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 .
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.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-12 are objected to because of the preamble should recite “A method …”, Claim 13 “An arrangement …”, “A generator …” 7 “A wind turbine …”. Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the rotor, windings recited in Claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) 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. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. 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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1 (similarly in Claim 13), the applicant recites “Method of observing a rotor position (18, 18') of an electrical generator (5) comprising multiple winding sets, the method comprising: applying a first high frequency signal (12) to a first winding set; operating or controlling at least two of the winding sets differently; measuring a first response (15); determining a first value (18) of the rotor position based on the first response (15).” The limitations or steps “applying a first high frequency signal (12), operating or controlling at least two of the winding sets, measuring a first response (15) & determining a first value (18) of the rotor position” fails to define – how the first frequency is applied? how the first response is measured? & How is the first value determined? In particular, the claim does not specify whether the steps are directly or derived from what signals, nor does it recite a measurement/sense technique, sampling condition or signal processing required to obtain the recited steps.
Additionally, the applicant recites “multiple winding sets”. Then the applicant recites “at least two of the winding sets”. As recited, it is unclear to what “at least two winding sets” of the “multiple winding sets” the applicant is referring to.
Claim 2-12 & 14-15 are rejected similarly as in Claim 1. Moreover, the claims recite several undefined or undefined limitations such as:
pulsating sinusoidal injection in a d-axis in Claim 2;
first current in synchronous rotating dq frame (Idq), first transformed dq current (Idq); & demodulated current (Idhf, Iqhf) in Claim 3;
high frequency offset voltage (Vdhf), voltage reference (Vd), d-axis of a coordinate frame rotating with a fundamental electrical frequency & fundamental frequency in Claim 4;
one or more values in Claim 5;
second /high frequency signal/response/value in Claim 6;
first characteristic & second characteristic in Claim 8;
in all characteristics in Claim 10;
Claim 3 & 4 recites the limitation " first high frequency injection ". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 12 is unclear to interpret and the examiner cannot provide an interpretation nor an explanation on the not understanding the claim.
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 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Godridge (EP 3,649,731).
Regarding Claim 1, Godridge discloses method of observing a rotor position (18, 18') of an electrical generator (5) [15] comprising multiple winding sets [21, 23] (Fig. 4, ¶ [0054]; The generator system 15 may for example be configured as a generator of a wind turbine. The generator system further comprises an outer rotor 43 being rotatably supported relative to the stator yoke 17. The rotor 43 has attached thereto plural permanent magnets 45, which upon rotation of the rotor 43 may induce voltages in the first set 21 and the second set 23 of three-phase winding sets), the method comprising:
a) applying a first high frequency signal (12) [first electrical current] to a first winding set [21] (FIG. 4, Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23));
b) operating or controlling at least two of the winding sets [23] differently (Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23));
c) measuring [by converters 31 or 41]a first response (15) (FIG. 4, Claim 1);
d) determining a first value (18) of the rotor position based on the first response (15) (FIG. 4, Claim 1; wherein the first converter (33) and second converter (41) are controlled by PWM across one fundamental period, for six separated time intervals (47a, ..., 47f) in overmodulation, intercalated with six separated time intervals (49a, ..., 49f) in linear range).
Regarding Claim 2, Godridge discloses method according to the claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein applying the first high frequency signal [first electrical current] to the first winding set includes:
injecting a first high frequency voltage (12), in particular by means of pulsating sinusoidal injection in a d-axis, into the first winding set (Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23)).
Regarding Claim 3, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein the first response (15) is due to the first high frequency injection (12) and measuring the first response includes measuring a first current (15) in the first winding set, wherein determining the first value (18) of the rotor position in particular includes at least one of:
transformation of a measured first current (15) into transformed first current in synchronous rotating dq frame (Idq) (Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23)).
Regarding Claim 4, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein injecting the first high frequency current (12) into the first winding set comprises:
controlling a first converter (9) [41] connected to the first winding set [21] by adding a high frequency offset voltage (Vdhf) to a voltage reference (Vd), in particular in a d-axis of a coordinate frame rotating with a fundamental electrical frequency, wherein the first high frequency voltage in particular has a frequency higher than a fundamental frequency (Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23)).
Regarding Claim 5, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein operating at least two of the winding sets [21, 23] differently includes:
applying a high frequency signal [first electrical current] to fewer than all winding sets [21, 23] (Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23));
measuring responses at least for the winding set [21] to which a high frequency signal [first electrical current] is applied [by converters 31 & 41] (FIG. 4, Claim 1);
determining one of more values of the rotor position based on the responses (FIG. 4, Claim 1; wherein the first converter (33) and second converter (41) are controlled by PWM across one fundamental period, for six separated time intervals (47a, ..., 47f) in overmodulation, intercalated with six separated time intervals (49a, ..., 49f) in linear range.).
Regarding Claim 6, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein operating at least two of the winding sets [21, 23] (FIG. 4) differently includes:
applying a second high frequency signal (22) [second electric currents] to a second winding set [23], the second high frequency signal being different from the first high frequency signal (12) [21] (Claim 1; controlling the first (33) and the second AC-DC converter (41) such that first electric currents carried in the first three-phase winding set (21) are essentially 30° phase shifted relative to respective second electric currents carried in the second three-phase winding set (23));
measuring a second response (23) [by converters 31 & 41] (FIG. 4, Claim 1);
determining a second value (18') of the rotor position based on the second response (23) (FIG. 4, Claim 1; wherein the first converter (33) and second converter (41) are controlled by PWM across one fundamental period, for six separated time intervals (47a, ..., 47f) in overmodulation, intercalated with six separated time intervals (49a, ..., 49f) in linear range.).
Regarding Claim 7, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein the first winding set [21] is connectable or connected to a first converter (9) [41] (FIG. 4),
wherein the second winding set [23] is connectable or connected to a second converter (11) [31] (FIG. 4),
wherein during injection of the first high frequency voltage (12) into the first winding set the second converter (11) is not operated or the second winding set is connected to the second converter (11) and the second converter (11) is operated (Claim 1; wherein the first converter (33) and second converter (41) are controlled by PWM across one fundamental period, for six separated time intervals (47a, ..., 47f) in overmodulation, intercalated with six separated time intervals (49a, ..., 49f) in linear range.).
Regarding Claim 8, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein the first high frequency signal (12) differs from the second high frequency signal (22) in at least one characteristic of the following characteristics:
an amplitude (Claim 3; overmodulation).
Regarding Claim 9, Godridge discloses method according to claim1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein the first high frequency signal (12) differs from the second high frequency signal (22) in at least one first characteristic but is equal in at least one second characteristic (Claim 2; A & B Phase are “essentially 30° phase shifted”),
wherein the phases of the first and second high frequency signal differ by substantially 7c, wherein in particular amplitudes and frequencies are equal (Claim 2; A & B Phase are “essentially 30° phase shifted”).
Regarding Claim 10, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein the first high frequency signal (12) differs from the second high frequency signal (22) in all characteristics (Claim 1; wherein the first converter (33) and second converter (41) are controlled by PWM across one fundamental period, for six separated time intervals (47a, ..., 47f) in overmodulation, intercalated with six separated time intervals (49a, ..., 49f) in linear range).
Regarding Claim 11, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1]
wherein the first high frequency signal (12) is applied to the first winding set during a time range, wherein the second high frequency signal (22) is applied to the second winding set during the time range (Claim 1; wherein the first converter (33) and second converter (41) are controlled by PWM across one fundamental period, for six separated time intervals (47a, ..., 47f) in overmodulation, intercalated with six separated time intervals (49a, ..., 49f) in linear range)).
Regarding Claim 12, Godridge discloses method according to claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1],
wherein at least of the following holds: the first and/or second winding set has concentrated or distributed winding topology, the generator (5) is an integer or fractional slot generator, the generator (5) has multiple winding sets , in particular exactly two or four winding sets, the generator (5) is a permanent magnet generator, the generator (5) is a synchronous electrical generator, each winding set provides plural electrical phases, in particular three phases, the method is applied at a low rotational speed, in particular between 0.0 and 0.2 times a nominal rotational speed, of the rotor of the generator.
Regarding Claim 13, Godridge discloses arrangement (6) for observing a rotor position (18, 18') of an electrical generator (5) [15] comprising multiple winding sets [21, 23], the arrangement comprising:
a control section (7) [by the PMV], in particular including multiple converters (9, 11) [31, 41] each connectable to one of the winding sets [21, 23] (Claim 1, FIG. 4), adapted:
to apply a first high frequency signal (12) to a first winding set (refer to rejected Claim 1, element “a” above);
to operate or control at least two of the winding sets differently (refer to rejected Claim 1, element “b” above);
a measurement section (13, 14) adapted: to measure a first response (15) [by converters 31 & 41] (FIG. 4, Claim 1);
an evaluation section (16, 16') adapted:
to determine a first value (18) of the rotor position based on the first response (15) (refer to rejected Claim 1, element “c-d” above).
Regarding Claim 14, Godridge discloses generator system (4), in particular of a wind turbine [87], including: an electrical generator (5) [15] comprising multiple winding sets; an arrangement (6) according to the claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1], connected to control the generator (FIG. 16, Claim 1).
Regarding Claim 15, Godridge discloses wind turbine (1) [87], including:
a rotor (2) at which plural rotor blades (3) [not labeled but shown in FIG. 16] are connected;
a generator system (4) according to the claim 1 [see rejected Claim 1], the generator (5) being coupled to the rotor (2) (Claim 1).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH ORTEGA whose telephone number is (469)295-9083. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 AM - 5 PM.
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/JOSEPH ORTEGA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2834
