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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments filed 7/30/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 112: the Applicant’s response locks an argument or amendment to rectify the 35 USC § 112 issue; hence, the rejection under 35 USC § 112(b) still hold.
Claim Rejections under 35 USC § 103: Applicant submitted that the cited portions of Raja and Thomson do not teach the limitations of claim 1, namely: (1) "determining desired current signals based on a given rotational position"; (2) "converting the desired current signals into analog reference voltages using the DAC"; and (3) "generating pre-drive signals based on the analog reference voltages." Examiner reasserts
First: with regard to the limitation “determining desired current signals based on a given rotational position,” Examiner pointed to Fig. 3B depicting the feature of rotor movement from one full-step position to the next, the motor is positioned at multiple points between full steps by precisely controlling the current in the motor coils according to small given rotational position every step at the time.
Second: with regard to the limitation “converting the desired current signals into analog reference voltages using the DAC,” Examiner assert that Raja teaches that the pre-drive signals are tuned according to input voltage signals as feedback to the controller (refer to signal feedback 150 in fig. 1) (“this method also allows for real-time calibration of the electro-mechanical system at power-up in the field based on system conditions such as supply voltage, temperature, and the like” ¶. [0028]). Even thought, Raja mentioned that it’s conventional for steeper motor control circuit to include (“control logic, programmable logic devices” and “power amplifiers, gate drive transformers, DC-DC converter elements, or other circuit components to provide sufficient voltages to control gate terminals of associated power transistor elements” ¶. [0036]; Raja However, is silent with regard to the feedback signal been an analogue voltage (measured or preset) to be compared to an analogue voltage derived from the desired current (using DAC), so the controller can tune the pre-drive signals accordingly. Thomson discloses digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to convert the desired current signals into analog reference voltages (¶. [0003]- [0004]); and monitor voltage drops across sense resistors (current sensing resistor 38) to provide feedback for adjusting the pre-drive signals (controller 32 generate drive signals for Gate Q1-Q4).
Third: When Raja and Thomson are combined teaches to include digital-to-analog converter and sense resistors as processor components integrated or in partitions in order to provide system conditions such as desired voltage in order to scale the pre-drive signals based on the analog reference voltages to obtained desired motor output (Raja, ¶. [0028].)
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- 22 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 12 recite the desired current signals are determined based on a given rotational position and also based on generating time-varying periodic current patterns that depend on the step frequency, later in the claims. Both limitations are combined in incoherent way in order to determine the desired signal; therefore, rendering claims 1 and 12 vague and unclear and leaves the reader in doubt as to the meaning of the technical feature to which it refers, thereby rendering the definition of the subject-matter of said claims unclear.
Claims 2- 11 and 13- 22 are rejected by virtue of its dependency on claims 1 and 12; thereby containing all the limitations of the claims on which they depend.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
Claims 1- 3, 11, 12- 14 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Raja et al. (US 20210011451 A1) in view of Thomson (US 20080309274 A1).
Re. claims 1 and 12, Raja discloses a stepper motor driver/method for controlling a bipolar stepper motor (130), the stepper motor driver comprising:
a control logic unit (110);
two H-bridge circuits (¶. [0038]) for controlling first and second windings (140, 141) of the bipolar stepper motor (130); wherein
the control logic unit is configured to:
generate pre-drive signals based on an analog reference voltage (“this method also allows for real-time calibration of the electro-mechanical system at power-up in the field based on system conditions such as supply voltage, temperature, and the like” ¶. [0028])
control the two H-bridge circuits using the pre-drive signals to regulate currents through the first and second windings (Fig. 1); wherein
the desired current signals (300), determined based on a given rotational position (hold position 350 in Raja Fig. 3B), are determined by generating time-varying periodic current patterns for the first and second windings, wherein the current pattern for the second winding is phase-shifted relative to the current pattern for the first winding, and wherein both current patterns are dependent on a step frequency of the bipolar stepper motor (Figs. 3A-B).
Raja discloses the control circuitry 110 drive the stepper motor based on “system conditions such as supply voltage, temperature, and the like” ¶. [0028], and can include (“control logic, programmable logic devices” and “power amplifiers, gate drive transformers, DC-DC converter elements, or other circuit components to provide sufficient voltages to control gate terminals of associated power transistor elements” ¶. [0036].) Raja does not disclose a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to convert the desired current signals into analog reference voltages; and monitor voltage drops across sense resistors to provide feedback for adjusting the pre-drive signals sense resistors coupled to the H-bridge circuits.
Thomson discloses digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to convert the desired current signals into analog reference voltages (¶. [0003]- [0004]); and monitor voltage drops across sense resistors (current sensing resistor 38) to provide feedback for adjusting the pre-drive signals (controller 32 generate drive signals for Gate Q1-Q4).
Hence, it would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to modify the invention of Raja with the teaching of Thomson to include digital-to-analog converter and sense resistors as processor components integrated or in partitions in order to provide system conditions such as supply voltage, temperature, currents for processing (Raja, ¶. [0028].)
Re. claims 2 and 13, the combination of Raja and Thomson discloses the time-varying periodic current patterns are sinusoidal (see current pattens 300 in Raja), the phase shift between the current pattern for the second winding relative to the current pattern for the first winding is 90° (Fig. 3A in Raja), the current pattern for the first winding follows the equation IA = I∙sin(2πft), and the current pattern for the second winding follows the equation IB = I∙cos(2πft), where I is peak current amplitude, f is the step frequency, and it is time (See Raja Figs. 3A and B and Thomson Fig. 1).
Re. claims 3 and 14, the combination of Raja and Thomson discloses performing a self-test of the bipolar stepper motor during a hold condition without rotating a motor shaft, the self-test being performed by the pre-drive signals causing energizing of the first and second windings with current waveforms comprising both DC and AC components (Raja, Fig. 5, state 506); and measuring electrical parameters of the bipolar stepper motor based on the energized first and second windings (Raja, Fig. 5, state 504 and associate text ¶. [0054]- [0055]).
Re. claims 11 and 22, the combination of Raja and Thomson discloses using pulse width modulation to adjust the pre-drive signals based on the feedback from the sense resistors (Thomson, ¶. [0020]).
Allowable Subject Matter
5. Claims 4- 10 and 15- 21 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
6. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/SAID BOUZIANE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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