CIRCUIT FOR CONTROLLING A CURRENT FLOW THROUGH A RELAY COIL FIELD

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 . Claims 1-8 are pending in this application. Priority Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. Information Disclosure Statement The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 09/11/2025 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 C.F.R. § 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS has/have been considered by the examiner. 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. Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Senda et al. Japanese Patent Document JP 2015-133298 A (hereinafter “Senda”). Regarding claim 1, Senda teaches a circuit (refer to power source 1 and relay drive circuit 10i)(fig.17) for controlling a current flow (refer to abstract) through a relay coil (i.e. coil L1)(fig.17), the circuit comprising: an electronic switch (i.e. switching element SW1)(fig.17) that controls the current flow through the relay coil (refer to abstract); and a comparator (i.e. comparator 16)(fig.17) to control a control voltage applied to a control input of the electronic switch (refer to abstract and fig.16), wherein a first voltage is applied to a first input of the comparator (refer to non-inverting input of comparator 16)(fig.17), and wherein a second voltage (refer to current detection resistor RS)(fig.17) derived from the current flow through the relay coil (refer to current detection resistor RS)(fig.17) is applied to a second input of the comparator (refer to inverting input of comparator 16)(fig.17), and wherein the circuit is configured to reduce the current flow through the relay coil to a holding current (refer to holding current in translated figure below)(fig.16) after a switching operation (refer to relay operation and operating current supply time t1 in the figure below)(fig.16) which is caused by a switching current through the relay coil (refer to abstract)(refer also to energizing current)(fig.16). PNG media_image1.png 256 443 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 2, Senda teaches the circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: a voltage source (i.e. power source 1)(fig.17) configured to output a constant voltage (refer to power source 1)(fig.17) to initiate the switching operation (refer to abstract, fig.16, and fig.17); and an arrangement of electrical components (i.e. control power supply 17, resistors R3, R4, R8, R9, R21, and R22, capacitor C1, transistor Tr1, and diode D2)(fig.17) provided between the voltage source and the first input of the comparator (refer to fig.17), the arrangement deriving the first voltage from the constant voltage (refer to fig.17) and causing, after a certain period of time, the first voltage to drop to a level which results in the holding current (refer to fig.16)(refer also to capacitor C1)(fig.17). Regarding claim 3, Senda teaches the circuit according to claim 2, wherein the arrangement of electrical components comprises an RC element (refer to resistors R8 and R9 and capacitor C1)(fig.17). Regarding claim 4, Senda teaches the circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first input of the comparator is connected to the voltage source through a voltage divider (refer to resistors R4, R8, R9, R21, and R22)(fig.17). Regarding claim 5, Senda teaches the circuit according to claim 4, further comprising: a switch (i.e. transistor Tr1)(fig.17) that bridges a resistor of the voltage divider (i.e. resistor R22)(fig.17) when the switch is closed (refer to fig.17). Regarding claim 6, Senda teaches the circuit according to claim 4, further comprising: a capacitor (i.e. capacitor C1)(fig.17), wherein the voltage divider comprises a resistor (i.e. resistors R8 and R9)(fig.17) connected in parallel with the capacitor (refer to fig.17). Regarding claim 7, Senda teaches a device (refer to fig.17) comprising a relay (i.e. relay 2)(fig.17) with a relay coil (i.e. coil L1)(fig.17) and the circuit according to claim 1 (refer to the rejection of claim 1 above). Regarding claim 8, Senda teaches a method for controlling a current flow (refer to abstract) through a relay coil (i.e. coil L1)(fig.17), the method comprising: generating a current flow through the relay coil (refer to abstract, fig.16, and fig.17) to effect a switching operation (refer to relay operation in the figure above)(fig.16) by outputting a constant voltage from a voltage source (refer to power source 1)(fig.17); and reducing the current flow through the relay coil to a holding current (refer to holding current in the figure above)(fig.16) after the switching operation has been effected (refer to operating current supply time t1)(fig.16). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN J COMBER whose telephone number is (571)272-6133. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thienvu V. Tran can be reached at 571-270-1276. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /KEVIN J COMBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838