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 . 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 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.
This office action is in response to the application filed on 11/13/2024.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawing
The drawings filed on 11/13/2024 are acceptable.
Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/13/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 C.F.R. § 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has been considered by the examiner.
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)(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.
Claims 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yang et al. (US 11,223,292 B2), hereinafter ‘Yang.
In re to claim 1, Yang disclose a method of switching a charger-converter integrated device (i.e. see the Abstract and col. 1, lines 42-45), the method comprising: performing, by a controller (i.e. not shown in the drawings, see col. 8, line 31-34 and 61-64), a first switching operation on a primary bridge circuit (i.e. 130, fig. 1) of the charger-converter integrated device (i.e. fig. 1); and performing synchronization, by the controller, by performing a second switching operation on a secondary bridge circuit (i.e. 150) of the charger-converter integrated device (i.e. fig, 1, see col. 4, line 26-47).
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 2-4 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (US 11,223,292 B2), hereinafter ‘Yang in view of Ayyanar (US 11,152,849 B2).
In re to claims 2 and 12, Yang disclose the method (i.e. see the Abstract and col. 1, lines 42-45) of claim 1. Except, Yang fail to explicitly disclose that wherein the first switching operation or the second switching operation is a zero-voltage switching; wherein the zero-voltage switching in the secondary bridge circuit is performed by using a magnetization current of a transformer. Whereas Ayyanar teaches that wherein the first switching operation or the second switching operation is a zero-voltage switching; wherein the zero-voltage switching in the secondary bridge circuit is performed by using a magnetization current of a transformer (i.e. see col. 7, lines 55-60 and col. 8, lines 20-21). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Yang by incorporating the ZVS of Ayyanar to help eliminates the overlap between voltage and current during switching, which virtually removes switching losses, prevents inrush current, and drastically reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI).
In re to claims 3-4, Yang disclose the method (i.e. see the Abstract and col. 1, lines 42-45) of claim 2, Except, Yang fail to explicitly disclose that wherein a primary bridge duty for the first switching operation is a new value obtained by adding a specific value to a secondary bridge duty for the second switching operation; wherein the specific value is greater than or equal to a preset reference value. However, discloses the claimed invention except for the difference between the first and send bridge duty of switching operations. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the required or desired switching duty period for switching, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 6-11, 13 and 14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claims but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In re to claim 5, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein the preset reference value is obtained by multiplying a square root value of an inductance of an inductor disposed between the primary bridge circuit and the secondary bridge circuit and a capacitance of a parasitic capacitor of the primary bridge circuit by a switching frequency at which switching elements of the primary bridge circuit are turned on and off”.
In re to claim 6, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein a current required for the zero-voltage switching is when inductor energy stored in an inductor disposed between the primary bridge circuit and the secondary bridge circuit is higher than capacitor energy stored in a parasitic capacitor of switching elements of the primary bridge circuit”.
In re to claim 13, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein a primary bridge circuit and a secondary bridge circuit are subjected to primary phase control and secondary phase control, respectively, to execute a high voltage battery charging operation mode in which charging power is supplied to a high voltage battery”.
In re to claim 14, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “executing, by the controller, a secondary duty for the secondary bridge circuit to maintain a low voltage battery charging operation mode in which charging power is supplied to a low voltage battery; and performing, by the controller, a third switching operation on an auxiliary circuit of the charger-converter integrated device”.
The art of record does not disclose the above limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify the art of record to include either of the above limitations.
In re to claims 7-11, claims 7-11 depend on claim 6, thus are also objected for the same reasons provided above.
Remarks
The examiner has cited columns, line numbers, paragraph numbers, references, or
figures in the references applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings of the art and are applied to specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested from the applicant in preparing responses to fully consider the reference in entirety, as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2141.02 and § 2123.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-20 are allowed over the art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: -
In re to claim 15, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “wherein the preset reference value is obtained by multiplying a square root value of an inductance of an inductor and a capacitance of a parasitic capacitor of a primary bridge circuit by a switching frequency at which primary bridge switches of the primary bridge circuit are turned on and off, wherein the inductor is coupled between the primary bridge circuit and a secondary bridge circuit; setting a primary duty cycle for a first switching operation of the primary bridge switches of the primary bridge circuit to be a new value obtained by adding the specific value to a secondary duty cycle for a second switching operation of secondary bridge switches of the secondary bridge circuit; performing the first switching operation on the primary bridge circuit at the primary duty cycle using the new value; and performing the second
In re to claim 18, None of the cited prior art alone or in combination disclose or teach the claimed inventions in which “determining a specific value greater than or equal to a preset reference value, wherein the preset reference value is obtained by multiplying a square root value of an inductance of the inductor and a capacitance of a parasitic capacitor of the primary bridge circuit by a switching frequency at which the primary bridge switches of the primary bridge circuit are turned on and off, setting a primary duty cycle for a first switching operation of the primary bridge switches of the primary bridge circuit to be a new value obtained by adding the specific value to a secondary duty cycle for a second switching operation of the secondary bridge switches of the secondary bridge circuit, performing the first switching operation on the primary bridge circuit at the primary duty cycle, and performing the second switching operation on the secondary bridge circuit at the secondary duty cycle”.
The art of record does not disclose the above limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify the art of record to include either of the above limitations.
In re to claims 16-17, claims 16-17 depend on claim 15, thus are also allowed for the same reasons provided above.
In re to claims 19-20, claims 19-20 depend on claim 18, thus are also allowed for the same reasons provided above.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance”.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEMANE MEHARI whose telephone number is (571)270-7603. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM TO 6 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thienvu V. Tran can be reached at 5712701276. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/YEMANE MEHARI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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