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 .
Drawings
New corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in this application because figs 1-7 are illegible. Applicant is advised to employ the services of a competent patent draftsperson outside the Office, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office no longer prepares new drawings. The corrected drawings are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The requirement for corrected drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
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 2-7 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.
The claims are generally narrative and indefinite, failing to conform with current U.S. practice. They appear to be a literal translation into English from a foreign document and are replete with grammatical and idiomatic errors. The phrase “characterized in that” in line 2 is not accordance with U.S. practice.
Claims 5 and 7 recite the limitation " the state-space regulator " in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Regarding claim 6, the phrase "a suitable" in line 2 renders the claim indefinite because it is unclear whether the limitations following the phrase are part of the claimed invention. See MPEP § 2173.05(d).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by SCHROTH et al. US 2022/0045632 A1.
Regarding claim 1, SCHROTH et al. disclose
A regulation system (fig. 2) comprising a multi-motor converter (item PWR) for the controlled parallel operation of a number of n EC motors (M1, ..., Mn), the respective rotor position of which is detected without the use of sensors, where n ≥ 2, comprising a. at least one detection device (item 20) for separately determining at least the rotor positions and speeds of the n EC motors (items 1 and 2) by means of previously measured phase currents IM1,….IMn (IM1 and IM2) with separately executed current detections and optionally the terminal voltage Uu,v,w of the n EC motors at the converter, wherein each of the n EC motors is described for regulation in its own coordinate system, b. a regulation and transformation device (items 20 and 30) comprising a stabilization regulator (item R within item 20) which generates a d-current (Id_target, Id_target) from the determined rotor positions and speeds of the n-motors [0053-0059], c. a regulation device (item Rdq) connected downstream of the regulation and transformation device and having a linear (item Rdq) or non-linear state regulator to which the current variables output by the regulation and transformation device are fed in order to generate switching commands for the multi-motor converter for operating the n motors [0062-0066].
Regarding claim 2, SCHROTH et al. disclose
, characterized in that a trajectory setting or a fixed target value (item wtarget) is used for the speed setting to the state regulator.
Regarding claim 3, SCHROTH et al. disclose
characterized in that the detection device RLM1, RLM2 (item 10) has at least one measuring device for sensorless detection of the respective phase currents IM1, .., IMn of the n EC motors [0064].
Regarding claim 4, SCHROTH et al. disclose
, characterized in that the regulation and transformation device has a Clarke-Park transformer for transforming at least the variables rotor position and total current Iuvw into a d-q current variable Id,q_ist in space vector representation for the regulation device [0065].
Regarding claim 5, SCHROTH et al. disclose
, characterized in that the regulation device (item 30) has a Clarke-Park transformer, for transforming the voltage variables Ud,q obtained from the state-space regulator in space vector representation by means of Clarke-Park transformation into a three-phase voltage variable Uuvw and for converting these into direct voltage switching signals for the converter by means of a PWM modulator [0065-0066].
Regarding claim 6, SCHROTH et al. disclose
characterized in that the stabilization regulator is provided for providing a suitable current variable Id_SOLL (Id_target) in order to impress this current variable on the state regulator in order to return the motors to a stable operating point after a load jump in one of the EC motors [0066].
Regarding claim 7, SCHROTH et al. disclose
, characterized in that the regulation device has a Clarke-Park transformer for transforming the voltage variables Ud,q obtained from the state-space regulator in space vector representation by means of Clarke-Park transformation into a three-phase voltage variable Uuvw and for converting these into switching signals for the converter by means of a PWM modulator (Modulator) [0065].
Regarding claim 8, SCHROTH et al. disclose
A method for operating n EC motors with n≥2 in parallel operation on a common multi-motor converter (PWR) with a regulation system according to claim 1, comprising the following steps: a. separate detecting of the individual phase currents IM1, ..., IMn of the n EC motors (M1, …, Mn), b. determining the rotor positions and speeds of the n EC motors (M1, …, Mn) using the previously measured phase currents IM1, ..., IMn of the n EC motors in order to determine a separate, in particular independent coordinate system (KOS) for each of the n EC motors (M1, …, Mn) [0053-0059]; c. generating and transmitting current and/or voltage variables in a space vector representation to the regulation device based on the values of the determined rotor positions determined in step b), d. generating three-phase voltage variables Uuvw by means of a Clarke-Park transformation from the voltage variables in space vector representation and passing these on to a modulator (PWM) [0065-0066]; e. generating switching commands (SZB) using the modulator (PWM) from the voltage variables Uuvw for the multi-motor converter (PWM) to control the operation of the n EC motors [0065-0066], f. wherein the regulation of the n EC motors is carried out in relation to a selected reference motor (motor M1) and its reference coordinate system (d-q coordiante) [0009] (see claim 1 rejection for detail).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hatib (“Speed Sensorless Control of Dual Induction Motor using Direct Torque Control Space Vector Modulation”) discloses single inverter dual motor system as shown in Fig. 2.
Shimizu et al. (US 11,632,071 B2) disclose dual motor controlled by a single inverter as shown in Fig. 1.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BICKEY DHAKAL whose telephone number is (571)272-3577. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-4:30 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, Eduardo Colon-Santana can be reached on 571-272-2060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BICKEY DHAKAL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
Prosecution Insights