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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/08/2024 is considered by the examiner.
Drawings
3. The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “power source” of claim 1 and “the external power source” of Claim 3 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5, 8, 10-12, 16, 19, 21, 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kronenberger (US 20210349139) hereinafter ‘Kronenberger’ and further in view of Essawy et al. (US 20200379027), hereinafter ‘Essawy’.
Regarding Claim 1, Kronenberger discloses an apparatus configured to measure current comprising: at least one probe (Fig. 2, probes T1, T2) configured to connect to a device under test (Figs. 1 and 2, DUT high voltage line 2; Fig. 2 disclosing T2 coupled to high voltage line 2); touch probe circuitry (Figs. 1 and 2, tester 7) connected to the at least one probe (Fig. 2, probes T1, T2), wherein the touch probe circuitry is configured to detect, via the at least one probe, a leakage or touch current of the device under test (Para [0031] measuring the leakage current when switch S is closed; The probes T1, T2 are connected to the insulation tester 7 which measures the current between the probes T1, T2 and therefore between the respective internal conductor L1, L2 and the sheath 8) while the device under test is connected to a power source (Para [0029] When the switch S is closed, the measurement voltage provided by the voltage source 4 is applied to the high-voltage line 2).
Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose an analog to digital converter circuitry configured to receive the leakage or touch current from the touch probe circuitry, wherein the analog to digital converter further outputs at least one digital value related the leakage or touch current.
Essawy discloses a differential leakage current system coupled to a device under test (Fig. 5, differential current measurement 50; Para [0019] probes coupled to heater) comprising an analog to digital converter circuitry (Fig. 5, analog to digital converter 76; Para [0022]) configured to receive the leakage or touch current from a touch probe circuitry (Para [0019-0022] inlet current I.sub.in flows into resistive heating element 22 (i.e., heater 20) through first power lead 16, and outlet current I.sub.out flows from resistive heating element 22 through second power lead 18; Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L)), wherein the analog to digital converter further outputs at least one digital value related the leakage or touch current (Para [0022] Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L)) for the benefit of monitoring the health of the device under test via a probe and differential current measurement circuit, thus mitigating impact and predicting replacements of parts (Para [0004], Fig. 5).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide an analog to digital converter circuitry configured to receive the leakage or touch current from the touch probe circuitry, wherein the analog to digital converter further outputs at least one digital value related the leakage or touch current for the benefit of producing a digital signal for monitoring the health of the device under test via a probe and provide a differential current measurement further representing the health of the device under test to be able to predict replacement as taught by Essawy in Fig. 5, Para [0004, 0019-0022].
Regarding Claim 2, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose a current monitor circuitry configured to detect differential current between power lines connected to the device under test (Essawy in Fig. 5, Differential current circuit 50 coupled between power supply 13 and device under test 20), wherein the analog to digital converter circuitry is further configured to receive the differential current from the current monitor circuitry and output at least one digital value related to the differential current (Fig. 5, ADC 76 coupled to 50; Para [0022]).
Regarding Claim 5, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose a user interface, a processor, and a memory having stored thereon non-transitory computer-readable instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause the apparatus to display on the user interface at least one value associated with a digital current measurement of the leakage or touch current (Essawy in Para [0023] prognostic processor 80 provide information regarding one or more heaters 20 including the current value of leakage current I.sub.L, the history of leakage current I.sub.L over time (e.g., operating time or calendar time), the expected EOL;data can be provided to other systems (e.g., avionics system) for use by crew members. In these or other embodiments, prognostic processor 80 can provide data that can be transmitted and/or downloaded to engineering teams at an airline's operator, maintenance facility, and/or the various component suppliers whereby the data can be reviewed, analyzed, and/or archived).
Regarding Claims 8 and 21, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to display a user interface element configured to permit user selection of a digitally simulated body network or frequency network (Essawy in Para [0023] prognostic processor 80 provide information regarding one or more heaters 20 including the current value of leakage current I.sub.L, the history of leakage current I.sub.L over time (e.g., operating time or calendar time), the expected EOL;data can be provided to other systems (e.g., avionics system) for use by crew members. In these or other embodiments, prognostic processor 80 can provide data that can be transmitted and/or downloaded to engineering teams at an airline's operator, maintenance facility, and/or the various component suppliers whereby the data can be reviewed, analyzed, and/or archived).
Regarding Claim 10, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to display at least one of a voltage of the device under test, a current of the device under test, a power level of the device under test, an energy level of the device under test, or a sample frequency of the device under test (Kronenberger in Para [0029] provide a measurement voltage for the high-voltage line in view of the display of Essawy).
Regarding Claim 11, Kronenberger discloses an apparatus configured to measure current comprising: current monitor circuitry configured to detect current between power lines connected to a device under test (Para [0031] measuring the leakage current when switch S is closed; The probes T1, T2 are connected to the insulation tester 7 which measures the current between the probes T1, T2 and therefore between the respective internal conductor L1, L2 and the sheath 8; Figs. 1 and 2, DUT high voltage line 2; Fig. 2 disclosing T2 coupled to high voltage line 2).
Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose wherein the current is a differential current and an analog to digital converter circuitry configured to receive the differential current from the current monitor circuitry and output at least one digital value related to the differential current.
Essawy discloses a differential leakage current system (Fig. 5, Differential current circuit 50 coupled between power supply 13 and device under test 20) coupled to a device under test (Fig. 5, Para [0019] probes coupled to heater) comprising an analog to digital converter circuitry (Fig. 5, analog to digital converter 76; Para [0022]) configured to receive a leakage current (Para [0019-0022] inlet current I.sub.in flows into resistive heating element 22 (i.e., heater 20) through first power lead 16, and outlet current I.sub.out flows from resistive heating element 22 through second power lead 18; Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L)), wherein the analog to digital converter further outputs at least one digital value related the leakage current (Para [0022] Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L); Fig. 5, ADC 76 coupled to 50; Para [0022]) for the benefit of monitoring the health of the device under test via a probe and differential current measurement circuit, thus mitigating impact and predicting replacements of parts (Para [0004], Fig. 5).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide detection of a differential current and an analog to digital converter circuitry configured to receive the differential current from the current monitor circuitry and output at least one digital value related to the differential current for the benefit of producing a digital signal for monitoring the health of the device under test via a probe and provide a differential current measurement further representing the health of the device under test to be able to predict replacement as taught by Essawy in Fig. 5, Para [0004, 0019-0022].
Regarding Claim 12, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose at least one probe configured to connect to the device under test (Kronenberger in Fig. 2, probes T1, T2; Figs. 1 and 2, DUT high voltage line 2; Fig. 2 disclosing T2 coupled to high voltage line 2); touch probe circuitry (Figs. 1 and 2, tester 7) connected to the at least one probe (Fig. 2, probes T1, T2), wherein the touch probe circuitry is configured to detect, via the at least one probe, a leakage or touch current of the device under test (Kronenberger in Para [0031] measuring the leakage current when switch S is closed; The probes T1, T2 are connected to the insulation tester 7 which measures the current between the probes T1, T2 and therefore between the respective internal conductor L1, L2 and the sheath 8) while the device under test is connected to a power source (Kronenberger in Para [0029] When the switch S is closed, the measurement voltage provided by the voltage source 4 is applied to the high-voltage line 2), wherein the analog to digital converter circuitry is further configured to receive the leakage or touch current from the touch probe circuitry (Essawy in Para [0019-0022] inlet current I.sub.in flows into resistive heating element 22 (i.e., heater 20) through first power lead 16, and outlet current I.sub.out flows from resistive heating element 22 through second power lead 18; Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L), and wherein the analog to digital converter further outputs at least one digital value related the leakage or touch current (Essawy in Para [0022] Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L).
Regarding Claim 16, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose a user interface, a processor, and a memory having stored thereon non-transitory computer-readable instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause the apparatus to display on the user interface at least one value associated with a digital current measurement of the differential current (Essawy in Para [0023] prognostic processor 80 provide information regarding one or more heaters 20 including the current value of leakage current I.sub.L, from differential current circuit 50 in Para [0019], the history of leakage current I.sub.L over time (e.g., operating time or calendar time), the expected EOL;data can be provided to other systems (e.g., avionics system) for use by crew members. In these or other embodiments, prognostic processor 80 can provide data that can be transmitted and/or downloaded to engineering teams at an airline's operator, maintenance facility, and/or the various component suppliers whereby the data can be reviewed, analyzed, and/or archived).
Regarding Claim 19, Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose wherein the current monitor circuitry comprises at least one transformer.
Essawy discloses a differential leakage current system coupled to a device under test (Fig. 5, Differential current circuit 50 coupled between power supply 13 and device under test 20) wherein the current monitor circuitry comprises at least one transformer (Fig. 6 differential current circuit 50 comprising a transformer, Para [0026]) for the benefit of providing an indication that is proportional to the value of leakage current (Para [0026-0027]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide an alternative structure indicating a difference between an inlet and outlet current for defining leakage current as taught by Essawy in (Para [0006, 0026-0027]).
Regarding Claim 24, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further disclose updating software instructions used for the converting of the analog differential current to the at least one digital value (Essawy in Para [0023] prognostic processor 80 is a digital processor that receives, stores, scales, and processes the digitized).
Claim(s) 3, 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kronenberger (US 20210349139) hereinafter ‘Kronenberger’ in view of Essawy et al. (US 20200379027), hereinafter ‘Essawy’ and further in view of Song et al. (US 20230132194), hereinafter ‘Song’.
Regarding Claim 3, Kronenberger in view of Essawy fail to disclose a power wiring connector of the apparatus connectable to an external power source, wherein the power wiring connector of the apparatus is configured to supply power to at least one switch of the touch probe circuitry while the power wiring connector of the apparatus is connected to the external power source.
Song discloses a power wiring connector (Para [0009, 0041] power plug assembly) of the apparatus connectable to an external power source (Para [0009, 0041] power plug coupled to external power source), wherein the power wiring connector of the apparatus is configured to supply power to at least one switch of the touch probe circuitry while the power wiring connector of the apparatus is connected to the external power source (Para [0009, 0041] power plug assembly coupled to switch of detector unit and supplies power to the switch of the detector unit via the power plug assembly) for the benefit of controlling and operating the device.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide a power wiring connector of the apparatus connectable to an external power source, wherein the power wiring connector of the apparatus is configured to supply power to at least one switch of the touch probe circuitry while the power wiring connector of the apparatus is connected to the external power source for the benefit of providing a power source for controlling and operating the device as taught by Song in Para [0009 and 0041].
Regarding Claim 13, Kronenberger further discloses a receptacle connector coupled to the device under test (Fig 1, accommodating device 5 and adaptor connectors 6 coupled to the high voltage line 2).
Kronenberger in view of Essawy fail to explicitly disclose a receptacle for receiving a power wiring connector of the device under test.
Song discloses a power wiring connector (Para [0009, 0041] power plug assembly) of the apparatus connectable to an external power source (Para [0009, 0041] power plug coupled to external power source), coupled to a device under test (Para [0009, 0041] power plug assembly coupled to detector unit via the power plug assembly) for the benefit of controlling and operating the device.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide a receptacle for receiving a power wiring connector of the device under test for the benefit of providing a power source for controlling and operating the device as taught by Song in Para [0009 and 0041].
Claim(s) 4, 6, 17, 20, 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kronenberger (US 20210349139) hereinafter ‘Kronenberger’ in view of Essawy et al. (US 20200379027), hereinafter ‘Essawy’ and further in view of Schoenborn et al. (US 20070136023), hereinafter ‘Schoenborn’.
Regarding Claim 4, Kronenberger in view of Essawy fail to disclose further comprising network circuitry configured to digitally simulate a body network or frequency network, wherein the network circuitry is between and connected to the touch probe circuitry and the analog to digital converter circuitry.
Schoenborn teaches a computer program product having computer program code identifying defective devices having excessive leakage current wherein a test routine measures the leakage current for test devices at a plurality of test operating frequencies (Para [0013]) for the benefit of determining leakage current over a range of parameter values (Abstract).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide network circuitry configured to digitally simulate a body network or frequency network as taught by Schoenborn, wherein the network circuitry is between and connected to the touch probe circuitry of Kronenberger and the analog to digital converter circuitry as taught by Essawy for the benefit of conducting test routine measurements at a plurality of test operating frequencies in order to detecting the presence of leakage inducing defects in devices as taught by Schoenborn in Para [0013] and the Abstract.
Regarding Claims 6 and 21, Kronenberger in view of Essawy fail to disclose wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to display on the user interface a depiction of a currently selected digitally simulated body network or frequency network of Claim 6 and receiving a user input, via the user interface, configured to specify a body network or frequency network for use in testing the device under test of Claim 21.
Schoenborn teaches a computer program product having computer program code identifying defective devices having excessive leakage current wherein a test routine measures the leakage current for test devices at a plurality of test operating frequencies and received by user input and displaying on the user interface (Para [0013, 0049], Fig. 7B interface system 700 comprising 704/712) for the benefit of determining leakage current over a range of parameter values (Abstract).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine instructions to further cause the apparatus to display on the user interface a depiction of a currently selected digitally simulated body network or frequency network and receiving a user input, via the user interface, configured to specify a body network or frequency network for use in testing the device under test for the benefit of determining leakage current over a range of parameter values as taught by Schoenborn in Para [0013, 0049], Abstract, Fig. 7B.
Regarding Claim 17, Kronenberger further discloses further comprising power control circuitry comprising at least one switch (Fig. 1, switch S) configured to switch a polarity of power supplied to the device under test (Para [0010]), wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus selection of the polarity of power supplied to the device under test (Para [0010] controllable switch and switch can be controlled by insulation tester).
Kronenberger in view of Essawy fail to explicitly disclose a display and an user interface element configured to permit user selection.
Schoenborn discloses a display and user interface element for interacting with and controlling a test apparatus (Para [0047-0048]) for the benefit of identifying test devices having excessive leakage current (Abstract).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine a display and an user interface element configured to permit user selection for the benefit of identifying test devices having excessive leakage current as taught by Schoenborn in Para [0047-0048] and the Abstract.
Regarding Claim 20, Kronenberger discloses a method for testing a device under test comprising: connecting at least one probe to a device under test (Fig. 2, probes T1, T2; Figs. 1 and 2, DUT high voltage line 2; Fig. 2 disclosing T2 coupled to high voltage line 2), wherein the at least one probe is electrically connected to touch probe circuitry (Figs. 1 and 2, tester 7; Fig. 2, probes T1, T2); detecting, via the at least one probe and using the touch probe circuitry, an analog leakage or touch current of the device under test (Para [0031] measuring the leakage current when switch S is closed; The probes T1, T2 are connected to the insulation tester 7 which measures the current between the probes T1, T2 and therefore between the respective internal conductor L1, L2 and the sheath 8) while the device under test is connected to a power source (Para [0029] When the switch S is closed, the measurement voltage provided by the voltage source 4 is applied to the high-voltage line 2).
Kronenberger fails to explicitly disclose converting, using analog to digital converter circuitry, the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test to at least one digital value representative of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test.
Essawy discloses a differential leakage current system coupled to a device under test (Fig. 5, Para [0019] probes coupled to heater) comprising an analog to digital converter circuitry (Fig. 5, analog to digital converter 76; Para [0022]) configured to receive the leakage or touch current from a touch probe circuitry (Para [0019-0022] inlet current I.sub.in flows into resistive heating element 22 (i.e., heater 20) through first power lead 16, and outlet current I.sub.out flows from resistive heating element 22 through second power lead 18; Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L)), wherein the analog to digital converter further outputs at least one digital value related the leakage or touch current (Para [0022] Analog-to-digital converter 76 produces a digital signal representing the DC voltage level provided by filter 74 (i.e., the value of leakage current I.sub.L)) for the benefit of monitoring the health of the device under test via a probe and differential current measurement circuit, thus mitigating impact and predicting replacements of parts (Para [0004], Fig. 5).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine and provide converting, using analog to digital converter circuitry, the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test to at least one digital value representative of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test for the benefit of producing a digital signal for monitoring the health of the device under test via a probe and provide a differential current measurement further representing the health of the device under test to be able to predict replacement as taught by Essawy in Fig. 5, Para [0004, 0019-0022].
Further Kronenberger in view of Essawy fail to explicitly disclose displaying, on a user interface, the at least one digital value representative of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test.
Schoenborn discloses a display and user interface element for interacting with and controlling a test apparatus (Para [0047-0048]) for the benefit of identifying test devices having excessive leakage current (Abstract).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine a display and displaying, on a user interface, the at least one digital value representative of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test for the benefit of identifying test devices having excessive leakage current as taught by Schoenborn in Para [0047-0048] and the Abstract.
Regarding Claim 22, Kronenberger in view of Essawy further discloses updating software instructions used for the converting of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test to the at least one digital value (Essawy in Para [0023] prognostic processor 80 is a digital processor that receives, stores, scales, and processes the digitized).
Claim(s) 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘Essawy’ et al. (US 20200379027), hereinafter ‘Essawy’ in view of Schoenborn et al. (US 20070136023), hereinafter ‘Schoenborn’.
Regarding Claim 23, Essawy discloses a method for testing a device under test comprising: connecting a test apparatus to a power source (Fig. 5, health monitoring system 40 coupled to power supply 13); connecting a device under test to a test apparatus (Fig. 5, health monitoring system having differential current measurement 50 coupled to heater 30); detecting, using current monitoring circuitry of the test apparatus, an analog differential current flowing through power wiring of the test apparatus (Fig. 5, differential current measurement 50 signal converted from power supply 13 to digital signal at ADC 76) that electrically connects the power source to the device under test (Fig. 5, power supply coupled to heater 20) converting, using analog to digital converter circuitry (Fig. 5, 76), the analog differential current to at least one digital value representative of the analog differential current (Para [0019] Fig. 5, ADC 76).
Essawy fails to disclose displaying, on a user interface, at least one digital value representative of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test.
Schoenborn teaches a computer program product having computer program code identifying defective devices having excessive leakage current wherein a test routine measures the leakage current for test devices a display and user interface element for interacting with and controlling a test apparatus (Para [0047-0048]) for the benefit of identifying test devices having excessive leakage current (Abstract).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine a display and displaying, on a user interface, at least one digital value representative of the analog leakage or touch current of the device under test for the benefit of identifying test devices having excessive leakage current as taught by Schoenborn in Para [0047-0048] and the Abstract.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7, 9, 14, 15, 18 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding Claim 7, the closest prior art fails to disclose nor would it be obvious to combine “wherein the touch probe circuitry comprises at least one switch configured to connect the touch probe circuitry to at least one of a hot line, a neutral line, a ground line; wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to display on the user interface a user interface element configured to permit user selection of the touch probe circuitry connection to the at least one of a hot line, a neutral line, a ground line” in combination with all other limitations of the claim renders the claim allowable over the prior art.
Regarding Claim 9, the closest prior art fails to disclose nor would it be obvious to combine “wherein the at least one value associated with a digital current measurement of the leakage or touch current or the differential current comprises at least one of a peak leakage current measurement, a quasi-peak leakage current measurement, or a root-mean-square (RMS) leakage current measurement” in combination with all other limitations of the claim renders the claim allowable over the prior art.
Regarding Claim 14, the closest prior art fails to disclose nor would it be obvious to combine “wherein while the power wiring connector of the apparatus is connected to the external power source and the power wiring connector of the device under test is connected to the receptacle, the current monitor circuitry is configured to detect a difference in current flowing between a hot line and a neutral line connected to the device under test of 120 volts” in combination with all other limitations of the claim renders the claim allowable over the prior art.
Regarding Claim 15, the closest prior art fails to disclose nor would it be obvious to combine “wherein while the power wiring connector of the apparatus is connected to the external power source and the power wiring connector of the device under test is connected to the receptacle, the current monitor is configured to detect a difference in current flowing between a first hot line, a second hot line, and a neutral line connected to the device under test of 240 volts” in combination with all other limitations of the claim renders the claim allowable over the prior art.
Regarding Claim 18, the closest prior art fails to disclose nor would it be obvious to combine “power control circuitry comprising at least one switch configured to switch to at least one of an open neutral condition or an open ground condition of power supplied to the device under test, wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to display on the user interface a user interface element configured to permit user selection of the open neutral condition or the open ground condition of power supplied to the device under test” in combination with all other limitations of the claim renders the claim allowable over the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALESA ALLGOOD whose telephone number is (571)270-5811. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM-3:30 PM.
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/ALESA ALLGOOD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
Prosecution Insights