressly teaching that the inverter-side capacitor voltage change is correlated with the motor's rotational state through the reactive current supplied to the rotating motor generator); and
a diagnostic unit that diagnoses whether the power switch is in an on-failure state based on the voltage change (FIG. 4, Steps S13-S14, S23-S24; para. [0060]-[0061] disclosing the abnormality determination section 45 that determines normality/abnormality based on whether there is a drop in the capacitor voltage Vc (comparing Vc against thresholds α, β and voltage drop amounts ΔVc against thresholds Δα, Δβ); Maebara, Abstract, disclosing monitoring whether the relay-related control is executed correctly by evaluating voltage readings from the voltage sensor — where a failure of the capacitor voltage to behave as expected after the relay opening command indicates the relay remains conducting, i.e., an on-failure state).
To the extent Yamamura's diagnosis is directed to the shutdown function of the inverter rather than expressly to the on-failure (stuck-closed) state of the power source relay itself, Maebara teaches diagnosing the relay state based on capacitor voltage behavior after a relay-off command: (Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, Steps S12-S26, disclosing that after the relay SMR1 is deactivated/turned off, the capacitor voltage is monitored via the voltage sensor, and the voltage behavior is evaluated to confirm whether the relay shutdown and discharge control are correctly executed — a sustained or replenished voltage indicating the relay remains conducting).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Yamamura and Maebara pursuant to KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), for at least the following reasons:
Same field, same problem: Both references are directed to post-shutdown diagnostics in a vehicular power supply system comprising a battery, a power source relay, a smoothing capacitor, an inverter, a motor, and a voltage sensor on the inverter side of the relay. Compare Yamamura, Abstract, para. [0034]-[0037], with Maebara, Abstract. Both perform a capacitor discharge after relay opening and evaluate the resulting voltage behavior via a voltage sensor.
2. Complementary teachings: Yamamura provides the diagnostic framework — opening the relay upon a diagnostic condition, performing a controlled discharge of the smoothing capacitor through the motor, sampling the capacitor voltage at multiple timings, and determining abnormality from the voltage change against thresholds (Yamamura, FIG. 4-6; para. [0056]-[0062]). Maebara supplements this by expressly teaching the correlation between the motor's rotational state (back-EMF) and the inverter-side capacitor voltage during the post-shutdown discharge, and the use of that correlation to verify correct execution of the relay shutdown and discharge control (Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, FIG. 10).
3. Same assignee context: Both Yamamura (US 2020/0021185 A1) and Maebara (US 2011/0221374 A1) are assigned to DENSO Corporation — the same assignee as the instant application — confirming that the combined techniques were within the established design practice of one of ordinary skill in this art.
Regarding claim 2, Yamamura teaches that wherein in the power supply system, a smoothing capacitor is connected in parallel to the power supply in the power supply path on the inverter side than the power switch (, FIG. 1; para. [0035]-[0037] disclosing smoothing capacitor 50 provided at the input part of the bridge circuit 60, between the power source relay 15 and the inverter, connected across the direct-current bus line Lp and the ground line Ln), the diagnostic device further comprises a discharge processing unit that discharges the smoothing capacitor under the condition that a decrease in the number of revolutions occurs after the output of the shutdown command by the shutdown command unit (FIG. 4, Step S02 "START SMOOTHING CAPACITOR DISCHARGE"; para. [0038], [0059] disclosing that after the power source relay 15 is opened, the control unit 40 drives the bridge circuit 60 to start the discharge process of discharging electric charge from the smoothing capacitor 50 by causing current to flow to the motor 80; Maebara, Abstract, teaching the discharge is effected by supplying reactive current into the rotating motor generator, i.e., under the condition that the motor is rotating with decreasing revolutions after shutdown), and the acquisition unit acquires the difference between the detected voltage before the discharging of the smoothing capacitor by the discharging processing unit and the detected voltage after the discharging of the smoothing capacitor as the voltage change under the situation where the number of revolutions decreases after the output of the shutdown command ([0062] disclosing "The presence or absence of a voltage drop may be determined by sampling voltages at least at two timings and evaluating the voltage drop amount ΔVc"; FIG. 5 showing capacitor voltage sampled before discharge (Vci) and after discharge stages (Vcs, Vcf)).
Regarding claim 3, Claim 3 recites that wherein the discharge processing unit discharges the smoothing capacitor to make the path voltage lower than an electromotive force voltage of the motor at the end of the smoothing capacitor discharge (Yamamura, para. [0071]-[0072] disclosing that the discharge rate and diagnosis voltage region are controlled relative to defined voltage levels — the discharge proceeds into a low-voltage region equal to or lower than the voltage region used for the diagnosis, and the diagnosis-starting voltage is bounded by upper and lower limit values (FIG. 6, Steps S04-S06); Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, Step S16, expressly teaching discharging the capacitor voltage down to a diagnostic voltage Vdg (≤ 60V) — a level below the back-EMF (electromotive force) voltage of the rotating motor generator — so that the motor's electromotive force influence on the path voltage becomes observable for the diagnosis).
Regarding claim 4, Claim 4 recites that wherein the discharge processing unit discharges the smoothing capacitor multiple times under the situation where the number of revolutions decreases after the output of the shutdown command (Yamamura, FIG. 5 and para. [0064]-[0066] disclosing the discharge process performed in multiple intervals — discharge from t1 to t2, interruption from t2 to t3 during the shutdown signal, and resumed discharge from t3 to t4; para. [0052] disclosing the control unit "can interrupt the discharge of the smoothing capacitor 50 by activating the shutdown function … during execution of the discharge process," thereby producing multiple discrete discharge events; see also FIG. 11 showing multiple sequential discharge/hold intervals; Maebara, FIG. 10, Steps S50-S58 disclosing a multi-stage discharge with voltage checks between stages),
the acquisition unit acquires, when the smoothing capacitor is discharged multiple times, the number of revolutions and the path voltage before the first discharge of the smoothing capacitor and after each discharge after the first discharge, respectively (Yamamura, para. [0062] disclosing sampling voltages at multiple timings; FIG. 5 and FIG. 11 showing voltage values acquired at times t1, t2, t3, t4 corresponding to each discharge interval),
the diagnostic unit calculates an approximate straight-line, which is a linear approximation of the relationship between the number of revolutions and the path voltage, using the number of revolutions and the path voltage in three or more combinations acquired by the acquisition unit, and diagnoses the on-failure state of the power switch based on the slope of the approximate straight-line and the scatter of the path voltage relative to the approximate straight-line (Yamamura, FIG. 5 disclosing evaluation of the voltage gradient ("the capacitor voltage Vc decreases … with a gradient according to the discharge rate," para. [0066]) and voltage drop amounts ΔVc against thresholds across multiple time points; the use of linear regression/least-squares fitting on three or more acquired data points to derive a slope and assess scatter is a routine statistical data-processing technique that one of ordinary skill would apply to Yamamura's multiple sampled voltage values to improve diagnostic robustness against sensor noise and detection error — a predictable improvement yielding no unexpected results).
Regarding claim 5, Claim 5 recites that wherein the acquisition unit acquires the number of revolutions and the path voltage before and after the first capacitor discharge by the discharge processing unit as first data and second data respectively, under the condition that the number of revolutions decreases after the output of the shutdown command, and then acquires the number of revolutions and the path voltage after the second capacitor discharge as third data (Yamamura, FIG. 5; para. [0062], [0064]-[0066] disclosing voltage sampling at multiple timings t1 (before first discharge, Vci), t2/t3 (after first discharge, Vcs), and t4 (after subsequent discharge, Vcf)),
the diagnostic unit,
in a case that the number of revolutions of the motor is higher than the predetermined value when the second data is acquired, acquires the first to third data and diagnoses the on-failure state of the power switch using the first to third data, and
in a case that the number of revolutions of the motor is lower than the predetermined value when the second data is acquired, acquires the first data and the second data and diagnoses the on-failure state of the power switch using the first data and the second data (Yamamura, FIG. 6, Steps S04-S06; para. [0072] disclosing a conditional diagnostic-execution determination in which the diagnosis procedure is selected based on whether a measured parameter (diagnosis-starting voltage, which correlates with the motor state) is above or below predetermined limit values — performing the full diagnosis when within range and truncating the procedure otherwise; Maebara, FIG. 10, Steps S50 and S56 disclosing conditional branching between completing the diagnosis with the data already acquired versus proceeding to acquire an additional discharge stage and additional data, based on threshold comparison)."
It would have been obvious to condition the number of acquired data points on the motor revolution level, since both Yamamura (FIG. 6) and Maebara (FIG. 10) teach threshold-conditioned diagnostic branching, and the motor revolution number directly determines the available back-EMF voltage signal and hence whether a third data point would be meaningful.
Regarding claim 6, Claim 5 recites that wherein the power supply system further comprises a current sensor (28) that detects the power supply current, which is the current flowing in the power supply (Yamamura, FIG. 8; para. [0076] disclosing, in the second embodiment, a current sensor 52 provided on the direct-current bus line Lp detecting current Ic flowing on the power supply path),
the acquisition unit acquires the detected current of the current sensor after the output of the shutdown command by the shutdown command unit (Yamamura, para. [0076]-[0077] disclosing that the current Ic is acquired during the post-relay-opening diagnostic process),
the diagnostic unit performs a first determination process to determine whether the voltage change is greater than a predetermined voltage threshold (Yamamura, FIG. 4, Steps S13, S23; para. [0060]-[0061] comparing voltage Vc and voltage drop amount ΔVc against thresholds α/Δα and β/Δβ) and a second determination process to determine whether the detected current is greater than a predetermined current threshold (Yamamura, para. [0077] disclosing determination of whether the output value of the current sensor 52 is approximately 0 A or larger than approximately 0 A), and
when the voltage change is determined to be smaller than the voltage threshold in the first determination process and the detected current is determined to be larger than the current threshold in the second determination process, the diagnostic unit diagnoses the power switch is in the on-failure state (Yamamura, para. [0077]-[0078] disclosing the combined use of the voltage-based determination (first embodiment) and the current-based determination (second embodiment), wherein a non-zero current despite the shutdown indicates an abnormal conduction path; para. [0078] further teaching cross-checking the current sensor against the voltage behavior to prevent erroneous determination — i.e., a two-step voltage-and-current determination)."
It would have been obvious to combine Yamamura's first-embodiment voltage determination and second-embodiment current determination as a dual cross-check, as Yamamura itself suggests at paragraph [0078] that the two detection methods may be used together to prevent erroneous determinations.
Regarding claim 7, Claim 7 recites that wherein the diagnostic device further comprises a speed control unit that, when the shutdown command is output by the shutdown command unit, reduces the number of revolutions of the motor by reducing the running speed of the vehicle, and cancels the reduction in the running speed of the vehicle when the power switch is diagnosed to be normal by the diagnostic unit (Yamamura, para. [0032], [0038] disclosing that the diagnosis is coordinated with the vehicle control unit 20 performing centralized control of the behavior of the entire vehicle, including the transition of the vehicle to the stopped/ready-off state in which motor revolutions decrease, before the diagnostic sequence is performed, and the restoration of normal running control after completion of the diagnosis (para. [0103]-[0104], FIG. 15, disclosing closing the relay again and resuming vehicle running after a completed diagnosis); Maebara, Abstract, disclosing control of the motor generator's operating state during the diagnostic/discharge process in a motor vehicle).
Actively reducing the vehicle running speed to reduce motor revolutions when the diagnosis is commanded, and cancelling the reduction upon a normal diagnosis, is an obvious application of Yamamura's vehicle control unit 20 — which already performs centralized vehicle behavior control in coordination with the diagnosis — to create the motor revolution conditions needed for the back-EMF-based voltage observation taught by Maebara.
Regarding claim 8, Claim 8 recites that wherein the power supply system is mounted to a vehicle equipped with a gear mechanism with a variable gear ratio between the motor and the wheel,
the diagnostic device further comprises a gear ratio adjustment unit that increases the gear ratio of the motor side relative to the wheel side while the vehicle is running after the shutdown command is output, and
the acquisition unit acquires the difference between the detected voltage before the gear ratio increase and the detected voltage after the gear ratio increase as the voltage change (Yamamura, para. [0031], [0045] disclosing the system mounted in a hybrid automobile in which the motor 80 is mechanically coupled to drive wheels and the engine — a drivetrain inherently comprising gear mechanisms; the specific use of a gear ratio change to vary motor revolutions, and acquisition of the voltage difference before and after the change, is an obvious alternative means of varying the motor revolution number to generate the diagnostic voltage change taught by the combination of Yamamura (voltage-change-based determination, para. [0056]-[0057], [0062]) and Maebara (motor-rotation-correlated capacitor voltage, Abstract), achieving the same predictable result of producing an observable back-EMF-induced voltage change at the path voltage sensor).
Regarding claim 9, Yamamura teaches that wherein the power supply system rotates the propeller by the motor in an aerial vehicle that flies with the rotation of the propeller, the diagnostic device further comprises a propeller rotation control unit, when the shutdown command is output by the shutdown command unit, reduces the number of revolutions of the motor along with the number of revolutions of the propeller ([0120] expressly disclosing that "The abnormality determination system of the present disclosure may not be necessarily applied to an inverter that supplies electric power to a motor of a vehicle but may be applied to an inverter that supplies electric power to a rotary electrical machine for any other purpose," with a "centralized control unit" managing the entire system; applying the diagnostic system to an electric aerial vehicle in which the rotary electrical machine drives a propeller is an obvious field-of-use application, since the battery-relay-inverter-motor architecture and diagnostic principle are identical; the propeller rotation control unit reducing motor/propeller revolutions upon the shutdown command corresponds to the centralized control unit's coordination of the rotary machine's operating state during the diagnosis,[0032], [0120]).
Regarding claim 10, Yamamura teaches that wherein the propeller rotation control unit, after the shutdown command is output by the shutdown command unit and the diagnostic unit diagnosed, when the power switch is determined to be normal by the diagnostic unit and there is a request to increase the number of revolutions of the propeller, cancels the reduction in the number of revolutions of the propeller (FIG. 15, Steps S09, S01-2; para. [0103]-[0104] disclosing that after completion of a diagnosis the power source relay is closed again and normal operation (running) resumes, i.e., the operational restriction imposed for the diagnosis is cancelled upon a completed normal diagnosis; restoring propeller revolutions upon a normal determination and an operator demand is the conventional and obvious control response following the resumed-operation teaching of Yamamura).
Regarding claim 11, Yamamura teaches that wherein the power supply system is mounted to a mobile object having a plurality of drive units, each of the drive units comprising an inverter, a motor, a power switch, and a voltage sensor (FIG. 16; para. [0107]-[0108] disclosing, in the sixth embodiment, an abnormality determination system 906 with a plurality of inverters 301, 302, a plurality of motors 801, 802, a plurality of power source relays 151, 152 — one per drive unit — and respective voltage sensors detecting capacitor voltages Vc1 and Vc2), the mobile object can move by driving some of the drive units (para. [0045] disclosing the motor functioning together with the engine and other drive sources in a hybrid drivetrain; para. [0116]; FIG. 19 disclosing limiting the diagnosis target to one inverter (first inverter 301) while the remaining drive unit is excluded from the diagnosis), and the shutdown command unit, when some of the drive units are to be stopped while the mobile object is moving, assumes that the switch diagnostic condition is satisfied for the drive unit to be stopped among the drive units and outputs the shutdown command (FIG. 14-15, FIG. 19; para. [0096]-[0097], [0102], [0109], [0116] disclosing that the diagnosis — including relay opening and shutdown — is performed individually and sequentially per selected drive unit/inverter, with each power source relay 151, 152 individually openable so that the diagnosis of one drive unit's relay is performed independently of the other drive units).
Regarding claim 12, Yamamura teaches that further comprising a power control unit that outputs a power command value, which is a command value of the power to be output to the drive unit to which the shutdown command is not output among the drive units, to maintain the state of movement of the mobile object ( [0109] disclosing that with individual power source relays 151, 152, "a discharge process and an abnormality diagnosis of a shutdown function can be independently performed … for each inverter corresponding to the opened power source relay," leaving the other drive unit under normal control; [0040], [0047] disclosing the normal control by which voltage/power commands are computed and output to the bridge circuit to drive the motor; outputting a compensating power command to the non-diagnosed drive unit(s) to maintain the mobile object's movement is an obvious and conventional drive-force distribution control in multi-drive-unit vehicles, predictably ensuring continuity of motion while one unit undergoes the diagnosis taught by Yamamura).
Regarding independent claim 13, Yamamura teaches that a A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing a program executed by a computer, the computer being applicable to a power supply system ( Fig.1 and [0122] expressly disclosing "the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions to be executed by a computer"; para. [0046] disclosing the microcomputer 41 containing a CPU and ROM performing control "through software processing by the CPU executing a pre-stored program"; FIG. 4, Step S01 (relay opening upon the ready-off diagnostic condition));
the power supply system comprising: a power supply; an inverter connected to the power supply; a motor connected to the inverter; a power switch on a power supply path connecting the power supply and the inverter (Fig.1, 60); a voltage sensor (Fig.1, 51 )that detects a path voltage, the path voltage being a voltage of the power supply path on the inverter side than the power switch, wherein the program causes the computer to: output a shutdown command to shut down the power switch with the control of the inverter stopped when a switch diagnostic condition is satisfied in the conduction state of the power switch (FIG. 4, Step S01 "OPEN POWER SUPPLY RELAY"; para. [0032], [0038] disclosing that when the vehicle is stopped and the ready state of the power switch is turned off — the diagnostic condition — the power source relay 15, which was in the closed/conduction state during running, is opened (shut down), and the diagnostic process is started in cooperation with the vehicle control unit 20; para. [0049]-[0052] disclosing the shutdown signal SO that stops the gate drive of the inverter),
acquire a voltage change, which is the change in the detected voltage of the voltage sensor in response to the change in the number of revolutions of the motor after the output of the shutdown command (Yamamura, para. [0048], [0056]-[0057], [0062]; FIG. 5; Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, Steps S14-S16, correlating capacitor voltage change with motor rotation); and
diagnose whether the power switch is in an on-failure state based on the voltage change (FIG. 4, Steps S13-S14, S23-S24; para. [0060]-[0061] disclosing the abnormality determination section 45 that determines normality/abnormality based on whether there is a drop in the capacitor voltage Vc (comparing Vc against thresholds α, β and voltage drop amounts ΔVc against thresholds Δα, Δβ); Maebara, Abstract, disclosing monitoring whether the relay-related control is executed correctly by evaluating voltage readings from the voltage sensor — where a failure of the capacitor voltage to behave as expected after the relay opening command indicates the relay remains conducting, i.e., an on-failure state).
To the extent Yamamura's diagnosis is directed to the shutdown function of the inverter rather than expressly to the on-failure (stuck-closed) state of the power source relay itself, Maebara teaches diagnosing the relay state based on capacitor voltage behavior after a relay-off command: (Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, Steps S12-S26, disclosing that after the relay SMR1 is deactivated/turned off, the capacitor voltage is monitored via the voltage sensor, and the voltage behavior is evaluated to confirm whether the relay shutdown and discharge control are correctly executed — a sustained or replenished voltage indicating the relay remains conducting).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine Yamamura and Maebara pursuant to KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), for at least the following reasons:
Same field, same problem: Both references are directed to post-shutdown diagnostics in a vehicular power supply system comprising a battery, a power source relay, a smoothing capacitor, an inverter, a motor, and a voltage sensor on the inverter side of the relay. Compare Yamamura, Abstract, para. [0034]-[0037], with Maebara, Abstract. Both perform a capacitor discharge after relay opening and evaluate the resulting voltage behavior via a voltage sensor.
2. Complementary teachings: Yamamura provides the diagnostic framework — opening the relay upon a diagnostic condition, performing a controlled discharge of the smoothing capacitor through the motor, sampling the capacitor voltage at multiple timings, and determining abnormality from the voltage change against thresholds (Yamamura, FIG. 4-6; para. [0056]-[0062]). Maebara supplements this by expressly teaching the correlation between the motor's rotational state (back-EMF) and the inverter-side capacitor voltage during the post-shutdown discharge, and the use of that correlation to verify correct execution of the relay shutdown and discharge control (Maebara, Abstract; FIG. 7, FIG. 10).
3. Same assignee context: Both Yamamura (US 2020/0021185 A1) and Maebara (US 2011/0221374 A1) are assigned to DENSO Corporation — the same assignee as the instant application — confirming that the combined techniques were within the established design practice of one of ordinary skill in this art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MUHAMMAD S ISLAM whose telephone number is (571)272-8439. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am to 6:00pm.
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/MUHAMMAD S ISLAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2846
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