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 1/15/25 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 § 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 3-6 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 3, the limitation of “the reference number of switchings” lacks antecedent basis since no reference is disclosed in the claim nor claim 1. The limitation of “Equation 1 below” and “Equation 1 above” also should be amended since the terms “below” and “above” are relative terms and the claim should be amended to recite the Equation at the first instance in the claim. For example the claim should be amended to: “the determination unit calculates…according to Equation 1: Scr = Cr x (Vh – Vl)/ Q1period, wherein Scr is a reference number of switchings…and Q1period is a charging amount period; and the determination unit determines the storage capacitor to be in a steady state when the counted number of switchings satisfies Inequation 1: Scr….wherein Scc is the counted…greater than 1”.
Claims 4 and 6 are dependent on claim 3 and therefore inherits its deficiencies.
Regarding claim 5, the limitation of “the capacitance of the storage capacitor” lacks antecedent basis. The limitation of “Equation 2 below” and “Equation 2 above” also should be amended since the terms “below” and “above” are relative terms and the claim should be amended to recite the Equation at the first instance in the claim.
Regarding claim 6, the limitation of “Equation 3 below” and “Equation 3 above” and “Equation 4 below” and “Equation 4 above” and “Inequation 1 above” should be amended since the terms “below” and “above” are relative terms and the claim should be removed or amended to recite the Equation at the first instance in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jin et al., US 20230378787
Regarding claim 1, Jin discloses a health check system for a storage capacitor that checks a capacitance of a storage capacitor charged by being electrically connected to an output terminal of a switching converter (Fig. 3; capacitor 123 connected to output terminal of charging circuit 121 formed as a DC-DC converter) that, when a preset level of a charging voltage is a first voltage level, boosts the voltage level to a second voltage level by performing a switching operation according to a switching period (Fig. 4; converter 1211 shown as a boost converter ;¶[0038]), the health check system for a storage capacitor comprising: a switching counter that counts the number of switchings by which the switching operation is performed in a switching duration in which the switching operation is performed (Fig. 4-6; counter 1254; ¶[0098]; counts number of times M1 switches); a charging amount calculation unit that calculates an amount of charging per period that is charged in the storage capacitor during the switching period (¶[0043]; controller 1213 of charging circuit determines a Vout indicative of a charging voltage) and a determination unit that determines a status of the storage capacitor based on the first voltage level, the second voltage level, the counted number of switchings, and the calculated amount of charging per period (Fig. 3-6; ¶[0070]-[0077]; first and second determination circuit 1253, 1256 and mode setting circuit 1251 of heath monitoring circuit 125 determines charging health state based on counted switchings, Vout voltage and voltage levels).
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.
Claims 2 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jin et al., US 20230378787 in view of Yoshida, US 20160266189
Regarding claim 2, Jin teaches an inductor of a switching converter (Fig. 4; inductor L1 converter 1211). Jin is silent in wherein the charging amount calculation unit calculates the charging amount per period based on current flowing through the inductor of the switching converter and the switching period. Yoshida teaches wherein the charging amount calculation unit calculates the charging amount per period based on current flowing through an element coupled to the capacitor and the switching period (Fig. 1; ¶[0057]-[0062]; current sensor 11 used to measure current and determine charge). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to incorporate the teaching of Yoshida into Jin to provide an estimated capacitance of the capacitor and to make a determination of the quality of the capacitor.
Conclusion
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/FEBA POTHEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
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