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
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 2, recites, duplicate limitations/limitations previously recited (for example, Claim 2, lines 4-5, 7-11 same as Claim 1, lines 8-14 of the parent claim, Claim 1 and the duplicate limitations should be deleted and/or claim limitations should be only those that further limit the parent claim. Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hafner et al. (US 2012/0299393, corresponding to WO2011/057675, ISR Document).
Regarding Claim 1, Hafner discloses a circuit breaker connected to a load (Figures 1-4, 7), comprising:
a first circuit (comprising 10, 9, Figure2, 10, 16, Figure 4) including a first bidirectional semiconductor switch (9, 16, Figures 2, 4 respectively); and
a second circuit (comprising 8, 15, Figures 2, 4 respectively) connected in parallel with the first circuit and including a second bidirectional semiconductor switch (comprising 6 in 9, comprising 7 in 16 , Figures 2, 4 respectively),
wherein: at least the first circuit out of the first circuit or the second circuit includes a first mechanical switch connected in series with the first bidirectional semiconductor switch (10 connected in series with 6, 7, Figures 2, 4 respectively);
during normal operation, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and the first mechanical switch are turned on to pass a normal current through the first circuit (Figure 7, Paragraphs 28, 76,Paragraph 77, “…where the auxiliary breaker 9 and the high speed switch 10 were closed all the time during normal operation of power transmission line 14,…”);
when a fault occurs in the load, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off to interrupt an overcurrent (Figures 2, 4, 7-9, Paragraph 77, “…At time instant t.sub.2 which in this example is about 1 ms after time instant t.sub.1, a first current limit I lim, which is set slightly above the rated thermal current of the power transmission line 14, is exceeded, leading to the immediate generating and sending of an auxiliary breaker opening signal to auxiliary breaker 9…”); and,
when a fault occurs in the first bidirectional semiconductor switch, the first mechanical switch is opened to pass the normal current for the load through the second circuit (Paragraph 26, “…the high speed switch is opened when the current exceeds a second current limit. The second current limit lies advantageously above the first current limit since in a fault situation, the current in the line rises steadily until the main breaker finally opens and decouples the line from the fault….”, note that current increase to the second level when opening of the first bidirectional switch failed or not fully opened in the predetermined time).
Regarding Claim 2, Hafner discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 1, wherein:
the second circuit does not include a mechanical switch connected in series with the second bidirectional semiconductor switch (8 does not include a mechanical switch, Figures 2, 4, 7);
during normal operation, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and the first mechanical switch are turned on and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off to pass the normal current through the first circuit (Figure 7, Paragraphs 28, 76, Paragraph 77, “…where the auxiliary breaker 9 and the high speed switch 10 were closed all the time during normal operation of power transmission line 14,… The rated current Irate is flowing through the high speed switch 10 and auxiliary breaker 9 while the main breaker 8 is current-free…”);
when a fault occurs in the load, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off to block an overcurrent (Figures 2, 4, 7-9, Paragraph 77, “…At time instant t.sub.2 which in this example is about 1 ms after time instant t.sub.1, a first current limit I lim, which is set slightly above the rated thermal current of the power transmission line 14, is exceeded, leading to the immediate generating and sending of an auxiliary breaker opening signal to auxiliary breaker 9…”); and
when a fault occurs in the first bidirectional semiconductor switch, the first mechanical switch is opened to pass the normal current for the load through the second circuit (Paragraph 26, “…the high speed switch is opened when the current exceeds a second current limit. The second current limit lies advantageously above the first current limit since in a fault situation, the current in the line rises steadily until the main breaker finally opens and decouples the line from the fault….”, note that current increase to the second level when opening of the first bidirectional switch failed or not fully opened in the predetermined time), and,
after insulation of the first mechanical switch recovers, the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off (Figures 8-9, Paragraph 77, “…Time instant t5 shows the end of the maximum time interval which an algorithm in a sensing and/or protection means needs to process various input signals before a breaking decision is made and a main breaker opening signal is generated and sent to the main breaker 8…”).
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 3-4, 6-8, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hafner et al. (US 2012/0299393, corresponding to WO2011/057675, ISR Document) in view of Askan et al. (US 2019/0228925).
Regarding Claim 3, Hafner discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 1, wherein:
the first circuit includes the first mechanical switch connected in series with the first bidirectional semiconductor switch (10 connected in series with 6, 7, Figures 2, 4 respectively). Hafner does not specifically disclose the second circuit includes a second mechanical switch connected in series with the second bidirectional semiconductor switch.
Askan discloses a circuit breaker connected to a load (Figures 1-5), comprising:
a first circuit (comprising 8,14 in line 2, Figure 4) including a first bidirectional semiconductor switch (14, Figure 4, Paragraph 35, “…the second semiconductor circuit assembly 14 and/or the fourth semiconductor circuit assembly 54 is/are designed as bidirectional…”); and
a second circuit (comprising 52, 54, Figure 4) connected in parallel with the first circuit and including a second bidirectional semiconductor switch (54, Figure 4),
wherein the first circuit includes the first mechanical switch connected in series with the first bidirectional semiconductor switch (8 connected in series with 14, Figure 4, Paragraphs 66-67); and
the second circuit includes a second mechanical switch connected in series with the second bidirectional semiconductor switch (52 connected in series with 54, Figure 4, Paragraphs 66-67). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide in the circuit breaker of Hafner, a second mechanical switch as taught by Askan, such that the current strength through the first circuit and the second circuit can be regulated and balanced and/or the second circuit can be switched off based on the current strength and thus to prevent aging and total power loss (see Askan, Paragraphs 67-68).
Regarding Claim 4, combination of Hafner and Askan discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 3, wherein:
during normal operation, the first mechanical switch and the second mechanical switch are turned on and the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned on to pass the normal current through the first circuit and the second circuit (Figure 7, Paragraphs 28, 76,Paragraph 77, “…where the auxiliary breaker 9 and the high speed switch 10 were closed all the time during normal operation of power transmission line 14, while the main breaker 8 could for example just been closed after some on-line supervision of its functionality has been performed.…”);
when a fault occurs in the load, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned off to block an overcurrent (Figures 2, 4, 7-9, Paragraph 77, “…“…At time instant t.sub.2 which in this example is about 1 ms after time instant t.sub.1, a first current limit I lim, which is set slightly above the rated thermal current of the power transmission line 14, is exceeded, leading to the immediate generating and sending of an auxiliary breaker opening signal to auxiliary breaker 9…Time instant t5 shows the end of the maximum time interval which an algorithm in a sensing and/or protection means needs to process various input signals before a breaking decision is made and a main breaker opening signal is generated and sent to the main breaker 8”);
when a fault occurs in the first bidirectional semiconductor switch, the first mechanical switch is opened to pass the normal current for the load through the second circuit (Paragraph 26, “…the high speed switch is opened when the current exceeds a second current limit. The second current limit lies advantageously above the first current limit since in a fault situation, the current in the line rises steadily until the main breaker finally opens and decouples the line from the fault….”, note that current increase to the second level when opening of the first bidirectional switch failed or not fully opened in the predetermined time), and,
and, thereafter, either normal operation is continued or, after insulation of the first mechanical switch recovers, the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off (Hafner, Figures 8-9, Paragraph 77, “…Time instant t5 shows the end of the maximum time interval which an algorithm in a sensing and/or protection means needs to process various input signals before a breaking decision is made and a main breaker opening signal is generated and sent to the main breaker 8…”); and,
when a fault occurs in the second bidirectional semiconductor switch, the second mechanical switch is opened to pass the normal current for the load through the first circuit, and, thereafter, either normal operation is continued or, after insulation of the second mechanical switch recovers, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off (in the combination, the second bidirectional semiconductor switch and the second mechanical switch similarly operated and protected as the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and the second mechanical switch).
Regarding Claim 6, combination of Hafner and Askan does not specifically disclose the circuit breaker according to Claim 3, designed in such a manner that:
a product of a fault rate of the load and a fault rate of the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is less than 10^-9/hour; and a product of the fault rate of the load and a fault rate of the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is less than 10^-9/hour. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to set product of fault rates of the selected devices in the combination based on the set/desired operational efficiency and reliability of the circuit breaker.
Regarding Claim 7, combination of Hafner and Askan discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 6, further comprising:
a fault diagnosis unit adapted to regularly perform a fault diagnosis process for the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch (comprising 36, 38, Figure 7).
Regarding Claim 8, combination of Hafner and Askan does not specifically disclose the circuit breaker according to Claim 7, wherein:
a product of the fault rate of the load, a nominal value of the fault rate of the first bidirectional semiconductor switch and 1/K1 is less than 10^-9/hour; and
a product of the fault rate of the load, a nominal value of the fault rate of the second bidirectional semiconductor switch and 1/K2 is less than 10^-9/hour,where:K1 is the number of times the fault diagnosis process for the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is performed per hour; andK2 is the number of times the fault diagnosis process for the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is performed per hour. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to set product of fault rates of the selected devices in the combination based on the set/desired operational efficiency and reliability of the circuit breaker
Regarding Claim 10, combination of Hafner and Askan discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 7, wherein:
the fault diagnosis unit successively performs, during normal operation (Paragraphs 30-36):
an operation in which the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned on and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off to pass the normal current through the first circuit (Figure 7, Paragraphs 28, 76,Paragraph 77, “…where the auxiliary breaker 9 and the high speed switch 10 were closed all the time during normal operation of power transmission line 14, …” ); and
an operation in which the first bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned on to pass the normal current through the second circuit, and performs the fault diagnosis process based on at least one of a current in the first circuit or a current in the second circuit during the associated operation (Figures 2,4,7-9, Paragraphs 30-36).
4. Claims 5, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hafner et al. (US 2012/0299393, corresponding to WO2011/057675, ISR Document).
Regarding Claim 5, Hafner discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 1, wherein:
the first circuit includes the first mechanical switch connected in series with the first bidirectional semiconductor switch (10 connected in series with 9, 16, Figures 2, 4 respectively); and
the second circuit includes a third bidirectional semiconductor switch connected in series with the second bidirectional semiconductor switch (8 comprising a second 6 in series with the first 6, 15 comprising a second 7 in series with the first 7, Figure 2, 7 respectively);
during normal operation, the first mechanical switch and the first bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned on and the second bidirectional semiconductor switch and the third bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned on to pass the normal current through the first circuit and the second circuit ( Figure 7, Paragraphs 28, 76,Paragraph 77, “…where the auxiliary breaker 9 and the high speed switch 10 were closed all the time during normal operation of power transmission line 14, while the main breaker 8 could for example just been closed after some on-line supervision of its functionality has been performed.…”);
when a fault occurs in the load, the first bidirectional semiconductor switch, the second bidirectional semiconductor switch and the third bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned off (Figures 2, 4, 7-9, Paragraph 77, “…“…At time instant t.sub.2 which in this example is about 1 ms after time instant t.sub.1, a first current limit I lim, which is set slightly above the rated thermal current of the power transmission line 14, is exceeded, leading to the immediate generating and sending of an auxiliary breaker opening signal to auxiliary breaker 9…Time instant t5 shows the end of the maximum time interval which an algorithm in a sensing and/or protection means needs to process various input signals before a breaking decision is made and a main breaker opening signal is generated and sent to the main breaker 8”);
when a fault occurs in the first bidirectional semiconductor switch, the first mechanical switch is opened to pass the normal current for the load through the second circuit (Paragraph 26, “…the high speed switch is opened when the current exceeds a second current limit. The second current limit lies advantageously above the first current limit since in a fault situation, the current in the line rises steadily until the main breaker finally opens and decouples the line from the fault….”, note that current increase to the second level when opening of the first bidirectional switch failed or not fully opened in the predetermined time), and, thereafter, either normal operation is continued or, after insulation of the first mechanical switch recovers, at least one of the second bidirectional semiconductor switch and the third bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off (Hafner, Figures 8-9, Paragraph 77, “…Time instant t5 shows the end of the maximum time interval which an algorithm in a sensing and/or protection means needs to process various input signals before a breaking decision is made and a main breaker opening signal is generated and sent to the main breaker 8…”).
Hafner does not specifically disclose separately controlling the second and the third bidirectional semiconductor switch to disclose the recited limitations, when a fault occurs in the second bidirectional semiconductor switch, the third bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off to pass the normal current for the load through the first circuit to continue normal operation, or the third bidirectional semiconductor switch and the first bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned off; and when a fault occurs in the third bidirectional semiconductor switch, the second bidirectional semiconductor switch is turned off to pass the normal current for the load through the first circuit to continue normal operation, or the second bidirectional semiconductor switch and the first bidirectional semiconductor switch are turned off. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide in the circuit breaker of Hafner, having the control circuit and current detection and processing system (control circuit to control each of the devices (36, 8, Figure 7), current sensors the first circuit and the second circuit 25, 32, Figure 7), to open the second or the third bidirectional semiconductor switch when a fault occurs in the other of the second or third bidirectional semiconductor switch to stop the current flow in the second circuit and to pass the current to the load via the first circuit to continue operation of the circuit breaker.
Regarding Claim 9, Hafner discloses the circuit breaker according to Claim 5, further comprising:
a fault diagnosis unit adapted to regularly perform a fault diagnosis process for the first bidirectional semiconductor switch, the second bidirectional semiconductor switch, and the third bidirectional semiconductor switch (Paragraphs 30-36).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Xu et a. (US 9,640,985) discloses a circuit breaker connected to a load (17, Figures 3-4), comprising:
a first circuit (comprising 20, 22, Figures 3-4) including a first semiconductor switch (26, Figures 3-4); and
a second circuit (comprising 24, Figures 3-4) connected in parallel with the first circuit and including a second semiconductor switch (comprising 26 , Figures 3-4),
wherein: at least the first circuit out of the first circuit or the second circuit includes a first mechanical switch connected in series with the first semiconductor switch (20 connected in series 26, Figures 3-4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LUCY M THOMAS whose telephone number is (571)272-6002. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 9:30 am - 5:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Crystal L Hammond can be reached at (571)270-1682. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LUCY M THOMAS/ Examiner, Art Unit 2838, 8/04/2026
/CRYSTAL L HAMMOND/ Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
