DETAILED ACTION
Notice to Applicant
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-14 are pending.
Priority
3. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
4. 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: 300 (See 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.
Specification
5. The specification is objected to due to the following informality.
In paragraph 43, reference is made to the coil 110 of figure 4A. However, it appears that reference should be made to figure 1A because figure 4A does not exist. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. Claims 1-2, 5, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kojovic et al. (US 6,313,623 – hereinafter “Kojovic”).
Per claim 1, Kojovic teaches an apparatus (Figs. 5A-5C; two-loop, two-PCB Rogowski coil 500; col. 6, lines 13-16) for measuring a current in a conductor (Fig. 5C; conductor 115; col. 4, lines 4-6), the apparatus comprising:
at least two coils, being a first coil (Fig. 7; right-handed loop; col. 6, lines 44-54) and a second coil (Fig. 8; left-handed loop; col. 6, lines 55-65); said at least two coils having an identical coil body, and having been wound with a same type of wire, with a same number of winding layers, and a same number of windings;
said at least two coils being electrically connected in series and being arranged spatially on top of one another, and said at least two coils differing in an orientation of the windings thereof, with said at least two coils forming a supercoil (The two-loop, two-PCB Rogowski coil 500 may be formed from a right-handed loop and a left-handed loop connected in series wherein one loop is spatially on top of the other loop (Fig. 5C; col. 6, line 66 – col. 7, line 6)); and
said supercoil being formed to pass the conductor therethrough for measuring the current in the conductor (A conductor 115 passes through a supercoil formed from the right-handed loop and the left-handed loop (Fig. 5C; col. 4, lines 4-6)).
Per claim 2, Kojovic teacehes the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least two coils have inputs and outputs and said inputs and outputs are twisted by 180° relative to one another (The right-handed loop and left-handed loop have inputs and outputs that are shifted 180° relative to one another (col. 6; lines 44-65)).
Per claim 5, Kojovic teaches a method of producing a supercoil (Figs. 5A-5C; two-loop, two-PCB Rogowski coil 500; col. 6, lines 13-16) for measuring a current in a conductor (Fig. 5C; conductor 115; col. 4, lines 4-6), the method comprising the following steps:
winding a first coil (Fig. 7; right-handed loop; col. 6, lines 44-54); winding a second coil (Fig. 8; left-handed loop; col. 6, lines 55-65); the first and second coils having an identical coil body and being wound with a same type of wire with a same number of winding layers and a same number of windings, and winding the first and second coils with windings that differ in an orientation thereof;
assembling the first coil and the second coil to form a supercoil, with the first and second coils being electrically connected in series and arranged spatially on top of one another (The two-loop, two-PCB Rogowski coil 500 may be formed from a right-handed loop and a left-handed loop connected in series wherein one loop is spatially on top of the other loop (Fig. 5C; col. 6, line 66 – col. 7, line 6)).
Per claim 14, Kojovic teaches a method for measuring a current in a conductor, the method comprising the following steps: providing the apparatus according to claim 1 forming the supercoil; guiding the conductor through the supercoil; and measuring the current in the supercoil (col. 4, lines 4-6; col. 6, lines 33-65).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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.
9. Claims 6-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Kojovic in view of Farr (US 2011/0043190).
Kojovic does not explicitly teach the method of claim 5 comprising the winding steps disclosed in claims 6-13 of the present application.
In contrast, Farr discloses a method for providing electrostatic shielding to a Rogowski coil winding 6 using a conductive winding 10 wherein the Rogowski coil winding 6 may be wound clockwise and the conductive winding 10 may be wound counterclockwise. However, further configurations may be used (e.g., counterclockwise vs. clockwise; clockwise vs. counterclockwise; left-hand vs. right-hand winding polarity; right-hand vs. left-hand winding polarity) (¶58-60).
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 method of Kojovic such that the first coil and the second coil have the winding orientations disclosed claims 6-13 of the present application.
One of ordinary skill would make such a modification as a means to provide shielding to a Rogowski coil (Farr; ¶58-60).
Claim Objections
10. Claims 3-4 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.
Per claim 3, the prior art of record is silent on the apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least two coils are electrically connected to one another in outer winding layers thereof and an overall signal is determined between the inner winding layers. Claim 4 is consequently objected to due to its dependence on claim 3.
Pertinent Prior Art
11. Kojovic – US 2008/0106253
This document provides an overview of the two-loop, two-PCB Rogowski coil disclosed in US 6,313,623 (Fig. 4; ¶24).
Conclusion
12. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAS A. SANGHERA whose telephone number is (571)272-4787. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, alt. Fri, 8-5 EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, WALTER LINDSAY can be reached at (571) 272-1674. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAS A SANGHERA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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