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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 04/24/2025 the submission 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 § 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 3, and 6-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kidera et al. (US 2015/0288296) in view of Xiong (US 9,203,321).
Regarding claim 1, Kidera teaches A system (see figures 1-4: shows the power supply system includes a power conversion device connected to a DC power supply 1) comprising: a power source (fig. 1@ DC power supply 1) comprising a pair of source terminals (see figure 1), the source terminals (see figure 1: inputs from DC power source 11 to DC-DC converter 12) comprising a first source terminal and a second source terminal (see figure 1); and an inverter (fig. 1@ inverter 5) comprising: a DC/AC module (5) comprising a pair of DC/AC module terminals, the DC/AC module terminals comprising a first DC/AC module terminal and a second DC/AC module terminal (see figure 1), wherein the first DC/AC module (5) terminal is connected to the first source terminal (1), and the DC/AC module (5) is configured to convert a DC voltage across the DC/AC module (5) terminals to an AC voltage (see Figs. 1-5: inverter 5 is configured to converter DC power of 1 into AC and output three phase AC), a housing (see figure 5) configured to house the DC/AC module (5); and voltage control circuitry (fig. 1@ controller 7) connected to the second source terminal (see figures 1-4), the first DC/AC module (5) terminal, and the second DC/AC module (5) terminal, wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to convert a source voltage across the source terminals to a higher voltage across the DC/AC module terminals (see par. [0039], [0046] and [0050], voltage detector 4 so as to regulate the power storage amounts of the first midpoint capacitor 31 and the second midpoint capacitor 32).
However, Kidera does not explicitly teach the voltage control circuitry is configured to convert a source voltage across the source terminals to a higher voltage across the DC/AC module terminals inside the housing of the inverter.
Xiong teaches the voltage control circuitry (fig. 4@ controller 106) is configured to convert a source voltage across the source terminals to a higher voltage across the DC/AC module (fig. 4@ inverter 108) terminals inside the housing (fig. 4@ housing 502) of the inverter (see figure 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Kidera with the teachings of Xiong by having the voltage control circuitry is configured to convert a source voltage across the source terminals to a higher voltage across the DC/AC module terminals inside the housing of the inverter in order to improve inverter efficiency, enables the use of lower-voltage, safer DC sources, and guarantees stable grid-tied operations.
Regarding claim 3, the combination teaches the system further comprising: a DC/DC module (fig. 3@ DC-DC converter) electrically connected to the power source (11); wherein the DC/DC module comprises a heating element (fig. 3@ resistances 21 and 23) thermally coupled to a surface of the power source (see figure 3; Kidera).
Regarding claim 6, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry is configured to convert the source voltage according to a fixed ratio (see par. [0048-0049], the controller 7 thus fixes a duty ratio, at approximately 50%; Kidera).
Regarding claim 7, the combination teaches wherein the fixed ratio is a one-to-one ratio, and the voltage control circuitry is configured to set the higher voltage across the DC/AC module terminals to double the source voltage of the power source (see par. [0048-0049], When the power storage amount of the midpoint capacitor 3 decreases, and the midpoint potential thus decreases, the controller 7 repeatedly switches the fifth switching element 22 on the high side between the ON state and the OFF state. Thus, the electricity is stored in the midpoint capacitor 3 so as to increase the midpoint potential of the midpoint stabilizer 2; Kidera).
Regarding claim 8, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to convert the source voltage to the higher voltage according to an efficiency of the DC/AC module (see par. [0048-0049]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 9, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to convert a lesser DC output voltage of the power source to a greater DC input voltage of the DC/AC module (see par. [0048-0049], When the power storage amount of the midpoint capacitor 3 decreases, and the midpoint potential thus decreases, the controller 7 repeatedly switches the fifth switching element 22 on the high side between the ON state and the OFF state. Thus, the electricity is stored in the midpoint capacitor 3 so as to increase the midpoint potential of the midpoint stabilizer 2; Kidera).
Regarding claim 10, the combination teaches further comprising a first capacitor (capacitor 31) connected between the first DC/AC module terminal and the second source terminal, and a second capacitor (capacitor 32) connected between the second source terminal and the second DC/AC module terminal (see figures 1-3; Kidera).
Regarding claim 11, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to control a voltage at the second source terminal (see par. [0048-00450]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 12, the combination teaches wherein the inverter comprises a neutral terminal (see par. [0021], neutral line as an O phase (neutral phase); Kidera), and the voltage control circuitry is configured to control the voltage at the second source terminal according to a voltage of the neutral terminal (see par. [0007-0009], wherein the controller controls the midpoint stabilizer in a manner such that the midpoint potential in the neutral line is a midpoint of a voltage waveform between the first voltage line and the second voltage line, and the controller controls the inverter so as to output a voltage waveform of a desired frequency from between the first voltage line and the second voltage line; Kidera).
Regarding claim 13, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry is configured to control the voltage at the second source terminal to be equal to the voltage of the neutral terminal (see par. [0006-0009]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 14, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry is configured to maintain a positive voltage with respect to a ground potential at the first source terminal of the power source (see figures 1-4 and par. [0003], the O phase is subjected to ground connection to a pole transformer; Kidera).
Regarding claim 15, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to maintain a positive voltage with respect to the ground potential at the second source terminal of the power source (see par. [0062-0067]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 16, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to maintain a zero voltage with respect to the ground potential at the second source terminal of the power source (see par. [0008], [0043], and [0062-0067]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 17, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to maintain a negative voltage with respect to a ground potential at the first source terminal of the power source (see par. [0008], [0043], and [0062-0067]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 18, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to maintain a negative voltage with respect to the ground potential at the second source terminal of the power source (see par. [0008], [0043], and [0062-0067]; Kidera).
Regarding claim 19, the combination teaches wherein the voltage control circuitry (7) is configured to maintain a zero voltage with respect to the ground potential at the second source terminal of the power source (see par. [0008], [0043], and [0062-0067]; Kidera).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-5, and 20 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.
Conclusion
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/XUAN LY/Examiner, Art Unit 2836
/REXFORD N BARNIE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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