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 (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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/10/2025 has been considered by the examiner.
Oath/Declaration
Oath/Declaration as file 11/18/2024 is noted by the Examiner.
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 1-12 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.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “…the method comprising…” in line 7 of Claim 1. It is not clear if the underlined limitation in question refers to the same “method of measuring current and snubbing in the multi-chip power module” disclosed earlier in Claim 1 or if it refers to a different “method”. If this is the case, then please change the limitation in question to “the method of measuring the current and snubbing in the multi-chip power module”.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “…attaching the current transformer to the system for which measurement is desired…” in lines 8-9 of Claim 1. It is not clear if the underlined limitation in question refers to the same “magnetic core current transformer” disclosed earlier in Claim 1 or if it refers to a different “current transformer”. If this is the case, then please change the limitation in question to “the magnetic core current transformer”.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… measuring the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
…" in line 10 of Claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no prior disclosure of a “voltage” before this moment.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… measuring the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
; and mathematically scaling the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
to …" in lines 10-11 of Claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no prior disclosure of a “burden resistor” before this; and it is not clear if the underlined limitation in question refers to the same “burden resister” disclosed earlier in claim 1 or if the “burden resistor” is a different component.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… measuring the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
…" in line 10 of Claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no prior disclosure of a “voltage” before this moment.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… mathematically scaling the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
to represent the predicted current value in the primary circuit …" in lines 11-12 of Claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no prior disclosure of a “predicted current value” before this moment.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "… mathematically scaling the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
to represent the predicted current value in the primary circuit …" in lines 11-12 of Claim 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no prior disclosure of a “primary circuit” before this moment.
Claim 2 recites the limitation “…wherein Zin remains below 100 mΩ across the range of frequencies for which measurement is desired.” There is no prior disclosure of “range of frequencies” before this moment.
Claims 2-12 are also rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph as they are dependent on rejected Claim 1.
Please make the proper corrections.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-12 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph disclosed earlier in the Office Action.
Regarding claim 1, the prior art does not teach or suggest, in combination with the rest of the limitations of claim 1,
“…a burden resister having resistance RB and a filter, the filter comprising a capacitance CP, an inductance LP and a resistance RP; wherein CP, LP and RP are selected such that:
Z
i
n
≈
N
2
⋅
R
B
;
the method comprising: attaching the current transformer to the system for which measurement is desired; and measuring the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
; and mathematically scaling the voltage across the burden resistor
R
B
to represent the predicted current value in the primary circuit.”
Claims 2-12 are also allowed as they further limit allowed claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Huang et al. US 2023/0078628 - An isolated converter includes an input circuit, a transformer, a first switch, a second switch and a snubber circuit. The input circuit includes at least two input capacitors, and is configured to provide an input voltage. A divider node is arranged between the at least two input capacitors. The transformer includes a primary winding and a secondary winding to generate an output voltage on the secondary winding according to the input voltage. The primary winding of the transformer is electrically connected between the first switch and the second switch.
Schenk US 2006/0262577 - A new type of the passive non-dissipative snubber with a single saturable reactor improves the performance of the boost converter used as a front-end active Power Factor Correction (PFC) in two critical areas: excess voltage stresses caused by high voltage spikes on input high voltage switching transistor of the boost converter is eliminated and EMI noise is much reduced. The high voltage spike energy instead of being dissipated as in a dissipative snubber circuits is recovered resulting in increased conversion efficiency.
Radic et al. US 2018/0019678 - The combined voltage regulator and snubber circuit generally has a voltage regulator device in parallel with the energy storage element of the snubber circuit operatively connectable in series with a leakage inductance current path; the leakage inductance being part of a magnetic component utilized in a switch-mode power supply having an input voltage source, controllable semiconductor switches, freewheeling semiconductor switches, feedback controller, reactive energy storage components and a load; the voltage regulator generally providing constant or variable voltage to the gate driver of the controllable semiconductor and/or feedback controller.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RAUL J RIOS RUSSO whose telephone number is (571)270-3459. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm, EST.
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, Huy Phan can be reached at 571-272-7924. 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.
/RAUL J RIOS RUSSO/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
Prosecution Insights