DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the application filed on 21 February 2025.
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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, 4-7, 10-12, and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mao Xi Xiang et. al (US2024/0063721A1; hereafter “Mao”).
-Regarding claim 10:
Mao discloses:
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A power converter, comprising: a first switch (Fig. 4; Q3) and a second switch (Fig. 4; Q4), electrically connected with each other to form a common node (Fig. 4; 402); a first driving unit (Fig. 4; 106), powered by a driving power supply and configured to drive the first switch; a second driving unit (Fig. 4; 410), powered by a bootstrap capacitor (Fig. 4; C5, 408) and configured to drive the second switch; and a control unit (Fig. 4; 104, controller), electrically connected to the first driving unit and the second driving unit (Fig. 4; 104 connected to 106 and 410), and configured to: when a duty cycle of the first switch is decreased to a first threshold, control the duty cycle of the first switch to be a preset duty cycle every time at least one switching cycle elapses, wherein the preset duty cycle is not less than the first threshold (paragraph 0024; “For example, in one operating scenario where the duty cycle of the MOSFET 108 is increased from zero to a desired operating value in a step-by-step manner, the charging of the bootstrap voltage storage device 408 is also charged in a step-by-step manner.”).
-Regarding claim 11:
Mao discloses:
The power converter according to claim 10, further comprising: a diode (Fig. 4; D5), wherein an anode of the diode is electrically connected to the driving power supply and the first driving unit, and a cathode of the diode is electrically connected to the bootstrap capacitor and the second driving unit (Fig. 4; anode connected to 106, and cathode connected to 410) , and when the first switch is turned on, the bootstrap capacitor is charged (paragraph 0024; “For example, in one operating scenario where the duty cycle of the MOSFET 108 is increased from zero to a desired operating value in a step-by-step manner, the charging of the bootstrap voltage storage device 408 is also charged in a step-by-step manner.”) by the driving power supply via the first switch.
-Regarding claim 12:
Mao discloses:
The power converter according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to: when an input voltage of the power converter is positive and the duty cycle of the first switch is controlled to be the preset duty cycle (paragraph 0018; “During a positive flow of current from the power supply 102 through the primary winding 112 caused by the controller 104 turning the switch 108 on,”), control the second switch to be turned on after a dead time following the turn-off of the first switch (paragraph 0020; “Control of the active clamp 202 into an on state during the off state of the switch 108”).
-Regarding claim 14:
Mao discloses:
The power converter according to claim 12, wherein the input voltage of the power converter being positive comprises the input voltage being a direct current voltage (paragraph 0002; “a direct current (DC) input voltage may be converted to a different DC voltage for use by electronic equipment.”) or the input voltage being a positive half cycle of an alternating current power supply.
-Regarding claim 15:
Mao discloses:
The power converter according to claim 10, wherein when the power converter is in a no-load state, when a load is switched and the duty cycle of the first switch is gradually decreased (paragraph 0025; “operation of the forward converter
circuit 400 in a burst mode or pulse skipping mode for light loads reduces the duty cycle of the primary MOSFET Q3.”), or when an input power supply of the power converter is an alternating current power supply that has been powered off and has not yet been restored, a state in which the duty cycle of the first switch is decreased to the first threshold occurs (paragraph 0025; “operation of the forward converter circuit 400 in a burst mode or pulse skipping mode for light loads reduces the duty cycle of the primary MOSFET Q3.”).
-Regarding claim 16:
Mao discloses:
The power converter according to claim 10, wherein the preset duty cycle is provided with a minimum value and a maximum value (paragraph 0024; “the duty cycle of the MOSFET 108 is increased from zero to a desired operating value in a step-by-step manner,”, where ‘step by step’ includes minimum and maximum values), and the minimum value of the preset duty cycle is equal to the first threshold.
-Regarding claim 17:
Mao discloses:
The power converter according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to: determine the first threshold based on a sum of energy required to drive the second driving unit and energy required to turn on the second switch (paragraph 0023; “when the controller 104 commands the clamp switch control 204 to turn on the MOSFET Q4, the energy stored in the bootstrap voltage storage device 408 is supplied to a voltage input 410 of the
clamp switch control 204 to drive the gate of MOSFET Q4.” and paragraph 0024;” For example, in one operating scenario where the duty cycle of the MOSFET 108 is increased from zero to a desired operating value in a step-by-step manner, the charging of the bootstrap voltage storage device 408 is also
charged in a step-by-step manner. During the first few cycles, the capacitor voltage value, Vboot, can be less than the operating threshold voltage of the clamp switch control 204 (e.g., operational amplifier X2). While Vboot is be less
than the operating threshold voltage, the MOSFET Q4 cannot be switched to its on state,”, duty cycle is related with bootstrap voltage in paragraph 0024; “ the duty cycle of the MOSFET 108 is increased from zero to a desired operating value in a step-by-step manner, the charging of the bootstrap voltage storage device 408 is also charged in a step-by-step manner.)
For method claims 1, 2, 4-7, note that under MPEP 2112.02, the principles of inherency, if a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device. When the prior art is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device “1 inherently performs the claimed process. In re King, 801 F.2d 1324, 231 UPSQ 136 (Fed Cir. 1986). Therefore, the previous rejections based on the apparatus will not be repeated.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 8, 9, 13, 18, and 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
-with respect to claims 3, and 13:
the prior art in Mao discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose that a duty cycle of the second switch is equal to the preset duty cycle.
-with respect to claims 8, and 18:
the prior art in Mao discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose that the control unit determines the maximum value of the preset duty cycle based on an input power when an input voltage of the power converter is maximum and a power consumed by an auxiliary power supply electrically connected to an output terminal of the power converter.
-with respect to claims 9, and 19:
the prior art in Mao discloses the claimed invention in basic claims but do not further disclose that the power converter comprises a Boost circuit, a totem pole Power Factor Correction (PFC) circuit or a three-phase PFC circuit.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SEUNG HO CHOI whose telephone number is (571)272-8188. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM ET.
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/SEUNG HO CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2838
/CRYSTAL L HAMMOND/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
