DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 11, 16, and 20 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 11, 16, 20, contain the phrase “to determine an RDSON” which, although defined in the specification, is not labelled in the claims as to what this variable is and as such, is indefinite.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 8-9, 12-13, 15, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Aeloiza et al. (US 2019/0033362).
Regarding claim 1,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
A method, comprising: operating a bridge circuit (Fig. 1, 100) in a freewheeling phase (fig. 2, step 203, ¶0023, 0028), in which a freewheeling current flows through a body diode (part of 111, ¶0027) of a power transistor (110) of the bridge circuit (100, ¶0008); performing a first measurement during the freewheeling phase to determine a junction temperature of the power transistor (Step S213, ¶0025; and performing a second measurement during the freewheeling phase to determine a drain voltage of the power transistor (Step 207, ¶0011, 0027-¶0028).
Regarding claim 2,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
further comprising: performing the first measurement during a passive part of the freewheeling phase (can be performed in 213, ¶0029-¶0030); and performing the second measurement during an active part of the freewheeling phase (when conducting, Step 207,¶0024).
Regarding claim 8,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
further comprising: performing the first measurement and the second measurement during the freewheeling phase of a single switching cycle of the bridge circuit (¶0027-¶0028).
Regarding claim 9,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 2):
further comprising one or more of: performing the first measurement before the second measurement during the switching cycle; and performing the second measurement before the first measurement during the switching cycle (Fig. 2, repeats Fig. 2, ¶0030).
Regarding claim 12,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
A controller (120) configured to: control a bridge circuit (Fig. 1, 100) in a freewheeling phase (fig. 2, step 203, ¶0023, 0028) in which a freewheeling current flows through a body diode (part of 111, ¶0027) of a power transistor (110) of the bridge circuit (100, ¶0008); perform a first measurement during the freewheeling phase to determine a junction temperature of the power transistor (Step S213, ¶0025); and perform a second measurement during the freewheeling phase to determine a drain voltage of the power transistor (Step 207, ¶0011, 0027-¶0028).
Regarding claim 13,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the controller is configured to: perform the first measurement during a passive part of the freewheeling phase (can be performed in 213, ¶0029-¶0030); and perform the second measurement during an active part of the freewheeling phase (when conducting, Step 207,¶0024).
Regarding claim 15,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the controller is configured to: perform the first measurement and the second measurement during the freewheeling phase of a single switching cycle of the bridge circuit (¶0028).
Regarding claim 17,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
A system, comprising: a motor (not shown, ¶0008); a bridge circuit (fig. 1, 100) that is controllable to supply energy to the motor (¶0008); and a controller (120) configured to: operate a bridge circuit (100) in a freewheeling phase (fig. 2, step 203, ¶0023, 0028) in which a freewheeling current flows through a body diode (111) of a power transistor (110, ¶0016) of the bridge circuit (¶0027); perform a first measurement during the freewheeling phase to determine a junction temperature of the power transistor (Step S213, ¶0025); and perform a second measurement during the freewheeling phase to determine a drain voltage of the power transistor (Step 207, ¶0011, 0027-¶0028).
Regarding claim 18,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the controller is configured to: perform the first measurement during a passive part of the freewheeling phase (can be performed in 213, ¶0029-¶0030); and perform the second measurement during an active part of the freewheeling phase (when conducting, Step 207,¶0024).
Regarding claim 19,
Aeloiza discloses (Fig. 1):
wherein the controller is configured to: perform the first measurement and the second measurement during the freewheeling phase of a single switching cycle of the bridge circuit (¶0028).
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.
Claim(s) 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aeloiza et al. (US 2019/0033362).
Regarding claim 7,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 1.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
further comprising: performing the second measurement less than 100 microseconds within performing the first measurement
However, Regarding claim 7, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the power transistor from Aeloiza that performs two measurements of a transistor during reverse conduction in order to measure the voltage, current, and calculate the on resistance in order to protect a switch from burnout during a deadtime (¶0028) and make the dead time adjustable to 100 milliseconds as a matter of design choice as per In re Stevens, 212 F.2d 197, 101 USPQ 284 (CCPA 1954) that adjustability, where needed is not a patentable advance and that ¶0028 Aeloiza teaches changing the dead time for measurement.
Regarding claim 14,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 12.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
wherein the controller is configured to: perform the second measurement less than 10 microseconds within performing the first measurement.
However, Regarding claim 14, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the power transistor from Aeloiza that performs two measurements of a transistor during reverse conduction in order to measure the voltage, current, and calculate the on resistance in order to protect a switch from burnout during a deadtime (¶0028) and make the dead time adjustable to 10 milliseconds as a matter of design choice as per In re Stevens, 212 F.2d 197, 101 USPQ 284 (CCPA 1954) that adjustability, where needed is not a patentable advance and that ¶0028 Aeloiza teaches changing the dead time for measurement.
Claim(s) 3-6, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aeloiza et al. (US 2019/0033362) in view of Heiling et al. (US 2017/0077862).
Regarding claim 3,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 1.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
wherein the power transistor is a first power transistor of the bridge circuit, and further comprising: performing the first measurement after a second power transistor of the bridge circuit is turned off and before turning on the first power transistor.
However, Heiling teaches (fig. 2):
wherein the power transistor is a first power transistor of the bridge circuit (Fig. 2, 60D), and further comprising: performing the first measurement after a second power transistor of the bridge circuit is turned off (60C, ¶0056) and before turning on the first power transistor (performed during dead time, ¶0064).
Regarding claim 3, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and apply it to the H-bridge circuit from Heiling that diagnoses a switch in an H-bridge by estimating the temperature by measuring voltage and current during freewheeling as taught by Heiling (¶0005-¶0007). This would improve reliability by diagnosing a transistor faster in an H-bridge based on temperature.
Regarding claim 4,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 3.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
further comprising: performing the second measurement after switching on the first power transistor and before turning off the first power transistor.
However, Heiling teaches (fig. 2):
further comprising: performing the second measurement after switching on the first power transistor and before turning off the first power transistor (¶0064).
Regarding claim 4, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and apply it to the H-bridge circuit from Heiling that diagnoses a switch in an H-bridge by estimating the temperature by measuring voltage and current during freewheeling as taught by Heiling (¶0005-¶0007). This would improve reliability by diagnosing a transistor faster in an H-bridge based on temperature.
Regarding claim 5,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 3.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
wherein the freewheeling phase is a low side freewheeling phase in which the freewheeling current flows through a low side of the bridge circuit, the first power transistor is a low side transistor of the bridge circuit, and the second power transistor is a high side transistor of the bridge circuit.
However, Heiling teaches (fig. 2):
wherein the freewheeling phase is a low side freewheeling phase in which the freewheeling current flows through a low side of the bridge circuit (Fig. 2, 60D), the first power transistor is a low side transistor of the bridge circuit (60D), and the second power transistor is a high side transistor of the bridge circuit (60C, ¶0064).
Regarding claim 5, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and apply it to the H-bridge circuit from Heiling that diagnoses a switch in an H-bridge by estimating the temperature by measuring voltage and current during freewheeling as taught by Heiling (¶0005-¶0007). This would improve reliability by diagnosing a transistor faster in an H-bridge based on temperature.
Regarding claim 6,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 3.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
wherein the freewheeling phase is a high side freewheeling phase in which the freewheeling current flows through a high side of the bridge circuit, the first power transistor is a high side transistor of the bridge circuit, and the second power transistor is a low side transistor of the bridge circuit.
However, Heiling teaches (fig. 2):
wherein the freewheeling phase is a high side freewheeling phase in which the freewheeling current flows through a high side of the bridge circuit, the first power transistor is a high side transistor of the bridge circuit, (Fig. 2, 60C) and the second power transistor is a low side transistor of the bridge circuit (60D, ¶0064).
Regarding claim 6, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and apply it to the H-bridge circuit from Heiling that diagnoses a switch in an H-bridge by estimating the temperature by measuring voltage and current during freewheeling as taught by Heiling (¶0005-¶0007). This would improve reliability by diagnosing a transistor faster in an H-bridge based on temperature.
Regarding claim 10,
Aeloiza discloses the above elements from claim 1.
Aeloiza does not disclose:
wherein performing the first measurement comprises measuring a voltage drop across drain and source terminals of the power transistor, and the second measurement includes measuring a voltage drop across a body diode of the power transistor.
However, Heiling teaches (fig. 2):
wherein performing the first measurement comprises measuring a voltage drop across drain and source terminals of the power transistor, and the second measurement includes measuring a voltage drop across a body diode of the power transistor (¶0089).
Regarding claim 10, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and apply it to the H-bridge circuit from Heiling that diagnoses a switch in an H-bridge by estimating the temperature by measuring voltage and current during freewheeling as taught by Heiling (¶0005-¶0007). This would improve reliability by diagnosing a transistor faster in an H-bridge based on temperature.
Claim(s) 11, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aeloiza et al. (US 2019/0033362) in view of Park (US 2024/0339938).
Regarding claim 11,
Aeloiza discloses (fig. 2):
further comprising: using the junction temperature determined based on the first measurement to determine an RDSON of the power transistor (Fig. 2, 207, ¶0025);
Aeloiza does not disclose:
and using the second measurement and the determined RDSON of the power transistor to determine a load current of the bridge circuit.
However, Park teaches (Fig. 7):
and using the second measurement (drain source voltage, Fig. 7, 504, ¶0120) and the determined RDSON (RDson, 502, ¶0119) of the power transistor to determine a load current of the bridge circuit (Estimates drain current passing through transistor, ¶0124).
Regarding claim 11, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and use the current detection method from Park that uses the RDSon to calculate the drain current in order to further predict the failure of a switch more accurately (¶0124-¶0126). This would improve the accuracy of failure prediction which would improve reliability and safety.
Regarding claim 16,
Aeloiza discloses (fig. 2):
wherein the controller is configured to: use the junction temperature determined based on the first measurement to determine an RDSON of the power transistor (Fig. 2, 207, ¶0025);
Aeloiza does not disclose:
and use the second measurement and the determined RDSON of the power transistor to determine a load current of the bridge circuit.
However, Park teaches (Fig. 7):
and use the second measurement (drain source voltage, Fig. 7, 504, ¶0120) and the determined RDSON (RDson, 502, ¶0119) of the power transistor to determine a load current of the bridge circuit (Estimates drain current passing through transistor, ¶0124).
Regarding claim 16, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and use the current detection method from Park that uses the RDSon to calculate the drain current in order to further predict the failure of a switch more accurately (¶0124-¶0126). This would improve the accuracy of failure prediction which would improve reliability and safety.
Regarding claim 20,
Aeloiza discloses (fig. 2):
wherein the controller is configured to: use the junction temperature determined based on the first measurement to determine an RDSON of the power transistor (Fig. 2, 207, ¶0025);
Aeloiza does not disclose:
and use the second measurement and the determined RDSON of the power transistor to determine a load current of the bridge circuit.
However, Park teaches (Fig. 7):
and use the second measurement (drain source voltage, Fig. 7, 504, ¶0120) and the determined RDSON (RDson, 502, ¶0119) of the power transistor to determine a load current of the bridge circuit (Estimates drain current passing through transistor, ¶0124).
Regarding claim 20, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to take the transistor measuring circuit from Aeloiza that computes the voltage and current of a transistor in order to detect the temperature and resistance for a failure condition (¶0030) and use the current detection method from Park that uses the RDSon to calculate the drain current in order to further predict the failure of a switch more accurately (¶0124-¶0126). This would improve the accuracy of failure prediction which would improve reliability and safety.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jonsson (US 2011/0018521) – PWM control accuracy
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/C.S.L./Examiner, Art Unit 2837 /KAWING CHAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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