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 .
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.
Claim 15 is 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 15 recites the limitation "a power supply device as claimed in claim 14" in lines 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. There is no power supply device claimed in claim 14 or in claims 1 or 13 from which claim 14 depends. The claim should be amended to resolve this issue.
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 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, 2, 4-8 & 11-17, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Himeda (US 2017/0201187).
With regard to claims 1, 2, 4-8 & 11-17, Himeda, in Figure 1, discloses a surge protection circuit (paragraph 0023 & 0024), comprising: an inductive circuit (L1), coupled to a power loop for a load (90), and configured to receive and temporarily store surge energy in the power loop (a choke placed in series with the source and load would necessarily perform this function); and an energy-releasing circuit (ZD), connected in parallel with the inductive circuit, and configured to release the surge energy for preventing the surge energy from affecting a later-stage circuit (paragraph 0041 teaches that the zener diode is not triggered during normal operation and paragraph 0046 teaches that the zener is triggered when a surge causes the voltage across the inductor to increase which would release the surge energy which stabilizes the output voltage as taught in paragraph 0048) (re claim 1), wherein the inductive circuit produces an electric potential difference across two terminals when the surge energy flows through the inductive circuit, which electric potential difference causes the energy-releasing circuit to conduct current and thus form an energy-releasing path (paragraph 0046) (re claim 2), wherein the inductive circuit includes an inductor (as seen in Fig. 1) (re claim 4), wherein the inductor comprises a differential mode inductor. (L1 paragraph 0015) (re claim 5), wherein the inductive circuit includes an inductor. (as seen in Fig. 1) (re claim 6), wherein the inductor comprises a differential mode inductor (L1 paragraph 0015) (re claim 7), wherein the energy-releasing circuit includes a voltage-controlled component (ZD) connected in parallel with the inductive circuit and configured to form an energy-releasing path when an electric potential difference across two terminals of the inductive circuit exceeds a threshold voltage of the voltage-controlled component (paragraphs 0044-0046) (re claim 8), wherein the energy-releasing circuit further includes a current-limiting component (D2), which is connected in series to the voltage-controlled component and configured for controlling transmission direction of the surge energy (diode D@ would necessarily perform this function) (re claim 11), wherein the energy-releasing circuit further includes a diode (D2), whose anode is coupled to an output terminal of the inductive circuit or whose cathode is coupled to an input terminal of the inductive circuit (as seen in Fig. 1), the diode for conducting current when a reverse electric-potential difference is formed across two terminals of the inductive circuit (re claim 12), wherein the surge protection circuit further includes a filtering circuit (C1 & L1), coupled to at least one terminal of the inductive circuit, for receiving and then filtering a signal (paragraph 0022) (re claim 13), wherein the filtering circuit includes the inductive circuit (as seen in Fig. 1 and paragraph 0022) (re claim 14), an LED lighting device, comprising a power supply device as claimed in claim 14 and an LED module (90, paragraph 0054) (re claim 15). wherein the filtering circuit includes a capacitor (C1) coupled to at least one terminal of the inductive circuit (re claim 16), and power supply device (1), comprising a surge protection circuit as claimed in claim 1 (re claim 17).
Claims 1 & 3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Summer (US 10,033,347).
With regard to claims 1 & 3, Summer, in Figure 1, discloses a surge protection circuit (paragraph 0017), comprising: an inductive circuit (L2), coupled to a power loop for a load (output), and configured to receive and temporarily store surge energy in the power loop (a choke placed in series with the source and load would necessarily perform this function); and an energy-releasing circuit (back-to-back zener diodes CR3 & CR4 of paragraph 0018), connected in parallel with the inductive circuit, and configured to release the surge energy for preventing the surge energy from affecting a later-stage circuit (paragraphs 0017 & 0018) (re claim 1), wherein the electric potential difference includes a forward electric-potential difference or a reverse electric-potential difference (the back to back zener diodes would allow for this function) (re claim 3).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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 of this title, 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 9 & 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Himeda in view of Winick (US 2019/0237959).
With regard to claim 9, Himeda teaches the circuit of claim 6 and further teaches that the voltage-controlled component includes a zener diode.
Himeda does not teach that the voltage-controlled component includes a discharge tube or thyristor, a varistor or a variable resistor, or a transient voltage suppressor diode.
Winick teaches a device that provides surge protection to a load. Like Himeda, the reference teaches that a zener diode can be used as a voltage-controlled component to provide surge protection. It is further taught that the voltage-controlled component includes a discharge tube or thyristor, a varistor, or a transient voltage suppressor diode (paragraph 0006).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to combine the teachings of Himeda with Winick, by using one of the other voltage-controlled components of Winick as the component of Himeda, for the purpose of providing a device that can handle higher current levels or trigger faster as required by circuit as Winick has shown that all of the devices are industry recognized equivalents of each other and can be used in place of each other.
With regard to claim 10, Himeda in view of Winick discloses the device of claim 9, and further discloses that the voltage-controlled component includes the discharge tube or thyristor, and a range of a threshold voltage of the discharge tube or thyristor is between 50 V and 200 V (paragraph 0044 of Himeda teaches that the breakdown voltage of the zener diode is 90.3V or larger).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SCOTT BAUER whose telephone number is (571)272-5986. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12pm - 8pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, THIENVU TRAN can be reached at (571)270-1276. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Scott Bauer/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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