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 Objections
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 2 to 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) because each claim refers to claim 13 which does not exist in the current application. A claim in dependent form must contain a reference to a claim previously set forth. Because there is no claim 13 in the application, the meets and bounds of claims 2 to 6 cannot be determined, rendering the dependency improper and indefinite. The Examiner is going to assume that the claims 2-6 depend on claim 1 for the purpose of examining.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 5 line 3, the words “the breaker semiconductor switch” should be – the breaker switch –
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyazaki Publication No. US 2013/0044398.
Regarding claim 1, Miyazaki discloses a series Z-source circuit breaker comprising:
a positive bus and a negative bus [Fig. 3, terminals 121A-1 and 121B-1] operable for providing source power to a load [Fig. 3, load circuit 122-1];
a breaker switch [Fig. 3, transistor 128B] provided in the positive bus and being operable to break source power being provided to the load in response to overcurrent;
an isolation switch [Fig. 3, transistor 130B] provided in the positive bus downstream of the breaker switch;
a first capacitor [Fig. 3, 123-1] electrically coupled between the positive and negative buses at an output side of the breaker switch; and
a second capacitor [Fig. 3, 128A] electrically coupled to the positive bus in parallel with the breaker switch.
Regarding claim 6, Miyazaki discloses that the circuit breaker is employed in a DC circuit [Fig. 3, DC power supply 11].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5 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.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 2: The prior art does not disclose that the breaker switch and/or the isolation switch are electromechanical switches. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 3: The prior art does not disclose that the isolation switch is a triggered vacuum gap (TVG) device. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 4: The prior art does not disclose that the breaker switch is a silicon-controlled rectifier. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance of claim 5: The prior art does not further comprise a triggered vacuum gap (TVG) device coupled between the positive and negative buses downstream from the breaker semiconductor switch. This feature in combination with the rest of the claim limitations is not anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
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DHARTI PATEL
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2836
/DHARTI H PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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