DETAILED ACTION
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 1/8/2025 was considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 1-9 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.
Regarding claim 1, the scope of the claim is unclear. Claim 1 recites “current sensor comprising”:
“… wherein an end of the busbar is connected to an external first unit including a cooling device and another end of the busbar is connected to an external second unit whose temperature is higher than temperature of the first unit, and
wherein the housing has a first vent penetrating from an inside of the storage space to an outside on a side facing the first unit.”
As best understood by the examiner, the external first unit, cooling device, and external second unit are not part of the current sensor as recited in the preamble of claim 1, with claim 8 indicating these components are part of a control system. Therefore, it is unclear if these limitations limit the structure of the current sensor or amount to a material or article worked upon (see MPEP 2115; see MPEP 2114 II. “MANNER OF OPERATING THE DEVICE DOES NOT DIFFERENTIATE APPARATUS CLAIM FROM THE PRIOR ART”). For example, would a current sensor which reads on claim 1 when connected to external first and second units read on claim 1 if removed from the external first and second units? For the purpose of examination, the claim will be interpreted in view of the structure of the current sensor itself with the external first unit, the cooling device, and the external second unit will be interpreted as part of the current control system of claim 8. The limitations of claim 1 will be interpreted as a mere intended use which do not modify the structure of the current sensors itself.
Claims 2-9 are rejected through a dependence on claim 1.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 7-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0025349 (Sei) in view of US 2020/0132736 (Fujioka).
Regarding claim 1, Sei teaches a current sensor (current detection device 1 of Fig. 1-8) comprising:
a busbar through which a current to be measured flows (bus bar 2 which the current to be measured flows; see Figs. 1-8; see [0036]);
a magnetic detector capable of detecting a magnetic field generated when the current to be measured flows through the busbar (magnetic field detecting elements 31, 32 measure a magnetic field generated by a current flowing in the bus bar 2; see Figs. 7-8; see [0036]); and
a housing that has a storage space storing the magnetic detector and with which part of the busbar is integrated (housing 5 includes a space wherein the magnetic field detecting elements 31, 32 and bus bar 2 are integrated; see Figs. 1-8),
wherein the current sensor is capable of measuring a current value of the current to be measured from the magnetic field detected by the magnetic detector (the current sensor measures a current through the bus bar based on the measured magnetic field generated by the current; see [0002], [0036]),
wherein an end of the busbar is connected to an external first unit and another end of the busbar is connected to an external second unit (first and second ends 2a, 2b of the bus bar 2 are connected to a power supply and electric equipment via connection holes 21, 22; see [0031]), and
wherein the housing has a first vent penetrating from an inside of the storage space to an outside on a side facing the first unit (the housing 5 includes cutout portions 53a, 53b which from a gap with the upper surface of the bus bar which function as vent holes, with the cutout portions 53a, 53b facing connection holes 21, 22 which connect the bus bar 2 to a power supply and electric equipment; see Figs. 1-8; see [0071]).
Sei fails to explicitly teach wherein an end of the busbar is connected to an external first unit including a cooling device and another end of the busbar is connected to an external second unit whose temperature is higher than temperature of the first unit.
Fujioka teaches wherein an end of the busbar is connected to an external first unit including a cooling device and another end of the busbar is connected to an external second unit whose temperature is higher than temperature of the first unit (A power system of an electric vehicle comprise a traction motor controller 6 and host controller 25 coupled to a current sensor comprising magnetic sensors 5a-5f comprises bus bars 4a-4f which couple an inverter 12 to motors 91a, 91b wherein the inverter 12 is coupled to a cooler 20 by way of circulation passages 21 through the voltage converter. Since Fujioka teaches a motor and inverter comprising a cooler as disclosed in the pending application, it would be reasonable to conclude the temperature of the motor is higher than the temperature of the inverter connected to a cooler in an equivalent manner as claimed.; see Figs. 1-8; see [0026], [0047]-[0050]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the inverter having a cooler and an electric motor of Fujioka as a substitute for the power supply and electric equipment of Sei in order to gain the advantage of monitoring the current supplied by the inverter to the motor, wherein the cooler cools the inverter which performs switching operations which generate heat which heats Hall elements of the current sensor.
Regarding claim 2, Sei teaches wherein the housing has, in addition to the first vent, a second vent penetrating from the inside of the storage space to the outside on a side facing the second unit (the housing 5 includes cutout portions 53a, 53b which from a gap with the upper surface of the bus bar which function as vent holes, with the cutout portions 53a, 53b facing connection holes 21, 22 which connect the bus bar 2 to a power supply and electric equipment; see Figs. 1-8; see [0071]).
Regarding claim 3, Sei teaches wherein the magnetic detector is arranged between the first vent and the second vent (magnetic field detecting elements 31, 32 are arranged between the cutout portions 53a, 53b; see Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 4, Sei teaches wherein the magnetic detector is arranged at a position facing the busbar (magnetic field detecting elements 31, 32 are arranged facing bus bar 2; see Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 7, Sei teaches further comprising: an electronic component different from the magnetic detector, wherein the electronic component is arranged in the storage space (in addition to the magnetic field detectors 31, 32 additional components include a PCB 30, and terminals 33 and other components are shown on the PCB 30 in Fig. 7; see Fig. 7).
Regarding claims 8 - 9, the combination of Sei and Fujioka teaches a current control system comprising: the current sensor according to Claim 1; the first unit; and the second unit; and wherein the first unit is an inverter including the cooling device, and the second unit is a motor (see rejection of claim 1).
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0025349 (Sei) in view of US 2020/0132736 (Fujioka), and in further view of US 2023/0003769 (Ichijyo).
Regarding claim 5, Sei fails to teach further comprising: plate-like shielding members capable of suppressing disturbance noise applied to the magnetic detector, wherein the shielding members include a first shielding member arranged on a side of the magnetic detector opposite a side on which the busbar is arranged and a second shielding member paired with the first shielding member and arranged on a side of the busbar opposite a side on which the magnetic detector is arranged.
Ichijyo teaches plate-like shielding members capable of suppressing disturbance noise applied to the magnetic detector, wherein the shielding members include a first shielding member arranged on a side of the magnetic detector opposite a side on which the busbar is arranged and a second shielding member paired with the first shielding member and arranged on a side of the busbar opposite a side on which the magnetic detector is arranged (shielding plates 60d, 60e are arranged around detection units 61a, 62a, 63a, and bus bars 61b, 62b, and 63b in an equivalent manner as claimed; see Fig. 4).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Ichijyo into Sei in order to gain the advantage of shielding the sensors against external magnetic flux which is known in the art to generate noise in the detector.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2019/0025349 (Sei) in view of US 2020/0132736 (Fujioka), and in further view of US 2018/0331525 (Fukuhara).
Regarding claim 6, Sei fails to teach further comprising: a shielding member capable of suppressing disturbance noise applied to the magnetic detector, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the shielding member when cut along a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the busbar extends is a U-shape, and the shielding member is arranged in such a way as to surround, when viewed in the direction in which the busbar extends, the busbar from both sides of the busbar in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the busbar and the magnetic detector overlap and a side of the busbar opposite a side in the direction in which the busbar and the magnetic detector overlap on which the magnetic detector is arranged.
Fukuhara teaches a shielding member capable of suppressing disturbance noise applied to the magnetic detector, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the shielding member when cut along a surface perpendicular to a direction in which the busbar extends is a U-shape, and the shielding member is arranged in such a way as to surround, when viewed in the direction in which the busbar extends, the busbar from both sides of the busbar in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the busbar and the magnetic detector overlap and a side of the busbar opposite a side in the direction in which the busbar and the magnetic detector overlap on which the magnetic detector is arranged (a U-shaped magnetic shield member 23 is positioned around sensor 21 and current measurement target part 22 (i.e. busbar) in an equivalent manner as claimed; see Figs. 6 and 8).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Fukuhara into Sei in order to gain the advantage of shielding magnetism between inside and outside the shield member where external fields are known in the art to generate noise in the detector.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to STEVEN LEE YENINAS whose telephone number is (571)270-0372. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 10 - 6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Judy Nguyen can be reached at (571) 272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/STEVEN L YENINAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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