Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claims 1 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiu et al. US publication no.: US 2007/0216458 A1 in view of Nelson III US patent No.: US Patent 5,267,344.
Regarding claims 1 and 10, Chiu et al. teach, A circuit for driving a motor (fan motor 12, figure 2), comprising a converting circuit (PWM buffer circuit 20, figure 2) and a driving circuit (driving circuit 11, figure 2) , wherein: an input terminal of the converting circuit is connected to a power supply (implicitly disclosed); the converting circuit is configured to obtain a pulse width modulation (PMW) waveform of which a complete cycle comprises a first half-cycle and a second half-cycle (see figure 2, where it obtains PWM signal from the PWM signal generation unit and paragraphs 20-23 explain that the PWM buffet circuit converts the PWM signal S1 having duty cycle D1 and frequency F1 into second PWM signal S2 having duty cycle D2 and frequency F2); the converting circuit comprises: a waveform generating circuit, comprising a first operational amplifier (OA1, figure 5) configured to provide a reference voltage (V1, figure 5) and obtain the first half-cycle based on the reference voltage (see figure 4a-4b); an output terminal of the converting circuit is connected to an input terminal of the driving circuit and is configured to transmit the PWM waveform to the input terminal of the driving circuit (see figures 2 and 5, where the PWM signal is converted and inputted to the driving circuit); and an output terminal of the driving circuit is configured to connect the motor (see signal B, figure 2) ; and the driving circuit is configured to control operation of the motor based on the PWM waveform (see figure 2, where the control operation is based on the PWM signal).
Chiu et al. teach a second operational amplifier OA3 as seen In figure 3 and paragraph 29 but it is rather utilized as a comparator than a “voltage flipping circuit and therefore is silent on specifically teaching: a waveform flipping circuit, comprising a second operational amplifier configured to flip the reference voltage to obtain the second half-cycle.
However Nelson III is in the same field and teach: a waveform flipping circuit, comprising a second operational amplifier configured to flip the reference voltage to obtain the second half-cycle (see figure 1 and figure 3, where there are two operational amplifier 111 (non-inverting condition) and second operational amplifier (inverting condition) and together they produce waveform as seen in figure 3 consisting of the positive and negative signals)
In view of Nelson III’s teachings, it would’ve been obvious to one with the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, with the apparatus as taught by Chiu et al. to include; a waveform flipping circuit, comprising a second operational amplifier configured to flip the reference voltage to obtain the second half-cycle, for the purpose of obtaining predictable result of generating an inverted waveform.
Claims 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiu et al. US publication no.: US 2007/0216458 A1 in view of Nelson III US patent No.: US Patent 5,267,344 and Oku US Patent No.: US 6,518,723 B2.
Regarding claim 6, Chiu et al. as modified is silent on specifically teaching, the circuit according to claim 1, wherein: wherein: the driving circuit comprises a threshold control circuit and a full-bridge output circuit; an input terminal of the threshold control circuit serves as the input terminal of the driving circuit; an output terminal of the threshold control circuit is connected to an input terminal of the full-bridge output circuit; and an output terminal of the full-bridge output circuit serves as the output terminal of the driving circuit.
However, Oku is in the same field of art and teach: wherein, the driving circuit comprises a threshold control circuit and a full-bridge output circuit (see H-bridge driving circuit that drive the motor and a comparator PMW comparator 2 which is utilized as a threshold circuit); an input terminal of the threshold control circuit serves as the input terminal of the driving circuit (see figure 3, where the output of the comparator is lead on to the H-bridge motor driving circuit); an output terminal of the threshold control circuit is connected to an input terminal of the full-bridge output circuit (see figure 3, where the output of the comparator is lead on to the H-bridge motor driving circuit); and an output terminal of the full-bridge output circuit serves as the output terminal of the driving circuit (see figure 3, where the output signal drives the motor).
In view of Oku’s it would’ve been obvious to one with the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, with the apparatus as taught by Chiu et al. to include; wherein: the driving circuit comprises a threshold control circuit and a full-bridge output circuit; an input terminal of the threshold control circuit serves as the input terminal of the driving circuit; an output terminal of the threshold control circuit is connected to an input terminal of the full-bridge output circuit; and an output terminal of the full-bridge output circuit serves as the output terminal of the driving circuit, for the purpose of improving the drive of the system.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiu et al. US publication no.: US 2007/0216458 A1 in view of Nelson III US patent No.: US Patent 5,267,344 and further in view of Hilligoss et al. US publication no.: US 2021/0028503 A1.
Regarding claim 9, Chiu et al. as modified is silent on specifically teaching, the circuit according to claim 1, wherein the power supply comprises a plurality of power sources; and for each power source of the plurality of power sources, a terminal of said power resource is grounded, and another terminal of said power source is connected to the input terminal of the converting circuit.
Hilligoss et al. is in the same field of art and teach: wherein the power supply comprises a plurality of power sources (see plurality of battery packs 12a-12d, figure 1) ; and for each power source of the plurality of power sources, a terminal of said power resource is grounded, and another terminal of said power source is connected to the input terminal of the converting circuit (see paragraph 28).
In view of Oku’s it would’ve been obvious to one with the ordinary skills in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, with the apparatus as taught by Chiu et al. to include; wherein: the driving circuit comprises a threshold control circuit and a full-bridge output circuit; an input terminal of the threshold control circuit serves as the input terminal of the driving circuit; an output terminal of the threshold control circuit is connected to an input terminal of the full-bridge output circuit; and an output terminal of the full-bridge output circuit serves as the output terminal of the driving circuit, for the purpose of improving the drive of the system.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 and 7-8 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/ZOHEB S IMTIAZ/Primary Examiner , Art Unit 2837
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