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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/21/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Maeda et al. (US 2020/009286).
In claim 1, Maeda discloses (Fig. 1-6) a control device (2) that is used in a motor device (100) including a motor (91a), an inverter (12) that drives the motor (91a), a cooling device (20) that cools the inverter (12) with a cooling medium ([0026]), and a current sensor (52a) mounted on a connection line (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) connecting the motor (52a) and the inverter (12), the control device (2) being configured to control the inverter (12), and comprising an electronic control unit (6) configured to derive an estimated temperature that is an estimated value of a temperature of the current sensor (52a), based on a coil temperature and a cooling medium temperature ([0049]), and to limit power output from the motor (91a) based on the estimated temperature, the coil temperature being a temperature of a coil (via 4a, 4b, 4c) of the motor (91a), and the cooling medium temperature being a temperature of the cooling medium (see NOTE).
NOTE: Claims 1-2 recite functional language. [A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does.” Hewlett-Packard Co.v.Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469, 15 USPQ2d 1525, 1528 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (emphasis in original). A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987). It has been held that the recitation that an element is "configured to" perform a function is not a positive limitation but only requires the ability to so perform, it does not constitute a limitation in any patentable sense. In re Hutchison, 69 USPQPlease refer to MPEP 2114.
In claim 2, Maeda discloses wherein the electronic control unit (6) is configured to estimate a reached temperature based on the coil temperature and the cooling medium temperature and to perform a first-order lag process on the reached temperature to calculate the estimated temperature, the reached temperature being a temperature that is reached by the current sensor (52a; see NOTE above).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Okada et al. (US 2024/0326654) teaches a motor control system to be applied to an electric vehicle including a battery, a motor including a rotor and a stator, two inverter circuits, one or more processors, and a cooling water circuit including a cooling water pump.
Kondo et al. (US 2024/0286490) teaches an electrified vehicle including a drive device including an alternating current motor and an inverter that drives the alternating current motor, a control device that controls the drive device, and a heat transfer device that transfers heat of the drive device to a heating target.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RASHAD H JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1231. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30am-5pm.
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, Christopher Koehler can be reached at 571-272-3560. 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.
RASHAD H. JOHNSON
Examiner
Art Unit 2834
/RASHAD H JOHNSON/Examiner, Art Unit 2834
Prosecution Insights