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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Page 12, line 26, “DC network 403” should be “DC network 401”. Page 13, line
15, “systems 300a, 200b” should be “systems 300a, 300b”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference character(s) not mentioned in the description: 130N in Figure 1 and 222 in Figure 2. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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 Objections
Claims 1, 14, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 1, line 19, “further comprising” should be “further comprises”. Claim 14, line 4, “respective AC sides of the DC:AC converter circuit and the DC:AC converter” should be “respective AC sides of the DC:AC converter circuit and the AC:DC converter”. Claim 19, line 6, “switch (630)a” should be “switching (630)a” Appropriate correction is required.
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, 12, and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by the US patent application publication of Youm et al. (2004/0160792).
As to claim 1, Youm discloses an electrical power system, comprising: an
electrical power source (1, see Figure 2); a power converter (3) connected, at an input side, to the electrical power source and comprising first and second DC output terminals (+,-) and a capacitor (5) connected between the first and second output terminals (+,-) (see Figure 2); a DC electrical network having a first input terminal (P) and a second input terminal (N) (see Figure 2); a resistor (15) (see Figure 2); a switch arrangement comprising a plurality of switches (11 and left side of 19) (see Figure 2) having: a first configuration in which the resistor (15) is connected in series between the first output terminal (+) of the power converter and the first input terminal (P) of the DC electrical network (see Figure 2); a second configuration in which the first output terminal (+) of the power converter is connected to the first input terminal (P) of the DC electrical network bypassing the resistor (15), see switch 19 in Figure 4); and a third configuration in which the resistor (11) is connected in parallel across the capacitor (see paragraphs [0035] – [0040] and Figure 4), wherein the electrical power system further comprises a control system (20) for controlling a configuration of the switch arrangement (see Figures 2 and 4).
As to claim 2, the control system is configured to: switch the switch arrangement (11, left side of 19) (see Figure 2) to the first configuration for a start-up sequence of the electrical power system; and switch the switch arrangement (11, left side of 19) (see Figure 2) from the first configuration to the second configuration when the start-up sequence is complete (claim 1 recites the first and second configurations, and the first and second configurations are inherently done via a control signal).
As to claim 12, the power source (1) is an AC power source and the power converter (3) is an AC:DC converter (see Figure 2).
As to claim 16, the control system (20) monitors one or more operating parameters of the electrical power system (voltage across the capacitor 5); and in response to a change in one or more of the one or more operating parameters (voltage across the capacitor reaching a predetermined over voltage), changing a configuration of the switch arrangement (see paragraph [0040], lines 1-5).
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.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 13-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Youm in view of the US patent application of Namuduri et al. (2023/0365012).
As to claim 13, Youm discloses all of the claimed features, as set forth
above, except for the claimed DC power source and DC:DC power converter. Namuduri discloses a DC:DC power converter (82) with a DC power source (+,-) (See paragraph (Figure 6). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have used a DC:DC converter in the circuit of Youm, in order to provide an efficient power supply from a DC power source to a DC load.
As to claim 14, the DC:DC power converter (82) of Namuduri is a Dual Active Bridge (DAB) DC:DC power converter comprising a DC:AC converter circuit (88a), an AC:DC converter circuit (92a) and an AC link (86a) connecting respective AC sides of the DC:AC converter circuit (88a) and the AC:DC converter circuit (92a) (see paragraph [0059], lines 1-5; paragraph [0060], lines 7-12; and Figure 6).
As to claim 15, Namuduri discloses an aircraft power and propulsion system comprising the DC:DC power converter (82) with a DC power source (+,-) (see paragraph [0038], lines 3-5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-11 and 17-19 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:
Claims 3-4 contain allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests the control system configured to: switch the switch arrangement from the second configuration to the third configuration in response to a determination to the effect that a voltage across the capacitor has increased past a threshold, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Claim 5 contains allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests the control system further configured to: switch the switch arrangement from the second configuration to the first configuration in response to a determination to the effect that there is a fault in the DC electrical network, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Claims 6 contains allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests the power converter comprising an AC:DC converter circuit comprising a first half-bridge and a second half-bridge, each of the first half-bridge and the second half-bridge comprising a high-side power semiconductor switch and a low-side power semiconductor switch; the control system further configured to control switch states of the power semiconductor switches of the AC:DC converter circuit; and the control system further configured to, before changing the configuration of the switch arrangement, switch the power semiconductor switches of the AC:DC converter circuit into a crowbar configuration in which only low-side transistors or only high-side transistors of the first and second half-bridges are switched on, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Claims 7-9 contain allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests the switch arrangement comprising: a first switch connected in series between the resistor and the first input terminal of the DC electrical network; a second switch connected in parallel across the resistor and the first switch; and a third switch connected in parallel across the capacitor and between the second input terminal of the DC electrical network and a node located between the resistor and the first switch, wherein: in the first configuration, the first switch is closed and the second and third switches are open; in the second configuration, the second switch is closed and the first and third switches are open; and in the third configuration, the second and third switches are closed and the first switch is open, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Claims 10-11 contain allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests the resistor being a non-linear resistor, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Claims 17-18 contain allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests switching the switch arrangement to the first configuration for a start-up sequence of the electrical power system; switching the switch arrangement from the first configuration to the second configuration when the start-up sequence is complete; and switching the switch arrangement from the second configuration to the third configuration in response to a determination to the effect that a voltage across the capacitor has increased past a threshold, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Claim 19 contains allowable subject matter because none of the prior art of record discloses or suggests an AC:DC converter circuit comprising a first half-bridge and a second half-bridge, each of the first half-bridge and the second half-bridge comprising a high-side power semiconductor switch and a low-side power semiconductor switch, and the method further comprises: prior to changing the configuration of the switch arrangement, switching a plurality of power semiconductor switches of the AC:DC converter circuit into a crowbar configuration, in combination with the remaining claimed features.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HAL KAPLAN whose telephone number is (571)272-8587. The examiner can normally be reached 9:30AM-5:00PM.
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/HAL KAPLAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836